DISQUS

Llama Money · 1 year ago

With the amount of traffic you get here, and the # of subscribers you have, I don't see any reason why you couldn't write here full time. I understand the risk, but still - imagine the freedom of not having a day job. A site redesign / overhaul, more focused direct ads ( less Adsense, so as to not overwhelm readers with ads ), and some rss ads.... you could do well.

Ken · 1 year ago

Wow, I just turned off ad block plus and saw all the ads. Crazzzzyyy. Never knew there were so many. I see none with ABP. Browsing the web is awesome with it.

Curt · 1 year ago

Don't quit your day job just yet...

If your blogging income is based on one time ad clicks, then you don't really have a consistent or a predictable income. To reduce your risk of income fluctuation, you need repeat customers that rely on your products or services. For example, if you had a monthly subscription list of user that you offered a membership service with a committed income - then you would have a much better predictable income stream - that you could also use to estimate the value of your business.

That is not to say that you couldn't make a lot of money, but now that you have something going - I would try to add services that better build your customers committed income. Perhaps with longer term contract with advertizers.

Brian · 1 year ago

While I know that going full-time is like the Holy Grail of the blogosphere, I would recommend a less-drastic "correction" to your working hours. Maybe negotiate a four-day work week for a 15% paycut (making the argument that people accomplish less on Friday/Monday anyways). Or, request a few more weeks of vacation time per year with a fitting downward salary adjustment.
This way, you would:
1. Retain the reliable "real job" income to flatten out the fluctuations in site revenue. Think of this as being similar to bonds or CDs in your "employment portfolio", while CC.com is the stock portion.
2. Continue to be "one of us" from your readers' point of view. Instead of some blogger who makes money running a website, which very few of your readers probably do, you still have the positives and negatives of a regular job. You'll continue to relate to your readers, and even more importantly, your readers will continue to relate to you.
While it will obviously be a personal decision, that is my $0.02

Mr. Stupid · 1 year ago

I am pretty new to this blogging thing, but having recently started one, I am trying to absorb all that I can. Can you please explain a little more about what "text link advertising" is -- and why Google frowns on it?

Thanks,
Mr. Stupid

Flexo · 1 year ago

Llama: Thanks for the encouragement!

Ken: I'm a big fan of Ad Block Plus.

Curt: My thoughts run along the same lines. The variability (and as I mentioned, the reliance on one company) has kept me from making the jump already. I have other websites that are subscription based but I spend most of my time on Consumerism Commentary.

Brian: That's exactly the reason why I don't write more about "earning money from blogging." I look at this as a personal finance blog, not a "get rich quickly online" blog. I'm not a fan of those.

Mr. Stupid: This probably isn't the right forum to discuss the details of particular advertising methods... I'll send you an email tonight.

Raymond · 1 year ago

Flex

I'm not sure if you've mentioned it before...but what's your day job?

FIRE Finance · 1 year ago

That's awesome. All the best for full time blogging and online publishing.
Cheers,
FIRE Finance

Flexo · 1 year ago

Raymond: Without getting too specific, I work for a company in the financial sector.

CommRE · 1 year ago

"My entertainment expenses include about $50 for "entertaining," which involves mainly treating my girlfriend to dinner, movies, etc. "

Wow - now that is stretching an entertainment budget. I'm not sure how you had any left over after dinner and movie for "etc".

By the way, I downloaded your excel template for net worth at the beginning of the year and have been using it since. It's great - thanks for sharing that...

Mark · 1 year ago

I would look for ways to generate traffic outside of Google. Your RSS readers are a good start. Some type of email newsletter is another option. The trick is to turn visitors from Google into some type of connection that exists even if the Google traffic goes away.

If your Google traffic dropped off you might take a close look at which part dropped. Perhaps you lost your ranking for a particular keyword and with a little effort you could get it back. Perhaps you were ranking for some type of seasonal term that will be back again next year. If you can determine the cause, you may be able to find ways to insulate yourself from changes in the future.

AndyS · 1 year ago

Great report and it is amazing the amount of detail you disclose online. I like your stand on not quitting your day job due to dependency on "Google" as your income source. I never thought of it that way, but good point to keep in mind.

Enjoy reading this blog and have added it to my blogroll.