Another week, another person taking issue with bloggers making a business out of doing what they love. This time, the offensive comment was directed at Holly Becker of Decor8, someone whose blog, and business sense, I admire. Reading Holly’s post really got my back up and made me feel for her. I would encourage you to read it. I say that because sadly, this attitude is one bloggers come across a lot and this gives a very good insight into how it can make them feel. I’m fortunate not to get this directed at me often but sometimes I get hints of it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if people are thinking or saying it behind my back. But I live in hope that they’re not! I digress…
Here is the comment Holly received on her blog:
(Excuse me while I bite my tongue!)
As Holly rightly questions in her post today, is it really so bad for someone to make a commercial success of what they do? For them to do what they love? Are they expected to do so for free because the job is enjoyable and they get to be their own boss? Or to work another job and spend all their free time blogging as a public service? Creating a blog that makes enough money for it to be your job is hard work. It is great and so rewarding but it is hard. Even if it wasn’t hard, so what?! I actually hate that every time someone slags off bloggers we feel we have to justify how hard are jobs are. That may well be the case, but we shouldn’t have to justify ourselves to anyone. Other professions don’t.
Sadly, I read people on blogging forums all the time suggesting that accepting advertising is selling out and that it is a given that content will become all salesy and treat readers as if they are idiots. It simply isn’t true. Not all bloggers get it right. I hate it as much as the next person when bloggers write about things they’re paid to and they hide the fact a post is sponsored (maybe putting it at the end, after you’ve read a post and not had the opportunity to choose not to read what is effectively advertorial), but bloggers like Holly and I are transparent. You can’t tar everyone with the same brush. Other bloggers don’t make any money and their content is rubbish. So what? Don’t read it and leave them to it!
The best part of Holly’s post is the eloquent reply her husband wrote to this comment. Thorsten is a journalist, as I have always been, and rightly points out that if journalists were asked to work for free (sadly, they often are!) there would be (is) outrage. So, what’s the difference? He also makes a good point, which I hadn’t really considered, that male full-time bloggers don’t seem to get the same amount of stick.
I know for sure that my blog has only got better since I’ve concentrated on it full-time. It gets more of my time and energy, I treat it as a business with high standards, my readers get more and better content. I don’t ask them to pay to read it. The same can be said for many other blogs. I just wish people would stop being so damn bitter about bloggers making money. I feel a lot of it stems from envy and that makes me sad. What happened to women supporting women?
I know all too well how much an anonymous online comment can hurt your feelings, even though you know it shouldn’t, so I wanted to have my say and add my support to Holly.
13 replies on “In defence of bloggers making money”
Good on you Jen. I love Holly. I have no problem with bloggers making $$$ at all. Sometimes sponsored posts make me cringe when they are written like a story and then at the end it says and that’s why I love {insert brand name} for my family. I would just prefer to see ads!
Gah, yes, that would annoy me too! I actually enjoy writing sponsored posts when I get to tailor a message to my audience in a non-cringey way, especially when I know it is a product/service my readers will probably love. At the end of the day, you shouldn’t take money to write about something you don’t genuinely like and if you stick with that, can’t go too far wrong.
Well said Jen… To have a job you love and to make money from it should never be frowned upon or taken for granted … Your Blog, Is such an honest, well written one with amazing content… Good on you for speaking up and supporting a fellow blogger.. Keep doing what you are doing !!!!
Blogging is hard work and if some bloggers are lucky enough to earn a living doing it we should be happy for them. Surely we all want to make a living doing something we love.
http://llibbyslifestyle.blogspot.com.au
The times they are a-changing…..people should really understand that bloggers are the natural progression of journalism in the digital age. And journalism is a ‘proper, paid job’ so why not blogging.
The landscape of employment and jobs is changing rapidly, with many of our traditional jobs disappearing or declining. Jobs that reflect our society and changing way of life are on the increase. Blogging is one.
So why can’t you make money from it? As you say Jen, it’s all about the quality of the content, writing and integrity of the blogger. Just like in traditional journalism.
As I always say, this is not a design moment that we are creating here, these are businesses where many people are making a living from, yes we love what we do but they are businesses where we need to balance the cheque book so we can make a wage. Unfortunately trolls just see the black and white side. I sense a lot of jealousy in that comment BTW
I followed you here from Holly’s blog. Just to add perspective, it’s not only bloggers who’ve had to deal with this. Many musicians have had to deal with the same thing from people in their industry. I remember Neil Young griping about other musicians doing product endorsements or selling the rights to someone to use their music in an ad. He felt music should be pure and be used “properly”. And it was; it made musicians wealthy and comfortable after a lot of hard work so they wouldn’t stress in making more music. Nothing wrong with that.
I don’t hate anyone for making money. I’ll admit I do have popups because I think they’re intrusive. But making money off a blog… if someone has the chops to do so then good for them.
Hi Mitch and thanks for your comment! I hadn’t thought of that but I can imagine there must have been a time when musicians were called sellouts too. It seems to be a curse of the more creative industries! Hopefully people will get used to bloggers making money, as they have musicians! Jen
I write an infertility / life blog and it seems that haters are always going to hate. People think that just because the internet is a fairly open forum they have the write to comment and dictate what we should or shouldn’t be doing. As it stands I am an avid reader of interior blogs, I find you are at the forefront of design ideas and a lot of the time are more approachable than aspirational so I can actually use your ideas to design my home. Bloggers making money is just a new industry and if you can why shouldn’t you. It’s not easy – no one just hands you the money you have to be good at what you are doing and sell without being in our face. You always clearly specify when it is a sponsored post and if I don’t want to read that one well I skip it. I love both your blog and decor8 and have read them both for years and at the end of the day don’t listen to readers that are like that. They clearly have no idea the time and effort it takes to build up first a readership but more importantly respect in your field.
* right not write 😉
I don’t think I could take criticism seriously from someone that writes “loosing” instead of losing, but then it is one of my pet hates!
Hi Jen, I have just discovered your blog this today (how embarrasment!), but just wanted to say I love the way you have incorporated advertising and $$ making in a non invasive way.
The issue with the attack on Holly lies not with Holly, but with the commentor themselves. It’s another example of a nasty bit of modern human nature that is the anonymous expression of envy with a side serving of ‘why are they successful and I’m not?’.
Entreprenuers around the world in businesses of all sizes and types make money doing what they love, from unique ideas they made reality. Blogging is just a new example of this.
Keep up the great work. (Love your architect profiles!)
Thanks so much Keely for taking the time to comment 🙂 Jen