racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

A lot of people are trying to make a good living off of blogging, but sad to say, most are not successful, at least in terms of being able to monetize their blogging activities enough to quit that day job.

Sadly, most think that blogging is easy money. But that is not the case. Blogging is hard work–or at least it involves a big amount of effort in writing, marketing, planning and even socializing. Most people would not get that, and think that the fact that you’ve opened a blog, put in some ad units, and posted a few posts would already make you rich.

But I’ve come to think that the age of monetizing blogging purely for the content may not exactly be the best business model (or at least the one that earns the big bucks). It’s not that publishing as a business, per se, is no longer good. For me, blogging is just what it is: a medium. Blogging is not the ends, but rather it is a means.

That’s why it’s a medium.

There are several ways of earning from blogging, and it will be very fruitful if you get it right. But the big money could be somewhere aside from directly earning from one’s blog. Think of marketing. Think of networking. These days, people are able to generate sales, business leads, consultancy jobs, and other such opportunities because of their blogs.

Think of it this way. You can build up your profile online through your blog. Show people how good you are at what you do, whether it’s a skill, profession, or other business that you do. And the opportunities will come. Be a Joel Spolsky. Be a Jeff Atwood.

An example: a blog network can earn more from blog-related consultancy services, or from selling books, or from selling software than from ad revenues. Besides, writers are expensive. But if you’ve built a good product (software, etc.) or service, then they will pay for themselves, and will give you good money down the road.

Blogging is a medium, and not the end-all be-all of things.

I don’t believe I’ve publicly announced this before (though I have put in discreet notices). If you’re interested in sponsoring this blog, then sponsorship starting September is open. You can purchase the entire 728x90px header space and/or the rightmost column 160x600px vertical space (to replace the adsense banners) for a nominal amount. I’m also introducing 125×125 buttons and text links on the rightmost sidebar. Discounts apply to volume–more than one ad or more than one month.

Google Pagerank is 5/10, with EatonWeb overall metric of 38.38%. Daily readership is at about 1,500 uniques with approximately 4,000 daily page views. The site has 220 RSS feed subscribers.

You can contact me in private for the rates, and to negotiate. If you’re interested in sites with wider coverage, I can also offer you ad spots on several Splashpress Media properties, including the Blog Herald, Tubetorial, Performancing, 901am and the like. More expensive, of course, but given the rate and quality of readership there, value is justified.

I’m not selling my soul. It’s just that while AdSense and the few TLA ads still continue to help pay the bills, I prefer having more control over advertising. And selling direct is always best–it’s cheaper for the advertiser, and I don’t have to split proceeds with the middleman.

Update: The masthead banner has been taken. I’ve got myself an excellent long-term deal for that one.

We’ve read about horror stories all too often. AdSense checks get delayed, and before you know it, the check has already been deposited and the funds have cleared (the AdSense control panel gives you information on clearing date). In short, someone has stolen your AdSense check. They’re either from the postal service, or someone who was able to intercept your check en route to your mailbox. Chances are, they’re in cahoots with bank employees, or are able to create fake documents to impersonate you, in order to deposit these checks, which are crossed (marked for deposit to payee’s account only).

That was before, when Google sent checks directly from an office offshore. The alternative was courier service. You get the checks 3 days after being issued, but you have to pay $24 (about PhP 1,200). It sucks. I know–I’ve tried it, but that was after asking for a re-issue, when I suspected my check was lost or stolen. This is a good idea for those who put their checks on hold until the account accumulates money, or for those who get big amounts regularly.

When I got my check in the mailbox yesterday, though, I was surprised to see a local return address attached to the envelope: APCEI Logistics, Inc. It was printed on sticker paper, and slapped on top of the Google Mountain View, CA address. Also, the postmark says April 23, 2007–just two days from the date of my receipt (and almost a full month after my check was issued by Google). This indicates that Google is likely sending checks to the Philippines in bulk, and then someone here is handling the mailing for them.

Here’s the return address.

And here’s the postmark.

I’ve sent an email to Aileen Apolo, Google’s country consultant here, to ask whether there are changes in how Google handles AdSense checks here. Hopefully this will mean we can have more options soon, like cheaper courier service (anything cheaper than $24 a pop would be great) or even electronic funds transfer like what they have in the US.

Heck, even receiving the checks via regsitered mail would be okay with me. At least this way, your check doesn’t have to be carried by the postman and left at your door/mailbox/gate. Instead, you would have to claim it at the post office by presenting a valid ID. I know this is still not as secure as EFT or DHL. Even having a courier service handle your packages/letters/checks isn’t a 100% surefire way to be safe. But at least these add a few more layers of protection.

I also emailed APCEI, and I’m waiting for their response as I type this. I do hope this is good news for AdSense publishers in the Philippines who are worried about the safety of their checks. And I do hope there’s more in store for us.

I reported on the Blog Herald how Blogging Pro has released its latest InSense theme under a sponsored scheme. This means a sponsor paid for a link at the footer of the theme. The benefits? Users get a great DesignDisease-designed theme, the designer gets paid good money, and the sponsor gets inbound links.

I know several designers who give away WordPress themes to blog hosting services for free, so long as they get a link back to their sites. Now this seems to be a great business model for people who want to monetize their theme creations. Not all bloggers can afford to pay for your themes. But there are companies and businesses that would be willing to foot the bill. In the end, everyone’s happy: users get great themes, designers get good money, companies get inbound links.

There are some who aren’t too happy with such an arrangement, and view sponsorship as a sneaky way to get backlinks. However, Blogging Pro is quite candid with the fact that their theme is sponsored, and the theme license even allows for the removal of the sponsor link if a user chooses so.

Fellow Blog Herald writer Lorelle VanFossen has this to say about sponsored themes:

Actually, this was brought up over a month ago and was seriously slammed. People were digging into their WordPress Themes to remove these. There was a huge backlash against Theme designers and sites which sponsor such links.

A link back is considered appropriate. A link to a “sponsor”, aka advertising, is very much frowned upon by serious bloggers and WordPress fans. The average blogger won’t care or even notice, as you say, but the ones who do have spoken loudly that they find this bad manners, poor taste, and, for some, criminal.

Personally, I would think there is no harm in having themes sponsored, as long as this is stated explicitly outright, and not done in a sneaky manner. Even better if the user can opt to remove the link.

What do you think?

A lot of bloggers are going against the idea of Pay Per Post type of schemes. For one, it’s considered a hit against one’s credibility to write material that endorses commercial products or services for compensation. And then there’s the problem of losing Google juice because of linking to these commercial material.

But then again to many–especially those who are just starting to enjoy the benefits of monetization–this is the only viable way to earn a few bucks off the blogosphere. Some think blogging for money this way is akin to prostituting oneself. But some think that the blogosphere should give credence to blue-collar blogging.

This has brought up a lot of arguments, notable among which is the recent undying does the A-List exist? question, which I posted about at the Blog Herald.

Personally, I don’t think there’s harm in trying out pay per post. For one, aren’t the big time blogs also selling direct links and ads on their sites? Some even do reviews, and some are not clearly marked as paid.

For me, as long as you clearly state that a post is sponsored, then there should be no reason to worry about credibility. It’s when you write in a misleading manner, and if your intentions are not clear, that you’re fooling yourself and your readers.

I for one, would like to try my hand at paid reviews. You can sign up for a review at ReviewMe. The service has rated reviews on my site at $100 each. Of course, you can always get in touch with me directly if you’d like to buy my soul get me to check out your stuff.