It seems like so many people that make any money online as bloggers want to teach others how to do the same, and that’s ok for the most part as long as you’re honest. But at what point is it ok to start teaching others? When are you yourself even qualified to do so?
In this article I’m going to be discussing this subject because I see so many beginner bloggers trying to teach other beginners. It’s really a bad idea for BOTH the “teacher” and the student if the teacher isn’t ready, and I’ll tell you why.
When it’s ok to teach others how to be bloggers
This is just my opinion, but I think you should wait until you yourself are a full-time blogger before you teach others. However, if you are just teaching others below your skill level, then it becomes ok.
What you should do instead
If you are fairly new to blogging but already making a little money, you may want to start teaching others how to get to where you are. Let’s say that you created your niche website a year ago and it’s now making $1000/mo.
Ethically it’s ok to teach others how to get to your level. But your time is better spent elsewhere, so in my opinion you’re losing money by trying to be a beginner teaching beginners.
If you are simply looking for an outlet then approach your brand in a different way. Don’t try and sell yourself as an expert, but as someone who is learning and others can follow along and learn from your mistakes.
Follow my journey approach
I see many people starting their personal brands around blogging in this manner, and it’s totally fine. I think even for this approach you should wait until you’re making at least some side hustle money (maybe $300-$500/month). With this approach you can still drop affiliate links in to your hosting platform of choice and other software companies.
You can do this with a blog or a YouTube channel, or both. I would caution you to not cover topics that are too big for you and the very topic seems disingenuous coming from a person of your level.
For instance, I would never create a piece of content titled “How to make a blog that makes $100k/month”. I’ve never done that before. Just like someone that has never created a successful niche website shouldn’t be writing a piece of content titled “Top 6 ways to choose a niche”.
If a person has never even gotten past the choosing a niche phase, they certainly shouldn’t be telling others how to do so. It would never rank in a million years anyway that topic is so saturated.
What I’m saying is, if you go this route then stick to publishing content that is at your level. Most people do that I personally follow on YouTube, but not all.
Get involved in the community
If you’re just looking for an outlet, and most of us are, then simply get involved in the community. Start following small YouTubers and joining Facebook groups. Make comments and ask questions. People will get to know you and you’ll feel like you have people to talk to about your secret life of blogging and niche websites.
When it becomes dishonest
Teaching another person how to do something that you yourself do not know how to effectively do, while giving the impression that you do, is dishonest. Lying about income reports, faking screenshots, or telling people they can make large amounts of money with little work in a short amount of time is also dishonest, and it’s predatory.
If you truly make money as a blogger and have any experience in this industry, then you know it’s not easy to be successful. Especially for newcomers, most burn out quickly. It’s actually hard work and people should know that from the beginning.
Why people want to teach others
Look, I get it. When you learn how to make money from niche websites, it’s like you’ve struck gold in a way. But it’s gold that can be shared with other people and not affect your gold supply. Here are a few reasons why people want to teach others how to blog.
An outlet and to make a little money
For most of us in this industry, we don’t know anyone in our day-to-day lives that is remotely interested in blogging. So we have no one to talk about it, and it pretty much consumes our thoughts at all times which leads us to searching for an outlet.
Someone to talk to and shoot the breeze with about internet marketing, even if it’s shouting into a void on a blog or a YouTube channel.
We’ve developed our own strategies, and some of those we don’t mind sharing. So we create a niche site about teaching others how to make money with niche sites. That’s what I did. This website is just an outlet for me, I don’t sell any products here and I may never.
I don’t like the idea of having customers that depend on me. I got out of client work because I don’t like have to do support or answer to anyone, but I don’t mind sharing sometimes and helping others in a limited capacity when I have the downtime.
Once you’ve created a decent amount of content and started getting some traffic, you might as well make a little money for your efforts. It’s only fair. Software products in this niche usually have good affiliate commissions.
Grow an audience and sell products
This is the motive behind a lot of people creating their own “Learn how to make money blogging” brand. There’s no denying that there can be big money in a course, but it’s also going to be a lot of work.
You may think, once you create the course it’s pretty passive. I have no experience with creating a course, but I’m going to say that there is plenty of work maintaining a course. Because now you have customers, customers that are going to want things from you. Customers that will sometimes be unhappy. No thanks.
There are of course many other types of products you can create and sell to an audience that wants to learn how to make money blogging. Some example might be a WP plugin or a SAAS product that makes it easier for beginners.
As an example, a guy in a few of the Facebook groups I’m in created a keyword tool and is marketing it to an audience he has built up over the last few years, which has been a great strategy for him.
Not for me because I wouldn’t want to deal with the support side of things, but if that doesn’t bother you then a similar approach could work if you have the great product ideas.
Why it’s best to wait
Plain and simple, this is why you should not start trying to teach others too soon. Even if it’s the follow my journey approach.
If your real goal is to make passive income from blogs, then every minute you take away from doing that hurts your future income. If you’re dumping dozens or even hundreds of hours into a small Youtube channel and it’s barely making any money, is it even worth it?
The reason I haven’t done anything on my YouTube channel in months is because I’m not seeing a ROI for my time spent on it. I know that if I spend 8 hours on my blogs that will turn into money in my bank account within a few months. Money that will keep pouring in for years, because of the evergreen content I publish.
I feel like with YouTube or even a blog about blogging, it’s just time away from the real goal which is to build passive income from niche websites. Or at least that’s my goal. I don’t make any money from this site, so I’m pretty much just donating my time here. I see no return on investment, and I’m ok with that.
When it’s time to make money though, I open up my master topic spreadsheet and one of my niche sites. Maybe I’ll assign out a few topics to writers, write and article myself, or edit and publish one. The point is I’m always working towards hitting publish on one of my niche sites because they pay the bills.
Don’t cripple your growth by spending half of your time creating content about how to make money blogging, when you could spend all of your time making money blogging.
Once you reach a certain point in your business, and you can automate and outsource most of the work, go ahead and build that Youtube audience if you want.
Final notes
I know a lot of people work hard on their Youtube channels and I respect that, I know it’s hard work. I just don’t see the same return from this niche (making money blogging) as I do something more mainstream.
Follow the traffic and follow the money. Both are going to be in more well-known niches than blogging. Unless you’re selling a product, it’s going to be tough to make much money as a blogger teaching other bloggers how to blog. Not impossible, just hard, and especially hard for beginners.
That’s why I’ll probably never depend on the Niche Informer brand as a real source of income.