Technically it is early Tuesday morning but I am going to call it late Monday night so hold onto your hats because this might be a rough ride. I spent 1,938,383 hours traveling today so the language could get colorful.
Ok, I didn’t spend that much time but it felt like it and I am spent but this joint here hasn’t received the love it deserves in a few days so I am going to dish some out.
I monetized this blog several years ago.
Read that again, or read this line: I make money from blogging.
I Make Money From Blogging
Yes, it is true. I make money from blogging but not enough to retire or even think about quitting work. The amount I earn varies from month to month but most of the time my hourly rate is significant.
The hourly rate is important but many bloggers never consider it. Many never stop to figure out how much they are earning. They never take the time to figure out that they are practically indentured servants.
Perhaps it doesn’t matter to them. Perhaps they don’t care about their time. I often say the most important part of blogging is to enjoy it and I still believe that to be true. The majority of bloggers will never earn enough Jack to make this anything more than a hobby that is one hell of a time suck.
And many of them wreak havoc upon the ability of others to earn real money because they saturate the marketplace and do work for nothing which ultimately devalues the work of many others.
Tonight I Don’t Care
I don’t care about any of this. Too damn tired to worry about which one of you Yahoos is handing out stupid advice or trying to convince me that working for free is smart, sensible and good for anyone other than the employer.
Remember a few years back I got into it with some mom bloggers who insisted that working for free made sense but these very same women refused to sleep with men who could help them advance at work. Made no sense to me then and still doesn’t now.
But the reason I don’t care now is because some hours ago I was back in LA sitting with my children trying to explain why I took a job out of state and how this benefits them. I didn’t really expect them to suddenly buy in or understand that sometimes parents make hard decisions because the long term benefits make it worth it.
I would make the same choice 10 times out of ten because there were no other good options and this one has been doing nothing but proving that it was the right move, but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t hard.
Smart Doesn’t Always Equal Easy
Smart choices aren’t always easy and yes I know that good things are often things we work for but saying goodbye was brutal. Given a bit of time we’ll all be in the same place again and life will be easier but the challenge getting there has been trying at times.
I suppose it is part of why I haven’t the had the energy to comment everywhere and visit the blogs the way I used to. Been too busy with too many other things but many, if not most are good.
Got to pick winners to a couple of contests I am running here. Easy contests in which I was compensated for a minimal amount of work. Remember I said I monetized the blog, well that is part of how I did it.
I also used the blog to create some freelance writing assignments and some sponsored posts. Not huge dollars in any of it, but enough.
Sometimes you just have to do the work and let life unfold.
Sounds like a whirlwind but must have been good to see the family. I guess we change as time changes us. There are just some things we feel we have to do at the time. Not all of them are fun. I’m glad you’ve made money here, glad I make money at my place as well. I’d still classify it as a hobby, but one never knows what might be in store if the right effort is applied in the right direction.
Hi Julie,
Yes to all of the above. If I really take a hard look at the numbers it is an expensive hobby but I think overall it is well worth with it. Lots of benefits.
This post made me smile. I think some people start off blogging thinking that they will make it rich quickly when in reality the 99% of bloggers don’t make any money or if they do it is a pittance. The way you put it, indentured servants is correct. You put in a lot effort for little pay off.
I hope everything works out for you Jack!
Hi Sebastian,
Glad to hear this post made you smile. Blogging should be fun, it is too much work not to be. That is what keeps me going. How about you?
That is true. It is a lot of work. I am in the spot of trying to determine whether or not to transfer my blogger blog to a wordpress self-hosted, but I am worried because I have heard that it is easy to hack.
I enjoy it. I think the best part for me is just it forces me to write and to expose my writing, which I wouldn’t do before. It also has been nice interacting with others who are from different parts of the world.
Any blog self hosted or otherwise can be hacked. It is not really a question of can it but how easy is it to respond if it does happen.