This article is a response to a piece on the Web In Travel website where Siew Hoon talks to a guy who wants to make money from his blog.
Wow! What a question – “how can I make money from my blog?"
I'm surprised at this question - I think people who ask this question are asking the wrong question. But I suppose I should clarify exactly what I mean.
Bluntly put, I think people who write blogs to make money are going against what, for me, is the underlying ‘giving’ notion of what blogging is. A quick look on dictionary.com yields the definition: ‘an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page;’
People who used to (and still do I suppose) write diaries and log their thoughts on paper never, for one minute, expected to make any money from it. It was a very personal and private endeavor in almost all cases. However, the internet has, of course, provided those people with the possibility to link with thousands of readers and, in turn, encouraged those who may never have dreamed about keeping a diary or a log, to begin to write driven by the idea that it might not simply be a solitary activity given the possibility that thousands may end up reading their thoughts and musings. (There are countless examples of fame and notoriety of course from the most unlikely of sources through blogs and other forms of User Generated Content).
So, basically put, I don’t think people should make money from blogging. Blogging should be an altruistic and non- commercial activity. I’m encouraged to see how many companies now are using their own blogs to keep their customers abreast of product development, new releases and other company activities. I like this idea of a blog – it’s a platform for engaging with customers in a fairly personal and accessible way – kind of, this is what we’re up to, thought you might like to know and, by the way, there’s a place where you can let us know what you think.
But, let me be clear, I think attaching some advertising to one’s blog is fine – a few banners here and there of course and some Google paid stuff. Covering one’s costs or even making a small amount of revenue in a pretty stealth kind of way is fine. This indeed may have been the approach of Siew Hoon’s friend in the article – I do hope so.
Anyone who blogs to make money doesn’t deserve to make money. If you want to make money, then come up with a commercially viable on-line application or service and sell it but don’t jump on the wholesome notion of blogging and look to make a quick buck.
