The Everyday Blogger

Passing Up Blog Revenue To Stand By Your Values

Would you take or pass up an opportunity to earn some generous blog revenue if it entailed having to contradict what your brand stands for?

Welcome to the test called: Money or Values

This is a situation every blogger who makes money or their living from their blog(s) because not only are we content creator, we are also business owner. The clash between editorial and profit is classic, but it becomes even more interesting when the two sides reside in the same body, namely you, the independent blogger.

The answer at first glance appears a no-brainer, “Well of course I’d stand by my values above everything. That’s why I became a blogger. I won’t sell out for money.”

See, that’s blogger idealism at its finest.

In this post, I'll share with you a real situation that I passed up, and how my idealism was challenged. This particular situation was one of those borderline cases where it would have been so easy to take because the offer was so tempting. But, I thought about what I wanted to add to my track record.

But what if...

What happens though when say, the economy crashes. Budgets are drying up. Ad networks are slashing your CPMs and extending payment out from 30 days to 90 days. People are tired of hearing eBook spiels and your traffic dips for a myriad of reasons you can’t pinpoint. And better yet, your significant other is breathing down your neck about paying the bills or going on that long overdo vacation.

That idealism to pass on cash to stand by your values can start to thin once you find yourself in a financial bind where stress and desperation start to cloud your judgment. If you're like me, during the deep end times, you've found yourself in fetal position in bed at noon wondering, "Why am I doing this crazy blog thing again?"

If it becomes a choice between, paying rent or getting evicted, bending on your values for income appears easier to justify, or we get mentally creative and think of ways to spin the story so it somehow fits into what we stand for. At the time of financial crisis, getting cash in the pocket becomes front and center.

When revenue opportunity knocks

Rebecca Watson Director of Business Development of Real Girls Media, the folks who publish Divine Caroline, wrote this excellent post in iMedia Connection, “A step-by-step plan for finding your influentials…..” On the second page towards the end of the article, Rebecca points out a fitness blogger who passed up on a generous opportunity to stand by her values because her,” readers' trust in her helpful health content was more important than revenue”

That fitness blogger Rebecca referred to was me. I turned down the opportunity because the product contained high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and as much as the HFCS industry would like us all to believe that HFCS is fine because it comes from corn, I highly differ in opinion.

On Noshtopia my food blog, I’m all about eating wellness through cleaner eating which means avoiding stuff like HFCS. On Back in Skinny Jeans, my now retired blog about healthy living, I resonate the same message of eating wellness.

My whole online brand is built around promoting organics, all natural, fresh, and eating as non-labcoat made as possible. Healthy eating to me is about quality not just low calories. However, I’m not about perfect eating either because hey even I on occasion will eat fast food and a Krispy Kreme.

To participate in a project where I am getting paid and basically endorsing a product that contradicts my values, to me is a fast track to killing or at the very least weakening your brand because now you’re actions are saying, “Hey I believe this stuff until I need money and someone offers me a big bucketful of loot.”

Yeah, it’s not so good.

Truth time. Maybe I can spin this and take the check

I gotta be honest; turning down Rebecca’s opportunity was painful. It was painful because there was so much good about this opportunity and only one bad thing, but that one bad thing was a whopper. I even tried to get creative in my brain and see if there was any way I could spin this story to fit with my brand values.

Much to my dismay, um, no way Jose could I spin high fructose corn syrup into being something better and healthy than what it is. As my 90 year-old Jewish grandma friend would say, “It is what it is.”

I get pitched product opportunities often, and most actually are not hard to turn down because it’s just not an obvious win/win, but this particular opportunity with Real Girls Media was different, and what was so deliciously tempting was:

• It was generous pay for few hours.

• I’d get paid right away. I didn’t have to wait 1/3 the year to get a check like what the Ad networks do.

• What I had to blog about was what I normally blogged about on Back in Skinny Jeans and Noshtopia. This project wasn’t about direct product shilling; it was about living well, which I really liked and did fit in with my brand theme.

• It associates my brand with Real Girls Media, who because of Divine Caroline is a very well respected online brand.

• The brand sponsoring this opportunity was a huge well known consumer brand that would look awesome in my blogger portfolio. Let’s be honest, the bigger the names you have on your list, the easier it becomes to land other revenue generating opportunities with other huge well known consumer brands.

But alas, *sigh*, the product itself contains high fructose corn syrup. And ironically, my two cents, this product doesn’t need it. I think the product would sell more if they went all natural.

Looking at the short term vs. long term gain and/or loss

I also thought twice about taking this opportunity because it also came at a time, when I really needed money. But thinking deeper, in my heart, I knew that taking this short term gain would hurt my revenue generation future long term because I’m blatantly contradicting my brand values thus weakening and jeopardizing  the trust I have built up with my audience which took years and lots of sweat.

No way am I putting at risk all that effort! I will just continue to eat tuna and shop on sale a bit longer until the tides turn.

By passing this opportunity up, I am also trusting that the universe will see that I’m serious about my whole live authentically theme, and thus present other opportunities as generous or more that fit with my brand values.

So, have you passed up blog revenue during a tough time to stick by your values? Or, if you did take an opportunity that contradicted your brand values, what resulted?

How To Pick The Right Topic For Your Blog

The big question when starting a new blog is always, "What should I blog about?"

Your blog topic is most important because it's something you should care about deeply as you will be writing about that topic all the time, it gives your audience something to learn from and relate with, and your topic will determine what kinds of brands you can work with for advertising or sponsorship.

In this post, I'll share the typical advice on how to pick a blog topic and then my advice. The two are related yest different in approach.

Business Perspective: How I Decided To Retire A Popular Blog

In June, I retired my blog Back in Skinny Jeans which was a popular and high traffic blog by an individual in the healthy living niche. In the blog's goodbye post, "When It's Time to Let Go of the Skinny Jeans," I shared the emotional and mental reasons behind my decision to retire the blog.

Today, I'd like to share some of the business reasons behind my decision because I think it's a good reminder that when you make money from your blogging you are not only a blogger but a business owner as well. From my observations, the bloggers who operate understanding this fact are the ones who end up making more money, growing their brands, and landing opportunities that extend into bigger media.

As well, it is a balancing act being a content creator, a more right-brain activity, and a business owner, a more left-brain activity all in the same body. As many of you know, it's not easy to be 2-in-1 like that. Most of us tend to favor or be much better at one activity over the other.

To give you a better picture of the business side of Back in Skinny Jeans, here are some key stats over the blog's life, 3 years and 8 months:

Is Blogging For a Living Just About the Money?

For those of us who blog for a living, the one thing we are all obsessed with is traffic numbers, and big numbers to be specific. Traffic is life blood to a professional blogger because our revenue is dependent on it.

Some of us may even tie our self esteem into our traffic numbers as a sign of how successful we are because traditionally, the more traffic you have, the more you are deemed influential and "important."

But lately, I've been thinking more deeply about what really is important when it comes to blogging for a living.

Is it just about the money?

The answer really isn't so simple because...

Monetizing Your Twitter: Magpie Brings the Bling But Will Followers Drop

In 30 days, I have found myself in a position where I now have over 39,000 Twitter Followers which in Twitterdom is a mass of Tweeps, and oh yes, I thank and am very grateful to the powers that be. And indeed, the small business owner in me who is looking at everything I can possibly monetize thought, "Hmm, how can I make money from my Twitter?"

Someone suggested to me Magpie, an ad network for Twitter. Here is a very cute diagram of how Magpie works and how you the Twitterer make dinero. And here, you can plug in your Twitter name and Magpie will give you a ballpark of how much you could potentially make per month. So, I plugged in my Twitter name: skinnyjeans, and here's how much coin Magpie says I could make:

That 45,274 Euros per month converts today to about $58,237 USD per month which is $698,844 USD per year. So um, yeah, I fell out of my chair. Wouldn't you? So see, Magpie is looking very alluring about now, and the idea of being a six figure Twitterer just sounds pretty amazing. Is there even anyone doing that? If you know, please share.

Twittering is sooooo much easier than blogging and right now, if I could actually make that kinda bank or even 1/7 of that amount with Magpie just tweeting, then blogging would go bye-bye or I'd just use my blogs to elaborate on tweets because I don't even make any where (no where) near that kind of money through my blogs where I also have to work 10 times harder. However, let's come back down to earth...

How I Got My First TV Spot on CNBC and What I Think of The Advice Their Experts Gave Me

Over at Back in Skinny Jeans, I shared the back story of my "success story" and that I landed my first TV spot. Woo-hoo! Yes, I was a featured success story on CNBC's "On the Money Show" with Carmen Wong Ulrich about becoming one of the top healthy living bloggers in the world.

Indeed, for a blogger, getting TV love is a huge deal mainly because it helps to punt you into a new level and it is fabulous for building your brand and influence on and off line. I find it really wonderful that my first TV spot is on a show about money and finance when I'm a healthy living/lifestyle blogger. I haven't even (yet) been on a show about health, wellness, or lifestyles; my niche. But that's cool. Not complaining. I'm very grateful!

So how did I land this CNBC gig?

Part II of II: Understanding How Ad Networks Make Money

In Part I of Why Bloggers Need To Understand How Ad Networks Make Money, I explained how the 50/50 split that most bloggers get from big ad networks like a BlogHer or Glam is not really 50/50, and how the ad network actually makes more money than you.

In Part II, let me explain to you a little more about how the ad inventory pipeline from your ad network works, and how the actual overall CPM you are making may actually be lower than you think.

Generalizing but it can help you ask better questions

Most of the info I have provided on how ad networks make money is very broad and generalized, so to be sure, please have a detailed conversation with your ad network. As well, because the market is so volatile and things are changing almost daily, the ad networks are getting really creative and changing their own offerings. So like I said, don't assume that all the ad networks operate the same.

I'm giving you some basics so that you can have a better understanding of how the ad networks can work so you can ask better questions. Again, there are many Pros and Cons to using ad networks, and you can make better decisions if you know better what you're dealing with.

So, let's learn more about the ad pipeline...

Part I of II: Understanding Your Real Cut of the Ad Network Revenue Pie

As a blogger who wants to make a living from your blogs, it is important to understand how ad networks make money because you too are a business owner, and depending on what your financial and growth goals are, the ad network option may or may not be a viable one for you when you start to see how much (or little) revenue you generate using ad networks for an income source.

For me, I am really reconsidering using ad networks at all or becoming far more selective which I'll explain more later. There are Pros and Cons to using ad networks.

Slap n' Go

The monetization option that is most appealing to many bloggers is advertising via an ad network like a BlogHer Ads, Federated Media, or Six Apart Media.Google AdSense is an ad network too but the quality of the ads and the CPM pay outs are better on the bigger ad networks. When working with an ad network, all you as a blogger have to do is slap code onto your blog, and that's it. You don't have to cold call advertisers, deal with invoices, manage any ad management software, or hunt for new advertisers. The ad network does it all for you which is nice.

You blogger can go along on your merry way and do what you love most which is creating content and getting more traffic, and let someone else handle all the money making side of your business. You can just log in to your account and see how much money you make each day, and wait for the check to come in the mail or in direct deposit. Sounds really wonderful and it is in so many ways.

Logistically, the ad network option is great for lifestyle bloggers because many of us are creatives and we most love to just create, and we hate or really dislike the business side of our blog but we know we gotta do it. We don't mind sharing the wealth to have someone else take care of the business stuff. But, how much are you willing to pay for that convenience?

You're not really getting 50/50

So, this in a nutshell is how the ad networks make money. For this example, let's make up a scenario where Cheese Farms is the client, Ad Media is the ad network, and you are a food blogger aka the publisher.

First, Ad Media determines a CPM, a dollar amount for every 1,000 impressions you blogger deliver. Cheese Farms will pay this CPM for their Monterey Jack campaign across Ad Media's food publisher network which you are a part of.

Let's say Ad Media charges $10 CPM to Cheese Farms for this Monterey Jack campaign. How Ad Media comes up with that CPM number is a science to them and is influenced on what they think they can get across their food network. What matters is that you food blogger have no say in determining that CPM number. It is what it is. Later on, as you get bigger, you will start to care about the CPM number and I'll explain more why later in Part II. For now, Ad Media is in control of the CPM determination.

Now, the $10 CPM is a gross number, and not a net number. The revenue split you agreed to in your contract with Ad Media is typically going to be something like 50/50, but it's 50/50 of a net number, not a gross number like the $10/CPM that Cheese Farms is paying. When you log into your ad reports the CPM number you're seeing is most likely the net number, not the gross. Your ad network may or may not share the gross CPMs. You'll have to ask them.

The net number could be anywhere in a typical range from 10-30% off the gross number. So, let's say Ad Media takes 15% off the $10 gross number which they use to pay for operations things like sales people commissions, and means to run their business. So, that brings the net CPM number to now $8.50/CPM = $10 (gross) x .15 (the 15% operations cut).

So, you blogger, are getting 50/50 of $8.50 not $10. Overall, your share is $4.25/CPM and Ad Media actually gets $4.25/CPM plus the $1.50/CPM for the operations cost which comes to $5.75/CPM. The ad network gets two cuts in essence, first in the gross, and second in the net. So, you really are getting a net of a net. Follow?

$10/CPM      Cheese Farms paid (this is the gross)

- $1.50/CPM   To Ad Media for operations cost

----------------------------

$8.50            Net CPM

Split 50/50 between you blogger and Ad Media

$4.25            To you blogger

$4.25            To Ad Media

At the end of the day, Ad Media gets $5.75/CPM ($1.50 + $4.25) and you get $4.25/CPM. Which is really a 58/42 split.

But, that's not the end of the story. Tomorrow, I'll explain how your overall CPM you make with an ad network can be way smaller than you actually think.

A Blogger's Journey to Pay Day

Over at Back in Skinny Jeans, I spoke of my general personal New Year's resolution theme for 2009 which is:

Be paid what I am worth financially and emotionally

I do themes instead of specific resolutions because I think themes lend themselves to more fun and freedom. For the last 3 years, I have been working my ass, off to be frank, to make a living from blogging, and in full disclosure I will admit that as much as I have learned, grown, and benefited from being a blogger in the lifestyle categories of healthy living and food, I am still not standing on my own two feet financially.

I am indeed making money and more than many, but it's not at the level where I can stand alone living in the San Francisco Bay Area. And yes, compared to the rest of the U.S. I have a higher bar to reach because it is pricey in my neck of the woods.

Huh, but aren't you a top blogger?

I know that many of you who know Back in Skinny Jeans and Noshtopia find this financial fact a bit dumbfounding because I am considered one of the top bloggers in the healthy living niche so therefore I should be rolling in some kind of dough. And believe you me, I am equally speechless in many ways because when I started blogging, my overly confident business marketing mind thought, "How hard could this be?"

Turns out that in the lifestyle categories, it's a bit harder than if I had initially gone into a tech or business topic, or if I didn't have such high or particular standards in what I'd sell or market on my blogs, but more on that later. On the up side, though, making money in the lifestyle blogging niches is a very new thing but it is on the rise, and in so many ways, those of us in it today are pioneers who will benefit long term. Likewise, all the big lifestyle brands are moving more of their marketing efforts to the web so, those in early and doing well, will also benefit.

Getting to do my life purpose work

I'm choosing to look at these lean money years as going back to school to get a PhD in blogging and social media. I've temporarily sacrificed money making and the lifestyle I once had for longer term gain. I know with every fiber of my being that long term I will reach my financial goals. In many ways, I'm rich already.

So, I'm not giving up. I can't. You can't separate me from what I blog about, it's me fully expressing my true self and heart, it's my life purpose work. I just have to figure out the revenue generation part, and I know I'm close enough because I can smell it. In 2009, I'm also going to be way more experimental in finding revenue generation ways through blogging, and as well I'll share what "not" to do. I've come to realize that there is also good value in sharing what I've learned that does not work.

All these challenges I've faced, I consider part of growing and learning, and I'm either brave or totally nutzoid to be fully disclosing my financial situation like this, but this is why I love blogging and this is the kind of blogger I am, truly authentic, maybe to a fault sometimes, but this is my style.

Good debt

In the last 3 years, I've had jobs here and there along with contract work, but for the most part my parents are helping me out, and seriously everyday I thank them and God for their help, love, and support. But, my folks are not just giving me a hand out, they have ownership in my company, Thriving Media, so in essence, they are investors.

But like any good investor, there comes a point where they want to know when the company will start being profitable. Things have an added twist now because we are in a down economy but again, I see this as an advantage. As well, I want to be done living like a starving bootstrapping entrepreneur, so there is an extra oomph this year.

Come along for the blogging journey

So, in the spirit of my 2009 new year's theme, I'm going to tweak the perspective of The Everyday Blogger to be more of someone who is on a journey to make a living as a lifestyle blogger instead of one who is some kind of expert or guru in social media. I'm going to write more about what I'm learning, and what cool things I find along the way.

We're going to have a bit more of a reality TV show spin here minus the bitch fights and eating of multi-legged insects. I'm going to share my journey with you all in reaching my first financial goal which is to become a six figure blogger. I believe that many of you will enjoy this new perspective because one it's like hitching a ride with a friend, and two we can learn and have fun together. This is why it's called "social" media, yes?

If you have any particular topics you'd like me to cover, or have any questions about blogging in the lifestyle categories, please let me know, and I can share the answer on a post for everyone to learn as well. And again, thank you for you readership and support. I think 2009 is going to be very exciting!

Why Are You Giving Your Content Away For Free?

I've been thinking about my answer to that question very deeply these past few months as I've been re-examining my blog monetization strategy because right now, to share honestly, other people are prospering more off my content than I am. And, I'm not alone in this. It's actually quite an issue for most bloggers...but most don't even realize it.

Clarifying freebies

Before I get into more detail about how others can be prospering more off your content than you, first, let me make clear that when I say giving your content away for free, I'm not talking on your own blog. One piece of advice that many an Internet marketer recommends is giving away free content on your blog and I agree with that strategy because it's like the taste test spoon at the ice cream parlor. If someone likes the bite, they'll buy a whole scoop or two, and might come back another time and buy a whole sundae.

And as well, I'm not talking about doing a guest blog or video post on another blog because that is good exposure for you and it helps create social currency with that blogger and their audience. Plus, your only doing it like once or twice a year kinda thing for any given blog.

I'm talking about situations where you are providing regular posts on blogs or sites that don't offer you money but the exchange of "exposure and honor" of being on their site. The typical business model of these blogs or sites is built upon getting non-paid aka "free" content from bloggers. These same business models do not include getting free content from "journalists."

Some of these sites might even offer a small bounty like if you happen to land in the top 100 of their leader board, but in most cases, you won't ever land in that leader board because the niches that tend to clog up the 100 are in tech, sports or business, non-lifestyle categories.

...What have you actually earned from all your free blogging? ...

Isn't that kinda like a sweat shop model?

For example, the Huffington Post has openly said that their business model includes not paying bloggers, and they will not change that. Last year, HuffPo had over 1800 bloggers contribute content, they earn revenue through advertising, and since their launch in 2005, HuffPo has received $35 million in VC funding.

If you are a HuffPo blogger, your content is helping them make more money, become #1 on Technorati, get better Google juice, and get better SEO. You get "visibility and distribution." But let me ask you, have you actually sat down and calculated what that visibility and distribution has translated for you into more traffic to your blog or to increase in your own revenue stream? What have you actually earned from all your free blogging for them?

Who wouldn't want to be in USA Today?

Services like Blogburst who round up the best bloggers in various niches sell this gathered blog content to major media sites like USA Today, Reuters, and Fox News. You the blogger get exposure and a byline on the big site. This indeed is something very impressive to put on your bio. Blogburst offers "rewards" to bloggers who make their Top 100 Leaderboard that ranges from $1500 to $50.

But now consider this, Blogburst makes money off of all content the media sites pay for whether you make the leaderboard or not. The media sites again gain traffic and quality content from you, and you may or may not ever get on the leader board because the Blogburst leaderboard can change on a whim, and you must stay be on that leaderboard by the Quarter close.

I will share that Back in Skinny Jeans has been a Blogburst member for almost 3 years, has garnished over 12 million page views from various media sites, and I have not made one cent. The click through traffic to my blog is less than .05%. I have some nice screen shots for my portfolio, but from a business perspective, how much has Blogburst and the media sites made off of my content compared to me the creator?

We all gotta pay our dues

There are many other examples I could bring up, but the Huffington Post and Blogburst are two perfect examples of bigger blogs/sites that make money off of free or next to nothing payment to bloggers like you and me.

Now granted, in your first year of blogging when you're starting out, everyone even journalists in their careers do "intern" type, paying your dues work where you get paid nada to handfuls because you're just after resume building experience and exposure. But at some point, journalists start to get paid real money and they get paid more the more experience they gain.

Most bloggers don't ever get that kind of pay ladder because we're primarily small business owners and earn by what we can hustle. We do have greater earning potential but again, you have to get creative and really hustle which can be a real challenge for those who are not business savvy or just don't like or are good at the business side of their blog business.

When are you gonna show me the money?

When thinking about your blog monetization efforts, what is important to ask yourself is if it is worth it to you to give your content to these blogs/sites for free in exchange for exposure and distribution? Do you feel that you are getting a mutually thriving deal and that you are profiting as well?

You need to know these answers for yourself because, at the end of the day, if you are in blogging to make a living or money, you need cash because your blog love does cost a thing.