It’s Not About The Money

Posted on by Barbed Words

I’ve seen a few blogs recently with a donate button.  One blog was about a family travelling around the world, home educating their kids and enjoying an idyllic existence.  The donate button said ‘help us to continue our dream.’   At first, I felt quite affronted but then I thought, ‘hang on, am I missing a trick here?’  My dream is to have a beautiful, beachside house with a retro VW campervan parked on the drive, two Labradors gamboling happily in the garden and George Clooney* (clothing optional) in the kitchen popping open an iced bottle of prosecco.  Should I expect regular readers of my blog (all 10 of you) to finance this dream??  Is it just a case of ‘ask and ye shall receive?”

press here to donate

I expect to pay for a published book, newspaper or magazine because  – and whether this is true or not is open to debate – I presume them to be written by proficient authors (ok, let’s not include Jordan or Victoria Beckham here) whose work has been scrutinized, edited and improved.  And, hopefully, if when I finish my book and it gets published (crossing all my fingers plus toes for good measure), others will also be happy to fork out money for it.   In exchange for which, they’ll expect a decent return in the form of an enjoyable, gripping or educational reading experience.

However, when I’m surfing the Internet, I don’t have the same investment in a website as I do in a book.   I flick from site to site, looking at the news, checking out Amazon or reading my favourite blogs.  Some blogs are very amusing, thought provoking or informative, written by extremely talented authors and I enjoy lots of them very much.  But any Tom, Dick or Harriet can set up a blog, often complete with spelling errors and ill thought out ideas (as you can see…).   So if I had to pay to go on a particular site, I just wouldn’t bother.

Do you agree with me that blogs should be free?  Or is it right to expect to pay for information, in any form?  Maybe I should just go for it and install a ‘donate’ button and wait for the money to come flooding in?  This time next year, Rodney, we could be millionaires…

* Really do think I need to update my choice of stud muffin for my fantasies.  Am definitely too old for One Direction members (plus my daughters would be mortified) so who else fits the bill?? Any suggestions???

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Published by Barbed Words

31 thoughts on “It’s Not About The Money”

  1. I’ve seen the same donate button, probably on the same blog. 😉 I think some people believe they are selling a service so the reader should have to pay for it. Im pretty sure that on wordpress, if you have a donate button a certain amount of it must be donated. I’ve recently come across a blog hosted on WP that has a donate button, however, not one post is original to them. They copy and paste everyone else’s work!

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  2. Ha, ha! I was thinking exactly that! I mean, George Clooney, what were you thinking! My current man ‘crush’ (and I may well be too old for crushes) is The Scripts Danny O’Donaghue, tall, dark, edgy, and with that lovely Irish accent, what’s not to like! I’m SO a sucker for a lovely Irish accent! I agree with the rest of the dream though. When you make millions from your blog, please can I come and live the dream? I promise faithfully to send you 50p to start you off……
    Jane x

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    1. Just googled images of Danny and he is currently at the top of my list of contenders. I don’t think you’re ever too old for man crushes – they help me get through a lot of poor quality TV programmes! x

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      1. Ah! I knew you would see sense and dump old George for Danny 🙂 So, I will send the 50p and ask all 4 of my real followers to do the same. You can thank me when you are rich
        Jane x

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    2. PS will look forward to the 50p arriving but, knowing the Italian post, it will either never turn up or arrive long after I’ve moved into a retirement home and no longer have any need for a beachside house!

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  3. Surely the joy of the internet is the huge range of information – be it educational, funny, emotional or just plain weird – available at your fingertips for free. Mind you, I would sure get a lot more done at work if I did have to pay for it!

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  4. The question is choice – a donate button is no different to a busker with their hat – if one feels inspired to give then so be it. It’s the manner of asking that matters. Too pushy is at the extreme called a protection racket .

    Therefore by all means put a donate button – what the worst that could happen – loads of money arrives along with Mr Cloney – oh correct that One Direction. We can all dream – now where is my inflatable model……

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  5. I’d be tempted to tell them that they’d have to pay me to read their blog. I was brought up never to ask for money or sweets from strangers, and blogging shouldn’t be a money spinner. If someone likes writing and wants to make money out of it, by all means get it onto Amazon Kindle or to a highbrow editor (MM dreaming again). But blogging is different, at least for me.

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    1. PS. If you have two labradors in your dream home, don’t bother with George Clooney. The dogs sleep on the floor, don’t drink all the beer in the fridge, pinch the TV remote or yell because they picked up you hair removal cream instead of the toothpaste.

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      1. Glad to hear you don’t have any plans to start charging for your blog, I’ll wait for the book to come out! Labradors do sound a lot easier to live with but will they take me out for dinner and tell me I’m looking good??

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  6. Hilarious!
    Well, I think if people want to have a D(ET)ONATE or whatever button on their blog, let them have it. In fact, right now I’m thinking of holding out a hat to all passers by when I’m sitting in a café eating cake, so I can ‘continue living the dream’, i.e. keep myself in cakes.
    But everybody is welcome to read my blog for free, without even the teensiest twinge of guilt. Those are my values, and I’m sticking by ’em.

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    1. Maybe subscribers could donate cakes in exchange for reading? A short post could equal one brownie, photos would deserve a cookie and anything over 500 words would have to be worth a whole black forest gateaux??

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      1. Totally makes sense…!
        Now, in your case, you could make up a blog list, i.e. like a wedding list. You pick a kitchen from IKEA or some place, and people can choose whether to donate a cupboard door, the sink, etc. Once you get all the bits together, it’ll be delivered. Ha!

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  7. Yeah, I think it’s a bit of a sell-out to be honest. I write mainly for my own entertainment/sanity – I wouldn’t expect anyone else to pay for my ramblings! Although a ‘Get George Clooney Naked Foundation’ does sound quite tempting… 🙂 Thanks for following my blog! Linda.

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    1. Oooh, I like the sound of the ‘Get George Clooney Naked Foundation’ but in order to feature some younger top totty would now like to make it the ‘Get George Clooney and Danny O’Donaghue Naked Foundation’. I’d definitely donate to that!

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      1. Óh god, I had to google who he is! I know The Script but didn’t know the singer’s name 😉 How about the ‘Get Ryan Gosling Naked Foundation’ and forget the other two 😉

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  8. I’ve seen a lot of those asking for money to their readers; travelers for their food or coffee or rent and whatnot..but can’t they earn from ads? Like this student who’s asking her readers to click on the ads on her site for her tuition.. LOL
    I say, they get a real job if blogging alone is not enough for their luxuries.

    PS. I’d go with Ryan Gosling. 😛

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    1. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ryan Gosling in anything but he is definitely hot enough to be in the ‘Get George Clooney, Danny O’Donaghue and Ryan Gosling Naked Foundation’ 😉

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  9. Well I for one am a Johnny Depp fan. He is quirky and intelligent and easy on the eyes. Only drawback is that he is a smoker 😦

    As for a donation button for blogging…no way. If the button was to donate to a cause such as an animal shelter ok, but the idea of donating so someone can continue blogging? If they think they are that great them tell them to stop blogging and go get a paid writing job or set up a proper website with ebusiness.

    I don’t blog to make money, I blog to connect with people and save my sanity all in one…cheaper than therapy! If blogging segues into peripheral items such as mugs or t-shirts because the blog goes viral, I’m all for that. People like to feel that they are part of something and that is still about connecting with your readers. Kinda like going on holiday and buying the t-shirt.

    Most people who like my blog love the title the best. And yes, I had two custom mugs made on Zazzle for my biggest fan my dad 🙂 made his day!

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    1. Ooh, yes, Johnny Depp is quite tasty isn’t he? But I’m with you – definitely no smokers, even if they’re only on my fantasy list!

      Glad you agree with the ‘Keep Blogs Free’ campaign. I do love the thought of custom mugs and t-shirts though, hope you don’t mind if I pinch that idea for Christmas presents! 🙂

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Anything to add?