May | 30 | 2007

Selling Out On Your Blog?

Posted by Benj as Opinion

Most bloggers start out without the slightest thought of making a healthy profit through their blogs. Sometimes, the old timers are not only disdainful of the practice of monetization, a lot of times, they’re even unaware of the various ways you can make money by simply keeping a well-updated online journal. Needless to say, it may seem like somewhat of a dilemma when one tries to make the jump from hobby/recreational blogging to a more profit-oriented or even profit-driven approach.

The first and last word in monetization is of course, Google AdSense. The concept is fairly simple. Google gives you a code that you could paste all over your site to enable you to display advertisements relevant to your blog’s content. Unfortunately, like what I said on a previous column, the Google AdSense system is only beneficial for bloggers who get heaps of hits a day or those who are thinking SEO 24/7. Not-so-established bloggers could gain from AdSense but it will be mere pennies compared to what the bigwigs get. If you’re a small fry, you would try to get more through albeit less palatable options.

Option two consists of placing linked anchor texts and product reviews in your posts in exchange for money. This somehow compromises your blogging philosophy by making you write about things that you wouldn’t think of discussing in the first place. I’ve seen it happen and trust me, it’s not pretty. You will be hemorrhaging fifty to one hundred word testimonials on products you haven’t even seen yet for a few dollars. It is the ultimate in selling out. This practice is also frowned upon by a lot of major players like Google and Wordpress because of the way it disrupts the search algorithm of certain sites. The free Wordpress.com service has actually banned transactions involving PayPerPost on their blogs since a recent controversy surfaced.

After posting several ads on surgical procedures, obituaries and fireplaces, you just can’t help but feel that you’ve given up your identity as a blogger. It’s not worth it. Instead of opting for get-paid-quick schemes, work on improving your content, building your links and fine-tuning your SEO strategies. With a little bit of luck, you’ll get more hits and if the stars line up, maybe a few extra dollars on on your Google AdSense account.

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Investing & Passive Income
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