Blogging for Dollars- Paid To Write

Money for Nothing- Dire Straits

The first time I remember hearing Money for Nothing was in 1985. It was  little after midnight and I had just returned from Israel.  I remember being surprised to hear Sting singing in the background. Remember, at that point in time he was the lead singer from The Police, although if memory serves they had recently broken up.

Brother  in Arms was one of the most popular albums of that time and one of the first CDs I owned. Kind of bizarre thinking about it. I remember buying records, mostly 45s and of course lots of cassettes. Anyway I can wax rhapsodic about that time with almost no effort, but it really doesn't address the topic of blogging for dollars.

It is a timely discussion, this blogging for dollars. The FTC just released their statement about bloggers and disclosure of what sort of compensation they receive from companies that sponsor them.

I bring this up because I have been mulling over making a few changes in my personal policy about this. I have done very little to monetize the blog. Sure, I have a relationship with WebAds and have been running their ads for several years now.

I did it because I figured that it would be an easy way to support a coffee habit and it has done just that. But I haven't gone the route that other bloggers have in soliciting brands and agencies. I have been approached to do reviews, primarily of books. Most of the time I have said no, but not always.

Blogging has been a source of pleasure for me, not income. And I haven't wanted to do anything to change that. But I have begun to wonder if maybe I am missing out on an opportunity. I have begun to wonder if I want to dip my toes a little deeper into the money stream.

It ties in well with my career. I know how to do it. I understand what is required and I see a value proposition in taking this place a slightly different direction.

To be clear, I haven't decided that I am going to go full bore with this. I may try engaging with a few of these opportunities and see how it feels. I don't want it to destroy my love for blogging. I am also not sure that I want to use this blog for it.

The main reason I am even considering using this corner of cyberspace is because it is established and it would be easier and faster to use this as a platform. On the other hand I am intrigued with the idea of starting fresh. Even though I know what I am doing there is a challenge involved and that taking that on could be a lot of fun.

Well, we shall see what happens. There is no rush to make a decision.