Owning social assets are key to making money online

My next project to launch is iBlogForMoney.com. So far, I have been really excited about this site. The main purpose of the site is to show someone how to not only build a great blog that will keep people coming back from day to day, but also how to make a bit of money on the way doing it. One could say, Louis, that’s just another one of the thousands of “make money online” type of blogs.

You would be right.

However, in the clutter of the “make money online” niche, I feel that I do have a unique approach on how to go about setting myself apart from the rest of the herd. Plus, how can I throw away such a great domain name that I have been patiently waiting to buy for most of 2008.

The problem that has kept me from really pushing out the last 10% of development left before launch is, right now, I feel the Internet is in a transitional phase.

Creating a blog that will not only gain readers, but also survive the test of time is harder than ever. As a reader, you have so many blogs to choose from. While I am confident in my ability to produce a very engaging blog, I am left wondering about 2004 to 2006.

For those of you that may not realize the significance of those years in terms of blogging. Take a look at the “about” section of one of your favorite, popular blogs. Chances are, they launched sometime in or around that two year window. Blog popularity sky-rocketed. If you were one of the innovators during that time-period, you are most likely reaping unheard of rewards right now… that is, if you did it correctly.

So why am I reminiscing about the past? We are in one of those periods right now! However, instead of blogs, which revolved around the ideas of one person, the hot keyword for the post blogging bubble is social.

Social networks are popping up like crazy. Instead of focusing on one person’s thoughts and ideas, give users a place to go and let them focus on whatever their hearts desire. It can be anything from focusing on a particular person, conversation, or even posting an article of their own. Owning these types of social assets are where there is money to be made.

If social asset is a new term to you. Let me explain.

Becoming rich is about how many assets you own over liabilities. The simplest concept you must master if you want to be rich. Without going into too much detail, assets are things that put money into your pocket, while liabilities take money from you. If you want a great book to start reading about becoming rich, I recommend Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

Owning a blog or a website in which you hope to make money from is just like owning a business. For many, their blog would be considered a liability. Why? Instead of taking money out of your pocket, your website is taking time away from you. If you are not seeing a return on that time invested, you have a liability on your hands. By the nature of running a blog, you are going to spend a considerable amount of time keeping fresh content posted no matter how successful you become. If there is nothing new being posted on your blog, traffic will dwindle, and so will your readers. So, very rarely would I consider a blog an asset.

What you want to own are social assets.

Owning any type of social site that after its launch you rely on users to submit content, post pictures, or interaction in any way is my definition of a social asset. While there may still be a need for you to invest time on the site, if you choose to skip a day or two your site will still be fully functional and growing. An added benefit to creating a social asset is that after launch, you can devote your time to doing it all over again.

Back to my problem. My Japanese pop culture blog, is approaching half a million page views per month. While I love Japanese culture, and run the blog as a way to stay connected with what’s going on in Japan, I honestly can’t see myself successfully being able to devote as much time to creating a second and third blog of that caliber. So rather than put myself through that headache, I want to turn to iBlogForMoney.com into a social asset like the rest of my upcoming projects.

Am I a hypocrite for starting a site about making money from your blog when I myself don’t feel that a blog is the best way to make money? Depends on how you look at it. For those that are looking to make a bit of money from writing about their passions or interests, I hope iBlogForMoney.com will give you some insights on what works and what isn’t worth your time. But if you are looking to making a living off of your blog, there are better ways to do it.

So right now I am a bit torn in which direction I want to go. I would be a bit sad to throw away months of work that I have put into iBlogForMoney.com, but I know in the long run, creating a social asset is the logical route to take.

My next project to launch is iBlogForMoney.com. So far, I have been really excited about this site. The main purpose of the site is to show someone how to not only build a great blog that will keep people coming back from day to day, but also how to make a bit of money on […]