Important note: after eight months and 96 posts without earning a single penny from this blog, I made the decision to monetize. I have successfully managed to do so without affecting the integrity of my content whatsoever. If you would like to know more, please read this.
This post was inspired in part by episode 13 of Pat Flynn’s excellent Smart Passive Income Podcast. If you haven’t subscribed to Pat’s podcast yet, I strongly recommend that you do.
I Love WooThemes
This blog runs on WordPress with a WooThemes framework, and as far as I am concerned, it was $70 well spent. I am really happy with the functionality and turnkey features of the theme, as well as the ability to easily customize it with a bit of manual CSS. I dabbled with Thesis, PageLines and the Genesis Framework, but would recommend WooThemes above them all.
Very Clever…Affiliate Links Galore
None of the links above are affiliate-based. If you click on one and buy a product, I will not receive a penny. In fact, absolutely none of the products I currently promote on my blog are affiliate links. If you look around, you’ll notice that there is no advertising either.
The truth is, I don’t want to make money from this blog, and have no intention of doing so for the foreseeable future. This would seem to run contrary to the whole purpose of my online efforts, which is to create a sustainable and scalable online income. But, perhaps confusingly, I believe this will ultimately result in me making more money than if I was trying to monetize this blog now.
Really? Why?
I think blogging online is far more of an art than a science. There are no hard and fast rules that you can apply to a blogging model, then ride off into the sunset with wads of cash in your pockets. My belief that not monetizing my blog will ultimately benefit me financially is based upon just one key concept: trust.
Trust
At the time of writing this article, my blog isn’t even published. There is simply a splash screen asking you to fill in your email address so that you will be informed of the launch. By the time you read this article, it may have only been live for hours, days, or weeks (unless you’re delving into the archives, in which case, you still have a lesson to learn here, so keep reading!).
I don’t like to think of myself as an arrogant person. As such, I don’t expect that you currently value my opinion. I would really like you to, but I am not going to try to force you into it. I hope that you enjoy my content, and come back for more. I then hope that over time, you will trust my judgement and value my recommendations. But we are not there yet. I as far as I am concerned, I have got a lot to prove.
There are an awful lot of blogs out there saying an awful lot of things. What sets me apart from the rest? I have no agenda. You can read my content, comfortable in the knowledge that my sole intention is to offer you quality advice and guidance. Nothing more, nothing less.
I’ll Earn Money When I Deserve To
I do not intend for this blog to be a permanent financial sink hole, but I am keenly aware of the value of a loyal and broad reader base. In order to grow my readership, my Unique Non-Selling Proposition is to offer free quality content, with absolutely no strings attached. Once I have developed a relationship of trust with my readers, I will be in a position to recommend products on an affiliate basis that I have tried, tested and love.
So You Want Nothing From Me?
Well there are just two things I want from you right now – that is for you to read and enjoy my content, and sign up to my mailing list below, so that you can keep up to date with my latest posts and receive exclusive information not available on my blog.
To all of you budding bloggers out there, forget about money for the time being. Concentrate on building a valuable brand with a loyal reader base, and the money will follow. Good things come to those who wait.