Sometimes ‘Thank You’ Is Payment Enough
Every once in a while my wife asks me “Why do you do that blog-thing if it doesn’t make any money?” Not that she’s *cough* greedy or anything, but she knows that the website generates good income each month, and I tell her about ShoeMoney, Jim Karter, John Cow, etc, that make good income from blogging, and she wonders why I don’t do the same with my blog. Even though I do make a few dollars from the affiliate links that I occasionally post, it doesn’t really add up to much – and since there is no advertising in (here) in my blog, it basically generates no income at all.
What I always tell my wife (or anyone else that asks) is that I do the (this) blog to help other webmasters however I can or to be an inspiration to new webmasters/bloggers looking to generate income from their website or blog. I certainly don’t do it “for the love of blogging” because to be honest, I find it very difficult to write most blog-posts and I don’t consider myself a great writer or even a moderately good blogger.
About the only “payment” I really do get is the occasional “thank you” that I get – either from a post I make here, from the free ebook, or for a post I’ve made at DP Forums. I usually get a few “thank you’s” per month, but today I got one from someone that seemed particularly grateful.
SUBJECT: Thank You Mr. Brown!
Randy
I just wanted to thank you for a couple of things.
You were the one who originally turned me on to Kontera, and then Chitika (I used your referral to sign up). Actually the whole idea of “diversifying” from Adsense. I went to your blog Grown Up Geek and I love the site. I have to spend more time there learning.
I started this whole blogging thing back in August 2007, and now I have 18 blogs, and I make approx. $2,000 a month give or take a few hundred.
Anyways, thanks for making a difference in my life (and a difference in my girlfriend and 4 dogs life too!).
Sincerely,
Name withheld for his protection
Wow! I actually made a difference in someone’s life – and, he was grateful enough to take the time to thank me for it. I don’t want to get all teary-eyed or mushy, but that really means a lot to me.
Shoemoney might make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, Markus Frind and others might make over $1,000,000 per year, but can those guys say that they have actually made a difference (for the better) in someone’s life?
Sometimes… Thank you is payment enough….
Like
Amen-
Randy one of the biggest highlights of last year was at blogworld when a guy came in and asked me if I would come out so he could introduce me to his family… it was a little weird but when I went outside he was like this is the guy that inspired me to start my own website and the reason I was able to quit working my night job and spend more time with you kids… it was really touching. I know how you feel.
Randy, thank you for thinking of us when you’re talking about successful blogs
(Actually writing a little ebook ourselves at the moment, wonder when it will ever see the light of day though.)
I remember sending a than you PM from DP maybe a month ago (gtull1 @ DP). Your story really touched me.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m probably not good enough to apply them correctly, but I’m trying.
George
Hello,
Yes Randy, I agree with you. Sometimes i feel happy when i notice that someone just say ” Thanks ” especially when it’s a low-earning period.
Thank you for letting us know about the Google referral program problem.
Zak.
thats rare but when thats why these thank you letters are worth more.
Man, I can’t agree with you more. You know what I do, I have a bunch of blogs, all making a little here and there and by the end of the month, we’re looking at a few thousand. It sounds very similar to the individual who wrote in.
Consequently, I have my personal blog, as you know, and I provide advice, tips and tricks on it. My aim is to help people and from time to time, people do thank me for my efforts. It is times like those that motivate me to continue helping.
I appreciate you directing me to this article Randy.
Hi Randy
I found your blog through Garry’s post about him posting on your site.
While my blog hasn’t been around that long, started mid-May I think, I can relate to how it feels when people thank you. I’ve been working hard on my last few posts making them as easy as I can so that other people can understand a somewhat complex problem. I have gotten a few thank yous already and it does feel great to get them.
Knowing that you are out there helping at least one person can really brighten your day and keep you going.
I also checked out the main site and it seems like you got a great little community going. I myself am working on a blog of mine somewhat like GuG, although mine is geared strictly towards computers. Once I get about 20 more posts on it I plan to start promoting it.
I’ll make it a point to subscribe to your blog right now and check out GuG daily