So last week I talked all about how I was Mesmerized By Free Stuff in Stage 4 of Blogging, but then I started thinking that maybe in addition to candles, people should give me Cold Hard Cash.
Stage 5: Show Me The Money
And y’all, let me just be honest: here’s where it gets ugly.
I hear you asking, By ugly, do you mean all those ads that were on the sides of your blog?
Well, yes, because those can be ugly, but actually no, because what happened inside of me was far uglier than Adsense.
Because here’s the thing.
Somehow, when I was just blogging for Free Stuff, I actually liked what I was blogging about. I really did LOVE Moss Mountain Farm. I would go there again tomorrow if Mimi would just fly me over from Scotland.
And I actually like Petit Jean Bacon. (Please send some over.)
But when I started chasing the money in blogging, I was haphazard and ridiculous, and the lack of financial success in blogging caused me to have a lot of self-loathing.
At first I joined lots of affiliate programs (like this one) where you put company ads on your sidebar and if people buy stuff by clicking on them you get like ten cents. Well, as you can imagine, that did not make me very much money. In fact, I could be totally wrong about this, but I finally decided that the main purpose these ads serve is to make others think that your blog is professional.
Oh, I saw you had ads on your blog now!
You must be big time!
Yes, thank you very much. I made two dollars this month and only because when I saw my mother was ordering something from Amazon anyway, I asked her to please click through from my website first.
Next, I found some other sites that are dedicated to helping you make money as a blogger. The first one was Collective Bias. Opportunities would pop up on the home page of the program (or you could have them emailed directly to you) where you could apply to be a blogger for a product. In the space of about six months, I probably applied for about fifty of these opportunities and I was accepted for two of them. In both cases, I was sent to buy a product, which I blogged about and then I was reimbursed for the cost of the product and paid a fee for having blogged about it. I think I made $50 for blogging about Colgate and $100 for blogging about a camera. Plus of course I got the toothpaste (long gone) and the camera (collecting dust). Let’s not dwell on all the time I spent putting together those posts + applying to the other 48 opportunities that I did not get, because we will probably discover that $150 comes out to about forty cents an hour. Yikes.
I know this is a hideously tedious amount of detail, but it is this kind of information that I was searching for from others in my Show Me The Money blogging phase. And honestly, it just was not out there.
I combed other blogs (including many of yours) looking for how people were making money in blogging. And people do not really say. In fact, if you visit my blog today, you might come away thinking that I am trying to give the impression of a blog that is making money but I just need to tell you that it is not really making money. I think I have still bought in to the idea that having a blog that looks like it is making money is the key to having one that actually does make money. I call it Fake It ‘Til You Make It. But friends, come back in six months and I may not have all that jazz on there anymore.
I might be in a different stage by then.
The good news is that even though I would still very much appreciate making money from blogging, and I can still be very haphazard, I have, for the most part, left behind the self-loathing.
But again, I am getting ahead of myself. Come back next week and I will tell you all about learning To Define Myself As A Blogger.
Do you have questions or helpful info about making money from blogging? Please share in the comments!
Photos this week are from photo shoots with one of my fav Arkansas Bloggers, Whitney Loibner. The top one is an old What I Wore Wednesday photo featuring Country Outfitter Boots and the second pictures is my mama and me enjoying some Petit Jean Hot Dogs! LOVE!
I love and dearly appreciate your honesty. I struggled with this idea of my blog needing to make money for so long. I mean, after all, could I be a real blogger if I wasn’t making money at it? It always seemed like the answer to that should have been, “Get busy making money.” When finally, after a ton of self-doubt and self-ridicule, I came to the conclusion that I was fine blogging because I wanted to tell stories, and that maybe — on rare occasion— if a product came along that I really believed in and I felt like promoting it, then and only then would I do so. I love Arkansas and will do whatever I can to promote my home state — free or paid — but only because it’s my own personal campaign. I will support and promote our members and their blogs and look for ways for them to earn some funds from their writing. It’s just not for me. I never set out to be the next Pioneer Woman — not that there was any doubt in anyone’s mind about that — but I did set out to write and record and promote and like myself in the process. It’s okay for me. It’s enough. I don’t need that added stress:) But that’s just me and where I am. Whatever you decide for yourself, as long as it’s an honest decision, I will support you all I can. That’s my role and I gladly accept it.
I think you’re so right Debbie, that it is best when what you love and an opportunity for promoting for money intersect. That does not happen very often, but it’s kind of perfect when it does! I love hearing from another blogger how you’ve settled on your purpose and are content with your blog and yourself! Hats off!
You are too cute.
You are too kind! 🙂
Again, great information. I’ve certainly spent some time spinning around those options (adsense, etc) only to get overwhelmed and give up. I’m eager to hear what you have to say next week.
Thanks so much! It’s great to hear that others have worked through some of these same things!
Alison, I love your straight forward, honest writing about making money in the blog world. I hear so many giveaway bloggers (not talking about people who do sponsored posts about things that really fit their niche) talk about how much money they make, but I love how you broke it down to really how much you were paid per hour. Free stuff is nice, but every time a blogger takes a candle for a blog post that they spend the time writing and pushing out on all their social networks, that decreases my and all other bloggers value. My time is worth more than a candle. I hope bloggers start to look at their blog as a landing place; a place where they can put out good content, build their brand (oh no, do not tell me you are not a brand with that sneer on your face but still are looking to make money in the blog world) and start working with companies that fit with their niche/with their life. Or, are able to take on freelance writing, designing, or whatever from building their audience and brand online. With that said, there are some things you can do for free that will help you in building that brand, going to Moss Mountain Farm where they are very proficient in social media helps to build your blog. I go there and hang out with them often, they fit my niche, build my brand and frankly, I adore them and being with them makes me happy.We will talk a lot about this at AWBU this year, trying to see how to get you here!!!
Thanks so much Stephanie! And I think you are right about building a brand, learning from others and (for me especially) doing freelance writing! I’m excited about AWBU and how it is growing!
And of course I would LOVE to make it over. Save me some bacon!
This series is so fun to read, yet has been hitting very close to home. I’ll admit to having been caught up in the “gotta make money” craze, and only opened my eyes when my husband informed me that my blog wasn’t fun to read anymore. Ironically, it seems that when I am pushing out sponsored post after sponsored post, my numbers seem to take a nose dive. When I am writing stories that are true to the whole purpose of my blog, I see higher numbers and more interaction.
I will talk some about numbers in a couple of weeks, Karen, but I definitely found the same to be true. Thanks so much for sharing that! We all love to get good interaction, so it’s great to hear that you have found your way!
You are my favorite and these posts are SO GREAT! You GO GIRL!!!
Thanks so much friend! You know that means the world to me!
I wish we could ship overseas! You would totally be getting a bacon sampler right about now. When you come home to visit, we’ll be here for you 🙂
Thanks so much! SUPER kind! 😉
I am emjoying this series so much. It seems to hit so close to home on many levels. I have recently re evaluated my blog purpose after my hubby informed me that my blog was no longer fun to read. Strangely enough, it seems my stats are at their lowest when I’m cranking out sponsored content after sponsored content. When I’m posting real stories about my family is when my numbers seem to soar.
I’m still in my first year of blogging and more green than I should be, but…
I loved this post. I know I’m no where near blogging for money, but I’ve had a niggling worry about it. You put me at ease. For now, I’ll be working on establishing my brand!
Thanks so much for sharing that Dorothy! I was really hoping to share info that was helpful for bloggers at every stage, so that is great to hear. And like I said a couple of weeks ago, I think the beginning stages of blogging might just be the most fun! So enjoy these months!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have really gone back and forth with the whole idea of trying to make money from my blog. I never wanted that on mocaicofmoms.com , but with Coffee With Jen I thought possibly. I just want to authentically write about the things my family does, products I use, the stuff I read or listen to…because who wouldn’t share those things with their friends? I want to be a place where you can just come have coffee and hang out. (If a company wants to pay me for what I am already doing then I would say that would be icing on the cake!) Thanks again, Allison, for this series! It is right where I am at!
That’s great to hear Jennifer! I have loved writing this series and I am so glad it’s encouraging for others. It would be hard to beat Having Coffee With A Friend as far as blog purposes go, so hats off to you!
I love your transparency on this topic! It is refreshing and helps to take away pressure to make money blogging – because it’s all self-implied pressure and we all have enough of that nonsense anyway:). This was such a fun post to read and very helpful! Hope to see you back on this side of the pond sometime soon!!
Thanks Jenny and you are so right! We are super hard on ourselves, and I want to talk more in future posts about how we can encourage and spread generosity among each other instead of competing/building pressure! 🙂
Would love to cross paths again with you some time as well! 🙂
This is perfection! The good news is that brands are starting to get that it’s about real, mutually beneficial relationships. $50 and a stick of deodorant is not mutually beneficial for my time, effort, nor credibility.
I truly believe 2014 is the year we see a shift and we each start to see opportunities that makes sense for both the brand and the blogger.
I recently wrote this guide for brands that was my way of helping us all out: http://growthwisegroup.com/working-with-bloggers/
Stephanie,
I read your post yesterday. I really appreciated it! It was really good info! Keep up the good work!
This is a wonderful guide Stephanie! So many good points for businesses who want to work with bloggers! Also, I loved that you touched on how things are not always what they seem on a blog. I’m going to talk about that in an upcoming post because I think it’s really important!
Girl, I love this and I SO appreciate your honesty!
Thanks so much Heather! I am definitely going for candid, so that is a compliment! 🙂
Love it! So true. Hope you guys are doing great. We miss you!
We miss you too!!! My kids are pining for eStem and their friends there!
To thine own self be true: the only way to build a brand.
Thanks for sharing.
YES! so so true Katherine!
Yes! Yes! Yes! I am the sole provider for my family and if I had to pay our bills with adsense or cbias posts we would be homeless. I also know that my experience, time, and energy are valuable – more valuable than .40 cents an hour and yours is too. I heart you, Alison Chino.
Thanks so much Jacqueline! It’s so easy for me to sell myself short so I appreciate that encouragement more than you can imagine! 🙂