When is enough enough?

For five years in a row I’ve been posting on average 3-4 times a week. I just went with this posting schedule frequency because that’s what I had in me. But as I get older, I’m beginning to lose a little steam in my enthusiasm for writing a lot as frequently. Search engine traffic makes up 70%+ of my traffic, so the incremental return of publishing a new article isn’t as great anymore.

I’ve been thinking about going down to a two times a week publishing schedule for the summer. Seasonal online traffic trends are pretty evident once you get to a certain amount. If people are away, why bother writing as much?

There used to be a certain amount of guilt if I didn’t keep up with my publishing frequency. When I left my job in 2012, there definitely wasn’t an option to publish less because I had so much more time. But now, I don’t feel like I have anything to prove anymore. I’ve reached my traffic and revenue targets and I’m happy with the way things are.

HOW MUCH MONEY IS ENOUGH ONLINE?

The internet is great because there is an unlimited amount of traffic and revenue you can receive. We’ve already asked the question, “How Much Income Do You Need To Make Online To Be Happy?” Many people had many different answers. The one curiosity is, what if you are already happy? Any more income earned online would just seem like gravy. And you don’t want to eat too much gravy for fear of a heart attack.

Just 10 years ago, there was no way in hell I’d ever imagine not having to work a day job due to the internet. And just five years ago, I never would have imagine making more online than a Wall Street VP without selling anything except for my book on negotiations. But even when I was working in Corporate America, I stopped having the desire to make much more than X amount because that would require more effort, more risk, and probably a move away from San Francisco, my favorite city in the whole wide world.

There will always be sites larger than mine, just like there will always be sites larger than yours no matter how big you grow. Perhaps it’s because I went from traveling for 10 weeks a year in 2012 and 2013, to now only just taking my first 10-day trip overseas this year in June that I’m restless in asking what’s the point of everything again. Perhaps I need to ratchet things down with my online consulting gig and explore new things.

It seems like the more you make online, the more you want to see how much more you make. That doesn’t seem like a very healthy endeavor after a while. I’ve never been much into credit card review posts because it seems weird to aggressively hawk an instrument which has created so much crushing debt in America. But wouldn’t it be fun to see how much your platform can generate? What a shame not to realize its full money-making potential.

QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION

The most befuddling thing is when I see folks simply shut down their sites completely, instead of just delay their posting frequency. It doesn’t cost much to keep a site up, so why shut it down? Even if you don’t post for a month, why not just keep the website up to be found by new people on the web. You might just get your second wind after a couple months rest.

Now that it’s been five years on Financial Samurai, I’m looking forward to the next five years. I just wonder how things will be different. There’s no more desire to strive to be the best because I’m happy with the balance.

STARTING A MONEY MAKING BLOG

It’s been over six years since I started Financial Samurai and I’m actually earning a good passive and active income stream online now. My online presence has allowed me to pursue other things, such as consulting for various financial tech startups as well.

I never thought I’d be able to quit my job in 2012 just three years after starting Financial Samurai. But by starting one financial crisis day in 2009, Financial Samurai actually makes more than my entire passive income total that took 15 years to build. If you enjoy writing, creating, connecting with people online, and enjoying more freedom, learn how you can set up a WordPress blog in 15 minutes like this one. 

Leverage the 3+ billion internet users and build your brand online. You never know where the journey will take you! This post has been updated for 2017 and beyond.

Regards,

Sam