I have a few paid projects coming up, and I wanted to take a moment and address my personal policies when it comes to the blog. And while I completely understand and respect your opinion if seeing ads, sponsored posts and other monetization on blogs makes you mad or makes you less likely to read, I am hoping you’ll indulge me for a brief explanation.
Because having ads and leasing out space, as the case may be, is not a decision I come to lightly. In an ideal world, blogging would not cost money, brands would pay me just because they think I’m awesome, and unicorns would live in my garage.
Sadly, blogging is for many of us an expensive hobby (or business!) both in financial terms and in timesuck terms.
A general breakdown of my blogging expenses:
- $15/year for domain registration and renewals
- $100/year for hosting
- **will increase dramatically if/when I go to dedicated hosting
- $40/year for photo hosting
- $180/year in backup services
- $300/year for events, conferences, etc.
- $200/year in travel expenses for meetups, events, etc.
- $200/year in equipment (cameras, microphones, computer)
- $100/year in software, misc. (Ecto, etc.)
That’s roughly $1,135 a year. For a hobby. And we’re a two-blog household, so many of those costs are doubled.
{I completely understand that very few of the above are required — you can blog on a free platform with no hosting and no special equipment, so please don’t let my costs deter you!}
And while I blog because I love it, I spend a LOT of time doing it.
A general breakdown of my time expenses:
- 1/2 hour/day to prep/research each post
- 1 hour/day to write and edit each post (including photos)
- 1/2 hour/day to market the post
- 3 hours/week to schedule editorial calendar, do guest posts, answer emails and prep #Fitblog
I post 5-6 times a week, so that’s about 18 hours a week devoted to the blog. Again, a part-time hobby. That I do completely outside of my full-time day job.
Sidenote: if you want to learn more about monetizing your blog, check out “How to Make Money From Your Blog Without Selling Out“
I can’t justify spending that kind of time and money without getting some return on my investment. And I work DANG hard for this site, and I’m DANG proud of what I put out. I really do try and come up with quality, researched content that will help my readers. That’s why I test out tools for you, put together tutorials, answer your questions and more.
So. Here we are.
From time to time, I accept paid projects on the blog. I am a member of the Glam ad network, which serves up banner ads on my site. I make some money from page views to this site, and I’m happy to get it. I am also a member of the Clever Girls Collective and a FitFluential Ambassador, which give me incredible opportunities from time to time. And I also get regular pitches from companies and brands who would like to partner with me. I have been compensated for speaking and online presentations and hope to continue to do all of the above.
I say no to 90% of the pitches I receive. I don’t accept opportunities that I think go against my brand, would alienate my beloved readers or just don’t feel right. It’s not worth it to me to make $100 and lose all of my audience. Or to get some cool swag and not be able to sleep at night.
When I do take part in a sponsored project or receive compensation of any kind — I make that very clear. Not just because the law makes me, but because I trust that YOU trust me. And I keep my disclosure policy at the top of my website. And my opinions and content are my own. I have accepted gigs in the past and then quit them because of the strings or because I didn’t have anything nice to say.
I don’t do a lot of reviews — I prefer to work with brands to put together good content that they can align themselves with, rather than creating commercials or advertorials for them.
I may never make the kind of money that would allow me to live solely off the blog (nor would I want to…I love my job too much!), and the money I do make gets put right back into the website. It’s what allowed me to buy new camera equipment last year, what helped me pay for my trip to the Healthy Living Summit and what pays for the growing hosting fees (yuck) and other expenses that come with a self-hosted blog.
I love you. I love this blog. I don’t do it for the money. But I do make some. And I wanted you to know how and why.
About Katy
great post Katy! I admire that you took the time out to explain your sponsored posts to your readers. Blogging does cost $$ and time and you (we) do deserve some return!
Nicole @ Making Good Choices recently posted..Let’s Talk Breakfast: Why you NEED to be eating it!
That is a great breakdown of all the expenses. I don’t think most people begrudge bloggers for making some money here and there. I also think brands are getting better at thinking outside of the box and making campaigns more valuable to the readers as well.
Barbara Davis recently posted..Valentine Shopping….The Man Edition
I want unicorns in MY garage too…
you do work hard here and it definitely shows. I have a post like this half written, because I too get sponsored on occasion. and I want my readers to know why I accept some of them, and more importantly, that most of the opportunities I do not! I also learned a long time ago that people do not read or listen, so I make it clear to brands that if you are featured on my site it is because I REALLY like you, AND will give an unbiased review. I would hate for a reader to see an image and skim an article about something I did not like, only to think I did?
Kristina recently posted..activia harvest picks
I would never stop reading your blog just because you monetize…you have built up plenty of credibility and I trust you.
Lynna recently posted..Cloud sculptures…
I like how honest and open you are about monetizing. I have also taken done some sponsored posts to help defray some of the costs of my blog.
I think the important thing is being open about it and not doing it all the time. One of the easiest ways to get me to stop reading a blog is if every post is product review and/or giveaway. It gets old fast.
You have a good balance which is why I continue to read.
Dina recently posted..Valentine’s Day Part One
I think by being up front and honest with your sponsored content, you make yourself more credible. If you were shilling something that it seemed obvious you were doing just for the money, I would think you’d been hacked
Thanks for doing what you do!
Kristen (inspiredbydooce) recently posted..things that are awesome – capri pants in february
If you ask I think 9 out of 10 bloggers will say they started their blog for fun and didn’t even realize money could be made off a blog. I was in that same boat.
I have since learned a lot and have joined BlogHer ad network. The small compensation from pageviews has been just enough to pay for my hosting fees which makes me happy.
Like you, I find myself receiving a lot of pitches that do not align with my blog goals or readership base. At first every pitch was exciting. Now more often than not I say “no thank you.”
Holly recently posted..Using Core Work to Eliminate IT Band Pain
Isn’t that the truth?! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who feels like blogging is a very time involved and at times expensive hobby. I guess the important thing is finding something your passionate about and sharing it with others. After all, the best “jobs” are the ones you would do for free right?
I see paid gigs simply as an added bonus
Great post!
Heather @ Housewife Glamour recently posted..13.1 Miles: Training Week 7
Look, I can help you shave off some of that blogging time. According to my research, making up “facts” is 92% faster than researching them, and 12% of your readers can’t tell the difference. The numbers don’t lie!
Jack Sh*t recently posted..Field of Healthy Dreams
Katy – As a business owner, I realized I had to get comfortable with money or I was going to be a non-profit. I’ve realized, and maybe it’s because I am in the wellness field dominated by women, but in general, women seem to have more issues with money than men. And as a result, judge other people on having it (please note: this is not always the case! Just based on my observations).
Money isn’t evil. It’s an energy exchange and the more women can own that it’s ok to be Financially fit, the more we all win.
Thanks for explaining the ground you stand on. It makes it for others to feel deserving of being compensated for their work.
Hey, I say, if you can make money doing this – lucky you:)
Karen@WaistingTime recently posted..Routine, Routine! Wherefore Art Thou Routine?
I like how open and honest you are about what you do with your blog. I totally don’t mind giveaways or sponsored posts as long as I don’t feel like I’m being taken advantage of. It is so frustrating to read a post where I can tell that the blogger is only doing it for the money.
Amber K recently posted..Fruity Soft Serve
Ads should be unobtrusive. If readers want to notice them/partake in whatever is being sold they can click on it and read more. What bothers me about certain blogs is when they’ve clearly sold out and posts become less about quality content and more about plugs. Readers are smart and they can tell when an entire post was written just to include a company (or resort who paid for the blogger’s weekend getaway, etc).
I agree that blogging is an expensive hobby! I wish that I could make enough money to just pay for the hosting,etc. and break even. I have no intention of making this a full time job so I don’t really actively look for sponsors.
I think bloggers can be classy and not obnoxious about sponsors if done right!
Lisa recently posted..Deficiency
That’s like the 30th or so post of yours that I’ve bookmarked!
Calvin recently posted..Wednesday “Win”spiration – “Lin”Sanity Baby!
Great post, Katy. I love how you stand up for your decisions and what you’ve created here. Often times I downplay a blog, which I do spend a lot of time thinking about and a community that I participate in quite a bit.
Lauren @ Sassy Molassy recently posted..Modifications on the Mat
Thank you for this post. I’m so appreciative of the FitFluential opportunities and I too don’t want to sound like a sell-out, so I select companies I believe in. And, if you love blogging why not help even out the costs right? I can’t believe I just started reading your blog—learning so much! Thank you, thank you!!
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