PureBlogging

Would you like make way more money from your blog than with AdSense? I think most of us would. By becoming a consultant, you can make good money from services you provide made possible by your blog’s content and reputation. The oldest and most tried-and-true method for making money is to sell something directly to a buyer. One of the great things about the internet is that we can sell consulting services to anyone, anywhere.

The Limits of the Advertising Revenue Model

Before I get into the details about consulting, let’s dissect the ad revenue model for blogging. There are basically two ways to go about this: automation and personal sales. Contextual and keyword/category ad publishing systems like Google AdSense or AuctionAds are super easy to implement, but unless you have high traffic and you’re targeting high-paying keywords, there’s a fairly low ceiling to this for most of us. There are always exceptions and some people will be unethical in their use of automated advertising, but for the most part, without gobs of traffic you’re not going to get too far.

Personal sales can be a much better way to go. You approach (and allow yourself to be approached by) advertisers for direct sales of ad space on your blog. You can use a system like OpenAds for this or work it manually. This takes more time and work and dealing with rejection, but it gives you a shot at much better money.

In both cases, there is still a limit based on your traffic eventually leveling off. When this happens, the reaction of most bloggers is to do things that worsen the problem, like put more ads up, which detracts from the user experience and hastens the downward spiral. Sure, it’s possible that this won’t happen to you, but it sure happens to a lot of people, doesn’t it?

The Consulting Model

In the consulting model, what you sell is your time, usually by the hour. Really, what you’re selling is you: your skills, experience, and talents. And in a way, that’s what you’re doing already on your blog, isn’t it? You are already providing value to people. In consulting, what you do is take what you know and use your skills and time to directly help others for pay.

Wagging the Dog

The normal cause-and-effect routine is that a consulting business exists first, and then it adds a blog to its site or converts its site into a blog. But there is no reason why the opposite can’t happen. Instead of the dog wagging its tail, the tail wags the dog! If you have established yourself as a passionate expert in a field through blogging, helping people in that field for pay is a natural extension of that. This happens more often than you might think. I have done it, and so have other bloggers like Skellie of Skelliewag.

Consulting is a Business

Consulting is a business, and to succeed at it you have to treat it like a business. You spend time doing work for other people who hire you. There is paperwork like tax forms and (sometimes) contracts. You have to deliver results that your clients are happy with so they pay you and recommend others to you.

Ah, yes. You get paid! You can get paid more from consulting for just a few hours than you made all last month with advertising. But there is always work: asking for recommendations, referrals, and testimonials. Negotiating fees. Dealing with the occasional difficult client. Thinking ahead to where you’re going to take the business next.

You can be as expert as you like in anything, but if you can’t deal with people, handle expectations, complete deliverables on time, nail down requirements correctly in the first place, and diplomatically handle differences of opinion between your clients and you, then consider carefully if consulting is right for you. I wasn’t great at all of these things when I first started–and I’m still not where I’d like to be with all of them. Each client and project is a series of lessons learned and triumphs earned. It’s very rewarding and very humbling.

Remember: you’re now wagging the dog. You had a blog that perhaps was monetized via advertising, now you have a business that happens to have a blog. You’ve got to make that switch in your head and in your heart.

How to Get Started in Consulting

Chances are, if you’ve run a blog for any length of time and have raised it up to a respectable level, that you are already seen as an expert. You may have already been approached by people out of the blue, even though you don’t advertise any such thing. If this has happened to you, that’s a good sign. If you have helped people, and the experience and the outcome was positive, that’s also a good sign.

A Few Points to consider:

• What your skills and competencies are for doing work for clients and managing a business.
• What the market is doing: are you filling a gap or entering a crowded market?
• What’s your unique value proposition (UVP or, also, unique selling proposition, or USP)? In other words, what will set your services apart and make you unique and worth other people’s time and money?
• Create a defined set of services.
• Decide what you will not do, for any amount of money.
• Decide how and what you’re going to charge. Start bigger than you think you should. Too many people sell themselves short. Nothing against plumbers, mechanics, accountants, and lawyers, but we all know what they charge per hour, so how valuable are your services compared to theirs?
• Make it obvious that you’re for hire on your blog. Write a page detailing your services, and write it in terms of client benefit. Remember, people want to know WIIFM (what’s in it for me?). Put a contact form on that page even if you already have a contact page–make it easy.
• Write a post announcing that you’re officially in business. Link to your services page.

Summary

I know this is a long post, but I hope you’ve found it worth your time and attention, and that I’ve given you something valuable. Let me sum up the major points:

1. Advertising as a revenue model has its limits.
2. Consulting can earn very good money.
3. Consulting is a big switch so think about it carefully.
4. Consulting is a business and you need to treat it like one.

I Bet this is on your Mind

I’m betting this has been on the minds of many of you. Some of you may already be consultants. Questions, thoughts, and suggestions are welcome from everyone in the comments.