The organizers of the FasteCash blogging contest must be commended for coming up with this great idea. Having successfully organized the first and now running the second contest, truly shows that they know what they are into. As expected, glowing commendations have continued to pour in for this bold step. This indeed is a bold step in the right direction about making blogging popular in the country. With the quality of blogs featuring in the contest right now there is no gain saying that there are many probloggers in this country.

However, if our dream and vision is to truly give blogging its proper place in
this country then our sights must be raised beyond the contest. We must
understand that blogging have gone beyond the level of a personal journal. Many, especially those in the internet marketing circle which many of us are into, are involved in blogging to make a living from it. We aim to be professional bloggers. So slaving it out every day to write content and employing different means, both free and paid, to drive traffic to our blogs and then making peanuts from it, will only amount to frustration.

The popularity of blogs today globally is hinged on this very fact. Millions are
joining the revolution because there is money to be made in it. The Nigerian
situation can not be different.

It’s unfortunate however that there are far too few opportunities for Nigerians
to make money with their blogs. With what I’ve seen so far in the contest and
others I’ve come across in the blogosphere, we have real expert bloggers among Nigerians. But I doubt if they are really making the kind of money that other bloggers outside our shores are making.

It’s true; I know many of us are monetizing our blogs in various ways. But come to think of it, how many of us are reporting the type of income from blogging that others out there are reporting every month? Many of us joined the bandwagon because of what we have seen and heard others making. But having joined the revolution we discovered very soon that we can not really reveal out identities as Nigerians. Many hide under different identities. Those of us who are bold to identity ourselves as Nigerians are soon cut off from many opportunities and lucrative offers that would have brought us some good money.

And you must know that blogging, unlike other forms of internet marketing,
demands you presenting the real YOU. You can not hide behind a false
identity as this will come through in your posts. Very soon your blog readers
and RSS subscribers can see through the smoke screen and it will ultimately
affect your results.

This has always been a burden to me. I’ve dreamed of the moment when I will be bold to assert my Nigeria-ness. The FasteCash blogging contest with the vision of developing blogging in Nigeria is definitely in synch with my dream. That is why I’m into the contest right now. Beyond the prize at stake is the dream that, if truly done well, it could make blogging not only popular but truly lucrative in this country.

Nigeria is a potential market that if well harnessed can change the fortunes of
our people. We’ve heard of big breakthroughs by bloggers who I consider not better than many Nigerian bloggers. Why so? It’s simply because they have access to advertising opportunities that many of us do not have access to. Many advertisers will simply deny any attempt by a Nigerian to join their network. Many will not patronize Nigerian bloggers by placing their ads or sponsoring posts.

Those who are sincere to admit it knows that these are the major ways the
pro bloggers make their money. Take a look at the pro bloggers’ blogs and you’ll never see Google Adsense or some of those laughable affiliate products that many Nigerians flout as their major income earners. Take a study of these
pro bloggers and you’ll discover that sponsored posts or ads, banner ad placement (mostly 125 x 125 ads) and a few other affiliate programs most of which are real life businesses rather than the internet marketing businesses, account for major earnings.

If Nigerian bloggers must take their place among top bloggers then Nigerian real life businesses must be involved. Nigeria is one of the biggest markets
considering our population. The growth of the telecoms sector attests to this.
And today millions of Nigerians browse the internet for one reason or the other. If we are talking of taking blogging to higher heights then real life companies in Nigeria must be made to understand the gains of advertising in blogs. Because, as it’s being proved all over the world today, blogs are the new age media.

Already there is the fear in some quarters that blogging may displace
traditional media like newspapers since information could be readily and
quickly accessed through blogs. Today, worldwide billions of people read blogs every day. Besides, ads in blogs are cheaper, targeted and responsive than ads in radios and televisions.

I sincerely believe that when businesses in Nigeria begin to place ads and
sponsor posts in blogs then the blogging revolution will truly spread. Many
jobless graduates in the country will discover that you can easily build their
own information media on the net and make money doing what they truly love to do!

Frankly, I hate to hide behind any false identity in order to make money online. Why build your future on lies when right here we have what it takes to make it. The only problem is that many of the companies in Nigeria have not understood what they stand to gain advertising in blogs. They have continued to depend on the traditional advert medium of newspapers, radios, televisions and bill boards. As long as this is so blogging can not really produce the type of income that is being reported by others in this business.

Lately I’ve seen some banks and other Nigerian companies placing ads online with Google and Yahoo! Many a time I wonder who they are really targeting. If these companies are truly targeting Nigerians then I think the better thing would have been for them to look for some popular blogs or forums which are targeting Nigerians and sponsor some links or posts.

The Successful Entrepreneur Club forum http://www.secnig.com  is already taking advantage of this. Calling on forum members to advertise on the forum at a cost much lower than the cost of advertising on SuccessDigest Extra is a clear indication of how cost-effective online advertising can be. This is the point of this article. Let real life businesses in Nigeria begin to see the gains of advertising on blogs and blogging will truly be lucrative here.

We must carry the campaign of truly developing blogging in Nigeria to the real
world businesses. It’s unfortunate that many Nigerian bloggers are deceiving
themselves claiming to make $xxx dollars every day serving Google adsense on their blogs. I’ve checked many of the blogs out there and the ones really making the money do not have adsense on their blogs. The money is somewhere else and unless we unearth this gold mine we will continue to work for meager returns.

The desperation of many in the blogging contest to be the winner of the N50,000 at stake is a testimony to the fact that they have not been able to make so much money from their internet marketing endeavors. The lure of N50, 000 in such a short time accounted for the various dubious acts perpetuated at the starting of the contest. Thank God the FasteCash management was able to come up with some punitive measures to halt the wrong flow of the tide. But beyond that the right thing must be done so Nigerian bloggers can have a good return for their labour.

Chadrack Irobogo is one of the FBCII participants

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