I maintain caution in adopting new trends. The reason, as demonstrated here, is that more often than not, the rush to promote a new technology because it may (or may not) be cutting edge often overlooks something else that is critical.
One example: The advent of the desktop computer was thought to put an end to the use of paper. If Edward Tenner is to be believed, the democratization of computer technology led to an INCREASE in paper use and waste. Tenner’s book, Why Things Bite Back, gives us a number of examples of what he calls “the revenge of unintended consequences.”
A more contemporary example is the hype about monetizing Web sites, blogs in particular. The reality for site monetization is that few people can actually make a living doing a blog, despite the wealth of information — usually in sales pitch form — about how to become a “pro-blogger.” Even the most successful of bloggers have side jobs, book deals and other income streams to keep them financially afloat and profitable.
Show me a blogger who makes an adequate living just from that blog, and I’ll guarantee that person is a rare exception to the rule. The rule being: Blogs are not reliable income generators. Similarly, blog advertising is generally not worth the time and space for most blogs and bloggers.
Here’s why: The blog advertising return-on-investment is not comparable to the return on investment for a moderately decent paying job and/or freelance work. And the job benefits and reliability far outweigh the potential for a significant ad income on a blog. Put more simply, for most of us, a reliable income stream is a day job.
Blog ad revenue, in comparison, is a lousy return on investment. Consider: if I charge even $35/hour for freelance work, doing freelance work is far more profitable and a better use of my time than churning out blog content for what would amount to nickels and dimes per hour at the end of the year.
Given all of this, there is one upside to blog advertising revenue: It’s a potential passive income stream; that is, if your site is popular enough — this one is not — sacrificing screen real estate (read: turning your blog into an ugly, visually interrupted commercial entity) may be worth generating a meager passive income. Passive being the key word here. If you are spending a significant amount of time trying to generate ad revenue, whether by generating content or soliciting for ads, the opportunity cost must be taken into account. Does that time equate to or lead to more than your hourly wage and/or hourly consulting fee? If not, ditch it and spare your site visitors.
I have all but given up on advertising on this blog for this reason: The time spent gaining and setting up the advertising, or linking to my Amazon Associates account, is time better spent consulting. And my (lack of) visitation doesn’t warrant significant time invested in gaining ads. The reality of ad income being a livable wage for most of us translates into pimping our skills elsewhere for straight, hard cash.
The take home: Don’t believe the hype of site monetization. For most it’s not worth the time and effort.
Mike McDowell
1 year ago
Solid posting. I completely agree. Part of me still believes that if you can secure the “passive income” through display advertising on your blog, it may be worthwhile. Gary Vaynerchuk posted a decent little video a few weeks ago on his blog about how to get an advertiser for your blog. http://garyvaynerchuk.com/2008/11/10/want-to-get-advertisers-on-your-blogvlog-go-and-get-it/
I agree that there is going to be virtually no way to make a living from a blog (unless you become one of the blog superstars, and even then, I have to believe your primary income from the blog comes from speaking engagements, consultation, etc). The blog is an outlet for you to have a conversation, establish yourself as a thought leader, and then monetize being hired as a result of your expertise.
Again – good posting. Spot on.
bconrad
1 year ago
Thanks for the comment.
That video inadvertently proves my point, obnoxious ads and all.
What Mr. Vaynerchuk doesn’t tell you is that there’s a combination of factors that lead to cold-calling success, among them being personality, perseverance, skill (both innate and learned), timing and luck. Most will not have enough of the right the combination of factors to create an income stream that will allow quitting the day job.
At the end of the day, let’s see some hard data from those taking these points and turning the monetizing corner on their sites. Along with that, how about something more than anecdotes from folks who have taken Tim Ferriss’ passive income business model recommendations and actually made them work, successfully?
Believe me, on this topic, I would LOVE to be wrong.
PuReWebDev
1 year ago
In regards to site monetization, I think you are overlooking the fact that many bloggers live overseas, and can easily support themselves making just a few U.S. dollars per month. I can’t make a living here in the U.S. only making $500 from an affiliate program, but someone living in a South American country would live handsomely from that amount. I don’t think it’s all hype, and at the same time, you are right, there is a lot of exaggeration when it comes to bloggers income claims.
Ryan Jerz
1 year ago
I agree, Bob. Just being passionate about something and hoping to make some scratch isn’t enough. I think one of the things people keep forgetting about Gary Vaynerchuck is that he knows an awful lot about wine–something people spend retarded amounts of money on. You could even argue that they spend that money stupidly, but Gary knows it and has capitalized on it to a ridiculous degree, which somehow makes him the resident expert. Don’t get me wrong…I saw him on stage at the same conference as Mike and thought he was phenomenal. He motivated the shit out of me, but at the end of the day, what I’m interested in isn’t exactly what everyone else is interested in, so I’ll wind up scraping a few dollars a month (literally, a few) out of some ads and never make any real money. I think monetization of sites is a lost cause.
It’s essentially like hitting the lottery. Some people will do it, but there just isn’t the cash for everyone to do it. If everyone was making money online, what the hell would get done around here? So put your time where you’re really interested and passionate and let the fame come to you in other ways. Or do some real work.
Mike McDowell
1 year ago
So, I didn’t mean to turn the attention of this article to Gary Vaynerchuk. My intention was simply to show an example of someone who has shown a way to monetize your blog through display ads. But, I’ll reiterate that I still don’t believe there’s any way you make a living on it. Unless generating income through ads is a part of your strategic business plan, you are probably not going to monetize your blog in a worthwhile way.
Yes, if you have a blog, and are attracting any sort of regular audience, I think you should take Gary’s lead and make a few calls and see if relevant companies want to advertise on your blog (or partner in some other way). If they bite, then you make a little passive income. Big deal. It’s a nice compensation for taking time out of your life to provide valuable content. If you want to make a living on providing that content, you better have a solid business plan, cause selling ads will probably not cut it.
Again, I don’t think you will make a living from blogging, unless you have (via your blog) positioned yourself as a thought leader and turn that position into opportunities for speaking, consulting, etc. In Gary Vaynerchuk’s case, he used the blog to augment his positioning as an expert (started with Wine Library TV) and that bolstered his already established wine retailing business.
So, is ad space on your blog going to be your cash cow? No way. But, you can use it as a communication medium, and most any communication medium that’s attracting eyeballs can be monetized – people just shouldn’t expect it to be nearly enough to sustain their lifestyle. (BTW – PuReWebDev – I don’t know that “many bloggers live overseas” and can survive on $500 USD a month. I’d love to see that data.)