For the past few months I’ve been thinking a lot about this blog network. I sunk a lot of money into a redesign and sometimes I have the pay the bloggers here out of pocket, but I don’t have any regrets. Yeah, I do wish this network was more of a money maker, and I suppose if I left it as a single blog with only me blogging, I’d be making quite the profit. But it’s not about that, at least I didn’t think so.
Then I had this conversation with someone after church yesterday, with a woman who is thinking of starting a blog to go with her website.
Her: Isn’t it a lot of work for nothing though?
Me: It’s work I enjoy.
Her: How much time to you spend working on it every day?
Me: At least an hour or two, sometimes more.
Her: But you’re not making money?
Me: I’m making money, just not much of a profit…lately. Some months are better than others.
Her: So you do some writing, this blogging…and then you keep it running and they click on the ads?
Me: Also other people blog. And yes, sometimes people support the ads.
Her: Only sometimes? That doesn’t seem right. Do they buy the stuff you advertise?
Me: No. I don’t use product based advertising anymore for that reason. I just finished an ebook though, and I’m hoping for some sales there.
Her: Are they buying that?
Me: One or two so far. It was just released and it’s only the weekend.
Her: So you have this blog and thousands of people visit it each day and only some people support the ads and no one buys your books or the products in the ads…tell me why you’re doing this again?
Me: It’s about the community and helping people find work. It’s about a group of amazing people. People who help people every day.
Her: Sounds like you’re the only one doing the giving if you’re not making a big profit.
Me: It’s not about a profit. It’s about building something and watching it grow. It’s about people helping people, and writers helping other writers find work that pays. Besides, my profits are steadily rising. I have faith I’ll get there.
Her: Sounds like a lot of giving – and a lot of taking – but not from you.
Me: That’s not true at all. I have a generous community.
Her: Mmm hmm. I think I’ll hold off on this blogging business for a while.
It’s hard to explain blogging to someone who doesn’t get it. If it was about bringing in a lot of money, I would have given this up a year or two ago, but it’s more than that. It’s about giving a community of wonderful people a place to visit. It’s about helping other people who are in a situation I was once in. It’s about giving a platform to a bunch of talented bloggers. But it’s not about the money…is it?
Great post on this Monday morning! Your responses are so well spoken. This is a topic I think about a lot. I want my blog to make me money someday, but right now it is more about me sharing my information and having a community of readers that I learn from each day. Money is nice and we often get to the point where it is necessary, but I’ve learned it isn’t all about money for me.
Thanks for all you do here!
Stuff like this makes me think the best bloggers who work for pay, actually started out as bloggers doing it just because. Bloggers who start blogging simply to share maybe hold on to that more so than bloggers who jump right on the so called money making blogging train that’s been portrayed in the media. I still have a couple of blogs that are sans ads, because there are other reasons to blog besides money in some cases.
Your soul is making a profit; you’re helping/giving to people in need.
I am not overly religious but that was the thought that came to mind. It’s not about the money or the blogging celebrity status. You obviously enjoy displaying the work as does the FWJ community reading your work and learning from it as I have. It is a give and take situation. Or perhaps even a give, give situation. You give your voice in the form of your work/knowledge and others give their voices in the form of comments or guest articles, etc.
Look up to your little coffee cup in the corner and say, “Hey this is my coffee cafe where everyone comes to mingle, chat, and learn. It’s a great environment!” You chose that coffee cup for a reason to represent something.
There are many other ways to make money if blogging is not working the way you expected it to if it was about money.
Even if people don’t buy or click you are still supported by the people just coming here to browse or hang out.
I started out wanting to make money by blogging and then that feeling/thinking was just whisked away when I decided I wanted to share my voice instead. Blogging is about sharing.
FWJ, like a fine wine, only improves with time. (And I’m not saying that because I happen to work here….) It’s funny; the jackpot in a national lottery was up to $43 million on Sat. night, and yes, I did buy a ticket. When I was thinking for a few minutes about what I would do if I won, continuing to participate in this community was part of the plan, even though I wouldn’t be looking for a raise any time soon!
This is a very special place, and I do have faith that if you continue to do what you love, the money will follow.
Lol Jodee. I bought a ticket too but so sad I wasn’t the big winner. My uncle bought a scratch and win ticket last summer and won $10,000.00. I don’t know which kind of ticket. He bought an RV and sunk some money into his business and kids.
@ Michelle: There were three winners, apparently. The most I have ever won on a lottery was $168 a few years ago.
Three wow! I was trying to find out how many there were but couldn’t find that info. I won a whopping $50.00 on the lottery about ten years ago. Lol. The most I won on a scratch and win ticket was $25.00. I play both lottery and scratch tickets sometimes. Sometimes I go to the casino with a friend. The most I profitted at the casino was $25.00. I was there (casino,) standing beside a lady when she won $24,000.00.
One more lottery story I can share: My aunt and uncle, (different uncle,)bought the same national lottery ticket as you spoke of and missed out on $250,000.00 when their extra or plus numbers came in and it wasn’t entered as active on their ticket.
I guess money matters to some and to some it just doen’t appeal that much depending on methods and values and such.
The money is a means to an end. In my case, the end is supporting my family and communities. Without the money, there’s no means and the ends won’t be achieved in a sustainable way. Sustainable is key, which is probably why blogging isn’t making me money yet. I’ve a few more things I want to try, though.