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Is it time to start your own blog and do away with the residual income sites?
There are a lot of people writing at residual income sites. I use them daily and love them. However, I’ve very picky at the residual income sites I write at. I also love my own blogs.
But do you really need to choose between them? As a writer, there is a place for both residual sites and your own blog. There are some major benefits to starting your own blog over residual income sites that I can’t deny, though.
Could it be time to start your own blog? Here’s why it could be better for you than just using residual income sites.
Build your own business
You currently make money writing at residual income sites. Your own blog isn’t getting you very far, or you’re worried that starting one up won’t replace your residual income money.
Well, that’s not entirely true.
When you have your own blog, you will earn 100% of all the income. And you have more control over what type monetization you put on the site. You decide where to put the ads and how many of them to display.
You lose all control with residual income sites. You’re writing to make someone else rich. Okay, so it’s not completely like that but you’re building someone else’s site up for them.
You’d be better building your own business.
It’s easier to develop a niche with your own blog
When you blog on your own site, you can develop your own niche. This is something that I tell so many people to do but get a lot of restraint.
I get it. Really, I do.
I was one of those who thought they didn’t need a niche. After all, residual income sites aren’t niche based.
But boy was I wrong! Once I developed a niche, I could develop a following. I accidentally fell into one of my niches, but it makes me money every month without me actually doing much for it anymore. I’ve written very little new content! But it’s because I’ve already built the following.
When you put your content on a residual income site, you can’t develop a niche for the whole site. People will write on different subjects.
Those who came to a site for a photography post won’t stick around and read your content about crocheting stuffed octopuses. You can develop a niche within the residual income sites, but it’s much harder than having your own blog.
Even a residual income site that is a niche will still have some problems. There are still multiple writers covering different topics within the niche. Take Entertainment for example. If you want to just write about one TV show and build an audience around that, there are still writers covering other TV shows.
You’ll feel more comfortable sharing your own blog with prospective clients
When writing for money, you’ll look at getting private clients. They always want to see samples of your work and will be interested in where you’ve been published. If you have small residual income sites that aren’t well known and are full of poor content from other writers, you won’t want to share them.
Poor quality content is one of the problems of residual income sites. It’s why so many have closed down. You have no control over what someone else writers.
When you start your own blog, you have full control. You put your content up there and can accept guest posts or sponsored posts as and when you please.
There’s more confidence in your blog and you will share it with prospective clients.
What about new niches when you start your own blog?
There’s one reason I still choose to write at residual income sites. I get to try out new niches! There’s also room for content that doesn’t quite fit with my other niches, but I really want to get out there.
Because of residual income sites, I’ve found a love for wedding blogging and I have been able to trial out various niches that I’ve later created my own blogs for. I’d never have been able to do that if I had to start my own blog each and every time—I needed somewhere with some sort of good ju-ju to see if the niches were going to be profitable.
I always make sure that the I write at good sites. I don’t want my name posted anywhere online. You can still make money writing at residual income sites when you choose ones that have a good standing with Google and where the owners are interested in quality over quantity.
Some of the places I recommend to write at include:
- HubPages
- Wizzley
- Medium
There aren’t many that are on my list. These are places that I still have accounts at. While I’m not overly active anymore, I will still regularly share my content from the sites without feeling embarrassed and I do have plans to write more now and then when I have a niche that doesn’t fit with my blogs.
And okay, so some of this you can do with a free blog. But do you really want to keep creating free blogs for each new niche that you have an idea for? Do you want to come up with new URL ideas and handle the layout, even if it is for free? You’re still using up time. I don’t want to do it with everything that I do!
Can you make money writing at residual income sites?
Honestly, my opinions are unpopular among professional writers. There are so many telling you that you have to start your own blog and you shouldn’t write for other people’s sites.
That opinion just seems so narrow-minded. I also get this feeling that these writers belittle others for not taking the steps to have their own website.
While I think having your own blog is powerful and a good money-maker, I also believe that you can make money writing at residual income sites when you do it right.
There is still some money in residual income sites. I’m proof of that. It’s time to stop the writing snobbery!
MORE: 4 ways I find out more about any writing site
What do you struggle with when it comes to writing? Will you start your own blog? Share your thoughts in the comments below.