Wednesday 7 June 2017

Are you a blogger or an advertiser?

A couple of months back I decided to try see if I could earn a decent income from my blog.

I started my research by posting questions in blogging groups and asking people directly how they made an income from their blog.

I found a lot of useful information out there, but when I looked at the actual income v's the hours invested and some of the methods used, I decided that my time would be better spent looking for a part time job and to continue blogging a hobby.

I also don't want to be seen as the person who in the real world walks into a room and within 5 minutes of introducing themselves is trying to sell you a product, which is what I feel happens on social media when you click on a link to an article with a catchy title, that turns out to be nothing else other than advertising.

Now I know what I discovered, doesn't and won't apply to EVERY blogger out there making a living from blogging, but I suspect it applies to quite a few. I'm NOT judging either, I'm just saying it's not for me and here are the reasons why:


  • The world of blogging is very competitive. I left several blogging groups and eventually deactivated my face book account. I didn't like what I was witnessing in many groups, bitching, back slapping and obvious exclusion of others who didn't agree with them.

  • Blogs that were nothing but sponsored posts and always gushing. I've never read a negative post about a product or a service, like ever. What I did see in some groups was people complaining that customer service with a company was dire and receiving information from other bloggers just not to mention it in their review/post.

  • Sponsored posts that aren't declared are so obvious and as everyone seems to be very hot on telling others what to do and what not to do with their blog, I was quite surprised to find these with some high profile bloggers. Also blog posts that are written in the style of a sponsored post without payment or goods being received. Just why would anyone do that and then pay for the face book tools so they're not in breach of any regulations? 

  • Too many people claiming to give professional advice. Now while being a mum is hard work and there are many roles that one juggles, it does not make people experts in that field, but due to the nature of the blog post titles, or back slapping from other bloggers, these blog posts were being used as professional advice and IMO, that is very dangerous.

  • The time and money spent on headers, self hosting, plug ins, designs, as well as paying for services for scheduling posts etc. I've also seen many blog posts especially related to travel where it's been discussed in groups about costs incurred, such as flights, then the post not mentioning what was paid for and what was received for review or declaring they'd received additional payment for the post.

  • Purchasing of followers, using BOTS to comment and like on your behalf. Which is really evident when posts appear in the early hours of the morning or comments and likes are received in the middle of the night. I also don't have the time, energy or desire to build up followers on Social Media, playing the follow/unfollow game. Ok it makes your stats look good.

  • joining PODS and private groups to drop links with rules to comment, like, follow and share. Some of the rules are really strict and regardless of the rules, some are blatantly ignored, even by the hosts. Certain bloggers will leave gushing comments, yet on other peoples posts, comments left are 'nice work' 'well done' The most annoying ones though are linky drops and never returning comments or replying to the 'in crowd' bloggers and ignoring the lesser knowns.

  • Advertising and affiliate links seem to be the biggest income for the majority of bloggers and they aren't actually earning an income from writing (again I'm not saying EVERYONE) A lot of people make money from writing sponsored posts, copy writing and I've seen quite regularly many selling products after they've reviewed them and advertising them for sale on their Facebook, where they've actually posted a link to the reviewed product.

Now I don't actually have issues with anyone doing any of the above, I'm free to scroll on past, unfollow, remove myself from groups and delete social media accounts. But I do find a lot of it misleading that everyone is capable of making money through blogging to bring in a living wage. I have a relatively small following on twitter, instagram and on my face book pages. I love the linkys I currently join in with and have met some amazing people and had some amazing experiences also. 

Trying to grow my social media audience, increasing my DA and PA score, writing media packs, contacting companies for review opportunities etc has been very tiring, I've not enjoyed it, I've never run with the in crowd, I've never been part of the in crowd. I found it demoralising just not to hear back from companies, to be ignored in groups when I contributed to discussions. I've often felt left out and excluded, back in the school playground.

I've no marketing experience & I've no proven writing experience. Trying to make a living off my blog would be similar to me applying for a job as a life guard when I couldn't swim. So I'm going to stick with what I enjoy and not worry about what others are doing, I don't need an income, I don't need the stress and I certainly don't want to mislead my family and friends who read my blog, like, comment and tell me they enjoy reading to be fooled that I'm doing something more than I'm actually doing. If I can make a bit of pocket money from time to time, I'm more than happy with that. I just don't have the energy or the skills to take my blog further.

i will carry on looking for opportunities to write for other blogs, I enjoy that and I'm chasing up some more copywriting, but my blog? Nope, it's my online diary and nothing more.

31 comments:

  1. I think we'd all love to be paid for doing what we enjoy, but some blogs definitely feel like nothing more than advertising space. I've always seen social media as a way of making friends, even if we might never meet, and so sharing what I do, where I visit, and what I enjoy on the blog are all more important than making money out of it.

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    1. i've been fortunate enough to actually meet up with some lovely bloggers and no one has disappointed me

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  2. Blogging can be hard work and I think you really have to want it for it to be worth it. If it's better for you as a hobby than that's the best thing that you can do for you. Good for you for recognising it as not everybody does. I'm so pleased you enjoy #TriumphantTales and come back each week. By the way, if you fancy doing a guest post for my blog, I'd be happy to have you, just drop me an email. Thanks for linking up, see you next week.

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    1. the blogging i find easy, the in house fighting i can't deal with

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  3. #triumphanttales i agree, mine is a hobby and my writing is better for it. i stopped taking on PR posts when the last two products i received, i didn't like - so i didn't write at all about them. I love that it does provide for families but i also agree that many of the bigger income bloggers are money led and sometimes their content suffers.

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    1. i find it really hard to just read sponsored posts, i feel it lacks the real element that i thought blogging was all about

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  4. I have written a blog for the past few years, never spoken to anyone else about it and never knew how competitive it can be until recently. I have never been apaproached to be sponsored but I think this is because I am on Wordpress and the blog is free (I think they advertise on my blog) I have no idea how to work the blog to better it I just put posts up as and when. I have had over 303,000 hits and get very little comments on the posts. But its regularly read in over 160 countries. Who knows if I am doing it right, but on average I am getting around 350 hits a day. I have no idea what else I should be doing lol.

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    1. there so much work to do and money to spend to get a 'popular' blog for attracting advertisers and sponsors but then i feel it dilutes the personal touch

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  5. You are so right. Love this! Well said. I am sick of seeing some of the high profile bloggers blatantly ONLY doing reviews. I just want to read something personal for a change, not how wonderfully you slept on your new sponsored sheets - the same sheets that 4 other local high profile bloggers also slept soundly on that week. *Eye rolling*
    #triumphanttales

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    1. that does make me laugh, you can always tell when there's been a blogging event when everyone starts posting similar photos

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  6. I finally decided not to say no to cash (haha) on my blog this year, but realistically my blog is still a hobby - I only ever review the sorts of things I'd probably buy anyway - so I guess I might be guilty of always 'gushing' but only because I only say yes to reviews of stuff I think looks cool!

    I think the sorts of blogs that are ad after ad tend to be only regularly read by other bloggers! Though I guess they get hits from searches when people consider buying a product. I'd rather potter along I think. (and like you - I dislike forced comments, though I'm guilty of asking for comments sometimes, after all it's nice to see someone is reading isn't it!

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    1. i never say no to cash, if like you it's relevant then I'm up for it, but i'm certainly not going looking for it

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  7. I'm not keen reading blogs that are mostly ads. I end up unfollowing. Some don't even add much of themselves to it. I'd hate for my blog to be like that. It's my online diary. I'm really picky about what I feature when I am approached by PR. If it doesn't fit, then no thank you. It sounds like you've done the research and made your decision. A good place to be. #PoCoLo

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    1. i can recognise a sponsored post now often before i click on the post in the linky

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  8. I don't like blogs that are just sponsored content and reviews, I like to relate to the person behind the blog and get to know them through their posts, you can't really get that connection with your readers if all you are doing is telling them what to buy. I earn a bit from my blog but I always mix up my weekly content and make sure I have lots more personal posts published than sponsored content, I would hate to become just 'advertising space' as you put it. I'm sorry you have experienced bitchiness and back stabbing, for me the blogging community has only ever been a lovely and support place - I don't bother much with Facebook though.cx #pocolo

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    1. i've found the blogging community to be very good in general, just find that on Facebook it can all get a bit bitchy

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  9. I agree with everything you said! Keep writing your way...I really enjoy reading about your life.
    Blogging is my hobby. I very time consuming one but I don't earn a penny from mine...I blog for the fun of it hence the reason I still use a blogspot address which I am told is so wrong. Hmmf! I don't listen....I am not in it for the money or tons of things to review although I do get plenty of offers. It's my space and I will do things my way. hehehe

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    1. arghh thank you for the lovely comment, i enjoy catching up with you and yours each week also

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  10. Great post. I'm glad you tagged me. I've not made a penny from my blog yet, and I'm not too bothered. I've only been blogging for 10 months, so early days. I don't post every day because it's a hobby not a business.
    I couldn't be dealing with the back stabbing. So I agree with you: take the higher ground and move on.
    I have been told off on twitter. In my early days I posted a number of links to different new posts, one after the other. There must have been five post links in a row. A very prominent blogger took a screen shot and posted it on twitter telling me I had done wrong. She seemed quite agrieved by my action. She threatend to unfollow me, but let me off because I'm new. That was my first run in with the twitter police. And yet I see her marketing regularly. I just presumed she wanted the twitter stream to herself.
    Stand by your guns. Ignore the hypocrites, cliques and the back stabbers. I'll be reading your posts.

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    1. oh that is too funny, getting told off in public, i do wonder who some of these people think they are....lol

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  11. That's what's good about blogging, if we don't want to read about something we can move on. I'd like to make a bit more from blogging to at least cover my costs more (conferences are expensive), but I won't do follow links and I won't post stuff I can't be bothered with. I've pretty much stopped doing reviews (although do have one, and a collaborative post coming up). But like you my blog is essentially for me and N so he can read in the future.

    If I turned my blog into a job a) I'd not earn anywhere near as much as I do now because I'd be terrible at pitching and b) I'd have to do things I didn't really want to - like follow links - to make the money I wanted to. It's just not worth the stress and would remove some of the fun for me. So a bit of pocket money is fine.

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    1. we can't all be good at everything and i think i'd stop enjoying my blog if it became my job, it's my hobby and my escapism, i'd hate to be owned by it

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  12. I tend not to worry about what other people are doing - as long as I'm happy with my blog, my content and the way I behave that's what counts. Other people can do what they like. suspect that this means I will never be "successful" either. But who cares.

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    1. in general im not bothered by what other people do with their blogs, i was more shocked at some of the stuff that went on in groups when i looked into seeing if i could turn mine into a job

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  13. I agree, I think it's sad how a lot of bloggers websites are just packed full of sponsored posts and paid reviews. I have received items before that have been so bad that I wasn't willing to even post a review on the item, ive had items which are ok but I have also listed the bad points and ive had items that are just fantastic! Although i know what you mean, on a lot of websites there arent any bad words said! #pocolo

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    1. i only ever accept offers from companies of things i would probably buy myself and use for sure, however i have written negatives if they've been found also

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  14. This is a really interesting post Suzanne. I started blogging as a window for my writing and it has brought in a couple of interesting copy writing jobs but in terms of my blog it is my space to do what I like with. I don't post often enough for sure but when I do it is about something I am interested in and pertinent to me as a midlife parent of teenagers. Any references to external companies are personal recommendations not paid ones. I have met some lovely like minded people through blogging and that is the most important thing for me. When it stops being enjoyable then I know it will be time to stop. Jo x

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    1. i often write about personal experiences and tag companies etc both positive and negative, not looking for sponsored posts but just to provide feedback

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  15. Very sensible! Keep enjoying your blog for what it is. You and I are similar in that it is mainly an online diary. That's what I enjoy about my blog. Yes, making money works for some people, but I'm not in the 'in crowd' either and I'm much happier to have my blog as a true reflection of my family. Good luck to people making money! Like you, I'll stick with what I do best.

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    1. I'm not sure this is what I do best but I do enjoy it

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