Still Generating Blog Posts
I mentioned in earlier blog posts that I seldom get to personally write pieces here on the Big Words Blog Site myself based upon time and resources. I accidentally monetized my blog six years ago in the area of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which set the stage for other things such as providing the investment capital for publishing my first book entitled, The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story Part One: Innocent Basketball Dreams. A description of my book and where you can purchase a copy is at the end of this post.
I recently looked up and realized that it has been 10 years since I started The Big Words Blog Site. While I haven’t been able to leave my day job yet, it’s amazing to me that it’s still going, and a lot has happened over those 10 years.
Starting the Big Words Blog Site
I started the Big Words Blog Site in 2016 after The Examiner shut its doors in 2015. It was three years before I launched as a YouTube content creator in early 2019. My goal was ultimately to become an author, and I needed a way to stay relevant and continue demonstrating that I could write. I started researching creating my own platform, and learned that ‘Blog’ is a composite word derived from combining ‘Web’ and ‘Log’. I settled on GoDaddy and WordPress for my host and blogging software. The technical knowledge from my doctoral studies and writing for The Examiner gave me the aptitude to set up my WordPress site myself. I have to also point out that I funded this all out of my paycheck from my day job.
I started writing my stories once it was set up. I could write whatever I wanted to unlike on The Examiner or other people’s platforms like The Edvocate. I started off with some of my own personal education stories before writing about current events, science, sports and other topics. I continued on this path until I was contacted about something called SEO.
The Business of Link Placement
Getting into SEO was not my initial intent for starting the Big Words Blog Site. It just happened by accident as is typical in my field of science. In 2018, I was contacted by an anonymous company about publishing content for payment, and I have not looked back since. Content and link placement turned out to be a business. I likewise generated an income from this SEO collaboration, not enough to quit my day job, but it was a supplemental income which paid a couple of basic expenses and allowed me to start my first limited liability company (LLC). Surprisingly the collaboration has gone six to seven years, though I don’t know how much further it will go. Nothing lasts forever after all.
The Future of the Big Words Blog Site
Nothing in this world lasts forever, and I don’t know how long this blog site will be here. This has been a very educational experience, and I’ve learned a lot about business, plugins, websites, social media, and partnering with others, in addition to monetizing it. There are many content placement and SEO companies, some of which I’ve worked with alongside my main contributor. There are also many individuals looking to publish on your site for free, something you have to consider in terms of your own time and resources and personally weigh. Will publishing someone else’ content for free, raise the profile of your site in the new algorithmic world.
I want to close this piece out by saying that the genesis for all of this was writing, potentially dying art, though a critical one. I have since started a second site called Big Words Authors where I write more literary pieces in addition to promoting my book which you can read about some more in the next paragraph. Something is happening with our educational system in the areas of reading and writing. Kids are losing an interest in reading and proficiency in both reading and writing. This needs to be fixed going forward as these basic skills unlock the world in terms of discovery. These skills are critical for all career fields, and in some instances, they can lead to starting businesses and opening unexpected doors as was the case for me. It is a critical skill ultimately for storytelling, which is my true love.
A Quick Plug for My Book
If you’re unfamiliar with me and my writings, I am a self-published author and I wrote a two-part story about how playing sports teaches us lessons about life. I think some form of this short story appears in part two of The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story which is forthcoming. Part one is available for sale now. You can purchase signed hardcover and paperback copies here at the Big Words Authors Store. The ebook, hardcover and paperback editions are also available on Amazon and IngramSpark. Please consider purchasing a copy for yourself or someone you know. Wherever you purchase a copy, please leave a review.
Hello all. Thank you for reading this reflective blog post. Based upon time and resources, I don’t get to write these often these days. With my book published, I will try to write these more regularly here along with the many contributed posts, however long I keep receiving them.