Is Money the Root of All Evil? (Writing with Purpose)

January 18, 2008

I have been writing in this blog for just about a year, and I have been through a number of changes:

The blog was once on a subdomain of my company, and now has its own domain.
I started at infrequent posts, then went to 2-3 posts a week, and now am at 5-6 posts per week.
The topics have changed as my voice has developed and my experience has grown.

I have thought a long time about what the purpose of my writing really is. It does not build my client list, so it’s not for promoting my business. (Although, in all fairness, I rarely promote myself on this site.) It hasn’t produced income for me. It hasn’t opened up new job opportunities. It has introduced me to a lot of really wonderful people that I have been glad to message back and forth with. It has helped me sort thoughts in my head and put them into words in a more focused way. Being responsible for posts on a regular schedule and extras such as the Carnival of the Capitalists has made my writing production more disciplined. So I guess you could say that blogging has been more of a writing exercise or a hobby for me for the past year, rather than an actual job.

This is where I got to the point of advertising. I have been debating advertising for a long time, and the debate had taken a new intensity since rebranding the site on its own. While having additional income for my efforts would be nice, there are many cons to putting ads on my site.

Advertising is a Distraction

Unlike linking to more content which would provide value to my readers, advertisements just take them to a place where they will be sold something. I suppose if these things are of value to them (what small business owner doesn’t need supplies or a computer or search engine services?), then that is not too bad.

Blogging is about Trust

For me, placing ads on my site would require very strict control over the content. I couldn’t use a program like AdSense because with small business content, those scammy work at home ads were bound to pop up. The only way I would feel comfortable hosting advertisers is if I had a strict system for selecting exactly which ads and offers would appear on my site. I would then not have to worry about the trust I have built being destroyed by unscrupulous advertisers. I would not accept things like link-buying or paid content, because without transparency I feel like that erodes trust.

Aesthetics are Important

If I didn’t care what my site looked like, I wouldn’t have paid an artist to design it or hand-code all the templates myself. I see so many blogs out there where advertising has just taken over, and it makes me not want to come back to that site. It is easy to do ads the wrong way, and have your site take a turn for the worse. Recently, on BusinessPundit (not to pick on Rob May, because he has no control over the advertising on that site), there were some talking ads that completely altered the experience of the site, and popups that showed up some time after that. I would want to keep my site as distraction-free as possible to make it a unique viewing experience.

Money Shouldn’t Drive Content

If you read a lot of the stuff put out by those internet marketers, they develop their content based on what will sell. They write posts based on Google popularity, SEO keywording, and other false ways of beefing up traffic. I’d never want to be in that situation, to be writing about what is popular just for the sake of increased advertising traffic. By writing for myself, I get to stay true and honest—to write for writing’s sake.

Evaluating my Peers

There are a lot of people that I respect and content that I value that does have ads, like Anita Campbell at Small Business Trends, Rob May at BusinessPundit, Guy Kawasaki at How to Change the World, and Darren Rowse at Problogger (the advertising juggernaut that teaches other writers to advertise!). There are also others that don’t, like Charles H Green at Trust Matters, Chris Anderson at The Long Tail and, well, Rob May at Coconut Headsets. (It is interesting to note that when he started writing for different reasons than he does at Business Pundit, and while he is writing for himself, the ads became less important.) Looking at their sites helps me decide what I do and don’t like, but it doesn’t help me with outside influence on my decision here.

Being True to Myself

I start out this year 2008 with a mission to never settle for less than 100% quality in everything I do here on Small Business Essentials. I continued this commitment by adding the links feed, extending my site to other platforms like Facebook and Twitter, participating in the business blogosphere, and creating (what I consider) to be original, valuable content. Somehow, the thought of monetizing this site through third part advertising diminishes that in some way. This may be only an internal perception, however—perhaps my own issues with money cloud my judgement of what is real in this case.

Limiting my Options

If I choose to not monetize the site, it makes me more actively seek out other ventures that would be income-producing. In this way, it is enticing to keep this blog as my writing playground and to use other means to expand revenue. (That revenue, then, would go back into funding this little hobby blog of mine.)

The Future of Small Business Essentials

I have decided to try a few hand-selected advertising items for the time being to try it out while I consider if this is really what do to. After about a day of thought on this subject, and as of right now, I am leaning towards removing them again and just continuing to write as I always have. I will give it a few weeks to make this decision though, and if the ads are permanent, I may have to do another site redesign to make them fit better with the site.

Thoughts?

I’d love to hear feedback on the ads as they are now, your blog/monetization strategy, the purpose of writing, or anything else for that matter.

Filed Under NHG News and Projects, Opinion, Technology and Websites
Tagged: blogging, entrepreneur, Marketing, monetization, small business, trust

Comments

6 Responses to “Is Money the Root of All Evil? (Writing with Purpose)”

hersh bhardwaj on January 18th, 2008 1:21 pm

HI Nikole,
I know you from Startupnation. this post has summarised what I feel towards writing my blog. I could never got myself to use Adsense n previous blog( which I eventually did anyway), I dn’t like the feeling of trying to ’sell’ something to your readers. Its more about what should be the motive of your readers when they come on the blog? And how as a blogger we can influence or control that motive. By pacing ads we are expecting them to take into account the fact the blog is not ALL about information dissemination in its pure unconditional form.
But again I am a freelancer ( due to recent job loss) so I can do with some monetization on my blog. I have decided to concentrate on content quality, developing my unique style and voice and attracting like-minded people. SO I hope money will follow later!
My Inner French Girl on January 18th, 2008 3:18 pm

Bonjour ! Trent at The Simple Dollar posted on just this subject a few weeks ago. You might want to check out the original post as well as the resulting comments for some insight.

Personally, I have no problem with ads on people’s blogs, so long as they don’t take up more than 30% of the real estate. Otherwise, you lose visual appeal and drive people away who are offended by the clutter. Also — and I hate to say this because it sort of defeats the purpose of even having ads — with the growing number of people using feed readers, a lot of your readers won’t even see your ads (I don’t) unless they click on your site directly.

Lastly, readers are becoming increasingly savvy about blogs and Web marketing and understand that a really quality Web site or blog cannot support itself without some form of advertising. It’s the same with most writers — until one becomes a Stephen King or Danielle Steel, one must slog away at a desk job (or hope for an understanding, income-generating spouse!) while also juggling a novel/screenplay/stage play/chapbook. A lot of times, though, the quality of writing can suffer if the work is too overwhelming to leave much creative and physical energy.

Salut,
Marjorie
Charles H. Green on January 18th, 2008 5:05 pm

Nikole,

There is not one right answer, but there are good and bad approaches to the decision. The good approach is thoughtful, careful, considerate, thorough, and above all, mindful of the reader.

That is clearly the road you’re taking. I will curiously await your decision (I’m in a similar situation), but I’m already comforted by the process you are taking to make it.
Mike at Harbour Pilot on January 18th, 2008 11:26 pm

For what it is worth, the ads are tasteful, and appropriate. To my (untutored) eye, they do not detract from the blog in any significant way. I have no idea if the effort in having the ads generate enough cash flow to make it worthwhile. I do think that many sites that are heavily driven by ads as a business model suffer in terms of content. In part, this is because gross aggregate traffic metrics govern; the quality of the traffic (in your case - from your consulting practices perspective), is relatively immaterial to them.
I am a little perplexed by those who believe that a blog is a business model. Yes, I understand that some people do make money from blogs. In most cases, the blog is actually a component of another broader undertaking in the 3D world. It is part of the marketing mix.
I am an oddball that way, since the blogs are part outlet for my ideas, part a development tool for other material, and part because I cannot keep my opinions to myself. I also am not interested in ads for my blogs. But I can see that after a time, the time input can make you question if those efforts are not better spent elsewhere.
Are you sure that the blog is not a marketing asset. You mention that it does not increase your customer list, or bring you contracts. I am surprised, I guess. I would have thought that your consulting practice targets were people that are not on the web that much, or not terribly sophisticated, in promoting services and value to them of having a web site, would not your won site be important in that process. Wouldn’t the existence of some tasteful ads be a benefit? Wouldn’t your position in the blogosphere, and your material on for instance SuN be of some benefit in terms of credibility?
As long as content is the primary focus, I think that you are fine. After all your clients themselves may want ads on their sites – at least ads in the form of cross-promotion. Frankly not demonstrating expertise might actually be a detriment for you! If anything, high content plus established presence on the web, plus expertise in gaining ANY cashflow is a pretty convincing package to potential clients, right?
Mike
Business Writing on January 19th, 2008 10:13 am

Congratulations on your discipline and growth…your words are encouraging as you share you own journey.
Business Blogging on May 15th, 2008 6:03 am

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