(Note 6/24/11: This post was written when this blog was on the Typepad platform.)
Blog Montetization
Sounds like a mouthful, doesn’t it? But I wanted to ramble a bit about it because it’s a subject that’s been on my mind for some time. I realize it’s a little off the topic of crochet, but since this is a blog, I figure it’s appropriate to talk about. (Plus, I haven’t posted in a while, and I need time to write a crochet-related post with photos and all … I used to post twice a week when I first started this blog; now it’s down to twice a month, if that. Okay … not the subject I wanted to ramble about).
Ways to Make Money Blogging (… or not)
Making money from ones blog; that’s what “blog monetization” or “monetizing your blog” means. It’s somewhat important to me, probably because I don’t have a “nine-to-five,” I’ve been self employed for over 21 years, and I’m always thinking about ways to … well … put it bluntly, make some money. But I’ve found it difficult to do with my blog.
The Infamous “Tip Jar”
I don’t know if you remember, but I had a tip jar up for a while. Typepad lets you do that if you pay a little more per month for the service. That felt kinda “tacky” to me, if you want to know the truth. I mean, aren’t I supposed to be blogging for the pure pleasure of it?? But then I thought, “hey, I’ve got some free patterns up, loads of free information and photos about crocheting; shouldn’t I be able to ask for a little “something something” for my efforts?” But the guilt got to me, and I took the tip jar off (plus, I wasn’t getting any tips!).
Banner Ads
Then, for a while, I had some banner ads up that were not related to crochet AT ALL. I took those down after a while and decided that, if I’m going to try to “monetize” my blog, it will be with crochet and fiber arts-related stuff, like the book links in the third column.
Affiliate Income from Google and Amazon
Now, I also have crochet-related Google ads, and I just created an “aStore,” short for Amazon Store, which allows me to get a little (and I do mean little) commission if people by fiber arts-related stuff like hooks and yarns and the like. The link to the store is in the upper left-hand column if you’d like to browse. Hmmm … I guess that was a commercial, wasn’t it?
To Monetize or Not, That Is the Question
What am I trying to say with all this? I love blogging about crochet. Why? Because I love writing, I love crochet, and blogging gives me the best of both worlds.
On the other hand, all the Internet gurus say that you should monetize your blog and to do it in a way that people see your ads, etc. up front, at the top of your blog, screaming and shouting so people will see them, click them, and buy something. That bothers me a bit because I don’t want the monetization to overshadow the blogging.
But now that I’ve thought about this a bit, I think I’ve answered my own question. The primary purpose of this blog is to talk about crochet and fiber arts. And it’s okay for me to offer stuff for sale as long as it’s related to crochet and fiber arts and doesn’t drown out the information. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll put that tip jar back up, since I see other bloggers whom I respect and who have wonderful, information-packed blogs, doing the same.
Let me know what y’all think about this.
11 comments On Some Thoughts on “Blog Monetization”
I honestly don’t think there’s anything wrong with monetizing your blog. It’s a personal decision and you have to do what you think is right for you. It is *your* blog after all. 🙂
Hey Opal! Thanks so much for your comment. You’d think that I’d be able to give myself permission to make money from my own blog. Wonder where that old conditioning is coming from??
We of the self-employed (as both Anthony and I are) call this multiple streams of income. The fist question I ask of any new thing is usually, “Can I eat it? Next is, “Can we make any money with it?” LOL.
There’s nothing wrong with trying to figure out how to make cash from something – we do have to eat after all. Anthony and I think we have come up with a couple of ideas for summer our slow season, none of them (except for my continuing to teach freeform) have anything to do with fiber. Let’s see; growing mushrooms and herbs for the farmers market, baking for the farmers market. Making self watering growing towers, doing a personal chef thing, retouching peoples old photographs and the list goes on. We start with something we like to do or are reasonably good at and take off from there. With any luck, HMH will be in enough stores by summer 2008 that we won’t have to worry about it – but who knows.
In any case – keep thinking – you’ll come up with something, and it might even be something more interesting than what you’re doing now!
I think anyone reading this blog would have the same irritation and confusion over blog monetization. I have dabbled with several sites some with adsense some without. I’ve found that I’ve seen much better revenue with domaining cybersquatting if you will. I just posted a new article on my blog http://monetizationweekly.com/?p=91
about Kevin Ham and how he made millions just doing what I’ve never been able to remember to do.
Hi Michelle! Thanks for visiting and thanks for your comment. If there’s any confusion or irriation, it’s probably mine because I don’t know what the heck I’m doing when it comes to monetizing my blog. But I’m slowly and surely learning with each mistake I make. Btw, I checked out “domain cybersquatting” and from what I’ve read, it doesn’t sound too ethical, despite the fact that you can probably make money doing it. So I’ll probably pass on that one.
Hi Claudia! Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, I am trying some things not related to crochet, like http://www.SeeYourselfRichNow.com. I’ve even started a blog for it – http://www.SeeYourselfRichNowBlog.com, although I haven’t gotten very far with it (you may have to cut and paste the urls into your browser; the links don’t seem to be working here).
I’ve been studying and applying the principles since the early 80s so it’s something close to my heart.
Good luck on ALL of your endeavors!
I don’t know anything about it but I saw this link today:
http://payperpost.com/
Hey Myra! Thanks for the link. It looks like an interesting concept. I’ll have to dig deeper to see if this fits in with my blogs.
I have made money from my blog – no tip jar, no ads – but from people who read it, see my work and commission work from me. So far my blog has paid for itself well into the future.
As always, all the best to you. I look forward to seeing what you choose to do.
Cathy! How are you! It’s been a while since we chatted! Hope all is well with you. And it certainly seems that way if your commissioned work is paying for your blog. How cool!
I added the tip jar, so we’ll see how it goes this timem around.
Take care!
Hi YOPT,
Girrl, just keep your day job. LOL. Best to you and all your crocheting/blogging endeavors.
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