Blogging for Dollars?

My friend, Melissa, recently wrote this post, expressing her frustration with the small circle of bloggers who seem to be getting all the perks.

I read it and left a lengthy comment, then realized I had even more to say.

So, here it goes.

I have been feeling some stress and increasing negativity in bloggyland lately.

Unrest among the masses regarding PR, "A List" (whatever that is) Mommy Bloggers, the lack of money in blogging, etc.

I've personally considered withdrawing completely and have spoken to a few other bloggers who are also feeling somewhat "disenchanted" with blogging as of late.

It seems to have lost its luster.

Here is how I see it:

You begin blogging for fun.

For connections.

For camaraderie.

You get a few followers and comments.

You want more.

You begin to see others talking about the free stroller or set of books.

You want that too.

Then you hear that some are getting to travel, meet with PR firms, speak at conferences.

That sounds fun.

You wonder, why not me?

As a blogger who has a blog that generates some income, will be speaking at a conference (so what if it's my own conference, still counts, right?) and is paid to work with a PR Firm, I want to give you the low down.

The way I see it.

Take it or leave it.

1. Contrary to popular belief, unless you are Dooce or Pioneer Woman, there is no real money in blogging. Some of you are incredibly talented writers. You work on your blogs daily. Hours of time crafting posts, coming up with blog fodder, agonizing over what to post next or why your pageviews are dropping. Stop. It doesn't matter. Even if you made $100/month, would it be equal to minimum wage when you added up the time spent? In the scheme of your life, do pageviews really matter?

Here is some perspective, Chic Chick Media (made up fo 4 blogs, 1 being SITS) gets over ONE MILLION combined pageviews each month and sells ads for $75/month. Split between 4 blogs.

2. Most PR firms and brands have not figured out the true value of "mommy bloggers" and they never will as long as someone is willing to do it for free. The PR firm that does Fishful Thinking got my involvement for two reasons: A. Fishful Thinking is a great program, not a product. It's something I am thrilled to be part of and has personally improved my parenting and enhanced my life. B. They compensate me for my time, offered real training and truly wanted input from the moms involved.

I receive "pitches" all the time. I choose not to participate, as unless they are offering monetary compensation for MY hard work and prime "bloggy real estate", I'm not interested in making them money. My choice. I have no problem with review blogs, but I rarely read them.

3. Most PR firms and brands do not look beyond pageviews. Until they start matching bloggers to brands, we will continue to see the same women representing the brands. How many times have you seen an ad on a particular blog and wondered, "What the hell were they thinking?". There is one blog in particular that has me scratching my head every time I see a new ad.

4. Women are often each others worst enemies. We will find any reason to be outraged at one another. Jealousy is alive and well in bloggyland. We won't share our secrets or tell the truth when it comes to our contacts, stats, income, etc.

5. So even after the above, you still want to be a Queen Blogger- (whatever that means) Here is my 2 cents. If the popular girls at your high school went to another high school, would they still be popular? Probably not. We make them "A List" by giving them pageviews. For a great blogger, I am thrilled to do this. Happy to give her my "business" in clicks. She has earned it. For a blogger who baits traffic by causing drama and linking it up- not so much. Want to stop giving drama queens traffic? Stop linking to their drama-ridden posts. Spend your time getting your blog out there. Educating yourself on how SEO works. Network, promote yourself- that's what they did.

So here is my final piece of advice.

Blog if it brings you pleasure.

Enhances your life.

Makes you smile.

It IS a choice.

Unless it's making you over $40,000 a year, it's not worth 40 hours a week.

If you come by here one day, and this blog is gone, don't worry about me.

I'm fine.

Just ready to move on.

No, I am not planning to take my blog down anytime soon, but if it was all gone tomorrow, I'd shrug my shoulders and move on.

Happy with the friends I made, the laughs I shared and the lives I peeked into.