Anthony Licari

Yes, I'm co opting a Thom Yorke line for the title of my post. Hopefully the squirrely Brit doesn't sue my ass. He brings up a point and I'm sure web design/development was what he had in mind when he wrote that line. I love to dream, a lot of us do. Maybe some of us dream of a new G55 AMG or an unlimited supply of Eastern Mediterranean women (Okay, so my dreams are specific) but as a dreamer you now have something that you desire and desire does what? Creates a market. Any idea you have I'm willing to bet money there's some dude working out in his shed on that idea already. Any market driven on emotions is dangerous and the dreamers market brings out the sirens ready to take your cash in exchange for (hopefully) moving you closer to your dream.

The Lure
Wordsmiths know all about the lure. Luring people in is fun for a lot of people. I'm guilty of it. I love to argue and point out inconsistencies. After hanging around someone for a few minutes I can usually figure out exactly what needs to be said in one line to set them off in a spiraling abyss. That's for those of us who just have fun with it. There's the other side of the lure which is used to profit off those same emotions. Rather than sending negative panders your way they hit you with lines of making money, being successful, showing other people who are seemingly incompetent that have made it. You start thinking to yourself "I am smarter than that guy, if he can do it I can do it!"

A Means to an End
Problem. That's merely a means to an end. It blows me away at how many people think there's some secret that all the profitable bloggers and website owners are doing that no one else knows about. Do you want to know what that secret is? They enjoy what they do. Regardless of being paid they would still be doing what they're doing. Would you still sign up to flip houses with Carlton Sheets if you knew ahead of time you were going to break even? For most people, that's a no. Would you be writing blog posts regardless of profit?

Focus
I'm not trying to rain on your parade but most people who are chasing the money making dream by following these bloggers that write about making money are looking for a means to an end. My recommendation is to change your focus. Still pay attention to them because they do offer helpful tips from time to time despite their obvious sales funnel for getting you to purchase their eBook or click thru affiliates. Shift your focus more to design and development blogs. How to make your site better, how to write better articles, etc.

That's my perception of the situation and it makes me want to pull my hair out while I watch my twitter stream. "10 Quick Ways to Make Money Online" .. "Start Making Money Online Today!." It takes a lot for me to swear out loud when no one's around and seeing that crap does it every time.

Are You Sure?
The siren is relentless. It will constantly be pulling you towards worrying about traffic, advertisements, marketing when most of the time you're gaining little or nothing that is practical for a relatively small blog. The best thing for your blog is to make sure you're writing about something you would be doing regardless of money. I have blank ads on my site and they could stay that way forever. I'm just elated that people are reading my blog and that's all that matters. The other thing is to be true to yourself. You're not writing an essay for English comp. All distinguished authors have their own style and bend the rules. What makes you think you'll break out from nothingness by writing like a text book?

Conclusion
My conclusion is that I have a new theme for my site that I was working on last night and today so I put off posting. This post is along the lines of the chapter Mindset for Blogging that's in my upcoming eBook which is what prompted it. Just my luck, right before I hit "submit" ProBlogger has a new post called "7 Principles of Launching a Six Figure Blog" ... Principle #1, stop spending time reading blogs that don't move you towards your goals. Principle #2, read Principle #1. Anyway, just a quick post for you guys... some food for thought. My new theme should be live tomorrow on my site and I have a tutorial series I'll be starting next week on page layout(grid) and real estate on your site.