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Blogging — One or the Other
You can only be a Journalist (professional) or Hobbyist (personal) in blogging. Anything in between will fail.
Fail at making you rich or making you friends. Fail at making you famous or making you happy.
At some point, you’ll have to make the decision. You’ll either have more time on your hands than expected, or you’ll have no time at all.
As a journalist you’ll work around the clock. (Michael Arrington, Arianna Huffington, or Perez Hilton) You’ll have to research each and every one of your stories, be able to meet several daily deadlines, develop a process for copywriting, and establish networks for leads.
As a hobbyist you may only post once a week or once a month, but when you do, you make the day of all your readers. (Matt Brett, Sally Hogshead, or Veerle) There’s no pressure or deadlines. If a thought strikes you every now and then, you share it.
Obviously, the difference between the two financially is enormous. You get what you give. 40 hours of writing per week will generate more revenue and opportunities than writing 20 minutes every other week.
I will have to make this decision in the very near future. If you’re in a similar situation the question is, will you be a journalist or hobbyist?
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12 Comments
Jason said on March 20, 2007...
Very true. I can’t decide what i want to be yet. :)
Michael M said on March 20, 2007...
I’ve already made this decision.And I’m full time in this business.
Adam Ostrow said on March 20, 2007...
I’m having a tough time with this decision myself. I quit my job 3 months ago to pursue my own business, which is going really well. I started my blog about a month ago, which to an extent is an offshoot of my business. However, I’m really starting to enjoy the blogging, which if I spend much more time on, could hurt the actual business I’m trying to build. I suppose I need to stay where the money is (my business) for the moment.
Eric said on March 20, 2007...
It’s not impossible to do both, you just have to be dedicated. I juggle more than 4 businesses, all vastly different, and feel I can get the job done on all of ‘em. It’s all about momentum and focus.
Aaron said on March 20, 2007...
I started a blog just as a place to express my ideas and get out in the entrepreneurial community but I’ve neglected it after about 1 month of blogging. It’s still in the back of my mind and would like to commit more time to it but you do need to be committed.
Investoid said on March 20, 2007...
I agree it comes down to commitment and goals. I think there is a middle ground, and I see it everyday - working 0.5-2 hours every 1-2 days on your blog and do approximately one post a day. Typically, the payout on this type of dedication is about as good as blogging once a month, but usually there are more intrinsic reasons for blogging this way.
Myself, if I can build a significant readership (for my niche, which is probably only a few hundred to thousand subscribers), I could see using the blog to launch for-pay premium services (eg. full analysis of investments, macro analysis and sector recommendations, etc.).
Travis said on March 20, 2007...
I still don’t think there is a middle ground.
Rather, I think the purpose of the blog reflects the amount of work needed and level of success.
There are some industries, no matter how often you blog or the quality of your posts, it’s impossible to reach the masses because of your subject matter.
Whether your blog is a tool to promote your company, launch a product, provide support, or serve as a portfolio, quality and quantity are what determine whether you’re a Journalist or Hobbyist.
Professionals must provide quality posts in large and frequent quantity. Without quality, quantity is useless in being a journalist.
On the other hand, quality can work without quantity. That just means you’re a hobbyist. There’s nothing wrong with that as in the examples in my post.
I still think that you can only be either or to have hopes of achieving your goal.
Stating the goal of your blog is the first logical step.
Michelle said on March 20, 2007...
I’m a journalist now. I can’t see myself being any other way.
Eric said on March 20, 2007...
I dig the blog Michelle, lots of feeling there!
Avinash said on March 24, 2007...
I started blogging (first blog) in August 2006 as a hobbyist. Since I was pretty new to blogging at that time, I was just sharing my knowledge, bookmarks, etc.
Then a time came when I had to stop blogging for two months. In January 2007, I returned back with an aim to learn more about blogging. In February 2007, I started blogging seriously. Now, I’ve over 380 RSS feed subscribers and 600+ visitors/day.
At the moment, I’m not sure what I am, a professional blogger or a hobbyist.
Hog Blog » Hogisms - now available weekly. said on March 26, 2007...
[…] been naughty a blogger. Some of you, like Travis, wait for a post patiently, while others, like David Esrati, aren’t quite so patient. He […]
En nu verder at Style over Substance said on April 16, 2007...
[…] precies heen. Maar ook relevanter, met deze blog en m’n andere sites. Een recent artikel op YGG stelt het qua blogs heel zwart/wit: You can only be a Journalist (professional) or Hobbyist […]
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