As I mentioned in my last post, I accepted my first affiliate relationship when I agreed to be a beta for my friend Julie’s blogging course. I originally agreed to be a part of the course to support her and because I have seen that everything she creates is valuable, but I didn’t expect this one-off support of a friend to change my core thoughts about my blog.
During the week I devoured her blogging course I wrote sporadic notes. In the beginning these included small edits and suggested changes I had for the course, but they quickly shifted to also include thoughts on ways I could improve this very blog.
I wrote this blog privately for 3.5 years and am approaching my first annual anniversary of blogging publicly (stay tuned for a Blogiversary post on the 23rd 😉 ). In that time I have been very wary of introducing any kind of monetization to my site. I was concerned it would somehow change the nature of the blog and shift it from a fun hobby to something closer to a ‘job’ where money was the main goal instead of friendship and support. I was worried that it would somehow make this blog less ‘real’.
During this year of public blogging Julie has been trying to change my mind 🙂 . She had a lot of good points about how just because something is monetized and has a few links to products you love does not mean a blog is less genuine or at risk of sounding like it was written by a used car salesman.
She made other great points, such as the fact that when you include a link to a product you recommend no one loses: A reader that is looking for a product recommendation gets a great result without having to test several options, the company with a good product makes a sale and you (the blogger) make a small commission. No one loses.
She also said something that resonated with my advertising background: All the blogs I read put out their awesome words and advice for free so if I can ‘pay’ them back by looking at a few ads on their site that is a fair trade – they get paid for their hard work and I get awesome blog posts for free.
For some reason despite the logic behind these statements they didn’t really sink in and hit home until I took Julie’s blogging course. In it she discusses her why behind every decision and goes in depth about how she monetizes her blog while staying true to herself and her reader.
As a result of being a course affiliate I had to add a disclaimer to my posts to be compliant with the law and let you awesome people know that I might be compensated for a link on here. This led me down the rabbit hole of discovering how affiliate links and even display advertising work in the blogging world and I started to see that Julie might be right.
After her words from the previous year started resonating with me I began wondering if I could do this and recoup the costs of running this blog so it is more of a cash flow neutral hobby while keeping my integrity intact.
Then I had a final epiphany: If I bring the same careful consideration to this blog that I do to everything else in my life I think that I can dip my toe into the monetization pool without losing my soul (and OF COURSE I’m not being overdramatic!). I actually talked about this decision on the FIRE Drill Podcast last week if you’re interested.
Anyway, the timing of this mindset shift was strangely fortuitous because not long after I decided to become a course affiliate I accepted my first partnership with a company.
It’s a company called Finimize and they send free, daily finance emails to anyone who wants them. I had subscribed to their newsletter about a year ago at the recommendation of a friend and I love their no-nonsense approach to telling me what’s going on in the world. One section of their email is literally titled “Why Should I Care?” They’re speaking my language.
So when I saw their email in my blog inbox I didn’t immediately delete it as I have with all partnership inquiries in the past. Here was a company I knew whose product I used and loved that wanted to see if we could help spread some finance knowledge – and they do it for free. Wins all around.
It was actually a recent Facebook Live with Julie and Angela from Tread Lightly, Retire Early that helped cement my decision to monetize overall. Near the end of this live chat they talk about how Angela had a similar epiphany to me about monetization after taking Julie’s course and that she realized our previous aversion to monetization is likely linked to the gender roles society has laid on women as ‘givers’ who freely give of their time and energy without expecting any monetary reward. That thought was like a slap in the face. The only people who have expressed this monetization concern to me have indeed been women. Angela might be onto something.
So I’ve changed my tune. I think there is a balance to be struck and I’m excited to find it. I’m going to fiercely stick to my rule of only doing things for this blog that I find fun and not doing anything that feels even a little bit squirmy. I’m only going to recommend products I actually love, not just things I have or do use (there’s a difference). I’m still deciding how I will detail the profit (if any) that I make from this blog for you, but I’ll handle that hurdle when I come to it.
Just know that I will continue to be, as a family member recently called my blog, “brutally transparent” about all of my numbers – even the minuscule amount I might make on here. If you have any suggestions for an easy way to share this info with you that won’t be annoying let me know in the comments below. So you might see some affiliate links on this site going forward. My goal for any money I receive is to (hopefully) at least recoup the costs of running this blog.
What do you think? Have you ever changed your mind about how to handle a hobby? What do you think about blog monetization?
I agree with your thinking. Why shouldn’t you earn a small commission for recommending good products and providing value to your readers? Just don’t turn into one of those people who writes articles for the sole purpose of loading them up with affiliate links!
Glad you agree! And haha that I can promise you will never happen (“writing articles for the sole purpose of loading them up with affiliate links”). I write articles to catalog my journey and (hopefully) help others. Writing an article to specifically gain a few cents isn’t a part of it.
I do understand why people do that and they are usually the ones who are upfront that making money is their #1 reason for blogging (which I like the transparency of). Making money still isn’t at all a REASON I blog – I’m just open to a few cents if they come and can help pay for the upkeep around here. Thanks for stopping by!
Go, Purple! I think you have the right mindset and hope you make back your costs and then some. 🙂
Thank you! I’m trying to maintain my mindset for sure – if you ever see me slipping please let me know!!
I’ve always been opposed to monetizing my blog, but after reading this post I realize it’s because of not wanting to feel like I’m taking advantage of anybody. Which of course I wouldn’t be, I would make sure I was monetizing in a way that makes sense for me. I recently added ads to my podcast an that seemed like a more natural transition, possibly because it’s audio? And also possibly because podcasting is so much more labour intensive than blogging (for me anyway), and I’m already in the hole for more money than my blog because of the equipment required for quality sound.
All that to say, it’s awesome you’ve decided to monetize. You deserve to be compensated for your ideas and all the time and possibly money you out into your work!
That’s so interesting you felt that podcasts were different – I actually didn’t know they were more labor intensive and expensive than blogging WOAH! I’m sorry you’re in the hole and I hope you recoup the costs soon through those ads. Also so glad you’re onboard with my decision 🙂 . Let’s see what happens.
I’m right here in this mind-shift with you! Julie’s course was the first one I knew I could truly trust to follow for it’s value and honesty. I’m looking forward to learning more and deciding how I apply the knowledge. Before singing up, I had to remind myself that no matter what I learn, I can trust that I will still be at the helm of my blog, following my gut feeling about what is right or not for my site, just like with your decision with Finimize which seems like a total win-win-win to me. Looking forward to seeing how you apply this on your site going forward :)!
Yep – she’s a mindset changer that one 😉 . And yes you will still totally be in charge and if you need help/accountability/support I am obviously here 🙂 . I’m looking forward to seeing how I apply it too lol – based on my draft posts it just means after I write them if I’m editing and I see that I mentioned a product I loved thinking “huh – I wonder if they have an affiliate program?” So obviously the stuff gazillionaires do LOL!
i hope you make enough to get one of those sweet freddysmidlap.com t-shirts!
the ads don’t bother me on peoples’ sites. if the content turns to something that looks paid i tune it out. i’m happy for bloggers to make money so long as it’s not MY money. it’s like the stocks of tinder, starbucks, and activision blizzard i own. i wouldn’t use the products, which i think are for children, but will happily own the stocks if i think they will go up.
sell, sell, sell!
I like that goal and I’d wear that shirt! Yeah ads that aren’t pop up mania don’t bother me either. I’m with you – totally happy for bloggers to make money as long as it’s not directly mine 😉 or through recommending me something they know is crap and I do have to pay for. Also I just had to look up activision blizzard…Good point on owning stocks of companies you would never use. I imagine that’s a lot of the companies in my VTSAX…
Hey! Some very responsible adults play Blizzard games!!! I’ve even met FIRE friends through Blizzard games! 🙂
Lol – I didn’t imply they didn’t! I had just not heard of the company. I am obviously not bashing FIRE friends playing video games – that’s how my super professional and famous Personal Finance Sims Twitch stream got started (Spoiler: It is neither professional or famous, but it is hilarious: https://twitch.tv/simsonfire).
So…you think you can just write privately for 3.5 years, then pour out awesome content in public for another year and suddenly you deserve to make a little bit of money? Well, you’re exactly right!
Congratulations on the decision – you deserve it. I know it won’t change a thing about your blog and hope it helps fund your future adventures!
You’re right – what the hell am I thinking?!? When you put it that way it seems a lot less ‘out there’ as a decision 🙂 . And I don’t know about future adventures – let’s just try to get out of the red lol!
HA! This comment is amazing. More or less the way my youngest brother responded to me when I asked him about it (ads in particular).
“Brutally transparent” – I like it. Sounds similar to the “radically honest” way we talk to our son about things like Santa and the death of pets 🙂
Lol – your youngest brother sounds like he knows what’s up. And oooh “radically honest” – I love it and obviously I also love how open you are with the kiddo. I like to tell my Mom that being a detective and uncovering she was Santa when I was 6 was my first lesson that even the people closest to you can’t be trusted 😉 …I prefer your approach.
Thank you so much for writing this. I literally have a draft about my thoughts on monetizing (or not) that has been on my mind to write for months, but I kind of keep putting it off because I don’t know my own feelings and thoughts about it. You’ve given me even more to consider with your mindful approach (and of course, your work in marketing makes this even more helpful).
I would love to read that post! I don’t know if this works for you too, but a lot of the time when I sit down to write I don’t know what my thoughts are and they are jumbled, but by the time I finish they’re somehow semi-coherent 🙂 . That’s how this post was written. Glad I could give you some food for thought though I do love your blog to book approach!
I’ve always believed what Julie has, I just haven’t done much about it for my own blog. You don’t have to lose your integrity by monetizing any more than you have to lose it working a crappy job – that’s a choice! And I think we know you’re not going to choose to shed yours like a reptilian skin.
As a reader, I read blogs I love if they’re putting out good reads and sharing their stories, and if they make something from my reading, well dang. Don’t they deserve that? Conversely I won’t hate-read blogs because if I don’t love or like them, I won’t give them any attention or indirect support.
I also don’t love blogs that are so crammed with ads I can’t read them but that’s a functional thing with an easy solution … I don’t read them! I’m sure you’ll find a balance that isn’t 98% ads and 2% Purple.
You’re totally right – I just had a weird mental block for some reason that didn’t apply my usual ‘you won’t lose your soul’ metric to this blog. It’s completely a choice. And haha yeah it’s not the time to reveal I’m a lizard person…yet…
You make great points that are helping me realize I do the same thing (give support to good reads and ignore the bad or annoyingly ad or pop up packed ones). And I can assure you that this blog will always be at least 99.5% Purple 😉 .
100% a great decision. Being able to cover the blog’s expenses is absolutely a good goal, and if you happen to surpass that mark…all the better!
Especially if you were going to put a link up to a product (and one that you really find useful/great) anyway…why shouldn’t you get a bit of a cut? 😀
🌂💸 Make it (purple) rain.
Haha thank you – I’ll stick to the first goal for now 😉 . And you’re totally right – I don’t know why I had a weird aversion to making a few cents off a link I would have (and have in the past) put up anyway.
Also now I want to see if a mash up of “Purple Rain” and “Make It Rain” is possible…This is a phenomenal idea – thank you!
Let me say that I admire your bold plan to retire at such a young age. Surely, besides your investments, you will have a need for some income. I truly enjoy your blog and I say that if you are providing something people want, you should enjoy some compensation. BTW, I loved Educator PFI’s comment! Agree.
Hi There! So glad you enjoy the blog and are ok with some monetization/compensation! Educator PFI is right on the ‘money’ 😉 !
As for retirement, so glad you like the plan! I’m actually not planning to make any more income in retirement – my projections works without it (I wrote about that in depth here if you’re interested: https://apurplelife.com/why-im-comfortable-retiring-with-500000/) Also looking at how much bloggers make overall (not just the wildly successful outliers) I will be lucky if I can just recoup my costs 🙂 . Thanks for stopping by!
As I said before, I’m really glad you are monetizing your blog! I am a firm believer that people should be paid for their hard work – I sometimes even fund my favourite YouTuber on Patreon and buy the ebook from this great blogger (Wait But Why) so that they can consistently churn out amazing content. I hope you don’t feel bad about monetizing your blog, as long as it’s not in your face and aligns well with ‘A Purple Life’ 🙂
Yay! That conversation was one of the reasons I wrote this post so thank you for the inspiration 😉 ! I completely agree people should be paid for their hard work and am now feeling a little silly I didn’t include myself in that category for some reason 🙂 . I totally don’t feel bad about it – this decision was just a long time in the making, but will definitely always align with my Purple Path!
Oooh! Real glad to know I’ve inspired one of your posts 🙂 I also plan to monetize the blog only after I’ve built a healthy blog readership and their trust. Congrats again for making the change, and looking forward to your future recs!
Perfect. Get paid for your hard work!
Succinctly and well said – thank you!
It’s important to remember that you might not be the target audience of your own blog. So what you think is not necessarily something the reader cares about. And with ads, you can change the frequency of them, so it’s not a big thang. Sure you’ll make less money, but whatever.
It always blows my mind when I find out how much people rely on fashion bloggers for deciding what to buy. People could certainly go out and shop by themselves, but that blogger is providing a shortcut to them. To me, the affiliate commission that blogger gets for providing a service is totally fair.
For me, blogging takes time away from hanging out with my family. When I look at it that way, monetization became way more palatable.
Completely fair point. Maybe I should do a survey or something to see who my readers actually are and what they’re interested in. And you’re totally right about ads and ramping them up or down (especially if making money isn’t the main goal – that gives a lot more flexibility).
That’s a great point about fashion bloggers – this weekend my 1 eyeliner ran out and I spent 20 minutes looking at blogger recommendations for pencils that didn’t smudge. I was looking for that shortcut since buying random pencils I buy myself always lead to smudge-town!
Thinking of blogging as providing a service is a really great approach. I can also totally see how monetization makes complete sense if the blog is taking time from hanging with loves ones. Awesome thoughts. I’m feeling even better about my decision. Thank so much for stopping by!
Thanks for this post, I very much struggle with this one (maybe not solely a gender role by-product). I started writing to be part of a community and hopefully help some people. While I currently have no monetization of any kind it does feel weird to share a book I liked and then just leave readers to google it themselves with no affiliate link. I mean, the business savvy side of me is why I am here and why I am FI in the first place right? Shouldn’t I pick up that free cash? My fear of monetization is the cost of lost credibility on the blog to those already skeptical of all things money when all I get in return is $15 in Amazon cash for example. I know most have monetized and there seems to be a good way to do it that maintains the integrity of the blog. Thanks for sharing your mental struggle with this one so I know that I am not the only one. I would love to hear more on the right and wrong ways to monetize as you journey on and learn even more 🙂
Anytime! And I don’t think it’s soley a gender byproduct 😉 , but I’ve seen some interesting anecdotal correlations. I’m with you on the affiliate links – until now I just mentioned books or products and yes people would have to copy/paste into Google, which would take them to Amazon anyway. Including the links would actually make it easier for them, but it still felt weird to me – so I get it.
Loss of credibility is an interesting and totally valid worry. I haven’t actually considered that since my posts aren’t targeted to intro money peeps (I don’t mention any intro strategies on here really). Monetization does seem like the default for blogs, which is totally fine but yeah I haven’t found a lot of information on people’s struggles with it or how they maintain that balance.
You’re definitely not the only one! And I’m happy to report back as I see what this side of the ‘curtain’ has going on 😉 .
I say go for it! After years of woodworking just building stuff for the fun of it I finally gave in and set up an Etsy shop. I still make what I want to make and if it sells then great but I don’t burden myself with clients or expectations that would take away the joy of the hobby.
Thank you! That’s so cool about woodworking and a great approach to monetizing a hobby I think. You enjoy doing it anyway and if it makes some money cool and if it doesn’t that’s also cool. I love it!
There’s a funny thing with creative pursuits. Unlike other work where getting paid is completely expected – think any physical job, actual job, etc – people seem to have this idea that creatives are supposed to do everything for free. That shouldn’t be how it is, this whole idea of the starving artist, because if you provide value to someone, it’s fair that you should be able to earn some income from your work. I have no doubt you’ll continue to provide 1000 times more value to your readers than they pay you.
You are so right! If I landed on a website that provided budget templates or something I thought of as ‘less creative’ I’d totally expect to pay for it, but land on a blog that gives great advice in writing and it’s somehow in a different category. As for this: “I have no doubt you’ll continue to provide 1000 times more value to your readers than they pay you” – Thank you so much! I’m definitely going to try my best.
I haven’t been sure how to monetize in an open and honest way, and a lot of the blogs that I admire don’t do any sponsored content or anything aside from Amazon affiliate links (Like OurNextLife and FieryMillennial) but I’ve always been open to monetizing the blog if I could do it authentically or as a win-win.
I’m excited that more of us can monetize together in a way that doesn’t negate from our overall message. So far it’s been easier to just ignore every message– but now I might start thinking more seriously about it. Also have to figure out how to automatically put that little disclaimer at the top of every post– right now I just stick it in manually!
Oh interesting – I had assumed you were monetized all in from the PC/Siteground links in your sidebar (not that you’re not open and honest about it – just that I thought you were already all onboard with it).
I’m excited for that too – mindful monetization meet up lol! As for the disclaimer this is how I did it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0oxg1wCo5k. I’m way too lazy to remember to do that on every post lol – kudos for you for being a badass and doing it manually!
Love this post and this thread. I totally support you and trust you to stay genuine throughout your monetization process and into the future. You deserve to be compensated for your talent and for helping people (just like the beauty bloggers that helped you find your eye-liner:)
Basically, this is the old question of “selling out.” I ran into this idea several times in the music world… like I should somehow feel bad for finding a way to make money. The alternative was to be less motivated making nothing while I watched other people do something I could do (play music and get paid).
The more we struggle with these head games and the more we examine them, the more we can realize by even asking the questions we probably have our heart in the right place.
P.S. I enjoy your transparency and look forward to you raking it in.
Yay! Thank you for making me feel even better about this decision. You’re totally right – I want those beauty bloggers to get paid for doing all that eyeliner research, adding the expertise they already have, and writing it all out in order to save me time! I don’t know why applying that same logic to myself was so difficult, but at least I got here eventually 🙂 .
You’re right – this is totally related to “selling out” and its weird implications (that because you’re making money you’ve changed in some way). “The more we struggle with these head games and the more we examine them, the more we can realize by even asking the questions we probably have our heart in the right place”: You’re definitely onto something here. Glad you enjoy the transparency – I’ll keep it coming. And lol on raking it in – let’s just focus on getting my ongoing costs paid for and see what happens.
Sellout! I can’t believe you… …didn’t do this sooner because your blog is amazing and you deserve to at least cover your blog expenses (now including FinCon every year 😉)
WAY TO MAKE MY HEART DROP JOSH! I was doing work and saw a notification on my phone with just the first few words and thought “NO – Not Josh of all people!” Glad I was right 😉 . Thank you for your kind words. And oh goodness adding FinCon to that expense list is going to make it a lot harder to recoup LOL!
Yay, exactly my intended response 😉😘 Love ya Purple, and glad you made your private blog public almost a year ago!
Haha – thank you. I’m glad I made it public too – best decision I’ve ever made for sure. So excited to meet you in September!
Absolutely fair enough. I only resent monetised blogs when they impact upon my experience as a reader (e.g. a pop up that just won’t go away) and it seems like you’ll be far too savvy to let that happen.
I’m completely with you. Personally pop ups drive me crazy and if they come up I usually just leave the site. I’ll never do anything on this blog that annoys me personally I can promise you that. And if you see anything that annoys you please tell me!
You wrote this article just for me! This is my first introduction to your work, bravo on how you strategically thought through your decision. Not to mention how many you are apparently helping by sharing your decisioning. Thank you!
So glad it resonated with you and welcome to the blog! Thank you so much – I’m glad the post showed how much thought I’ve put into the decision and I’m so happy it could help others do the same! Thank you for stopping by Rita.
Good luck! I think it’s good to monetize. It gives you more incentive to keep blogging. Are there any long-time bloggers who don’t monetize?
I can’t think of anyone.
You just have to find the right balance for yourself.
Thank you! How does it give you more incentive to keep blogging? Because any money you are making will stop? Just curious. And I have no idea if there are long-time bloggers that don’t monetize, but I also wasn’t sure I was going to last the first 6 months 😉 so I haven’t looked for idols or anything as a template. Totally agree on balance. Let’s see what happens!
Oh, I meant if you don’t monetize, then it’s easier to quit blogging.
People get bored or life gets complicated, then there is no incentive to keep blogging for free.
Oh I see – totally makes sense!
Ha! Finimize hit me up too! Haven’t written about them yet – was still getting a better feel for the product. Maybe they’re the next Personal Capital – everyone has a link on their site at some point.
I don’t think your style will change just cause you make money off it. If it gets to the stage where you’re worried about saying something negative cause it will hurt revenue, then you’ll have made it to the big times!
Cool on them reaching out! Haha – I doubt they will be the next personal capital since they pay $0-1 instead of $20-100 per sign up lol.
And thank you. If I ever hesitate to write or not write something based on any money I’m making I think I’ll have gone too far 😉 and need to reign it back in. Thank you for stopping by!
Makes sense to monetize given you’re only retiring with $500K.
You can be like all the other bloggers in your space who say they’re retired, but simply work a lot on their blog to make money.
The problem is you’ve got to add value in your articles to help readers. And people will call you a sell out and a fraud, so be prepared and have a thick skin.
“You can be like all the other bloggers in your space who say they’re retired, but simply work a lot on their blog to make money” – I don’t think “all” is accurate. The retired blogs I follow post maybe once a month and don’t focus on making money. Not sure what you mean by “The problem is you’ve got to add value in your articles to help readers.” As for being called names, that already happens when people learn I’m retiring at 30 so no change there. As for the $500K – if I was looking for a way to increase income based on not thinking my retirement number is enough, blogging would definitely not be it since most people don’t make any money at it (and I might not).
I never had a problem monetizing my blog. Then again, I came into this “hobby” looking for a way to make a supplemental income to my disability check. Life has changed now, and I don’t need the funds as desperately anymore, but I still like making a little money off the site. If nothing else, to offset the cost of going to FinCon every year. (And that’s one thing you could do with the funds: Make a FinCon fund.)
I think it’s easy enough to blog for money without lowering your integrity. I don’t do many affiliate partnerships, and I accept very few sponsored posts. I just had to turn one down because it was a loan company and… yeah, no.
I do think Angela’s on to something about the role gender plays in this whole monetization thing. Like you said, I’ve never heard a guy hemming and hawing about it.
We put a lot of work into our blogs, so there’s no reason we can receive a little compensation now and again.
Yeah – how you approach blogging might have something to do with thought on monetizing. Making money writing my thoughts on the internet never crossed my mind to be honest. I also had no idea the costs involved in keeping a site running. That’s awesome you’re making money off the site and helping to offset FinCon. Making a FinCon fund is a great idea!
You’re completely right about blogging for money and having integrity – it just took me a while to get there. And a loan company? Yikes! They obviously read your site before emailing you 😉 . Glad you think our anecdotal evidence is onto something 🙂 ! I need to put this on my mirror: “We put a lot of work into our blogs, so there’s no reason we can receive a little compensation now and again.” Thank you for stopping by!
This is very helpful. I haven’t monetized my blog either (well, other than some Amazon affiliate links). But I also don’t have the readership so there aren’t as many options for me. And honestly, I’ve been too busy building the Early Exit Academy to give my blog the attention it deserves. I think I’ll wait until FinCon to figure out what to do about monetizing.
BTW, I have an Affiliate program for the Early Exit Academy courses. (https://earlyexitacademy.com/affiliates/). Would love to partner with you. Plus, maybe there’s an opportunity to do some reciprocating guest posts/interviews? Good luck on the monetization piece!
Thanks for stopping by! I’ll look out for you at FinCon and am curious what direction you decide to take your blog. Congratulations on the Early Exit Academy. I’m actually not looking for additional partnerships right now, but I appreciate you thinking of me!
No shame in monetizing. And I think it is great you take such considerations into wether to monetize or not. I will for sure look into how to that as well in the future. It is a little early for me yet. But then again, I have time to find out how to do it the right way.
Thank you! And good luck on your journey!
I totally agree with you! When I started blogging I had no idea that people could earn money with a blog.
And then I ran into some big sales people and I was like, no way, I’m not going to be like that!
But when you write about the things you do and love and entertain people or give them value, there is nothing wrong with making some money.
Good luck with the monetization, I think you can earn a good amount of money with the way you write and your honesty!
Yeah I think I came at it as a serious pessimist and thought basically no one could make any money (compared to some people who think it’s really easy). “But when you write about the things you do and love and entertain people or give them value, there is nothing wrong with making some money.” -> I need to put this up somewhere to remind myself of it. Well said. Thank you so much for stopping by!