A little while ago I had a great email conversation with a reader of the SIB blog and niche marketer, Karen Partington (follow her on Twitter @Unstoppable_KP). The topic we were discussing was anonymous blogging in social media and internet marketing.
To be an anonymous blogger today is pretty easy. Being an anonymous internet entrepreneur/marketer is a little bit harder. Because as Karen pointed out, people want to see the face of the people whose products and recommendations they are buying from. And that’s a fair point.
But what if you’re not selling a product? What if the ideas you’re sharing and information you’re putting out there is FREE?
Well, that’s a bit of a difference. The example I use when it comes to secret identity blogging is James Chartrand from Men with Pens . James’ story is great and I highly recommend you check it out if you’re thinking of blogging anonymously. To go through what James had to go through was extremely difficult. If you don’t know about James, then I won’t spoil it for you. But it is very interesting read.
There are some pros and cons to blogging anonymously. One is that people are going to be weary of you UNLESS you provide kick-ass content.
Period.
There is no getting around that. If you’re going to take on a secret identity, your content better be awesome, or at least, very good. If your content is a lot of “meh”, you won’t be around very long and people won’t take you seriously. And either, you’ll get frustrated and say “blogging is stupid” and quit. If that happens, you won’t have to worry about making income, cause you won’t make income.
A Pro to Secret Identity Blogging
A benefit of secret identity blogging, you can complain about things you don’t like, like your job, without consequence. Until one has taken the step away from the 9 to 5 and into entrepreneurship, they’re limited in some form or another. And if you hate your job or your boss, blogging anonymously can be a great release. And who knows- it may lead to you leaving your job and becoming a professional blogger or entrepreneur.
A Con to Secret Identity Blogging
Creating an income from blogging with a secret identity will be an uphill battle. I won’t say it is impossible, but it will be pretty difficult. Why, you may ask? People want to see who they’re buying from. The exclusion to the rule is the big, brand name company that produces great products, like say Proctor and Gamble. They produce hundreds of products and make billions of dollars every year, but there is no face to the company. Their ability to monetize without having a “face” is because they produce great products that everybody wants and needs.
Most experts and “gurus” (Man, I despise that word now!) will tell you to not blog anonymously. I think it all depends on why you’re blogging. If you’re doing it as a hobby and just testing the waters as a blogger, then go for it. Screw what everyone says and have fun! However, if you want to really be taken seriously as a blogger and eventually make money promoting products and services, you may want to think twice. Secret identity blogging may have a huge effect on your bottom line. Take the time to weigh your options. And if it doesn’t work out, you can always start another blog and start all over.
