Hurraaah for the new series!! This series will be every Tuesday and if you hadn't already guessed it's called 'The Big Debate'. I have wanted to do something like this on here for ages.. I love the idea of causing a stir and getting a debate going as we all know I love a good argument! The whole idea of this is every week I will ask one question that might be considered as 'risky' and it will always be related to blogging, however it's blogging in general so it's not just about #bbloggers, #fbloggers etc.
I wasn't initially sure how I wanted to do this. I was going to just write a post about my personal opinion and then ask you to comment your opinion but I changed my mind and thought I'd include just a few replies I got on Twitter and Facebook and then write my opinion after. If you have been included down below and still want to go into more detail in the comments then feel free! I want as many opinions as possible.. after all, it is a debate! And I won't be offended if you don't agree with me.
Q- is it okay to blog for the money?
A-
Personally 100% yes. Why would it not be okay? I know there is a constant thing of 'you should only blog for the love of doing it' but c'mooon.. If theres a chance you could be earning from it, who isn't going to take that?! It hurts my head thinking about all the legal stuff and thats one reason that puts me off ever even thinking about blogging full time for the money. I'm currently in a position that my job allows me to blog a lot so I would class myself as part way full time blogger (although I don't put in anywhere near as much effort as some people do, *slaps wrist!*).
I think a comment above 'if you think you're going to get rich blogging you're probably mistaken' is literally the best comment of them all. Lets be honest, we all know you can make a bit of ££ from having a few thousand followers but I genuinely couldn't see how I could quit my main job to become a full time blogger/youtuber UNLESS I had 10000000 followers. I just cannot see how with 1500+ followers your making much money unless your doing sponsored posts daily!
For example, I know a lot of 'mummy' bloggers start their blog from being bored and not having much to do whiles being stay at home mums so any income from blogging is a miracle. On the other hand, I also know people that work full time and spend any free time on their blog yet don't earn anything from it. So where is the balance?
Another comment that got me thinking was one that says a lot of new bloggers try and make income and receive free products far too early. It's very true that people who make a substantial amount from blogging have normally been doing it for absolutely years and baring in mind there are literally millions of blogs around these days, your always trying to better yourself and make your blog the one that people want to read so that you can earn an income. It's hard.
It is also very very true when people say that it's everybody's dream to one day earn a lot from blogging. No matter how much you love blogging, your not doing it for the love and I don't care what anyone says. If my blog wasn't being read, wasn't getting views and comments I honestly don't think I would still be running it and thats the honest truth. Receiving free things is always a bonus (and thats a whole different debate!) but I wouldn't say thats the reason I blog.
This has turned into a huge ramble of opinions and questions but I'd be really interested to hear what you think about it.
Is it really okay to blog for the money? Do people try too hard? Do 'newbies' jump into it too quickly?
Thank you very very much for reading and if you got this far I salute you, well done. I really hope you enjoyed this post and it got your heads ticking. Please please let me know thoughts about this and the new series and I will see you next Tuesday for The Big Debate #2!
PS. (I promise I will go away soon!!) How would you feel about turning The Big Debate into a Twitter chat? And then turning the Twitter chat into a weekly blog post? LEMME KNOW.
I have been blogging for 3 years, I never started my blog to make money and to be honest I don't often make a lot of money but I do get the chance to review lots of free products. Blogging is my hobby and making a little bit extra is great. I do think some newer bloggers think you can make money straight away but it takes a lot of time and effort to build up relationships, I suppose in my eyes there is no right and wrong, I know why I blog and I love it paid or not.
ReplyDeleteEm
www.emsmixedbag.com
x
I think it's fine to blog for money or products whatever, as long as you are open and honest and don't try to deceive people it's fair enough, we put the effort in and there isn't loads to be made, but if you enjoy it why not get a few little treats from it! xx
ReplyDeleteMy opiinion is that it's 100% fine. As most people have said, it's everyone's dream to make money from something you love doing...
ReplyDeleteI started blogging for fun and I've had the chance to review some free products but I never got money from it, just free items. Who knows if I will make money in the future? It's alright, so far I'm enjoying my time blogging for me and the people who read me! :) Xx
Crissy @ My Cup Of Tea
I think it's fine to blog for money, if you are passionate about it. When it comes to newer blogs they think they can jump right onto the 'money highway' and fixate on the idea of making a decent amount when realistically it takes time, effort and experience to know what you're doing when it comes to sponsoring a brand. Freebies are great no word of a lie but begging for things from brands is not right and shows a lack of professionalism (if you want to blog for business). I think the idea of blogging for fun is fading away as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteMolly Louise Blogs xo
I think it's fine to make extra money from blogging, it's unrealistic to think you'll be able to go full time by blogging alone though, unless you have A LOT of followers. You're not really going to get very far unless you have some product or service to sell!
ReplyDeleteCorinne x
www.skinnedcartree.com
I absolutely love this post! Thanks for sharing your link in a recent twitter chat and I hope you find some time to spare to visit my blog too!
ReplyDeleteHeather | porcelainbeautyx
I see blogging as a hobby, and if someones willing to pay me or give me something to review then I'm not going to turn that down!
ReplyDeleteAliceMegan
I do think it's okay to blog for the money, as long as your posts are still honest. If you're being paid to talk about a certain product, I think you should just give your honest opinion and not lie just because you're getting paid to do so. Also, I am a new blogger so I don't know what it's like to be paid to blog, but I know that if I got asked to write about a product and be paid for it I wouldn't just say yes to anything, I would have to make sure I really knew what I was talking about and if not I would just say no. I know the 'big bloggers' have worked for many years to get to where they are now, so it just takes time and patience x
ReplyDeletedaisy-drops
If you can make some money from your blog then why not? As long as that's not the main aim.. I started blogging as a way to enjoy talking about what I love and to im[prove my writing and my possibilities of getting a fashion/beauty PR job, but if I had the opportunity to make a little money out of my blog I would :) having a blog is a lot of hard work but I absolutely love it! xo
ReplyDeletewww.allthingsbeautiful-x.blogspot.com