Wrong. But you didn’t need me to tell you that.
Those who are making a living directly from blogging (as opposed to using a blog to promote an existing business) know that it took a lot of hard work to get there. Those that think the secret is cranking out generic “content” that does little more than fill up space are quitting in droves or desperately searching for the answer that will get them over the hump.
When I first collaborated with Yaro Starak over a year ago, he struck me as someone who would make it. But at the time, Yaro was only making about $1,000 a month from his online marketing efforts after a year of hard work. He seemed resolved to take things to the next level, but I could tell he was a bit frustrated.
What a difference another year makes. Now, Yaro not only makes a good living from blogging working part-time, he’s also put together a really good 55-page ebook called Blog Profit Blueprint that maps out how he did it. Best of all, it’s free.
If you read sites like ProBlogger or this one, you’ve seen quite a bit of the general subject matter before. But it’s nice to have everything neatly organized and tied in directly with a strategy for making money that goes well beyond just producing content and AdSense. Yaro has locked into my favorite form of affiliate marketing as his primary blog monetization tool, and he does an excellent job of explaining it in the free ebook.
Is Yaro doing this solely out of the goodness of his heart? Nope… he’s starting up a coaching program to help those that are serious about making a living from blogging, and the free ebook is an excellent introduction to his approach. He’s not promising to make you a dot-com millionaire, but you can get out of your day job. That’s the first step.
Yaro is also offering an affiliate partnership to anyone who values his ebook and tactics, and I am happy to participate—because I know he’s an ethical guy who is offering true value upfront before asking for money. You’ll be provided an opportunity to participate after you download the book, but please, read it first. You’ll see that it all ties neatly together.
28 comments... add one
#1 Simonne → 06.11.07 at 10:39 am
I’ve read Yaro’s book. It is very good and well organized and I believe it can be helpful for people who are determined to take blogging at the business level. It’s been almost one year now since I discovered blogging and I can tell you that if I had Yaro’s book last year, I’d perform much better than I am today.
#2 Ted Demopoulos, Blogging for Business → 06.11.07 at 10:44 am
Yaro did a great job on the eBook — recommended reading for all. He’s a good guy too — one I trust, and trust IS important.
#3 Spiritual Blogging | Slade → 06.11.07 at 11:07 am
What a difference a year makes!
I too have been blogging professionally and developing blogs for others and consulting about blog marketing for four years.
It’s only been in the last year that I’ve been making a meaningful full time income from blogging.
The big switch for me has all been a direct result of getting out of the General blogging-about-blogging and going for a laser-tight niche within a niche.
My problogging model is much more like Chris Garrett’s — it’s indirect, as a result of an “authority” blogging presence within a “smaller pond.”
I make a full-time income from blogging — and it is NOT by high-traffic or advertising revenue-based models.
It’s all about Subscribers.
I have a free ebook also for subscribers that tells where exactly my money comes from in blogging. I’d love it if you checked out what works for me.
#4 John Wesley → 06.11.07 at 12:30 pm
The ebook has some good info, though nothing I haven’t seen on the various blogging blogs. I think it’s funny he’s declared himself the Blog Traffic King.
#5 Chris P. → 06.11.07 at 2:00 pm
Hey John,
Your site is nothing more than a Cutline/Copyblogger Theme mashup. Where’s my link?
#6 Vido → 06.11.07 at 2:40 pm
I have found out about Yaro about one year ago and I think the content he puts out is great, especially the podcast interviews he has done.
I read his ebook too and I think it gives good tips for those who have just started blogging.
#7 Simonne → 06.11.07 at 3:22 pm
The big value of the book is not that it contains unique info; one can probably find 90% of it on the internet. Its value consists of putting all that info together - this can save new bloggers a lot of time because they won’t have to read tons of non-sense stuff several hours per day, until they find the really useful things.
#8 Paul → 06.11.07 at 4:00 pm
I also suggest this eBook to anyone interested in making a living from Blogging. It’s a great resource. It is mainly review for the intermediate web ‘guru’ but still has some great new stuff in there. Everyone will learn something.
#9 Hamlet Batista → 06.11.07 at 4:27 pm
Maintaining a useful blog is not easy.
If I want to start a blog for my company/product, what is the best approach to hire really good, inexpensive help?
There are a lot of great bloggers that are not making money. I think blogging for pay is an excellent alternative. What do you think?
#10 Bill Hartzer → 06.11.07 at 4:28 pm
Yaro has put together a great ebook–lots of good, timely info in there. You mention “only making $1000 a month” with his online marketing efforts…to be honest with you, even that is pretty good for someone. ;)
As Spiritual Blogging says, though, it’s all about subscribers. Laser-targeting a specific niche and providing some great info for people will keep them coming back for more.
#11 Yaro → 06.11.07 at 7:43 pm
Hey Brian, thanks for your endorsement, it means a lot to me.
I hope your readers enjoy the book and it helps them take a few more steps towards making a full time income from blogging.
Yaro
#12 John Wesley → 06.11.07 at 7:49 pm
Chris,
I’ll readily admit that I built off the structure of the Cutline Theme because I had no previous design experience, but I took the link out after tweaking nearly every aspect of the style and customizing it with all my own graphics. I’ve also borrowed aspects from other sites as well. I think that makes it more than a mashup and I don’t think anyone but yourself would even recognize the influence. Honestly I’m flattered that you noticed.
#13 When Is It Different Enough? → 06.11.07 at 9:07 pm
[…] is an interesting discussion going on in the comments over at Copyblogger. The ubiquitous Chris Pearson commented on John Wesley’s Wordpress theme Hey John, Your site […]
#14 Joel Badinas → 06.12.07 at 12:11 am
Thanks for this share. I really help me in my quest to earn money from blogging.
#15 David → 06.12.07 at 4:55 am
Yaro is doing a nice job. Even if you get a couple of points, that’s great because you cannot beat free.
We are launching our new interview series today on our blog and are starting with Nate Whitehill. We’re hoping to track down Yaro to include him in this series as well. We’ll see.
Brian…I recommend Copy Blogger all the time in my workshops. I’ll do about 75 of them in 2007. It’s a great blog.
#16 Matt Heinz → 06.12.07 at 8:38 am
Read through Yaro’s e-book last night. If only everyone could write as practically and pragmatically as Yaro does! Lots of very tangible suggestions that can be put to work immediately on our blogs. I look forward to reading what he writes next!
#17 Mike Jezek → 06.12.07 at 10:23 am
Yeah, I think people have to be realistic about income expectations.
#18 Now You Can Listen To The Blog Profits Blueprint On The Run | streaminterviews.com → 06.12.07 at 12:35 pm
[…] big welcome to the people who came through from Brian Clark’s post on his Copyblogger.com blog recommending the Blog Profits […]
#19 Ian is a Failure → 06.12.07 at 3:44 pm
yaro book is great, it shwoed me a lot of things on blogging since I have started blogging about 3 months ago. I have done some studies about trackback marketing and pillars, which yaro explains in his ebook
very good ebook
#20 Matt Keegan → 06.12.07 at 4:48 pm
Monetizing a blog is a lot of work. Although I am blessed to have some good revenue through Text Link Ads and have use PayPerPost in the past rather frequently, I choose not to go too much into advertising other then AdSense.
#21 Shane → 06.13.07 at 1:51 am
Yaro’s book is really well done.
Read it when it came out and what I like about it is the solid business sense and no-pipe-dreams approach.
#22 Rough Guide to Blogging: The Blog » You Tube → 06.14.07 at 5:03 pm
[…] A few interesting articles: How to become a Freelance Blogger Blogging is Easy Money, Right? […]
#23 Christopher Richards → 06.16.07 at 1:16 pm
I just started a business blog this month so I am still getting my feet wet. It seems to me that readership is where the value is. And as mentioned above, writing in a narrow niche self-qualifies your audience. I know from years of sales experience that you need to qualify your prospect.
Now, I am a bit of a fool and tend to do all the wrong things. I have learned from my mistakes. I can repeat every one of them. I have managed to get quite a readership on my Slow Down Now site. But it doesn’t make me one red cent. I have to admit, I didn’t have the intention of making money from the site, just finding my voice as an original humorous writer.
I tried putting Google ads on the site, but ads do not get irony. Also I wanted to keep this site as non-distracting. The point of all this is that because of the nature of search niche narrowness (sorry if that sounds like the abomination of business speak) is the way to go. That is a problem because to get narrow, we need to give things up. Giving things up is much harder than acquiring something new.
All I know about my readership is that they like my original humorous stories. That’s not a lot of help from a marketing situation. Or is it?
#24 Make Money Online Blogs Not Making Money Online?–TheAnand’s Ripples → 06.20.07 at 6:12 am
[…] something kind of a money making machine like that of CashQuests, John Chow or the others. Also a post in Copyblogger says, Those who are making a living directly from blogging (as opposed to using a blog to promote […]
#25 Copywriting tips for online marketing success from Copyblogger → 06.21.07 at 12:01 pm
[…] save 30% off the regular price for a very limited time, or if you haven’t downloaded Yaro’s excellent free ebook yet, you can read my review by following that second […]
#26 Lorelle VanFossen Has Made Every Blogging Mistake - Dawud Miracle @ dmiracle.com - (formerly Healthy WebDesign) → 06.27.07 at 7:09 pm
[…] Too many bloggers are watching what the business bloggers are doing and think about the “easy money” they could be making off their blogs. But it’s not easy money. It’s hard […]
#27 IZDotCom → 06.29.07 at 7:39 am
They are too much problogger nowadays and everyone has their own opinions and way on how they succeed.
At the end, it all depends on yourself the way you want your blog, and yourself to be.
#28 Free Sneak Peek at the Blog Mastermind Program | Copyblogger → 12.05.07 at 12:02 pm
[…] 10, so he’s offering a free look at one of the lessons in the course. As I mentioned when I reviewed the free ebook that preceded the paid course, Yaro’s blogging approach is effective because it focuses on […]
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