Given the fact that I've now been at this for nearly four years, and quite frequently get e-mails from people asking for blogging tips, I think it's about time I share some of the wisdom I've gained throughout the years as it pertains to running a blog ... specifically, one about horror movies.
It's not that I think I'm the best blogger in the world or anything but after doing this for so long, I'd have to be pretty damn stupid to not have picked up on a few things here and there, little nuggets of wisdom that I can impart to others who, like me, want to peck at keys all day and run a blog. So if me giving out tips comes off like I think I'm be-all end-all horror blogger, please know that I'm well aware that I'm not, I'm just a dude who knows a thing or two about doing it.
I've decided that rather than make one massive post with all the tips and tricks I can think of, I'll instead make this a recurring series that I add to from time to time, focusing each post on one single idea. (There's a little blogging tip right there; milk your content for all ya can!!)
So, if you do in fact want to be a horror blogger, or already are and would like some help from someone who has spent far too much of his time doing it, we begin our course in Horror Blogging 101 TONIGHT!
Here's the first tip I've got for ya ...
#1) Don't Even Think About Starting A Blog Unless You're Completely Fine With Devoting Large Quantities Of Your Free Time To Sitting At The Computer Writing, Not Getting Paid A Dime For Your Efforts.
That may seem a little harsh but unfortunately, that's the cold hard truth of the matter. Sure, you've read countless websites telling you how much money you can make from blogging and you've seen people like Perez Hilton become mega rich and famous simply from blogging his thoughts on pop culture. But the fact of the matter is that you're only going to generate any kind of income if you're racking up an incredible amount of hits, an amount that quite honestly no horror website could ever get. We're talking in the millions here.
So if you're not doing this 100% out of a love for the genre, and a love for sharing your thoughts on it and spreading the good word about things you dig about it, it's not only going to show to your readers, but it's gonna be a complete waste of your time. You're never gonna get famous or make any serious 'I can quit my job now!' money from running a horror blog. Sorry, folks.
Now it is true that busting your ass to run a blog can lead to awesome perks, like getting free movies and various other products to review, meeting new friends who share similar interests and getting the chance to interview some of your favorite genre stars. So yes, there is some sort of payment for your troubles, just don't expect it to be monetary. If you're fine with that, I encourage you to proceed in starting a blog.
Now another tip that's tied directly to this one is this; LAY OFF THE ADVERTISING!
A couple different times throughout my blogging career, I have tried out Google AdSense, the service that promises you can make money by putting up randomly generated ad blocks on your blog, which are generated by your content, making them targeted to your readers. And by targeted I mean that if you review House 2 : The Second Story, your sidebar will be cluttered with ads about home improvement products. Yea, not cool.
Not only is a page filled with AdSense a clear indication to potential readers that you're only doing this to make a few bucks, but again, you're not going to make any real money doing it, so why even bother? Believe me, even getting a solid 1,000 hits a day, at best you're going to make a few dollars a month from having AdSense on your blog. Bottom line is, not many people are going to click on your AdSense ads, both because they're generally not related to your content and because people just don't like that shit, so is it really worth turning off readers just to make a couple bucks a month? Like, literally a couple dollars. I think not.
Now that said, if you do end up getting a lot of hits and running a fairly successful blog, you may find that companies will reach out to you and offer up money to put their ads on your website for specified periods of time. I've found it to be rare, but it happens. If these opportunities should arise, and the website they want you to link to is not only geared towards the genre but it's also one you feel comfortable recommending to your readers, don't hesitate to make some money and slap their ad on your site. I've done it a few times throughout the years, and have made probably less than $2,000 from doing so, so again don't expect to make any real money from doing that. But it's undeniably awesome to find money in your checking account, sent your way for doing something you were totally fine with doing free of charge in the first place.
In summation, some money can at times be made from doing this, but it's other perks that are going to be a whole lot more rewarding and plentiful, such as meeting new people and inspiring others to check out movies you like. Take the plunge and start up a site because you love horror movies (or whatever topic it is you're blogging about) ... to do it for any other reason would be setting yourself up for guaranteed failure.
16 comments:
Excellent post! I've done the whole Adsense thing, and you're right, even with 1000 hits a day, probably less than 1% will click on an ad. It's not worth cluttering up the already limited area of a blog with useless links no one cares about.
I do it... for the love of the boobs. Uh, I mean, the game. The love of the game. Horror game. And boobs too. Hand in hand.
I will never have ads on the jaded viewer ever (though its on my other blog). But John is right. It's a damn time consuming effort for little reward. The perks have made it all worthwhile but sometimes all I want is a interesting comment from a fellow reader/blogger.
It's a tough gig. I remember starting off and I'd post 4 times a week, now I'm down to maybe twice/week.
At first you'll notice a lack of pageviews and comments but if your persistent, your reviews and posts are fun (See Freddy in Space :-) )
you'll see it go up and up.
Awesome post dude. Now I'll click on some hardware links.
I too post a lot less than I used to, but that's mostly due to me having a regular full time job for the past couple years, whereas I didn't have one the first year or so of blogging. Not easy to set aside time to do this when you've got a job and tons of other shit you've gotta do on a daily basis, that's for sure.
I sometimes get to points where this becomes a second job, more work than anything else, but all around I still have a lot of fun doing it. When that day comes where it's no longer fun for me to do, I'll probably hang up the keyboard. If you're not having fun, there's really no point in even doing something like this!
Well I'm only 5 posts into my blog 'Hollyweird' and it never even crossed my mind you could make money from it.
http://www.chrisandphilpresent.co.uk/blogs/hollyweird/
A started reviewing DVD's for a mate's site, I then got asked to start a blog because he liked my style and now I'm just starting a podcast. All just fun.... time-consuming fun!
I am too new to have tips, but name checking Freddy in Space in the 2nd Post can't have hurt, ha ha!
I agree and disagree all at the same time.
On the adsense thing, I make about $2500-$3000 a year on it. It's not much, but hey, who am I to turn away an extra $2500?
Two, you might not make money from horror blogging per se, but it can lead to endeavors in other aspects of the horror field that can help you make money.
However, you got to be passionate about it and willing to put in the time as stated in this post.
And that's why, for me, this is the best horror blog out there. There's a real commitment that stems from a genuine enthusiasm for the genre, and not any ulterior motives. I also like that you don't just do movie reviews.
So, Brandon if you make $2500-$3000 a year on Google AdSense for writing reviews solely for the purpose of causing controversy, why is it that you asked your fans to donate to a fund so you could buy a new laptop and upgrade your site to "better" it? Just curious if you could answer to that without throwing a temper tantrum or saying we're being mean.
Truth is, you're not here because you're a fan. You're not trying to write reviews because you care. You "write" because you want attention and you want to make money. Plain and simple.
Your full of shit, Brandon. No one clicks on your ads because no one fucking clicks on your blog in the first place. You're the reason bloggers get a bad rep. Go back to the cave you crawled out of.
One- I admit I screwed up once. Hasn't everybody screwed up once in life? (And that was over 3 years ago for Pete's sake. Just hanging onto the same old ___)
Two- I don't write to be controversial. I write how I feel. Sometimes that does go against the grain of things.
Three- If I was running a blog to make money, $2500 would barely cover my expenses for a month.
Four- I actually have the balls to sign my comments instead of hiding behind an anonymous moniker.
Five- When I used to blog more regularly, BDHR was doing over 150K in hits a month. So someone was obviously reading it.
Six- I've never had the need to bash anyone's blog, because I'm not in a competition w/ anyone. I just try to be me and do my thing. Most of us know, that people write bitter or hateful little comments about another blog or site out of jealousy. Hmmmmm.....
Brandon,
I have never said anything to you out of jealousy. I have a very successful writing career outside of the internet. It's not to disparage online writing as that's where I started and where I continue to write as do many of my friends. I do however have a huge disdain for you based on your own words and actions. You write 2 sentence reviews which reflect a sheer laziness half of the time. I remember reading your review of The Woman against my better judgement and just thinking, "Wow, he really does not GET IT does he?" For the most part I forget you even exist until you do something stupid that someone brings up to me. I try very hard to not let your existence affect me. When someone mentioned to me you of all people was offering script consulting I cringed, You are not educated for such an undertaking. You are someone who ruins the horror community the rest of us all hold so dearly. Tell me, what have you DONE for the genre you love so much? It's an honest question. What have you done to give back? You make a point of proclaiming yourself to be a modern day critic, and a professional. If I were to show your work to any major newspaper or magazine they would brush you off as some self-important blogger who wants the world to know his opinions. You offer NOTHING to our community. You, Rhonny, Eric, you all want to be internet famous. You want to get something for nothing. Guess what? In the long run, your reviews, your presence will mean nothing to anyone. Am I saying mine will? No, but I am saying that myself, and others like me try to give something to our readers and to the community that bred us. We try really hard to give them some substance. I can't really figure out what it is you think you give them.
And for the record, when people make anonymous questions it's really for two reasons. #1) They don't want drama, especially from your "legion of fans" who will throw blind insults without really digging deep and realizing what a charlatan you are. #2) They have a very deep respect for publications they write/work for and don;t want them to be dragged into it.
I have no need to stay anonymous when it's to tell you the truth. I wish for one moment you could really take a look in the mirror and ask yourself "What is it I am actually doing?" I don't think you can answer that.
-Kristy
I have never said anything to you out of jealousy.
-Then why do you go completely out of your way to go onto my Facebook page and attack not just me (I can deal with that), but my fans who read the page as well?
You write 2 sentence reviews....
What really got me into horror full time as a kid was a book called "Video Movie Guide" which provided short little reviews. My original intention was to be like that book. However, I changed the formatting over 3 years ago! That might have reflected the first 3 months I was online, but it doesn't reflect the site today.
I remember reading your review of The Woman against my better judgement and just thinking, "Wow, he really does not GET IT does he?"
It's an opinion. There can't be any right or wrong. I will say this, I was not the only one who felt that way about the film. People were very mixed on it as it appeared on both best of and worst of lists.
Tell me, what have you DONE for the genre you love so much?
Someone appreciated my help in publicizing their projects enough that I have my own IMDB page.
A film that I started actively campaigning for got enough attention that it is being released to home video (on Blu-Ray) this Halloween for the first time ever. The director of said film found out what I was trying to do and got on board with getting the film released after all these years.
Katt Shea was having trouble getting her latest film project listed on IMDB. I got it listed for her.
And that's just the tip of things.....
If I were to show your work to any major newspaper or magazine they would brush you off as some self-important blogger who wants the world to know his opinions.
I'm not trying to write for a newspaper or magazine. It's a dying industry. Online is where it is now. At any rate, any time someone posts something to a public forum, they do it for one reason above all others -- they want someone to read what they have to say!!
You, Rhonny, Eric, you all want to be internet famous.
Rhonny has been nothing but nice to countless amounts of people on the net. I remember when I first started, she was the one who helped me out with my initial blog design. She has designed banners or logos to the best of her abilities on her own dime, free of charge. More people should be like her.
I wish for one moment you could really take a look in the mirror and ask yourself "What is it I am actually doing?"
If anyone needs to ask themselves this, it is you. Ok. You're nice to the people in your clique. Outside of that, you go around and try to bully and insult everyone else. Tell me, why do you think you need to go out of your way and to take it upon yourself to act the way that you do? It makes you look immature and unprofessional.
Instead of being negative and hateful like yourself, I try to be positive and helpful towards other people. Ask yourself this, "why do you have so much hate in you?".
I feel bad for you that after all these years you are still stuck acting the exact same way towards people and that you haven't been able to grow and mature like most people in our age range. I hope one of these days you get it for your own sake.
PS: If your writing career is so successful, then why do you still need to hawk t-shirts on the side? If either side of your professional ambitions were successful enough, you would focus exclusively on the one that is bringing you success.
I thought really long and hard whether or not to post a comment to this in the first place. I have a lot of respect for all of the people I work for, and I would never want my opinions to overshadow them. However, I did feel the need to clarify some things. I can assure you after this, I will not be responding further. I won't be looking at any further comments, and I personally don't have time to sit online and wait for my name to be mentioned to join in the ruckus. I'm not being dishonest when I say I honestly do forget about you until someone points something out to me. Case in point your comments in this mater which is what even inspired me to say something.
After this, the discussion is over in my mind. I have said what I have to and so have you and that's the end of it.
Let's start at the end of your last comment barrage. It really goes to show how you know nothing of me. I don't "hawk shirts on the side." My full time job is working for an amazing t-shirt company. My part-time job is writing as well as doing promotion for a film production company and running their webstore. There's a clear distinction to be made. When I say successful I don't mean I am rolling in cash and I exist only on my paychecks for writing. There's another point where we differ. You are always quick to bring the money side of things into it, claiming to make $3000 a year from Google AdSense or questioning how I consider myself successful when I work a day job in addition to writing. There are few people in the community who make a living off their writing- that's what I am assuming you are trying to relate this to. The people who make big money are the people who run the big sites. The writers don't make that, there's no trickle down- I have written for many of those sites and I can attest to that. You can toil for years writing for those big sites just so you have a good resume, but it won't make you rich.
Additionally, I happen to have 3 jobs that I love and that's why I work them. I make my living doing what I love and I couldn't be happier. Because I don't follow you anymore I can only assume you are still unemployed and trying to make a living off of your site. I'm not judging anyone for being unemployed, but I take great umbrage at you pointing out that I work a full time job- what does that say about you? "How dare you call yourself successful when you work a desk job during the day?!" No Brandon. Have you heard stories of people winning the lottery and going back to work the next day? That's me. I love what I do, and even if tomorrow I got hired by Vanity Fair, I'd be back to my day job the next day because it's an amazing job to have. I don't expect you to get it.
I'm not going to sit here and debate all of the other points because honestly, I feel like I've wasted enough time. Additionally, this could go on and on. I make a point, you make a counter point and it goes on and on. I'll briefly address everything else. #1) I can't remember the last time I've been on any of your pages- it happens once in a very, very long while. So if you're trying to claim that I stalk your pages waiting for you to slip up, you're exaggerating.
Continued in next comment...
Next, I didn't ask you to give me a list of what you have done for other people, it was more of a rhetorical question. What is it you're trying to do in this community? Maybe I'm not seeing the bigger picture. Someone who wants to purport themselves as a script consultant and a critic of modern day horror, that doesn't necessarily spell it out for me or anyone else. You cling to this idea of being listed on IMDB, but it's actually not hard to be listed there. I once looked up the requirements. A lot of sites have their news filter through there.
You make think print is dead- and I'm not going to have an argument about that- but there is a clear difference between online and print. Online is something anyone can do, print is something you have to have some sort of talent to do. It's so sad that online has overtaken the media, because we get stuck with half-handed opinions that people take as gospel and people who want to have their 15 minutes of fame with little to no effort. I'm not saying that people who write online are inferior- not by a longshot, I am simply calling attention to the fact that there is a difference between the two, whether or not you think one is dying or not.
Lastly, I don't hate you. I don't hate you, Rhonny or Eric. But I have no respect for you. When I do think of you- and I promise you it's only when someone brings you up to me, I don't seek info on you out- it's not hate that comes to mind. It's disbelief. I really have trouble understanding what happened to our society when people who spend their days writing thoughtful reviews and working tirelessly to help others in this community get pushed aside in favor of people like you who don't even have the decency to try and educate or better themselves. I want to make it so clear that I know neither of us will convince the other. I will say that a lot of people agree with me, but I have been the one to make a stance and not accept it. I don't want to accept this has to go on. But for the most part I do let you do your own thing, I don't go out of my way to put you down, believe it or not.
And for the record, I know this will be hard for you to believe- I happen to be a very nice person. I have no "clique", I'm not in high school, sitting at the cool kids table, hell I'm the biggest nerd there is. You misinterpret that I look down on you and only treat my friends nice because I have no respect for you and your two closest blogging friends. If I praised all of you you would never question it. You'd never say, "Why do you love me so?" The truth is, while I may be outspoken in my disdain for you, that is so a small part of who I am. If you were to ask people outside of your group, you'd hear an overwhelmingly positive wave of opinion about me. It's no clique, it's the real me that most people see. I'm sorry you've incurred my wrath on more than one occasion. I am not the devil, but I'm also not God.
What am I trying to say after all of this wasted typing? I'm nobody, just like you're nobody. You don't have to read or hear a thing I say. But you do have to recognize that these opinions exist outside of my own head. I'm just the only one so far who has had the guts to say it to you.
You base your opinions on assumptions that are wrong. Yes, I was a newsdesk partner with IMDB, but I also have my own listing on IMDB as well --- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4023904/ - where I got a bunch of thanks credits from various people for helping out with their film projects.
If I was looking to make a living off of writing, I certainly wouldn't be horror blogging. I do it cause I am passionate about horror and I wanted to help out people who act, direct or produce features in the indie entertainment field back when I ran BDHR.
The last time I was unemployed was back in 2002 when I was 20 years old.
And that's just the the beginning of things you have assumed of me that is wrong. The thing is, we have both probably assumed things about each other. We both believe that we our right in our beliefs and nothing is going to change that.
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