DISQUS

Kevin · 2 years ago

this has to be the best post ive read the last few days. its the blind leading the blind - people who have never made money through the internet giving advice to other people about making money online

charles · 2 years ago

Sadly,the world is filled with get rich schemes..and the Internet is the latest arena for this.
I'm glad that someone has taken note of this and is able to sound the warning for all others.
Remember the age old adage-if it sounds too good to be true, then it is!

david · 2 years ago

You hit the nail on the head.

Zep · 2 years ago

The same applies to SEO and 'Life Improvement' blogs...

Baxter Tocher · 2 years ago

Excellent post.

Have a look around MyBlogLog and there are scores of these. I also agree with Zep's comment about SEO blogs. I've seen two or three of these that have been useful, and lots of others that just regurgitate what's in these.

Joshua Dorkin · 2 years ago

Thanks for all the comments guys. The scary thing is that once you start to realize that there are so many of these, they are instantly recognizable to you.

Andy Beal · 2 years ago

I could probably name a few that made-up your inspiration. Sounds like a ponzi scheme for blogs. ;-)

Anthony Baggett · 2 years ago

It's a shame. It's easy to get caught up in that, and forget why you started blogging in the first place.

Sometimes it seems that the more popular blogs just pass around information and take turns covering the same topic. I'm not trying to call anyone particular out, but it makes you stop and think, "What's the point?"

Jonathan-C. Phillips · 2 years ago

haha, pretty scary that's for sure! great post bro! i'm definitely more interested in blogs that don't write about making money online but actually make some decent money, for instance stevepavlina.com. it's sad that a lot of people are trying to target "make money online" with their new blogs, when john chow already does that and is ranked #1 in google

i'm not a huge fan of "content regurgitation" anyway hehe

Karen is Thrifty · 2 years ago

Yep, the internet is full of schemes and people trying to make a buck. Fortunately, there are some good blogs out there that I've found along the way.

Joshua Dorkin · 2 years ago

I think the irony is that many of have a few sites in mind that serve as the inspiration for all this nonsense. I'm pretty sure there are at least one or 2 that we have in common!

Kumiko · 2 years ago

As an author of a "make money online" blog, I found your post quite interesting. Personally, I've never claimed to have any knowledge about making money online but am simply trying to do so and if anybody wants to watch me succeed and/or fail, they're more than welcome! Will this lead to the internet burning down in flames? Probably.

The question that struck me while reading your post though is how much a blogger would have to earn before you considered them an authority? $100? $500? $10000?

Joshua Dorkin · 2 years ago

Hey Kumiko. I'm glad you found the post interesting. I don't think authority is built from the amount of money you make alone, but it is an important aspect. The problem I've been seeing, especially recently, is that people who have little to no experience are trying to tell others what to do to "be successful online." It is a joke.

There are so many "so-called" authorities out there who know nothing of what they are talking about, but pretend to. The scariest part is that people who know even less actually believe their hype and BS.

Maki · 2 years ago

"The purpose of these sites is to push affiliate programs and ad networks without offering anything concrete to anyone..."

I do agree with this part. I find that most 'make money online' blogs focus too much on just promoting advertising programs and far too little on long-term site building strategies.

The range of topics they cover is rather limited as well and only feature a cursory look at a topic in order to give them yet another opportunity to spit out a referral link.

Nothing really wrong with doing that, but I personally don't read blogs like that, nor do I find them helpful in any way.

Joshua Dorkin · 2 years ago

Thanks for your input Maki! For those of you who don't know Maki, he is the author of one of the absolute best blogs out there! Please visit his site as you are promised quality reads every day!

alamster · 2 years ago

internet is about spread information, networking and affiliate

seems that make money online is universal language beside English :-)

Joshua Dorkin · 2 years ago

It does seem like making money online is becoming a common thread around the world. I've seen bloggers from many countries with English make money online website. I wonder if there are as many in their native tongues.

neil · 2 years ago

Awesome post. I started to notice this lately too. I started my own site back in November. I only read a few blogs and no more because I didn't have time. Earlier this year I started looking for more to read and there are so many get-rich-quick type blogs out there it is driving me nuts. Rehashing all the same stuff over and over.

Especially annoying are the links that bloggers put up for some great site to help you, but it is of course a referral link and they don't mention that. I make a point of typing in the link myself.

Joshua Dorkin · 2 years ago

Thanks Neil. I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in getting a headache from all those guys.

Phoenixx · 2 years ago

Hi Josh! As a newbie to all this blogging stuff, I found your post very interesting (btw, thanks for the visit). You made real good point with this article - there are just too many "Make money online" type of blogs authored by people with no credibility. But, what is even worse, it seems that people just can't get enough of it so it makes sense why is that number rapidly increasing. For a someone like me, who had no previous internet money making experiences, it is really easy to get hooked and to start doing exact the same things as others. I mean, why wouldn't I if it is "proved" to be successful - vicious circle indeed. If someone is enough web-savvy, it won't take long before he from reader becomes an author of his own "make money online by following my tips" type of blog. I have to admit,sometimes I catch myself in thinking about doing the same thing, ( I even made that catchy description of my blog " Make Money Online with Life laboratory - secret formula of success revealed!" on BlogCatalog and it seems to attract attention without any promotion). Furthermore, English is not my native language so it seems that I could easily fit in the accused category of bloggers :D
Hopefully, my blog won't turn that way, as I just don't feel comfortable teaching others something I'm not good at. Yesterday I started post series about Top 6 bloggers that inspired me - just to make the point that they are not blogging about how to make money with blogs, and yet, they are very successful.
As I can tell from my 11 days blogging experience (yup, all that long :D), blogging about blogging takes a lot of time, and that time could be for many people better spent elsewhere. There are so many niches out there with a lot of space for improvements. The way I see it, my major success will be by creating resource/online community/ type of sites and not by blogging. ( who knows, maybe I manage to save the internet :D)

P.S. You are the first one who got link in my blogroll :)

Gary Cao · 2 years ago

Hi there Joshua,
Thanks for submitting this post to my blog carnival.
The first moment I skimmed it, I thought "This guy must have submitted to the wrong carnival, it has nothing to do with my topic!".
But then I was just tempted to read the headline of the post again and again and it made me think a lot.
I would like to deeply thank you for enlightening me and saving me out of that cycle. Really.
Honestly, the original reason I started my blog is to make money. I was desperate for money that moment, and really money was the thing that clouded my mind, I couldn't think of anything else.
Now I can see that I'm so lucky to have read your post, and really I'm embarassed to be at the 3rd step of that cycle. But it was still easy to turn away from it.
Blogging about making money is not a bad thing. But prioritizing money as the very first reason to blog is just stupid. Planning to take something without thinking about giving first is foolish. I was that stupid guy who thought that by imitating Mike's Making Money journey, or John Chow, or Dosh Dosh, I would make as much money as they do. Now I know that I couldn't compare with them. They offer values to their readers, while I don't.
Thank you again for opening my eyes. I just have to work harder.

Joshua Dorkin · 2 years ago

Gary,
Of the 3 you've mentioned, I do have to say that Dosh Dosh does WAY more then focus on money. It is actually one of the best blogs I know of on the topic of blogging. As for your thoughts on your blog, I suppose I'm glad to have opened your eyes . . . don't blog for money. The money will come if you do a great job blogging! If I was able to help you out at all with this or any other post, I suppose I'm doing my job.

Good luck to you and your blog! Feel free to contact me with any thoughts, comment, questions.

Ed G. · 2 years ago

Of course you're right. It's all a variation on the old trick of placing a classified ad offering a fool-proof get rich quick scheme to everyone who sends in $5. Those who do get a sheet of paper advising, "All you have to do is place a classified ad offering a fool-proof get rich quick scheme..."

Having said this, there is such a thing as a legitimate blogging business (e.g. Gawker). And there are many for-profit online businesses that use blogging as a marketing tool.

It would be useful to post a list of genuine "how-to" resources for those who wish to learn how to operate such businesses: legitimate tutorials and guides as opposed to crap that usually begins with the words, "You, too, can..."

Joshua Dorkin · 2 years ago

Ed -
I've been posting the tutorials that you speak of right here on TimeforBlogging!

Ed G. · 2 years ago

> I’ve been posting the tutorials that you speak
> of right here on TimeforBlogging!
Yes, you have, and I enjoy the useful, hype-free info. It's very refreshing compared to the endless regurgitations of "Here's how to sign up for AdSense" one finds all over the 'Net!

Joshua Dorkin · 2 years ago

Thanks Ed! I appreciate your complement!

Simonne · 2 years ago

What you say is very interesting. It is so true that we can read the same info on lots of blogs everyday! Yet, put yourself in the authors' shoes for a second. This is exactly the beauty of Internet: you can publish yourself to the world. If you, as an author, are happy just to play the megaphone and amplify other people's words, it's just fine. You'll get the readers you deserve. If you aim to be the first to say certain things, then I suppose you have a problem. I've been watching for a while John Chow. Whenever some news for bloggers were hot, he blogged about that without even caring that ProBlogger was just blogging about the same thing 1-2 hours before. Is John Chow one of those who crowd the virtual space blogging about nothing? Most people would say no. Because many others are very weak when it comes to personal branding, does not mean that they should better go sleep or do something else instead of blogging. Let them copy if so they wish. Nobody is forced to read anything.

Nevertheless, I liked your post and I'm glad I discovered your blog (be it about nothing or something). I wish you would have published some examples with this post, to make it more specific. You saw what Kumiko said. In which category would her blog has fallen if you gave names?

Dusko Savic · 2 years ago

Hi

Well, what a coincidence. Just today, as the very third post on my blog, I posted an article on "How to make another StevePavlina.com". It turns out that most of the people will not be able to really do it -- they won't have enough lifetime engagement and experience to make a critical mass of blog posts to attract sufficient number of visitors.

I apologise if calling you to read an article on my blog is bad blogging etiquette, but in this case I think it is in direct connection to the theme of this Josh's article on proliferation of proliferation.

Also, we use the same theme... one more thing to learn from Josh!

Chris @ Martial Development · 2 years ago

I see two ways to succeed in this market:

1) Be the first.
2) Be the best.

Today we have some very popular bloggers who achieved success mostly by being first. And they are trying to give us all tips on how to be the best. Naturally, following their advice does not produce the desired results.

Jaison · 2 years ago

Very useful info

Dunstan · 2 years ago

It's a chain reaction.

Warhammer · 2 years ago

Yeah, totally agree man.

Ed · 2 years ago

hah, I found this funny. Funny because it's true = )

Clark Financial · 2 years ago

This is the most accurate blog post I've ever seen. I can't imagine that most blogs make any money.

entrepreneur blog · 1 year ago

Ok, great post, but I'd like to share an exception to the say-nothing make-money blogs out there, because I've found one that's really helping me create niche websites: theuniversitykid.com.
The info is very specific and the blog author, Jason, even answered a question that I emailed him. Check it out--- it's really helping me!