Blogging, It’s Not All About Money!
Monday, January 12th, 2009 at
1:30 am
Let’s face it, we all would love to make a whole lot of cash from our blogs, but I want to point out that blogging doesn’t necessarily have to be all about money. So what are some of the other things that we can get out of blogging.
- Satisfaction From Helping Someone : I reckon I get a whole lot more exited when I am able to help someone through a post or even a comment from within a post, than from the measly few bucks I earn from Google.
- Recognition By Others: This may come in several forms, from a simple trackback from a post you wrote to having your blog chosen as the Featured Blog for the week.
- Exposure: This can be tied in with Recognition, and it’s really great to have someone email you to ask if they can use some of the material that you posted in a blog. This happened at my ScenicAdelaide blog where the editor of an Australian magazine called Discovering Stone, which is aimed at the natural stone industry, asked if she could use a photo from my Three Rivers Fountain in Victoria Square post. No money changed hands but the credits showed me as the photographer as well as a link to the blog.
See, blogging doesn’t necessarily have to be all about making money as there are lots of things that can make it an extremely satisfying venture. Blogging may provide loads of ways of satisfying a bloggers life, and I would really be interested to find ouy what it is that you get out of blogging.
Filed under: General
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Sire-
I have a confession to make, I got an email from CommentLuv about you creating a trackback to the featured blog post. I then headed over to Wassup Blog to read the post and couldn’t find it. I re-read the email, and then finally realized that the post was beneath your awesome video post from the other day…how’d you do that?
This is a great post because you specifically helped me to realize that there is more to blogging than the act of blogging and money. There is a huge blogging community out there that is willing to help out with everything from tips to commenting and linking to your site (promotion).
Jason
P.S. Did you get my email?
Jason´s Last blog post..AOL Email Scammers – Why You and Your Scam are Stoopid
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Hi Jason, firstly about the email, the answer is no. It could of got caught with my 500+ spam emails?
Secondly, if you’ve upgraded to Wordpress 2.7 there is a “Sticky” feature that allows you to make any post a ‘featured’ post for as long as you want,forcing it to stay at the top of your home page. I explain how to access the feature in my Wordpress 2.7 Rocks.
In regards to the Featured Post that you wrote about this blog, man it was absolutely great and I was really thrilled and appreciative of all you had to say about the blog. Thanks heaps Jason!
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Nice little post, Sire, and you’re right, it’s not always about the money. But the money wouldn’t depress us any.
Mitch´s Last blog post..My Big RSS Subscriber Contest!
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Sire Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Mitch, I can’t argue with you on that point, but having all that money would leave an empty feeling if you didn’t have all the love that goes with it.
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My pleasure, is there an email address that works better than the others? I’d like to get you the email but it seems the previous addresses I sent it to didn’t work out so well, ha ha.
As for 2.7, we’re running it although I’m personally still trying to get used to it. It seems substantially slower to me (on the admin panel side) which is a bit frustrating…but the unique new features (that I apparently don’t know about) are cool. I’ll check out that post…
Jason´s Last blog post..Open Road Tolling Brought To You By Rod R. Blagojevich, Arrested Governor
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Sire Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 2:22 am
No worries Jason, I managed to fish it out of the spam pile and have fixed it so that it shouldn’t be treated as spam in the future.
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I started out blogging for one reason: to earn a living.
At first, that was all I was interested in. Then, over the years, other things became part of the mix, including the three you mention.
Part of the real satisfaction I get from blogging, now, is keeping up with my friends and meeting new people around the world. That’s a very satisfying part of blogging, creating Squidoo lenses, and participating in social networking and forums.
As I learn more, I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned and I always enjoy learning from my friends’ experiences.
I have to agree with Mitch, though. “The money wouldn’t depress us.”
Act on your dream!
JD
John Dilbeck´s Last blog post..Celebrate National DeLurking Week – leave a comment
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Sire Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
How could we not agree with Mitch, sure the money would be nice but I sometimes wonder if we concentrated less on making the money then perhaps the tone and quality of our posts would change some. Perhaps that subtle change would make our posts more popular which would in the long run lead to more cash.
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Mitch Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
I doubt it would change mine, Sire. After all, I’m already writing long posts geared more towards education and opinion than money making. If I were to start writing only on money making stuff, I think I’d get bored in a heartbeat, plus I wouldn’t have much to write about, since I’m not making great money now.
Mitch´s Last blog post..Brookstone Drops Me As An Affiliate; Read This
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Sire Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Not aimed at you at all my friend. I’m afraid their isn’t all that much that I can impart on you that you don’t already know.
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Mitch Reply:
January 13th, 2009 at 12:22 am
I appreciate that, but you did teach me about Chitika. lol
Mitch´s Last blog post..How Do You Twitter?
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Sire Reply:
January 13th, 2009 at 12:41 am
Is that all. I’m sure I taught you at least a couple of other things.
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Mitch Reply:
January 15th, 2009 at 12:34 am
Nah, I’m only giving you Chitika for now. If “we” come up with something else, I’ll let you know.
Mitch´s Last blog post..My Big RSS Subscriber Contest!
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you are absolutely right my friend. as i said before i tried to monetize my blog which resulted in a huge failure but i still keep blogging with the same passion since i really have fun when i do so. the thrill of having a comment is the most valuable thing to me…. nice post!
stratosg´s Last blog post..Quick URL parsing using Perl
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Sire Reply:
January 12th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Thanks stratos, I reckon we are pretty similar in a lot of ways but I sure wish I had your creative know how for designing plugins and software. Still haven’t tried your Blogger Buddy yet but I will.
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Most of my blog is written so, I do not have to walk every single person though some task. Now that it is all written out, I can just send them a link when they ask about instructions.
To many people promise to help you get going online but, they give just enough info that you are left in a spot to buy their ebook, pay them to coach,….Seems much of this info is known by millions but, few give you free access or take time to help. If I have the info, might as well share it.
I do have my business sections for what I sell but, you would have to go to that section for info.
Now all of you need to make a donation to my ‘Poor Sheryl (not making enough money)’ charity! LOL!
Sheryl Loch´s Last blog post..Skype How To Questions
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That’s a great idea Sheryl. I sometimes structure my posts on some of my blogs in the same way, so that in case I forget how to do something I can refer to my post for specific instructions and then I’m as happy as Larry again.
Like you I’ve also noticed all those you beaut bloggers who have made it big and offer just enough to wet your appetite but if you want the real hard core stuff it’s going to cost you. Which is fine, but just say so and do away with the buttering up.
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what do I get out of blogging? … ummm, stress ???
Seriously though, I do enjoy the interaction and the learning. Like everybody else, I’m interested in making a few extra bucks … but I just can’t bring myself to be an “in your face” type of marketer. I’m just happy to stay low key, and trust it will all work out in the long run.
Todd
Todd´s Last blog post..Easy Running Tips
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Sire Reply:
January 13th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
I’m like you Todd, I hate those in your face type of people and will try to actually stay away from them. As for making a few extra bucks, I have a post planned about a couple of plugins that may help bloggers earn that little bit more.
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Yes there is nothing that compares to the genuine feeliing you get from helping someone … you end up seeing that just when you really need help yourself, it comes from out of nowhere – almost like a blessing except this is a blessing you actually “forwarded” for yourself!
To put all this in perspective: All the things you mentioned in this post will eventually lead to money anyway
[Reply]
Oh No! Caleb, you saw right through me
Seriously though, in a way I think you have reaffirmed what I was trying to get across. That if we concentrate too hard on the making money part of blogging we may actually make less. It is much better to concentrate on the quality of posts and on our interaction with commentators and then all the rest will follow.
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Dear Sire,
How could blogging not be about money? If it wasn’t, Blogging To The Bank would not be released… Yaro Starak would have stayed broke but still have lots of hair… Shoemoney would still be looking for money in his shoes!
Heh, all kidding aside. Yes, there are lots of side benefits to blogging and it’s only when people take their eyes OFF the money… that they see the benefits, no?
Asher
Asher´s Last blog post..20 Point Starter Guide To Professional Blogging
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Wow, did Shoemoney really look for money in his shoes? Perhaps the smell of his soles are what pushed him towards blogging.
Thanks for your comment Asher, I wasn’t sure where you were going with it at first but you finished it off with a flourish and it put the first smile on my face for today.
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Asher from Awesome Home Business Reply:
January 16th, 2009 at 10:06 am
I bet he did at least once~ He might not have come up with that concept if he didn’t :D
Glad that put a smile on your face :) Have been trying to accomplish that with comments ever since I watched Heath Ledger’s awesome performance in The Dark Knight
Asher
Asher´s Last blog post..How To Be A Professional Blogger
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Sire Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 12:52 am
Well, it’s finally paid off, so now you can rest easy, that is of course unless you are going to try for an encore or something.
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I’m with you man, the friendship and advice is truly great…cash is the side game! Peace bro!
The Almost Millionaire´s Last blog post..Is Ford A Good Buy?
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So, tell me, how close are you to that million dollar mark. With all that hard work you’ve put in you can’t be too far off.
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Blogging is seriously something much more then money. The freedom and fun with blogging is just something different. BTW nice post.
Car Blog´s Last blog post..Car Launches In 2009
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Sire Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Thanks CB, I appreciate both your comment and the praise. It’s what makes the post worth while.
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It depends on the person. If you looking for Recognition By Others and exposure, it is better if you use your name as the URL.
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Sire Reply:
January 16th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Or, as in the case of this blog, and others using the keywordluv plugin, you can use both your name and keywords.
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I agree with Asher…there are lots of side benefits to blogging and it’s only when people take their eyes OFF the money… that they see the benefits…
I think all of us probably started blogging madly in the hope of making money. It is always a reality check when it doesn’t happen overnight! After a period of time the enjoyment in helping others often outweighs the urgency for the dollars.
Blogging Review´s Last blog post..Blogging To The Bank Tactics
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That is so true BR for a whole lot of us. If it wasn’t true blogs would be falling off the internet just as fast as those new ones appear. Thanks for your comment.
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what most bloggers dont realize is that when you blog commercially, or blogging for money – chances are they would get less or zero traffic at all.. blogging must be done with passion, articles written should come from the blogger itself.. Do you really wanna visit a autoblog? you tell me?
shan.biz mod [eric]
shan eric´s Last blog post..Sinulog Cebu 2009: LIVE VIDEO STREAMING
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Sire Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Actually Shan that is not entirely true. I have two blogs that I use extensively for doing paid posts and they get way more traffic than this one does. Not only that but the adsense earnings are also higher.
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I think, for me, it is the recognition in the sense of having a vast audience to write to, share pictures with, and so forth. Also, if I can help anyone through a post or comment, that is probably the most satisfying thing of all.
~ Kristi
Kikolani´s Last blog post..What Do I Want
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Isn’t that the best thing about blogging, that you can talk to a huge audience without having to get stage fright by physically having to stand in front of them? As for the satisfaction of being able to help someone either via comments or the post, I agree that it rates right up there with the best of feelings.
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Blogging is about exploring yourself through out the internet. It is boat that you can do anything with it. Either travel alone across the world, or get the people on your boat and travel around and get money for it.
Anyways blogging is perhaps one of the greatest invention in the internet of our times.
Ron
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Sire Reply:
May 13th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Now there is an analogy I haven’t heard of before. Thanks for the comment Ron.
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