So You’re Thinking About Monetizing Your Blog
Steve at An Almost Anonymous Blog writing about paywalls:
I wrote to myself yesterday saying that I’m resigned to the fact that I’m not going to make “serious” money online. On one hand, it sucks to think that I have all these big plans for myself and realize that no, I’m not going to make a living out of this. On the other hand, it’s freeing: I can write anything I want without worrying about the quality, or feel like I need to be a “content creator”.
Lately, I’ve noticed a growing trend among fellow indie bloggers attempting to monetize their blog. It’s become apparent that something fundamental has changed. The content I once enjoyed reading regularly has changed, and unfortunately, not for the better. These bloggers seem to be adjusting their writing style and content strategy, likely in pursuit of attracting more subscribers. And the frequency of their posts has increased, but the substance has dwindled.
The question that lingers is whether the income generated from these efforts significantly impacts their lives financially. I bet that in 99.9% of cases it doesn’t. By switching to a monetized model for your blog you will probably piss off a lot of your faithful readers. So why bother?
Congrats to Steve for realizing that he’s not going to make a living from his blog. I’m sure his readers are happy as well.