I was just reading an interesting post over at Bob’s place. He starts by asking the question “How many bloggers are making money for somebody else?” and then offers some interesting thoughts on blogging, advertising and earning some bucks through your blog. He pointed to my blog here as a reference for commercial blogging so I figure I might as well explain how I see it.
First of all, this blog took over from where I left my original site. I started that one in 1999 and ended up abandoning it for years. That came about for a bunch of reasons:
- I’m no l33t webmaztor and the technology of the time was too complex for me to do much more than working with WYSIWYG HTML editors. Anybody remember AOL Press? I do. It sucked.
- I was going through my divorce and didn’t feel like spending time on the site. Too much other stuff going on.
- What I really wanted to do with my site would have cost me an arm and a leg, so I didn’t bother.
A few years later, I discovered blogging and it just struck a chord with me. It’s a the perfect system for me to get some regular writing done, put ideas I have floating around in my head down on paper (or these pages), think out loud and meet kindred spirits from around the world. The technological side took a steep learning curve at first but the possibilities are light years beyond static HTML files. Today, things work relatively well.
So far, this blog has been one hell of a ride and, aside of a couple disasters, it’s been pretty damn good. Which in and of itself is a crucial factor in why I’m this active with my blog: I enjoy it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t bother. In that regard, I totally agree with what Stephen King wrote in his autobiography about people asking if he writes for money:
Do you do it for the money, honey? The answer is no. Don’t now and never did. Yes, I’ve made a great deal of dough from my fiction, but I never set a single word down on paper with the thought of being paid for it… I have written because it fulfilled me. Maybe it paid off the mortgage on the house and got the kids through college, but those things were on the side–I did it for the buzz. I did it for the pure joy of the thing. And if you can do it for joy, you can do it forever.
So what about the money?
I see this blog as a commercial venture but not in the traditional sense. I’m not looking to make huge amounts of money, nor do I plan on selling it in the future. However, when I started my old site, I promised my ex-wife I would not invest money in the site but only my time. Today, I try to do the same thing with this blog: I’m willing to put in time and effort but not tons of money. To a degree, I’ve sinned against this promise:
- I started with Blogger because it was free but switched to a self-hosted Word Press solution because it was much more practical and offered more features.
- I paid for a WP theme for this blog because the free themes didn’t do it for me.
- That said, I switched my main site over to WP as well and re-used the same theme. That saves costs by getting rid of the DNN host I was using for it so I actually come out on top with these investments.
On the other hand, all the time I spend on my blog, I could be either working with clients or developing products. As I’m self-employed (meaning I don’t earn a dime when I’m not working) I have to use my time wisely if I want to put food on the table. Which is why I started advertising some third-party products in the beginning; I never made a dime with any of it though. So I switched to AdSense ads and they have provided a trickle of an income so far, almost to the point where it can pay for the hosting and domain names. It’s not much, but it’s slowly growing.
But that’s not all. People have contacted me to teach seminars, for private lessons or bought some of my stuff, each time after checking out this place. In that sense, the blog has been a huge success and my time well spent here. It’s hard to measure these things as not everybody mentions the blog when they buy one of my books or videos so I can’t give exact figures. But my gut feeling is that the blog helps a lot, along with my Youtube channel.
All in all, I feel confident I’m not wasting my time blogging. I see it as just one of the different aspects of my job. One I thoroughly enjoy.
You filthy, money-hungry slut!
I receive some colorful mail every now and then when certain visitors object to the ads on this blog or when I promote my products here a bit. I covered the reasons for Adsense above and as for self-promoting, well “Duh!” Nobody is going to do it for me and I don’t have the ten-thousands of $ to spare to hire an add agency. So either I promote my products and services or nobody else does. That’s what the “self” in self-employed means! Shees…
But for those who are bothered by the partly commercial nature of this blog, you can:
- Get lost. Nobody forces you to read it.
- Pay me a monthly income and I’ll gladly remove all ads and never mention any of my products ever again. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
- If you don’t want to do that, stop whining and go away.
When I look at the ratio of posts where I self-promote, compared to all the other posts, I’m a pretty lousy marketeer. That’s because I used to think self-promoting was bad and against some sort of martial arts ethical code. Which is a load of crap, but for years I thought it was true. These days, I’m more comfortable with charging money for my services and for products. There’s no martial code that says you have to live in poverty…
That said, I took not one but two oaths not to prostitute the arts I learned and am officially allowed to teach. I don’t think I have ever done so, nor do I plan on going down the hyper-commercial road. My teachers are also fully aware of my job, my site, this blog and new products coming out. So far, I haven’t been crucified for breaking these oaths, so I guess I’m still doing OK. As my teachers are the only people who’s opinion matters in this debate, I couldn’t care less about how rude, anonymous people on the Internet feel.
I still think you’re a commercial bastard!
That’s perfectly fine, to each his own and more power to you. But if that’s what you think, look closely; I’m pretty lousy at being commercial; everything on this blog is free. No charge, none, nada. You get:
- Articles and How-to guides. Providing this information to clients is part of my job and I normally get paid for it. You get it for free.
- I give away free copies of books and videos in contests. Anybody can win, and several people already have. I have literally thousands of $ worth of products to give away. Again, no charge to you, the loyal reader. On the contrary, normally, you‘d be the one paying to get those products…
- I do book and video reviews. I try to be a fair reviewer, stating what I like, what not but most importantly, why and who will benefit from the product anyway. After a while, you’ll see if my reviews conform with your own preferences. These reviews can then save you money by avoiding a purchase you’ll regret later on and help you buy things you’ll like for a long time.
- I give away video lessons, a free e-book and write a newsletter. Once again, all free, even though it takes a lot of time and effort on my part to make all this. Time I could have spent working with clients, actually making money.
- I promote other people’s stuff and try to get discounts for you. And I don’t mean the bullshit affiliate marketing stuff but products of people I either know personally or support. I make zero bucks from it.
If after all this you still have a problem with some of the commercial aspects of this blog, I think you need to visit a therapist because you’re delusional: there is no universal law that says I have to do all this for free and am not entitled to some sort of financial reward for my work. The world just doesn’t work that way.
I think there’s a lot of value in approaching my blog like this. It turns into a win-win situation for both you and me:
- You get loads of free stuff: the articles, how-to’s, information, promotional updates, free videos, etc.
- I get some (mostly indirect) income from it, justifying the time and effort that goes into this blog.
I don’t see anybody losing here; we all come out on top.
The really cool part about it is the synergy between the both of us:
If you like this blog, you’ll stay around and recommend it to other people. The more people visit, the more (in)direct income I potentially get from this blog. That in turn gives me both the motivation and financial freedom to spend more time on writing and producing content for this blog. Which in turn results in more free stuff for you. And then the cycle starts over.
.
Bob Patterson says
Nicely said!
Especially this part:
But for those who are bothered by the partly commercial nature of this blog, you can:
* Get lost. Nobody forces you to read it.
I might use that for those who criticize me for giving away free writing:
* Get lost. Nobody forces you to read it.
Wim says
One thing I learned early on in my career was that you can’t please everybody. There will always be haters. Sad, but true.
Bob Patterson says
Nicely said!
Especially this part:
But for those who are bothered by the partly commercial nature of this blog, you can:
* Get lost. Nobody forces you to read it.
I might use that for those who criticize me for giving away free writing:
* Get lost. Nobody forces you to read it.
Wim says
One thing I learned early on in my career was that you can’t please everybody. There will always be haters. Sad, but true.
John W. Zimmer says
Hi Wim,
I’ve read with interest Bob’s and now your post on blogging for money. I like your take on it as it is close to mine.
I have always loved the martial arts so I bought a Tracy’s karate school (the association our organization came from) in the early 80’s and then really enjoyed doing karate as my day job. For a couple of years I was my own boss. I live about 5 minutes from the school (just down the alley) and woke up at the crack of 9:50 AM to get to work by 10!
Anyhow I ended up getting married and had to sell the school to make ends meet (my “ends” increased dramatically when I married into a ready made family) and then focused using my limited restaurant work experience into money.
Somewhere along the line I did not have time for fun anymore but along the way I learned a few things.
1) working harder taking on extra jobs does not increase success
2) college really does teach some practical skills for life (I learned to write)
3) follow your dreams – you only live once!
So fast forward to 2005 I was my MBA course of instruction and I was trying to figure out how to leverage this internet into some extra income. I decided to sell stuff on eBay in my off hours.
I ended up selling books the world over because shipping costs were not too prohibitive and worked out a commodity price structure… the only problem is every time I got more efficient and dropped my price structure – everyone else seemed to do so too… so I got tired of playing cut throat and after calculating my profits per hour – I dumped that idea (I worked it for a year though).
I read about blogging from John Chow… a true blog hore (I don’t think he would mind that description… respect intended). :)
I was able to navigate setting up the blog as I am a windows system administrator in my day job – I’m not afraid of technology.
Let me address the topic of your blog and then the moral of my story.
I don’t get the McDojo critique (so long as the quality is there) leveled by most “traditional” schools. McDonalds is one of the most successful chains of hamburger joints in the world. I think you mush have some in Belgium too.
What about reducing ones success to a formula and then replicating it is wrong – amoral or greedy (ok all corporations are greedy – that’s the definition of a business)?
What I wanted to do way back when I bought my karate school and when I created my blog was to MAKE MONEY!!!!!
One point here though – you cannot make money at anything unless it is one of your loves – if you expect to persevere (and be happy).
I do and have always loved martial arts and I do and will continue to find creative ways to parley thing into some extra income if I thing the vehicle is legitimate.
By the way I fully endorse the University of Phoenix as a great way to learn practical skills while earning a degree. As much as I hated writing one to two papers a week, I can now write easily and I am slowly honing my craft. Why I might follow your lead Wim and write books.
Sorry for the wordy response but you hit a nerve. My blogs are fun do and make some money… I have extra money every month and who knows if it will ever rise to significant income replacement but I will be able to do this when I retire. :)
John W. Zimmer says
Sorry Wim – I was thinking of Bob’s post as well as yours… will you edit Bob’s name to Wim for me. sorry!
Wim says
Done!
Wim says
Understood John. I’ve been self-employed for over 15 years now. I know the stress and problems that come with it. Working harder does indeed not automatically translate in increased success. However, I’ve found that working less invariably reduces success rates. So I err on the side of caution and work as much as I can. Luck has it that I love almost everything about my job (paperwork, bah!) :-)
I understand the McDojo issue and to a degree, I think it’s a valid complaint. That said, nobody died and made me the god of the martial arts world. So who am I to get on their case about how they teach/make a living? All I know is, it isn’t for me. I prefer my way, even though I make a lot less money.
I have a passion for the arts and love teaching them. A long time ago, I chose to do that for a living. If you’re a professional, you’re supposed to take all aspects of your business seriously and that includes marketing aka promoting yourself. You don’t have to go overboard but it is necessary to make a decent income.
What makes me laugh is how some people accept a local plumber doing his marketing via a commercial on the local TV station, but they can’t accept the same thing from a MA teacher. By default, they think the teacher is a money-whore or a fraud. Following that logic, every person or company using commercials should be in the same category… Oh well… :-)
Thanks for the feedback John!
Chris says
Have you ever seen a “warrior-plumber” who swore off the evils of modern society to focus on his austere craft? And who lambasted all his more sensible peers as “McPlumbers”?
Me neither. :D
G?ng x? f? cái. Good luck and prosperity in the new year!
Wim says
Maybe there are plumber flame wars on the internet and we just don’t know about it? ;-)
All the best to you too. Let’s hope the year of the tiger is a great one for all!
John W. Zimmer says
Hi Wim,
I’ve read with interest Bob’s and now your post on blogging for money. I like your take on it as it is close to mine.
I have always loved the martial arts so I bought a Tracy’s karate school (the association our organization came from) in the early 80’s and then really enjoyed doing karate as my day job. For a couple of years I was my own boss. I live about 5 minutes from the school (just down the alley) and woke up at the crack of 9:50 AM to get to work by 10!
Anyhow I ended up getting married and had to sell the school to make ends meet (my “ends” increased dramatically when I married into a ready made family) and then focused using my limited restaurant work experience into money.
Somewhere along the line I did not have time for fun anymore but along the way I learned a few things.
1) working harder taking on extra jobs does not increase success
2) college really does teach some practical skills for life (I learned to write)
3) follow your dreams – you only live once!
So fast forward to 2005 I was my MBA course of instruction and I was trying to figure out how to leverage this internet into some extra income. I decided to sell stuff on eBay in my off hours.
I ended up selling books the world over because shipping costs were not too prohibitive and worked out a commodity price structure… the only problem is every time I got more efficient and dropped my price structure – everyone else seemed to do so too… so I got tired of playing cut throat and after calculating my profits per hour – I dumped that idea (I worked it for a year though).
I read about blogging from John Chow… a true blog hore (I don’t think he would mind that description… respect intended). :)
I was able to navigate setting up the blog as I am a windows system administrator in my day job – I’m not afraid of technology.
Let me address the topic of your blog and then the moral of my story.
I don’t get the McDojo critique (so long as the quality is there) leveled by most “traditional” schools. McDonalds is one of the most successful chains of hamburger joints in the world. I think you mush have some in Belgium too.
What about reducing ones success to a formula and then replicating it is wrong – amoral or greedy (ok all corporations are greedy – that’s the definition of a business)?
What I wanted to do way back when I bought my karate school and when I created my blog was to MAKE MONEY!!!!!
One point here though – you cannot make money at anything unless it is one of your loves – if you expect to persevere (and be happy).
I do and have always loved martial arts and I do and will continue to find creative ways to parley thing into some extra income if I thing the vehicle is legitimate.
By the way I fully endorse the University of Phoenix as a great way to learn practical skills while earning a degree. As much as I hated writing one to two papers a week, I can now write easily and I am slowly honing my craft. Why I might follow your lead Wim and write books.
Sorry for the wordy response but you hit a nerve. My blogs are fun do and make some money… I have extra money every month and who knows if it will ever rise to significant income replacement but I will be able to do this when I retire. :)
John W. Zimmer says
Sorry Wim – I was thinking of Bob’s post as well as yours… will you edit Bob’s name to Wim for me. sorry!
Wim says
Done!
Wim says
Understood John. I’ve been self-employed for over 15 years now. I know the stress and problems that come with it. Working harder does indeed not automatically translate in increased success. However, I’ve found that working less invariably reduces success rates. So I err on the side of caution and work as much as I can. Luck has it that I love almost everything about my job (paperwork, bah!) :-)
I understand the McDojo issue and to a degree, I think it’s a valid complaint. That said, nobody died and made me the god of the martial arts world. So who am I to get on their case about how they teach/make a living? All I know is, it isn’t for me. I prefer my way, even though I make a lot less money.
I have a passion for the arts and love teaching them. A long time ago, I chose to do that for a living. If you’re a professional, you’re supposed to take all aspects of your business seriously and that includes marketing aka promoting yourself. You don’t have to go overboard but it is necessary to make a decent income.
What makes me laugh is how some people accept a local plumber doing his marketing via a commercial on the local TV station, but they can’t accept the same thing from a MA teacher. By default, they think the teacher is a money-whore or a fraud. Following that logic, every person or company using commercials should be in the same category… Oh well… :-)
Thanks for the feedback John!
Chris says
Have you ever seen a “warrior-plumber” who swore off the evils of modern society to focus on his austere craft? And who lambasted all his more sensible peers as “McPlumbers”?
Me neither. :D
G?ng x? f? cái. Good luck and prosperity in the new year!
Wim says
Maybe there are plumber flame wars on the internet and we just don’t know about it? ;-)
All the best to you too. Let’s hope the year of the tiger is a great one for all!
Danny Young says
Hey Wim,
You already know I am not the “wordy” type., but I really enjoy your Blog, and if you are making money from it, GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!! You are a wealth of insight and information. I believe you make us think, wither we agree or not, isn’t that the point of a good dialogue and conversation?
I am amazed that there are idiots out there who just look for a place to deposit their own personal poison. If they don’t want to have a mature debate, go away, thank you. I for one wish you all the success in the world, and say the same for those who Blog with sincere and honest hearts.
Blessings Bro, Danny
Wim says
Thanks for the kind words Danny. I agree, the point of a discussion is not to win or lose the argument. The value is in the exchange of ideas and points of view. Sadly, too many people on-line miss that point. One day, I’ll post some of those mails I get. So we can all laugh instead of just me. :-)
Danny Young says
Hey Wim,
You already know I am not the “wordy” type., but I really enjoy your Blog, and if you are making money from it, GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!! You are a wealth of insight and information. I believe you make us think, wither we agree or not, isn’t that the point of a good dialogue and conversation?
I am amazed that there are idiots out there who just look for a place to deposit their own personal poison. If they don’t want to have a mature debate, go away, thank you. I for one wish you all the success in the world, and say the same for those who Blog with sincere and honest hearts.
Blessings Bro, Danny
Wim says
Thanks for the kind words Danny. I agree, the point of a discussion is not to win or lose the argument. The value is in the exchange of ideas and points of view. Sadly, too many people on-line miss that point. One day, I’ll post some of those mails I get. So we can all laugh instead of just me. :-)