First, quick fun stuff—I am really excited to see my new article on Mindful Eating out in Today’s Dietitian. I’m proud of how it turned out, and of course, this is a major passion of mine. I also posted on my other website on a Gluten-Free Passover, because many traditional foods are gluten-free.
And the changes…
For better or worse, I’ve always had the mindset of being wary around money. I don’t like the idea of being pushy or forcing or using people (duh) so instead overcompensate and to run too far in the other direction. I’ve had the endless debate about “monetizing” my blog. It’s such an unappealing term. And yet the idea of making money for doing what I like to do..well, that has its appeal. I would never do ads for random companies because I’d lose control of the content and the feel of my blog, and that would make me extremely uncomfortable. I tried doing blog posts for a company that will remain nameless, and yet that went nowhere because they objected to my comments that people ideally would be mostly eating real, whole foods. Sorry, certain things are just non-negotiable.
The only thing I’ve seen that I am comfortable with is the Amazon affiliate links. They’re on a few of my more recent posts. I tend to link to give my input on products and books anyway, and people aren’t charged more, I just get a few pennies when people click through and buy stuff. Maybe at the end of the year, I’ll have enough to get a gourmet chocolate bar. 😉 If the links make you uncomfortable, by all means, just open another window!
I’d love to hear any feedback people may have, because this is new to me. I blog because I like to, and I think this is something that will work without making me feel squicky.
And as always, I appreciate you all.
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It is a hard decision and I always have trouble asking people for money in exchange for my expertise… but I think just giving people the opportunity to simply pass a few pennies your way when you have an amazon link is definitely not a bad thing! (In NC, we aren’t allowed to do that, because the state can’t track it and get tax dollars from it… grrr!) But I think a tiny bit of compensation in the way of amazon links is not a bad thing at all. You are sharing products you love and helping them sell, so why not get a little (monetary) love back in return!
I felt the same way when I signed up for BlogHer several years ago. I get roughly between $30-$45 a month for sharing the ads on my site. And while I don’t agree with all the products or services they promote, it’s nice to get a little extra grocery or gas money every month.
At least with Amazon links you are completely in charge of what you are promoting and that is pretty awesome!
And PS…congrats on the awesome article! It was a really good one and such an important topic!!
Thanks, Carrie! I’ve gone back and forth about it, and I appreciate your thoughts on it. I didn’t know NC had laws about it, what a bummer.
Glad you liked the article!
LOVED that article. I’ve printed the graphic and it is now hanging on my food/ health inspiration wall. Thanks!
So glad you loved the article, Kate! I agree, I really think Michelle’s work resonates with many people–myself included, of course.
Cheryl, I stressed over ads for years. To be honest, I denied myself some good income because of that. I’ve since learned to let go more and use ads, putting filters in place when needed and going with it. I don’t regret it. Amazon is completely innocuous in my opinion, but unless you have huge traffic, it’s not usually a great money maker unless you really work it by having gobs of links (usually with clickable images) tied to very popular posts. I also recommend adding the searchable Amazon link on your sidebar to help with that passive income. There are some new ad networks that focus on healthy ads so that healthy bloggers don’t have to feel angst over the disconnect. I need to investigate these new ad networks more myself.
My two cents, dear …
Shirley
Great article! I’ve been blogging for almost three years and I too have mulled over monetizing or not. At this point I am thinking of moving in that direction, although I don’t get much traffic. I’ve been working on building up my blog and it seems to be paying off so many advertisements would pay off as well. I would love to know what you and Shirley come up with regarding other sources of gluten free/healthy advertisements!
Thanks for your thoughts, Shirley. I really appreciate it–it’s a delicate balance. I know amazon ads aren’t a huge moneymaker and that’s okay–that’s certainly not a big blogging goal of mine. I may look into the sidebar links, too!
Georgianna, it’s amazing to see that (for some) blogging is big business, and I say more power to them! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.