Thoughts of an aspiring author and expanding entrepreneur
One of my long term goals in life is to become a published author. This is something that comes directly from my insatiable need to write and tell stories and basically let my imagination run amok all over the place. The creative process is one of the greatest experiences in the universe for me. I can spend hours working hard on writing and end up exhausted but deliriously happy at the same time. It is a great feeling. So of course like many people out there my more practical parts of my brain thinks “Why don’t we find a way to do this for a living?” To which my creative side responds “Oh yeah! That is an amazing idea! But how?”
I get my entrepreneurial nature from my father. He was a self employed computer guru and an amazing businessman. He was an amazing problem solver. If you had a computer problem he could find a way to solve it. And the amazing thing was he could normally do it within the budget you needed. Growing up helping him run computer network cables through buildings or installing new servers or even just on routine stop offs to check on clients was an eye opener when it came to business. It showed me that if you have a passion for something and you work hard that there is always a way to make a business out of it. And in my mind writing should be no different.
Now we get to the fun stuff. I have to admit the mental puzzle that is being an entrepreneur is just as exciting to me as writing in certain ways. And doing research for how to make my writing into a business has been a whirl wind tour of craziness. At first I started with simple ideas for monetizing this blog or possibly starting another blog to monetize. And yes I did originally balk at the idea of “monetizing” but the more I looked into it the more I think it might work. First off I looked where most people look, advertising. But after a brief glimpse at it I decided that until I get to a point where I can hand pick and choose who is being advertized on my blog I am not even going to entertain it. There is something about adverts that are picked by something else and randomly placed into my posts that feels too much like selling out.
This led me to another interesting approach for the blog, affiliate sales. The long and the short of my thoughts on this are simple, if there is something that I like enough to write about on the blog then I like it enough to support selling it. And there should be nothing wrong with having a link to buy the product from somewhere on my site. I am pretty sure that if you go back through my posts that you will find links to sites to buy many of the books that I have mentioned. So why not make that link an affiliate link? That way if there are any sales from that link I can use the funds to help support and expand this blog and my writing. And the greatest part of it is that I can pick and choose the things that I support.
In the end this is going to be a learning evolution. And hopefully it will be a productive one. There might be things that we try with the blog or as an extension to the blog that work amazingly. Granted there might also be things that totally tank. But I promise to be forthright and honest about all of them. That way we can all learn from it. And through your feedback maybe we can get this whole thing to work better.
So what do you think about advertising and affiliate links on blogs? How does that affect your reading enjoyment? Does it make you like or dislike the blog?
I’ve only seen a few blogs heading the “monetizing” route, and frankly, I stopped reading them.
Scalzi will link to his own products, and that’s different.
For my own blog, I pay to keep the WordPress advertising from appearing, so that should give you an idea of my feelings on it. The problem with things like Ad-Sense, and the like, is that they choose ads based on what you write.
It does not mean they will match the content. It means they will be related. So, if I rail against alternative medicine, it will likely throw up an ad for grass juice, thereby totally undermining the post. I’ve seen writers trying to give advice, only to have shady “self-publish” outfits advertise in the same article where they advise against it. When I asked them, they said they have no control on the content. I did not answer, but I wanted to say . . . yes you do.
Basically, I view my blog, and from your stated purpose, your blog, as an exercise in self-expression. It’s not a job, profession, or business. It is an expression of who I am, a showcase for what I do. I am asking people to come and look, and enjoy.
It is a very different thing to ask them to come so they can be sold stuff.
I’ll mention, again, that this is my personal view. I see nothing wrong with self promotion, and even selling one’s own stuff, but the whole advertising thing for me is a distraction (at least as it is currently implemented).
Finally, one other comment. Assuming one wants to generate some revenue through advertising, it is predicated on traffic. For that, one needs to ensure a constant flow of viewers, and for that one needs reliable, entertaining, useful, and interesting content. Every day.
It would seem to me this would take away from one’s other efforts and goals.
Perhaps a better route would be to first write, publish, and then promote, and then, maybe, cash in on multiple levels.
Again . . . personal opinion only.
And this is exactly what I love about your comments. It is great to read a straight to the point personal opinion that voices everything that I am concerned about. The entire idea of “monetizing” simultaneously makes me cringe and interested at the same time. I love writing and frankly would love to make my entire income from it. It is one of the reasons I have branched out into article writing for a local magazine with hopes to expand further into more magazines and possibly copy writing. This is where my natural inclinations from my father when it comes to entrepreneurial things comes into play. Like you, I pay to keep the random advertizing from popping up on my posts. The idea that an mathematical formula can guess what my readers might want to see with my posts just doesn’t work for me. Not to mention the simple invasive nature of it to the reader. And while I do like the idea of supporting/ be supported by someone or a business in the form of advertising a specific thing on my site I really don’t see that happening right now or any time soon. I like the format of my blog too much to make those kinds of changes.
That’s why I looked into the affiliate sales concept. If there is a book or a product that I really think is great I am going to write about it. If I think it would help a fellow writer then I want to make sure more of us writers know about it. The only thing affiliate sales would change is how the link I put into the post works. It would give me credit for you going to amazon, for instance, and buying it. But this still brings up the questions of how does that look to readers. If it is a choice between doing it and loosing readers or not doing it and gaining readers then I think it is a pretty obvious choice. I like the passive way that it works. I would normally try to include links in my posts to things like that anyway so I am not sure if it would change anything. I just want to make sure I am transparent about it. Is affiliate sales the same as advertising? Would it be a distraction or an annoyance to readers?
I don’t think the affiliate sale thing is all that intrusive. Then again, that’s something many are doing (known sites with lots of traffic, and sites associated with podcasts – if you are referring strictly about writing related products).
I would have to see what I give up versus the chance to make literally a few bucks.
Perhaps after you look into it you can post the details, pros and cons, of such a program.
Now that is a good idea. I understand the concept of what do I have to give up for how much return. It is a big question. To me it is a question of degrees. Right now if the return from something like affiliate sales could pay for the domain name and other expenses of just have the site setup like it is right now then that would be great. Granted we are only talking about less than $30 a year so it isn’t a big goal but it is the first step in my mind. We will see. And I will definitely write a post on it when I get some reliable data on it. As always thank you for your thoughts.
Hey!! . . . perhaps I should charge for my thoughts!!
I can see it now . . . “Dissperser’s Advice on Life, the Universe, and Everything” . . .
No question too big, no question too small.
Answers: 50cents per 100 words.
Useful Answers: $50,000 (includes handy Self-Kick-in-the-Butt kit, some assembly required)
Haha! That is perfect! But I would say that you aren’t giving yourself enough credit. 50 cents per 100 words? That isn’t even amateur rates. You should be looking at least 5 cents a word starting. And when it comes to the Self-Kick-in-the-Butt kit… Can I just buy that from you and send it to people that I think deserve it instead?
50 cents is the volume rate . . . I figure the advice would all be the same, and I would just sell a crap-load of it. I’m pretty sure I can come up with some general platitude at least as good as that of the majority of self-help gurus out there. You know:
“You need to look inside yourself, and find the trigger to actuate the innate ability specific to you; the ability that sets you apart from others out there. You know it’s there, because you can clearly see you are not a dolt, while so many around you are. But, your lack of conviction is holding you back from greatness which is rightfully yours.
So, look deep inside yourself. What gives you worth, purpose, direction? That is what you must embrace, leverage, and actuate to fulfill your your destiny. How do you do that?
The first thing you absolutely must do”
– - sorry, that is the word limit; please insert another 50 cents.
As far as the kit . . . forget it; Of all the people I’ve offered it to, none have ever availed themselves.