Posts Tagged ‘seth godin’

It’s past three in the morning, and this post is a bit rantish.  I feel it’s important to issue that warning.

I’m not normally impressed with blogs that spend their time repeating what the “A-list” bloggers say.  It seems that every time a blogger like Seth Godin opens his mouth, half the blogosphere reports on it.  It’s awfully repetetive.

But now you’re going to have to excuse a moment of hypocrisy, because I’m compelled to comment on what Seth said today on the topic of blog conflicts through advertising, if only because it mirrors some recent decisions I’ve made.

I have to chuckle a bit at bloggernoob.com, where that site’s author (”the noob”) wrote earlier about an over-emphasis on content.  He likens the stance of the “blogging purist” to a misunderstanding of the blogging economy.  My grin comes from the fact that the next day, one of the most famous bloggers in the world (who quite obviously understands the blogging economy) posted about how he doesn’t sell space on his blog, specifically to make it “as pure an exercise as [he] can”.

Don’t get me wrong — I have no problem with ad-supported sites.  I still run several of them.  But sometimes, a site’s revenue is less direct, and ads can actually pull away from a more valuable opportunity.

Seth makes money from his blog by giving the world a glimpse into his mind.  The very fact that we know his name shows that he’s a good marketer.  The fact that so many bloggers agree with, and repeat, everything he says shows that he’s either very smart, or very charismatic.  Either way, it earns him a living as people pay him to talk or write.

I’m not getting paid to give seminars or write books (yet), but I profit from my online ventures in a similar way.  I’m entirely self-taught.  Over the past ten years or so, I’ve learned how to design, develop and market websites.  Aside from some high-school courses in basic programming, I’ve never been formally trained in these activities.  I learned what I know by putting up websites, getting people to them, and measuring results.

Now, my clients pay me for that experience.  I do a variety of things, from coding Wordpress themes to running AdWords campaigns — from writing email copy to developing full marketing programs.  These skills didn’t come from nowhere: I’ve learned what does and doesn’t work through years of experimentation, both on my own and through employment.

So when I relaunched my Philosophy Index site this week, I decided to remove all ads from the site.  Considering how little they make, relative to my other forms of income, they’re really a burden.  They take up space and distract me from what I actually love about that site.  (I’m starting work on a Philosophy degree this fall, so reviving the site has a double meaning to me.)

I feel really good about the decision, and I’ll be honest — reading Seth’s blog post did re-affirm that feeling.  It’s not a “holier-than-thou” thing, like the noob says.  It’s a choice thing.  I want content to be my focus, and I want this blog (and my sites) to be all me.  If I were writing short content in simpler language with pictures of models, my blog would be horribly inauthentic.  I’m not after the idiots with wallets.  I’m looking to work with smart people who can use (and will value) my services.