Is Passion Enough To Succeed Online?

The short answer is: no.

In recent years, there has been a lot of cheerleading in the blogosphere from bloggers who blog about blogging.

These bloggers encourage people to start a website about a topic they’re really passionate about based on the old saying:

“Do what you love and the money will follow.”

The truth that many people are waking up to is that passion alone simply isn’t enough to build a successful business.

In my years of coaching people on the web, I’ve come across scores of passionate bloggers who don’t have a dime to show for all of their efforts.

What critical mistake are they making that is EASILY corrected?

They’re only looking at one side of the equation.

An Example That Illustrates The Point

Let’s say that you’re really passionate about social media and you want to be the next Zuckerberg and ignite the next big social media craze.

The odds of succeeding at that endeavor are astronomically low.  You’re more likely to win the Powerball than achieve that goal.

The reason why is because the hundreds of millions of people who like using social media are quite well-served by the current array of social media services.

To put it bluntly, the market is saturated.

If you had gotten started 7 years ago, your passion would have served you well.

The question you need to ask yourself is:

Where Does Your Passion Intersect With “The Market”?

In order to support yourself with a business you’re passionate about, you’ve got to actually supply other people with goods and services that they want.

What is it that “business bloggers” can supply that is actually in demand?

Let’s look at 3 of the most basic and easy ways you can monetize a WordPress site:

• advertising
• affiliate marketing
• e-commerce

In every case, you’re supply the market with something absolutely critical that YOU are in a better position to supply that anybody else:

BUYERS

In other words, all you have to do on your website is promote products and services and receive the financial benefits.

Most WordPress Users Aren’t Willing To Do It

According to Technorati’s “State of The Blogosphere”, more than 66% of “bloggers” have no intention of making any money with their website.

They pour hundreds if-not thousands of hours into their websites each year, and they have no expectation of generating any revenue.

And this creates a massive opportunity FOR YOU, because if you’re thinking of blogging as a business opportunity, most of the people who COULD be supplying buyers are not.

And this means one thing: more money for you.

Most WordPress Users Aren’t Willing To Compromise

When it comes to what they’re passionate about, most people become fixated on a single thing and are unwilling to bend or budge or compromise under any circumstances.

We call these people “idealists.”

An idealist is somebody who ultimately can’t see things from other peoples’ perspectives.

They’re often married to some kind of agenda, and they place that agenda above everything else, including other people.

Because idealists don’t really care about other peoples’ wants and needs, other people don’t really care about the idealist and ultimately don’t financially support that person.

Idealists also tend to be against the idea of making money by helping other people, so again.  That’s more money for you.

 The Bottom Line

Being passionate is a necessary part of the business equation.

You MUST have passion in order to succeed online.

But just being passionate about something and making a website about it is a terrible business plan that ultimately results in frustration, confusion, and ultimate failure.