Off the top of your head, name three blogs that you follow religiously. Are you done? Now give the reasons why you follow them. Chances are good that the reason you keep visiting these blogs is because you continue to receive something of value from them.
The value you receive from these blogs can come in the form of entertainment, knowledge or expertise. If you were to make an honest assessment, it’s pretty safe to say that you wouldn’t frequent any blog if you weren’t “getting” something from it. Am I right?
Of course I’m right! I’m not trying to sound arrogant, it’s just that I’m sure we can both agree on the fact that you wouldn’t return to a website if you deemed it to be worthless, or there was nothing in it for you. Now what would happen if we were to change this up just a little bit and say that you couldn’t visit your favorite blogger’s site unless you paid him or her to view their content? What would you do then?
The most common response in this scenario is for the readers to say, “No way!” and look for another blog to get their information from. And while this situational response is generally known and understood in the blogosphere, the idea of a subscription blog is still brought up from time to time.
To pay or not to pay, that is the question
Recently at the Men with Pens blog (a fantastic blog which you should check out sometime), a discussion has been started regarding precisely this topic. Deciding whether or not bloggers should charge for posts hasn’t been limited to just this post, it has spanned to other blogs as well. With premium content always being in demand, this is a topic that won’t be going away anytime soon.
The debate on whether premium blogs could or should charge for access to said content brings about strong opinions from both points of view. Most readers want to keep with the status quo, where information is freely accessible with no restrictions, while some bloggers rightly feel that they should be compensated for all the knowledge and information that they provide to others.
I suspect that in the near future more and more blogs will turn to the “pay to play” model, and as much as I have enjoyed the free education I’ve gained from blogs I can’t say that I blame them for wanting to get paid for the service they provide.
Great blogging is hard work
It takes a lot to create and maintain a really good blog. To keep visitors returning time and time again, the blogger behind everything has to not only be talented and knowledgeable, but they have to labor for many hours to continue supplying the flow of free education. Most people are really not aware of how much time and energy is spent in making a blog.
The truly great bloggers have been in the practice of providing something of value to an enormous amount of people at absolutely no cost to the reader. And in some cases, the financial costs incurred by the owners of these blogs outweigh any income they may have received. Put simply, the bloggers themselves have been paying to give their readers the skills and knowledge necessary for them to succeed in their endeavors.
What about advertising?
I can already hear some of you saying, “But Rob, these bloggers are already making a ton of money with the ads they run on their site!” Yes, some bloggers do make out quite handsomely by offering advertising on their blog. Often they will also sell a product on their blog as well, such as an eBook. It is definitely true that a handful of blogs rake in quite a bit of money through advertising, but the vast majority of blogs do not.
For advertising to be a viable source of income for a blogger, he or she has to have a substantial amount of traffic coming to their blog. It takes a certain level of steady traffic coming to a site in order to attract advertisers, and without it the most popular alternative is PPC advertising such as Adsense. The click-thru rates vary by blogging niches, so incomes derived from Adsense vary widely.
It’s always been free, why charge now?
The problem with convincing people to pay for access to a blog primarily stems from the common belief that all the information available on the internet is (or should) be free. Nearly every information based site on the web has never been in the practice of charging people to view their content. We all have come to expect to be able to visit any site we want to get all the information we want at anytime we want.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with free information, but it does run contrary to many other forms of media. People have no problem paying for newspapers or magazines when they want to read about something. People have no issue with paying for cable tv to get the television channels they want. So why is there a stigma towards the thought of paying for access towards premium blogs?
Of course, getting readers to actually pay to view a blog is another matter entirely. It is going to take time to alter the way people think about bloggers and blogging in general before a concept like this would take hold. And even then, I can’t see more than a small handful of the largest and most established blogs being able to pull something like this off.
Your thoughts
What are your thoughts on bloggers charging for their posts? If a blog has continually helped you succeed in the past would you be willing to pay for it in the future? Do you support this idea, or is all this just the rants from a money-hungry soulless Scrooge?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey, thanks very much for the shout-out and continuing the discussion on the debate. It’s certainly been interesting to hear so many people’s thoughts and views, and I’ve received many emails from people saying how fascinated they are at all the implications involved in every angle, from free to paid.
There’s more on the topic here, btw: http://menwithpens.ca/sweatshop-blogging
Let me wear the shoe of a reader, for the purpose of responding to your post. I’ve thought of three blogs, and if they suddenly decided they’d like me to pay for some content, here’s what I’d think:
1. If it was all the time, long term, I’m afraid I’d probably say no, depending on the amount of payment required to keep reading. Three times $10 a month adds up over time.
2. If it was information I desired or needed to grow further in my career or business building, I’d pause and consider it. Then I might select one of the three and say yes, then test for a time to see if my decision was good.
3. If I could get some info free and some at a pay-per-post option, I’d probably buy access to several pieces over time from each of the three blogs. Kind of a win-win for both parties.
4. That said, I would have to be buying from someone I know and trust. When I do search for info I need and land on a pay-per-access post, I tend to feel regret and disappointment, then click to go find something else for free – but I do so knowing that the paid version is probably exactly what I need and that I’m wasting time.
Five minute thoughts, on the fly!
James,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
In regards to your 4th point, I find myself doing the same thing. I have somewhat of a tech background, and searching for tech solutions is a good example of how I pass over pay-per-access posts. When searching Google for a solution to a computer or software related problem, the top results are often at a site called “Experts Exchange” which is a site that requires a paid membership to view their content. When I click on the link to their answer and realize this, I too felt exactly what you described and then continued on in search of a free solution.
On a side note, I just discovered your blog yesterday and am both impressed and disappointed with it. I’m impressed with the quality and style of your writing, and disappointed that I never discovered it until yesterday. The voice in your writing is both informative and humorous, something that I think is desirable to many people.
Signed,
A new fan
T\One thing I’m noticing is how the pay to play model is a touchy topic among those in the freelance writing community – but those in other niches such as blogging and scoial media get why we ask such questions.
I dont deny blogs are excellent marketing and networking tools, and I won’t deny that my blog is rocking the advertising right now. However, I’ve also written enough to sell several books. I have no doubt there are people who would pay for that information offline. Online, in non book form? Not so much.
Like James, it would have to be an effing great blog for me to pay to read it. I do pay to receive a couple of freelance writing newsletters and I belong to one paying community. If I wasn’t getting something of value from these places, I wouldn’t invest.
When I began blogging a lot of people complained about the blogs with ads and called them sell outs. Now, blog ads are accepted and even expected. I imagine the pay to read blogs model will also be met with resistance, but eventually people will warm up to the idea.
Some of my blogs, the ones with actual comments from users, are going to Pay-To-Comment. Guests will see the first part of any comment, but not be able to read them all or reply. People will pay for my time to respond via comments, but the content will always be free.