What I Need Is For You All To Know This
Kristyn Meyer is on a journey to make herself the best human that she can be. These posts are a reflection of that. She welcomes your support via reading and through commissioned affiliate links within her posts! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. To stay up to date on all of her shenanigans, please subscribe to her email list! (psst…there’s a free gift involved)
I started this blog almost a year and a half ago.
When I decided to do so, it was never with the intention of monetizing it. It was initially only for myself and my personal journey. Then I decided to share it with others, so that I could obtain insight, advice and suggestions as I went through the difficult process of making myself a better person. Just a few months ago I made the decision to expand my reach and possibly/hopefully profit from my writings.
I started doing some research in how to do so. There were the obvious ways with ad revenue and affiliates. And then there were other ways that people make money in the blogging world, a big one of which is sponsored posts.
You’ll see these often with bigger blogs – a company will reach out to them to include their business or product in their writing – this way it will reach out to those in their audience and they will be more likely to purchase their items.
As I read about this, I thought to myself that it wasn’t a bad idea. Pretty simple actually. You just drop a few lines about something and collect money, correct?
Correct for some.
What I Need Is For You All To Know This.
I actually came across more than one big time blogger that offered the following advice: “Only write what you’re being paid to write”. They went on to say that even if they want to, they will not create posts about something unless there is a sponsor attached to it. Some of them have gone on amazing vacations that they actually WANT to talk about with their audience, but don’t because none of the places or hotels were sponsors. Or some really want to talk about a product they love, but won’t. All because that company is not paying them to write about it.
Are you serious?
As much as I want my blog to be profitable, I can’t get behind that.
So yes, correct for some.
But not for me. I can’t just focus my blog posts on something I’m getting paid for. Where’s the art in that? What’s the point?
Obviously, the point is to get paid. But I started this blog for me. Not to be selfish, but this is about ME. If I want to publish a 2,000 word post about my struggles with finding the best toilet paper for my family, then so be it. If it’s on my heart, I want to talk about it. I don’t want to restrict myself because it’s not profitable.
Could you imagine if the biggest names in art and literature did that? Stephen King was rejected numerous times for Carrie. What if, after that first rejection, he wrote what the publisher wanted him to write instead and gave up on Carrie? Same with J.K. Rowling – where would we be without Harry Potter?
Full disclosure – I would be fine, I’m not into Harry Potter – but I know most of the world would be in a depressed state without it.
Now don’t think I haven’t done any sponsored work. My articles What Do You Do With A Sick Child?, 5 Road Trip Essentials For Your Beloved Mini Passengers, and Toilet Locks and Naughty Children all have sponsored components. But the difference is that I liked those brands/products/organizations. In one instance, I reached out to THEM to see if they would be interested in a partnership. I knew that they would be a good fit for my audience and I wanted to include them. And I have also said no before. I was reached out to by a furniture company. They wanted me to just “drop a link” to their website in one of my posts.
No thank you sir! Please be on your way.
All other links to companies and products are because I am impressed with them or would recommend them to a family member, friend or neighbor. If I don’t like it, you won’t see it on my blog. There’s no room for that here. I want to make a profit, sure. But I want to hold on to my integrity and the trust others have in me above all.
Recently I started listening to the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. You know when things just come into your life at the right times? This book is that for me. It talks about holding on to your dreams and not selling out and not depending on your passion to sustain you financially in life. She didn’t quit her main job until after she had several best sellers behind her. Her advice is to find whatever avenues you can to financially provide for yourself so that your art/passion can be unattached from all of that. When it becomes your means of survival, stress is added to it. When that happens, creativity decreases and motivation wanes.
I have my freelance work, and our new products that we are creating. Financially, I’m just fine. This here, this blog? This is sacred. I will always use this space first and foremost to indulge my love of writing, not to please a crowd or a sponsor. And if I happen to earn a few dollars here and there through affiliates and such, so be it. Love comes first.
