Independent Money

December 29, 2003 | View Comments (14) | Category: Web Business

Summary: Is it possible to make money from the independent web besides through ads?

One of the things that surprises me the most about the independent web is the lack of people who seem to be actively trying to make money from it. It's as if everyone believes that the independent web means that everything should be free. Yet you would probably find much better content from some of the top designers on a much more frequent basis if they were given more incentive. I am not trying to break the whole independent ecosystem by advocating all content be paid content because that is not what makes the independent web special. I am just surprised that other means of earning a couple of dollars here and there have not been explored.

The independent web is all about sharing so really the only element that would make a person wish to share their ideas is that they wish to share their ideas. However, how many people out there have some wonderful ideas in their heads and just ended up saying to themselves that they would make a great article, but they needed to work on getting more clients. For most of us time is money and even more so knowledge is money.

The popular technique at trying to make a couple of bucks is by using Google Ads, but as was written in Matt Haughey's excellent article, Blogging for Dollars, general web design blogs are not really made to make money off of ads simply because of their audience. The Google Ads really are just to specific for the content. I mean how many designers do you think would click on another web design company's ad but for the sole reason of just checking out their site?

Zeldman takes a different approach with ads by placing some small text links with the context of saying that his site is "Supported by" these companies. Interesting choice of companies also. I am sure there are other big name individuals who are approached by companies to place a "small text link" on their sites, but Zeldman is the only one that I have noticed. I wonder how much they charge for these features?

Digital-Web is an e-zine that caters to web professionals. Whatever money it makes is also done through ads, but these seem to be better selected for its intended audience. I know I myself have clicked on a couple of the ads to learn more about the product. However, these ads themselves were not meant to make Nick Finck rich, but to merely support the costs of putting together such a quality publication.

So then it seems the only method anyone has used is ads. Paid content is another option, although a poor one. I couldn't imagine any blog being worth the price of admission just to read. But I think there may be other ways to make some money from the independent web and its content and these are some things I will be exploring in the new year.

I don't think everyone should try to make money or that everyone deserves to make money through their blogs. I definitely do not see any means of making a living through blogs, but for some a couple of bucks would not hurt, especially to help support the costs of say something like the CSS Vault or CSSZenGarden.

I leave you with these questions. What would it take for you to pay for content on a blog if it is even possible to get you to pay for it? Also are there any other ideas that nobody else has implemented or is the ads method the only feasible means?

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Comments

#1

you know, i've oft wondered why various people didn't charge for their content, but i think it will always come down to where you can get it for free. i'd probably pay for some content if i couldn't find it somewhere else, but honestly, i don't think that's possible....

Jenna (http://www.urban-dyke.com)

#2

I think Zeldman is on top of it, using his blog to promote his book. A physical good (and useful too). I don't think individuals will pay for content, I know I wouldn't because there are so many great writers out there who do it for free, not to mention the W3C offers everything you need (for my purposes anyway) when you come down to it. What I don't see often, and I think could be sold, are more intellectual goods like style sheets and html files, even php files, available for download for a small fee. What people would be paying for (cause anyone can steal a design if they really try) is the ease of it - really good documentation and commenting and instructions on easy modifications. Personally, I'd like to make paper dolls, and offer free PDF files or printed and bound hard copies via mail for a small amount. Good, cheap gift and everyone likes personal snail mail now that it's optional. A really great example of this is http://www.vagabonding.com/about/000019.html

Mike encourages people to sponsor his travels by offering to send them a postcard or other item depending on how much they donate. Very cool.

mahalie (http://www.mahalie.com/blog/)

#3

Virtual tip jars work better than charging for content, in my limited experience. I admin a members-only site for writers, and we've considered doing a PBS-style pledge drive, offering extra little goodies to people who donate. In the past, before I moved us to a private server, we accepted donations to help us pay to remove ads from the board and that worked ok.

Cafepress stores sound good but don't seem to get much traffic.

For blogs though... I'd never pay just to read a blog. I might pay a small fee for more in-depth access to a network of them, rather like I do at keenspot for their online comics, and I might tip a blogger who helped me out with a particular problem. Basically, the reason people don't charge is that people won't pay.

You might remember some dot-bomb thing a few years back which mostly hinged on that one little misperception about people's willingness to pony up? :-)

People don't like being told "no" or "pay up" but they're usually more than happy to help 'contribute to the cause' as long as they're not being forced to or guilt-tripped or anything...

JC (http://www.thelionsweb.com/weblog)

#4

Requiring people to pay in order to read a blog just doesn't seem like a good idea, IMO - it changes everything. Personally, if I were to charge people to read my blog, it would add a lot of pressure on me to make sure that my customers were getting their moneys worth. Since I write on my blog for fun, relaxation, etc., adding this pressure would take the fun out of it.

milbertus (http://www.milbertus.com)

#5

Due to the nature of the web, if someone tries to make you pay to read their content, it'll appear on fifty other free sites within the hour. I'll go somewhere else, if you don't mind. Nothing would make me pay for content on the internet. In terms of other people, paid content falls into two categories: financial info, and porn. That's as simple as it can get.

David House

#6

I can't say I could see myself ever trying to make money off of whitespace. I started it because of my own passion and if I began to advertise I think I might be compromising some of the things I was trying to accomplish with it.

Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)

#7

Boy! I'd like to jump all over this one!
Each time I log onto the web, I fear I'll be greeted with a message window stating: "Please deposit 25 cents for the first 3 minutes of surfing". Eventually, something like this will happen. I remember stating to anyone who would listen: "Why would anyone pay for TV when they can get it for nothing with an antenna". Who do you know who now doesn't have cable TV?

But you asked what it would take to pay for content on a blog. At this point, I don't think I would pay for it. Eventually, I suppose, the content will be so captivating as to make me feel it is worth paying for. But not yet. I think I would suffer a few pop-ups and other ads if I found the information very useful or the writer's style interesting enough.

But, I look at blogs as conversations. Nobody asks to be paid if they have a conversation with someone, even if they are imparting their special knowledge or perspective. (Well, I guess you could pay for 1-900-..., but that's another story). If I had something to say, and I guess I do, I'd like as many people as possible to hear it. Blogging allows and provides for this phenomenon. One could just stand on the street corner and shout their opinions and views, but how many of those listening would be particularly interested in the subject matter. A blogger can assume that those listening are interested in his opinions and information, and that in itself should be worth the cost and effort.

Jack Burman

#8

Why not change the equation by considering the impact of allowing guests to POST for a fee? In the case of some of these designer resource blogs, a poster can ask a question of the experts. The more the questioner is willing to pay, the higher the quality of answer from the questionee. The blog host and the expert then split the fee.Similiar to http://answers.google.com.

Would obviously require some type of filtering and pre-screening process...

Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)

#9

An alternative approach is to request for "donations" to cover the cost of hosting.

Go to http://www.yougrowgirl.com/ and click on Support the Site

Netsnob (http://shyanyap.f2o.org/weblog)

#10

I see a lot of those donate buttons lately, but the sad thing most of the sites they are on have not so great content. Instead of putting some hard work into something it seems some people simply like to take handouts thinking that people on the web are realy that generous. Maybe I am missing something...

Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)

#11

Yeah, you are. If you don't have good content, you probably won't get handouts. That doesn't mean someone who *has* good content shouldn't add a button of that sort. Of course, it also doesn't mean that having good content will guarantee 'tips' (most of the sites I've seen them on that I'd actually consider givingmoney to refer to them as 'tip jars'), but it's more likely than having crap content.

JC (http://www.thelionsweb.com/weblog)

#12

Andy over at the Daily Flight has posted a Year End PDF highlighting some of his best articles. This is one of the ideas I had to generate some money. The PDF is beautifully done and so is the content, which in turn I am sure some people would have no problem in giving him a tip. The only problem lies in the bandwidth because at 2mb that is going to eat up a lot.

Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)

#13

I think you are missing a few things from the list here. How many authors and indy publications include links to Amazon using their associates ID or similar program for other sites? This is a source of revenue, be it a small one. Another thing is the income that cannot really be priced, such as book deals, printed magazine or newspaper stories, keynote or speaking gigs, etc.

Those are, in some form, compensation. Another thing is freebies, each author that reviews a book on Digital Web Magazine natrually gets a free copy of that book. The same goes for software, though it's a NFR copy and can only be used for the purpose of review. Also, what about donations? A lot of indy sites accept donations via PayPal and the Amazon honor system.

In all these cases the indy author is getting something back for their efforts. Yes, it would be ideal if indy publications could make a dime to help compensate the authors and editors because more content could be published more frequently and the quality of content could go up (i.e. via more research). All of which boils down to time equals money.

I do take a sort of pride in ensuring that all who work on my publication get compensated in one form or another. I even lax the copyright for material if the author is compensated at a fair industry rate. To me, this is what keeps us going.

The one thing that we have to understand about the indy web is that most people who are highly involved with it are not here to make a dime, they are hear to give back. Look at Zeldman, or Molly, do you really think they are involved with multiple indy publications just so they can make some more money? I doubt it. They want to give back to the community that helped them learn and get to where they are today. They enjoy helping others and they want to see the Web go. It's a different mentality than the focus of running a business.

Nick (http://www.digital-web.com)

#14

I have received a couple of books I selected from individuals, but this was more for services that I rendered. To be honest with a site like this I would much rather I receive a book than some money. Books definitely last me much longer.

Other perks such as passes to trade shows and stuff would also be great. I understand the independent web is about giving back and that is why it is a beautiful thing. The other great thing about it is that it leads to greater things for some people such as Zeldman who get their own book deals.

I think the independent web is kind of a way to get everyone's feet wet and garner respect from your peers. Once you build a quality reputation I believe it would be easier to make money off of quality content.

Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)

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