People blog for different reasons. Some blog for the fun or as a hobby. Many blog with the intention to make money or monetize the blog/site. For those people, a blog can be a tool to reach the final destination, not the method of monetizing.

Let’s Look at an Example

Daniel Lyons is most known for his fake Steve Jobs blog called The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. He put a lot of work into his blog.

I blogged from cabs, using my BlackBerry. I blogged in the middle of the night, having awakened with an idea. I rationalized this insane behavior by telling myself that at the end of this rainbow I would find a huge pot of gold. But reality kept interfering with this fantasy.

He continues to whine and cry about the money he didn’t make from his efforts. He made money from his blog but never made enough to quit his job (who knew that a goal?). He continues to go on and on about how other sites are profitable, the advertising market isn’t optimal…yeah yeah, blah blah. He leaves out one big piece of the puzzle.

He got a book deal and published the book Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs

Whoops…

His blog presented him with an opportunity to receive a book deal. Who knows whether the book deal was profitable (obviously not?). The point is that the blog was a tool for him to get the deal in the first place. Whether the book was successful or not falls on his abilities as a writer, which has nothing to do with his blog. Writing a successful blog has nothing to do with writing a successful book.

Let’s also talk about exposure. Most people never heard of Daniel Lyons before he started his blog (and yes, there are many people that still have no clue who he is or worse, forgot). He “could” have made the most of that exposure but he opted to step away from the blog. When you have people’s attention be very careful and sure of what you are doing when you decide to do something else, giving those people something else to do with their time. You might not get them back.

Blogs DO Create Opportunity

Blogs/sites are excellent tools to create an opportunity for a person or company. One has to have the wisdom to realize their true goals and make the most of the opportunities when the arise. Lyons’ The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs blog is the reason why his Real Dan Lyon’s site has a Books tab with something on it newer than 1999.