For the past 8 months, I’ve been building another blog with a partner. It’s been stop and go since I’ve had to take breaks to move back into the country then have twins then move across the country (you know, the usual) but I’m really close to launching it.
You might be asking, though, why I would do such a thing. Blogs are hard work, and in addition to managing my own, I also write for several others. Well, here are a few reasons why many people build second sites:
1. Blogs break.
It’s as simple as that. Stuff happens. Page ranks get lost. Google updates something and traffic drops. Someone hacks you. Someone click bombs you, and you lose your adsense account. You press the wrong button when updating your site and all of a sudden every link on your blog is broken (and then you have to pay a programmer to fix it.)
You think the above won’t happen to you but I could give you a list of multiple people who have been affected by each of the items listed above. A second blog insulates you a bit from that. If one blog breaks, at least you have the income from the other one to sustain you while you repair the first one. Think of it as insurance. It does take a lot of work to maintain more than one site, but you can always go in with a partner or post less frequently.
2) New topics are fun.
Sometimes I like to write about things other than personal finance. (I know – the nerve!) After all, I’ve enjoyed writing long before I enjoyed personal finance. I’ve been writing stories ever since I was a little kid, and sometimes a new and different blog is the perfect place to share those ideas and stories. For example, when I had my kids I promised myself my blog wouldn’t turn into a 100% mommy blog. While I will write about raising my kids in a personal finance context, I’m not going to be including them in every post. That’s why it’s nice to have another space as a writing outlet.
3) You can try new strategies.
Sometimes I want to try out new plugins or new marketing strategies or new promotions without affecting my main site. Having a second blog allows you to install different things and just see how they work. I tend to ignore a lot of e-mails from people who want me to try different advertising strategies, but I might take them more seriously once I have another site up and running to insulate me.
4) You can be anonymous.
If you are out and in the open with your primary blog, you can have a little fun by being anonymous on your second blog. You could write about more controversial topics or be a little snarkier or have worse language if you want. You can give yourself the freedom to do whatever you want. For the record, I will not be anonymous on my other site, but I have thought about how nice it would be to write under a different name…. maybe for my third site. :)
Are you convinced you should start a second blog now?
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I own half a dozen domains, but have yet to get round to adding content or starting to blog on them.
Where do you get the time for them ????
Not enough hours in the day as it is already
Lately, I’ve been thinking that maybe me and my sister should start to make our own blog. It’s really risky because I don’t have any experience before, but my sister really loves to write. Do you have any advice for me? :)
I’ve seen people start a second (and third?) blog in the same niche…I’m not sure how many ideas in a month one person can come up with on the same topic. :) But starting another blog with a completely different subject matter could work. I’ve been toying with starting a BBQ blog for years…but I can never find the time to really make it happen.
I could not imagine starting another blog right now as I am trying to keep up with my own, but I definitely see the value in it, especially for the freedom to write about other topics. Wendy at GMD asked a few months ago if we were not PF bloggers what kind of bloggers would we be, and I definitely know I would like to try something else at a later date. Maybe when my son is in college and I have more time. :-)
For me I tried twice and found it to be too much of a hassle and my mind was all over the place. If it was my full time job, then yes, but since it’s still technically a glorified hobby, sticking to the one is most beneficial to me now.
I definitely c
I’m not very good at keeping up with my one blog, so nope, definitely not going to start a second one. :)
The thought of my blog “breaking” is actually kind of soul crushing. I can’t imagine having the energy to build up a second one.
I have really been wanting to start a second blog. Of course, if something happened to MoneyMiniBlog, I would be horrified. I try to do all I can to be prepared, but we can’t always be ready for everything. I just may start a second blog though. Possibly something productivity related. That would be a blast!
I think for a number of reasons starting a second site can be a good thing. I shudder to think of the main site breaking and having major issues, but these things happen. Beyond that, you can establish some nice diversity if the other site takes off. That said, now that I have two of my own and one I run with Grayson, I’m starting to question my sanity just a bit. ;)
I agree with everything you’ve got here! I just need to get my butt in gear and get my giant list of post-ideas actually written, so I can launch. You’re scaring me with the “breaking” stuff…. I should make a backup today, heh.
I have absolutely no desire to have a second blog and am super happy to have a partner on my first one. I don’t think I have it in me to do all the start up stuff it takes to get one rolling. If it was my main gig, though, I can see the beauty of having multiple sites. All about those multiple streams….
To be honest I’ve been wondering why people start second blogs or buy blogs… and these reasons make sense. I don’t want my blog to turn into a career blog and I’ve been noticing I touch on career a little more than I like. Something to think about.
Well, I have three, but they are all in the same niche. I am repurposing another blog back into something with electronics as I enjoy that topic. I don’t know when I will have the time to do it, but it is getting there.
I actually started a second blog for some of these reasons a year ago. I wanted to write about style/fashion and to try out different advertising and promotions with different partners. Of course, the PF blogger in me means that I talk about frugal/affordable fashion :) http://www.realchicrealcheap.com
It’s a totally different blog and I can talk about different things, plus I have a separate readership though I would like for readers of either blog to overlap and help make the world a more frugal and stylish place :)
The downside with starting the second blog though is that I have even less time to blog and both fall to the wayside sometimes. And my PF blog is my main blog so I write more on that than the style blog. I have a hard time making sure I give time to both
I’ve seriously been considering this and could see myself doing it within the next couple of years. Already have a great idea to fill a certain niche. I have much more to learn about blogging in general before I start though. I’ve got the writing clicking along fine…it’s just all the other stuff that goes into making a blog successful. I’d want to start a second one that could hit the ground running based on the knowledge I’ve gained. And the idea of being anonymous is definitely intriguing. But it would be tough to have the blogs point traffic to one another. Really couldn’t do that without raising suspicion.
Wow, it’s crazy to hear that blogs can break like the examples you mentioned. Very scary. It would truly be heart-breaking. I’m not sure I could handle another blog since I barely keep up with my one blog. Plus I have yet to learn how to monetize so I should probably figure that out first.
I went as far as putting up a few posts on a second blog in a completely different niche than personal finance, but it was too hard to keep up with. There are issues that need to be dealt with and improvements to be made on my primary blog (this one!) before I can responsibly take on a second site. With that being said, I know have 3 different blog ideas in 3 different niches that I want to start. One is already up but hasn’t been touched in months, another one I have the domain name for, and the third one I haven’t purchased a domain for yet.
These are all interesting reasons to start a second blog! I haven’t thought of them before. I have had a few ideas for other blogs in mind, but I’m not sure if I would have the time to dedicate to it. Before I even started blogging, I actually wanted to try to do makeup tutorials on YouTube. Having a different topic to write about would be a nice change of pace.
I still very very new to blogging, just started really in January, but I have thought about starting a second blog at some point in time. I’d really like to start a “style” blog so I can practice shopping my closet, etc without posting all about that on my current blog, plus it’d be nice to NOT be anonymous on it :)
These are all great reasons to have more than one site! I have another blog in a different niche, and I’m not anonymous on there. I started The Write Budget so that I could talk about our finances and freelancing. I keep my personal finance blog to myself, and that gives me more freedom to write. I also have a niche site that is completely impersonal that I’ve been working on to bring in some passive income. It can be a pain to juggle several sites, but the good thing is sometimes you can leave them for a while and they can still bring in traffic and clicks. Looking forward to the launch of your new project! (if you’re sharing it, that is :))
DC @ Young Adult Money I love thinking of new domain names. :))
shoeaholicnomore Ooh I’d love to read that! :)
Brian @ Luke1428 Yes it’s actually really nice for me to start a new site fresh after everything I’ve learned in 4 years.
Alice @ Earning My Two Cents I love both of your sites Alice!
TrendyCheapo For sure. Lots of advertisers ask if I have another blog and I always have to say no. With another site you can double your income.
MoneyMiniBlog I know. My blog is my baby too. Stuff happens though. Plenty of weird things have happened to my blog in 4 years and every one of them was unexpected.
brokeandbeau Yeah my blog has broken before. It’s hard to avoid at least in some small sense the longer you go.
debtperception Haha it’s a lot of work for sure!
Alicia @FinDiffraction Being anonymous must be so hard!
Beachbudget I did like your other site so much but totally understand it’s cray cray to have more than one! :)
blonde_finance That sounds like a great plan!
Clarisse @ Make Money Your Way I think yall should do it but have really clear guidelines and posting schedule to keep each other straight!
BudgetBlonde Alice @ Earning My Two Cents Thanks Cat!
You know, I’m not convinced I should start a second blog. I really am just getting back into my first one. For me, I like to diversify my income streams. So, I’ve got a blog, writing business, marketing business, ad brokering business and I’m probably going to get into something else here soon. I just don’t think a new blog would be it.
I really admire people who are able to create enough content for one blog, let alone two! I do enjoy writing but weeks like this one (super crazy at work) leaves me struggling to crank out posts. Someday, just someday, I hope to start writing posts in advance and stock up for a few days!
Joshua Rodriguez Diversification is key!
Hmm I actually have another dormant blog that I want to kick back into gear this year – it’s all about quitting Sugar and sugar free recipes, so totally different to what I write about normally.
But of course, that’s also combined with the online store I run, plus launching my freelance writing business full time next month (!)…
It seems the takeaway here is that I really, really like to be busy :)
I’ve thought about it. If I do a second blog it would 100% affiliate marketing.
I have to agree with you. While one blog is a lot of work on its own the merit of two or three outweigh the costs. You made some great points too about focusing on other topics, being anonymous etc. And these days starting a blog is free or next to nothing so why not gor for it and experiment and try something new.
Lol @the nerve in #2.it’s funny how people want you to be personal finance all the time right?
I am interested in starting a second blog but have no idea where I will find the time to do it! A close friend of mine always reminds me to be a tree, not a bush so I guess being in the tree phase of my blog building is also stopping me. Loved this article and it gave me lots to think about.
I’ll look to get my first blog up and running first…
Would love to start one down the track though, am very passionate about travel although that is a very contested niche already..
Any suggestions on how to get a good programmer/web designer?