In this post Kevin Sanders shares some introductory reasons to take a hobby and blog about it. In effect this is the way that I personally got into blogging – there was no intent of my blogs being anything more than hobbies in my early days – but out of writing about things I was passionate about emerged a business…. Now it’s over to Kevin….
I’ve been going to the gym for about twenty years. I’m not a professional bodybuilder or fitness instructor – lifting weights is just a hobby of mine. But I’ve learned a lot over the years, and I’ve even trained some of my friends. I often give (free) advice about exercise, diet and supplements.
I asked myself this question about ten months ago: Why haven’t I created a fitness blog? I loved the topic, and I already knew the basics of blogging.
So I did it – I created StrongandFit.net. I started blogging, using tips I learned here at problogger.net. Slowly but surely, the traffic started coming. My fitness blog is now most visited (and most profitable) blog. My only regret is I didn’t start it sooner.
Here’s my point: I think there are millions of people who have untapped earning potential in their hobbies (a certain blogger’s digital photography hobby comes to mind). They’ve just never taken the time to share their valuable experiences and expertise online.
Here are some advantages to blogging about your hobby:
Ready-made niche
All the pros agree – you should choose a niche you are passionate about. Well, a hobby is something you already love enough to do with your free time. Seems like the perfect place to start!
Ready-made posts
You’ve probably already invested time, effort, and money into your hobby. Maybe you’ve even answered questions about it or shown others how to get involved. In other words, you probably already have dozens of posts swimming around in your head. All you have to do is take the time and write them down.
Ready-made affiliate opportunities
Most hobbies have books, magazines, equipment, or other products/services. You’ve probably already invested in some of these and formed an opinion regarding which are most valuable. In other words, you are already set to endorse certain products. Your reviews could earn money and help others make good choices.
Re-Energize your hobby
Blogging could get you more involved in something you’re already passionate about. It could even get you back into something you once enjoyed. The process of blogging (research, forums, etc) has an energy to it that ads to the fun.
No expertise necessary
What if you are a novice? No problem! Just be honest about it and invite others along your journey – share what you are doing. Here’s an example from the fitness niche: I’ve seen several blogs created by overweight individuals who want to document their weight loss journey. Some of these are quite inspirational.
If you never make money, it’s OK – its just a hobby
As Darren has pointed out, most of us probably won’t make big money from blogging. My blog is making a little money for me, but I’m nowhere near ready to quit my day job. But that’s the beauty of a hobby blog – you’ll have so much fun you’ll be willing to wait for the profits.
Final Thoughts:
You have a hobby, don’t you? What are you waiting for? Start a blog and monetize it! You have nothing to lose.
I agree “you should choose a niche you are passionate about.” Blogging is fun when you really love it, but if you just blog for money, well it is not gonna be fun but frustrated.
Hobby blogs can be one of the most profitable aspects of making money online imaginable! The possibilities are endless – you can create a free 7 day eclass that has links to affiliate programs, you can brand yourself as an expert by answering niche questions on your blog, you can start your own newsletter or membership site…..it just takes that critical commitment to make it so. Definitely it’s something worth looking into.
Agree. It’s always easier to write on something you are passionate about than just for the sake of making money. It will show in your writing sooner or later. Or when you run out of topic or just couldn’t find the inspiration to write any longer.
Blogging niche in my honest opinion should always be on things you are passionate about.
I don’t really have a hobby, but perhaps I should take one up just to blog about it, haha, because I dig blogging. I’d like to learn how to make models (figurines and characters) so I guess that’d be something to think about.
Thanks for the awesome post. It’s really inspired me.
Very good tips Kevin.
I agree if you are blogging about something that you are passionate about, that blog will be more successful…
Thanks for the comments, guys.
Corey, if you decide to pursue that hobby, why not? You’d probably have some fun if nothing else.
I started my website Scrapbook Update as a hobby blog about my scrapbooking and in the past 5 years it has evolved into the basis of a full-time freelance writing and blogging career. Scrapbook Update is now the most recognized source for trade news in the scrapbook industry, and I write regularly for several other industry publications and co-host a weekly podcast as well.
My work isn’t just restricted to the scrapbook industry, though. It opened doors for me to write articles on autism, technology, and genealogy for several other magazines.
I also recently joined the GigaOM Network as a contributing writer for their WebWorkerDaily site.
You just never know what can happen from your “hobby” blog!
I do agree that staring a blog that you have a passion on or hobby.
This way you will be able to sustain it longer and what you write is based on your experience, and thus very unique from others.
Of course you must have some basic knowledge on blogging first then you can position yourself better.
This is the most talked about topic and many people says same thing. Nice to see that this kind of things always works and still working.
Because you never feel bore about this and you keep posting new things.
Your brain love to think about these topics and this is the main mantra.
Great post. I can’t imagine having a blog about something you don’t love. Blog about something you love, and it will come naturally. For me, it’s about dining/restaurants/food/wine and the ideas and perks I receive from it couldn’t be better. Who can complain about receiving boxes of chocolate and wine in the mail and telling people about it?
This was a great guest post. Good, new advice, short and well written. One of the better guest posts this week.
That’s really how I got into blogging as well and why I continue to blog. There are lots of others blogging about crafting and other hobbies, so once you get into it, you’ll find a great group of fellow bloggers in the same niche who will support you and visa versa.
Conclusion of this article:
1.you should choose a niche you are passionate about.
2.take the time and write them down.
3.affiliate opportunities
4.Adds to the fun
5.most of us probably won’t make big money from blogging
At last one point i Would like to add whether you earn even a single penny or not from your blog but the amount of knowledge that you have gained while doing research for your article is not going anywhere.That knowledge you’ll possess through out your life and that is very important.Even i follow the same concept on my blog.
@Corey Freeman: Well if you dig blogging, perhaps blog about blogging? Or about writing in general? But your idea does sound more original. Good luck!
Nice post to the guest poster though.
i agree.. Even Darren start with his photography hobby..
U will get more traffic after this post…
Keep up good work..
So the key to writing about hobbies is that you know a particular field inside out (or at least have a good understanding about it).
When I created my blog, I took the same principle, but applied it to work instead of hobby.
I work in IT, so many of the above points that you make apply to my day job. So I started blogging about it and it has been going pretty well so far.
Same concept, different application.
-Arif
Thanks for the comments, guys.
Corey, if you decide to pursue that hobby, why not? You’d probably have some fun if nothing else.
This is right up my alley! I am definitely not a professional blogger, but I do write about a few of my hobbies, such as Linux, mentoring, and other Christian aspects of life. It works for me and it is growing a little following. Now I just need to start finding ways to translate that into a cash flow, which I hope will come about from some of the thoughts in this post! Thanks!
Everyday or so I ask myself “what is my passion in life?” and I truly have a hard time coming up with a quick answer. I do know that I enjoy reading and commenting on blogs, but writing a worthwhile one full of valuable content still seems to elude me.
I have hobbies, like cooking, tennis & watching television and of those three I think I could expand on them. But would anyone really be interested?
Personally, I´m blogging not just because I am passionate about the topic. I´m doing it because I ´m interested to get as much attention from other people to the problem as possible since I think there are some changes needed in niche I´m writing about , so when the wider audience know about problems the stronger likelihood there is that it is really gonna change.
To blog about thing your hobby is a great idea. you dont need to waste your time write things you already know. it great and good way to go about blogging.
http://www.heart2coast.com
If you have hobby then it can be become your business in future.
This is good idea to monetize your hobby.
Thanks for sharing this tip
This is pretty much what I told a friend but more than a hobby blog, I said setup a concept that he is familiar with and know about rather than learning something new from scratch and then trying to make it work. I know he wants to do this to replace his job which is why it’s not a good idea to do it as “new”. However, in relation to the subject matter here of hobby blogging, for those wanting to make it a monetized business, just make sure you don’t quit your job yet :)
I have created a little in-depth introduction to blogging for those newbies out there that would love to blog about their hobbies or make money from blogging. You may check out my NoMoreF For Bloggers for more details. see ya all.
I’ve wanted to pick a really expensive hobby/niche, something that I couldn’t actually afford to do and blog about that. Then hopefully the blog will pay for me do someday do it.
Great post!!! Keep up the great work!!!
My Interent jhobby has allowed me to be my own boss,
Don
Dude, I don’t want to be mean, but your website looks god awful.
Ads all over the place, navigational links scatter all over the place.
You have a cool website name, i think you need a graphic designer to give you a professional logo and a clean blog design.
Great Post. Concise and true!!! It really helps to write about the things that you love – if it is a topic you are passionate about then you never tire of writing and it is astonishing how much you can know!
Thanks for the great post. Hobbies make the best blogging topics because it something we are already passionate about and have knowledge of.
My own blog started out with my hobbies of writing and literature (reading) and has evolved to include publishing and ebooks.
Another added bonus of blogging about your hobby is meeting people with the same interest as you and belonging to a community.
I did have a hobby blog for a while (lucid dreaming), but in the end I ran out of steam and dropped it. I’ve tried restarting it a few times but it has never worked out. And my other hobbies are kind of flooded niches. But I do like the idea, and I agree that there is a vast pool of material waiting for anyone who starts one. Nice post.
Blogging about hobbies is the perfect way to get started in your online adventures. And users get a lot out of them. It’s like reading a book on quilting by an expert and then going to yoru aunts house and letting her give you tips. Always better!
Kevin this post is simply OUTSTANDING! I am a college junior and I am very new to the blogosphere, however I have become so passionate about blogging and Web 2.0 that I have been pushing all my friends for months on end to join the “movement” and start blogging about what they love.
Your article speaks to me and really hit home. I will be passionately spreading this article to all my friends that I have been talking about blogging to for so long!
Thanks for writing this post. Very well said and well-explained, yet concise enough to be a great read.
After being laid off last year (for the first time in over 30 years of employment) I decided to follow my hobby, my passion: genealogy. And not only blog about it, but set up a site to help others blog about their own family history – GeneaBloggers.com.
The way I see it: here in the US with our Baby Boomer generation just reaching retirement age, many will be spending more time on their current hobbies or finding new ones. And one that seems to be popular is the search for one’s roots and ancestry.
“If you never make money, it’s OK – its just a hobby”
Yup that is so true. Although in a way, it makes me lazy to try earning more from my blog :(
So I guess it can be a good and a bad thing at the same time
I agree, this pretty much sums it up for blogging in general. Even with no affiliate opportunities, if you pick a topic you are passionate about chances are you’ll find some way to make money with your blog.
Rob,
I was actually thinking about adjusting the look of the blog a bit, so thanks for the input. I’m really not interested in hiring a professional designer, but I’m going take some of the ads off of the main page and try to “clean things up” a bit.
I’m also looking into another template.
Happy Fathers Day to the all the Blogging Dads out there!!!
I have seen many sports related blogs where the writers are big fans of the team and love to write about their team. They also make some money on the side while getting tax deductions for running an online business.
My blog is centered around my passion (genealogy/family history) and I think one of the reasons this approach works is that since I am part of that community my writing is naturally geared to a certain type of audience that wants what I want!
After revamping my site (based on Problogger suggestions like more effective interlinking of my pages) my traffic and page views are steadily increasing and I’m meeting lots of great people. What a great feeling!
Good post. Blogging as a hobby is much better than doing it for profit because you wont have that feeling of giving up when your expectations are not met.
I started my blog about 2 years back and i only wrote stuff i was passionate about – my hobbies. :) At present the site is making substantial side income, i’m going into full time blogging soon. :) Best partne the site is that it’s now recognized by the major brands in the industry and i often get more toys to play with.
The beauty of this type of blogging is that you’re immersed into something that you love instead of doing a slavery type of job that you have to do for making a living. Besides, you don’t have to wear that bitter smile anymore, because you already have worn a natural pleasant one.
I strongly believe in the saying “Blog about those topics you are in love with”. So it’s a very good idea about blogging on the topics on which you have a little bit of mastery..
Awesome post! I especially loved the format of this post.
I have been waiting for a post where I can say, yes that’s me I’m that type of blogger and here it is. I am a hobby blogger and I absolutely love it.
I have tried affiliates schemes but they have not been successful because my heart isn’t into making money, its into the passion of the subject, in my case growing vegetables in my back garden.
Great post and good luck with your blog Kevin.
Beside as hobby, we can write from our jobs too. I am a finance consultant. To be honest I do not like finance but sometimes i write about finances
Some very valid points. Ultimately there’s no point blogging about something you don’t like and a huge point to blogging about what you do. At the end of the day, if you can make money from your hobby then you’re in a wonderful situation!
Hi. It goes without saying that you should write about something that you enjoy(Your enthusiasm is sure to spill out into you writing); but what I don’t get is how you make money blogging about it? I’ve been blogging for about a year now and I’ve made about 2o cents from adsense.
Can anyone help?
Kind regards
Clint
You are right that you should blog about what you are passionate about so that you could write continuously as time passes by.
In other side, you must market what your blog so that your friends and new people would find your information and tips you had shared and make money from it.