I started this blog with the goal of monetizing it. I’ve always had tons of ideas and, since I love to read, I figured I could work out a deal with online book sellers in which I could make money by promoting some of my favorite books. Once I got the blog up and running, I focused first on creating content (because how can I monetize a blog with no posts?) and determined I’d work on making money later. That has since changed.
As I went along putting one post up after another, I began to realize how much I enjoy sharing my thoughts on the stuff that has changed my life for the better and seeing others benefit from it as well. The constant writing, in addition to making me a better writer, also improved my ability to think clearly and articulate my ideas more easily and comfortably than ever before; it’s also made me more bold in expressing myself even when someone may reject me or my ideas. And having this blog has played a major role in getting me to a better position in a few key areas. I’ve never made any money through this blog and yet it has still added so much value to my life.
With all of this in mind, I’ve decided not to monetize my blog after all. I love the freedom to write about whatever I want without trying to please sponsors or hope I can get enough traffic to generate sufficient income for the month. I actually have no idea how many people frequent my blog or what types of posts they prefer, and that’s ok with me. Since I’m doing this for fun and not for money, I can talk about what I want, make the blog look how I want it to look, and do what I want with it without being concerned what others think about it. If it ends up being a stepping stone to a whole new place in life for me, that’s awesome. But even if this blog “only” serves as a repository for my ideas so that I and others can benefit from them, then I’ll be perfectly content and consider it to be worth the effort.