I came across a blog contest posed by Memoirs of a Single Dad (@M_oa_SD) that asks bloggers to answer the question of why we are here: for love or for money.
For me this is an easy answer: I'm not making any money, so I must be in it for love, right? Well, there's a lot of things I do for love and for the intangible rewards. I workout, I teach Special Education, and I play city-league flag football with friends. I have only been blogging as @ManvDadhood since October 2010, and have not quite built up my readership to the point of gaining anything monetary from it.
So the question for me is, "If I was making money from my blog, what would I do differently?" Would I do anything differently? It's hard to say, but I think that if I got to the point where my blog was no longer acting as the therapeutic outlet that it is now, then I would have to diversify my focus. I have already posted about my more-than-awesome LG Vacuum, and I did a piece for Dadstalking.com, and I now have a bimonthly column on TheCaffeineCoquette.com, but even that is another opportunity to get some more thoughts out of my head on dadhood and manhood.
What DO I want?
In the long-run, is it money or love that drives me? Both can be intoxicating, and I think that if I try really hard to "take the high road" and do this for love, and then I get the opportunity to do it for money, I may miss a great thing by trying to force some moral code on blogging that may not be necessary. Right now, I am enjoying myself. I am connecting with some great people, and am getting myself out there. Would i pass up an opportunity to get some extra perks from doing this? Of course not, but would that then drive me? I know myself, and I wouldn't
The intangible rewards have yet to be surpassed by pocket change.
-JB
Another great entry! Thanks for your post and I, for one, will definitely be checking back here more often.
ReplyDelete-M_oa_SD
Blogging is a great therapeutic AND creative outlet regardless of monetary rewards :) Good luck with the contest. I entered too! :)Will browse your site!
ReplyDeleteThanks Angelina. Doing things like this has been a great opportunity to see other blogs and connect with great people. Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteKeep on keepin' on! I've been blogging for nearly 4 years now and have been offered money for various promotions, etc. It turns out I just want to blog to clear my head. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteBut now I'm looking into writing in general for money. Just not on my blog. I guess we'll see!
There is something beautiful in the writing process. I think [hope] that if I somehow make some money through writing, I will still enjoy doing it.
ReplyDeleteJB - congrats on the win in the contest! Well deserved, my man. Keep on truckin' :)
ReplyDeleteThanks DT. I wish I could boast of some kind of awesome skill I have, but sometimes it's just better to be lucky than good.
ReplyDelete-JB
I think you need to have Bone Thugs Thursday. You can never get enough "First of the Month" or "Crossroads."
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