Social Media: It's not just for kids: Blogging For Money – Is Affiliate Blogging Right For YOU?

There are 21 reasons why you make THINK affiliate blogging (blogging for money) is not right for you – or that it won’t WORK for YOU. Let’s shed some light on the truth… Can YOU make money online?

What’s Holding You Back?

Go ahead, make a list of all the things you can think of that are holding you back from getting to real work online. Seriously, write them down and face them – then burn it.

My list might have looked like this a few years ago:

1. Have no idea what I’m doing.

2. Afraid this is all a scam.

3. Other people tell me I will fail.

4. Other people tell me this is a scam.

5. This will take a LOT of time to get there.

6. My computer is slow.

7. I like to golf on the weekends…don’t want to work.

8. Easier to just go get a JOB and let someone pay me a little and then I go home.

9. Not sure I have enough money to do this.

10. Not sure I have enough SMARTS to do this.

11. I read in marketing forums and I have NO CLUE what they’re talking about.

12. No one will help me.

13. If I ask for help, people will laugh at me.

14. If I ask for help, no one will answer.

15. No one understands what I am trying to do because *I* can’t even explain it.

16. I don’t have enough time.

17. This won’t happen over-night. I have to be determined and persistent – and give up a lot of any free time I have.

18. There are so many ways to do this – I don’t know which way to go!

19. I don’t know anything about marketing.

20. I am gonna have to write…a LOT. I don’t think I can come up with anything to write about.

21. Trying this will put a lot of strain on my family, both financially and time-wise. I should just take the easy route and not bother with this internet marketing stuff .

Those are just 21 reasons right off the top of my head. Anything sound familiar there?

Now, let me take that same list and tell you the TRUTH

1. Have no idea what I’m doing.

NO ONE knows what they’re doing when they first start. We ALL have to learn. Everything you learn gets you closer to the other side.

2. Afraid this is all a scam.

It’s not. The online marketing taught like this is NOT a scam. It’s very, very real.

3. Other people tell me I will fail.

Usually these “other” people are folks who don’t know anything about internet marketing either. Also, why do you put value in the opinion of someone who tells you that you WILL fail? By the way, proving them wrong is kinda cool =)

4. Other people tell me this is a scam.

Again, this is usually said by people who have no idea about all this either.

5. This will take a LOT of time to get there.

This is correct. It WILL take a good bit of time and effort on YOUR part to get there.

6. My computer is slow.

Great! There is no better motivation to earn money than having a computer that can’t think as fast as you do. Get started, make some money and buy a NEW computer.

7. I like to golf on the weekends…don’t want to work.

What if you gave up a few weekend golf rounds in this next year so you could play golf 3 times a week all the years following?

8. Easier to just go get a JOB and let someone pay me a little and then I go home.

Yup, easier…maybe. Depends on where you live and what jobs are available. This is the safe route and if you have mouths to feed with no money coming into the household, I HIGHLY recommend getting a”real” job while you learn internet marketing.

9. Not sure I have enough money to do this.

If you’ve read thru my blog here at PotPieGirl.com enough, you know that it doesn’t take money to get started making money online.

10. Not sure I have enough SMARTS to do this.

You do. If you’ve been using your computer all this time for browsing, emailing, socializing, and shopping, you are totally smart enough to get your computer to make money for you.

11. When I read in marketing forums I have NO CLUE what they’re talking about.

If they say a phrase you don’t understand, Google it. Learn what they are talking about. Once you learn it, you OWN it.

12. No one will help me.

Learn how to help yourself. Trust me, 99.9999% of the answers can be found in Google.

13. If I ask for help, people will laugh at me.

Maybe, but that’s a sure sign of that persons integrity and character. BUT, there are tons of folks online that WON’T laugh at you. This is a big reason why I am such an advocate of newbies getting a membership at Wealthy Affiliate. The forum there is so safe with lots of helpful people AND there are lots of other questions being asked by people just like you every minute. Wealthy Affiliate is the safest learning center I have found online. I wish I had joined there when I first started learning.

Also, Google NEVER laughs or casts judgement =)

14. If I ask for help, no one will answer.

Google ALWAYS answers – learn to use Google to find your answers.

15. No one understands what I am trying to do because *I* can’t even explain it.

That’s ok. Want a “generic” answer for when people ask what you do?

Them: So, what do you do for a living?

You: Online marketing

Them: What’s that? Like eBay or something?

You: I sell other peoples products online and make commissions.

95% of casual acquaintances won’t ask you anything further. I struggled with that “what do you do?” question for so long. I also felt this need to explain what it is (and that it’s legit). One day I realized that when I was a managing golf Pro, I just said what I did and no one asked or doubted it’s legitimacy. Sure, that was a “real” job…but you know what? So is internet marketing. Say it with confidence.

16. I don’t have enough time.

If you can spend one hour a day getting one web page online, you have enough time. No, you may not get ‘there’ as quickly as someone who has 10 hours a day. But there is another positive side to the “not enough time” excuse.

Once upon a time, I was a single mom, running a golf course. Trust me, there was not an extra MINUTE in the day to spare. A woman in a regional golf association asked me to run for President of that association. I literally said, “Are you crazy? I barely have time to THINK let alone head up an association!”

She said, “Jennifer, I KNOW how full your days are, but let me tell you something I have learned. If you want something done well and efficiently, give it to a woman who doesn’t have enough time to do it.”

C’mon moms, show of hands – How many of you have baked a “oops mom I forgot” batch of cupcakes or done a science project at 2 am?

We moms get things done =)

17. This won’t happen over-night. I have to be determined and persistent – and give up a lot of any free time I have.

This IS very, very true. This does NOT happen over-night. Commit to the plan and take action. Trust me, you will love yourself for following thru down the road =)

18. There are so many ways to do this – I don’t know which way to go!

Yes, there are a LOT of options. To me, that is the coolest thing about online marketing – there is no one ‘right way’ to do this! The sky is the limit! What way interests YOU the most?

19. I don’t know anything about marketing.

First off, you don’t need to. Secondly, yes, you really do know a lot about marketing because we are all consumers. You know what makes YOU buy something, don’t you?

20. I am gonna have to write…a LOT. I don’t think I can come up with anything to write about. Yes, using the free methods to make money online does require a lot of writing. Now, you do NOT have to write novel-length blog posts like I am doing right now, but you will have to write. If this is something out of your comfort zone, get to writing so you ARE comfortable.

21. Trying this will put a lot of strain on my family, both financially and time-wise. I should just take the easy route and not bother with this internet marketing stuff .
This was a BIG one for me. Know what it really is? It’s guilt. When we have families, we are not only taking OURSELVES out of our comfort zone, the family gets uncomfortable too. I think we women struggle with this more than the men because of our own perception that it is mom’s job to make everyone comfortable.
I handled this fear in myself by talking a lot about what I was doing. Each day, when my husband would come home, we would talk about his day then I would tell him things I learned that day, what I did, what I figured out, and all that good stuff. I needed him onboard with me….and I needed what I was doing to not be such a mystery. Let’s face it, if your significant other suddenly started spending hours and hours online, wouldn’t you be concerned?
Anyway… I would let him watch me make a webpage or something. He was amazed at how it all works and learned right along with me. I do the same things with my kids. Heck, I’ve been known to talk about my blog post over a Happy Meal with the 4 year-old =)
My best advice here is to keep the communication open.