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Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

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Re: Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

#21

Post by dazc »

jwr wrote: post #3

I don't! I long for the early days of the Internet, when you published because you wanted to, and things didn't have to be "monetized". Yes, you do have to make a living, but let's be honest: you won't make a living "monetizing" a tech blog anyway.

I did this with a DIY themed blog a few years ago, not out of any principal but because I had another income stream. Fast forward to today and several similar sites have popped up with content that is the same as mine but re-written to look unique. They are all, of course, heavily monetized.

The moral of this story is that if you don't monetize your content someone else certainly will.

Re: Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

#22

Post by keiferski »

jwr wrote: post #3

I don't! I long for the early days of the Internet, when you published because you wanted to, and things didn't have to be "monetized". Yes, you do have to make a living, but let's be honest: you won't make a living "monetizing" a tech blog anyway.

The early internet had infinitely less content available than today. It was also populated by technical people that didn’t, and still don’t, have any difficulty in getting a high-paying job.

There’s a really easy way to get high-quality content: pay for it so that people can make a living from it. If you aren’t willing to do that, don’t be surprised when advertising is the only business model.

Re: Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

#23

Post by blowski »

wil421 wrote: post #19
criley2 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I long for the days of the pre-internet where everyone agreed writing was worth paying for. The worst thing the internet had done to society is convince us that writing isn't worth paying for. The amount of writers (journalists, novelists, etc) who have abandoned the profession these past 30 years is heartbreaking. But just as every newspaper and magazine has learned: the internet means writing is free.

The old internet was full of hobbyists and passionate people who wanted to share their knowledge. There’s nothing wrong with paying for a real news outlet with real journalists, I pay for PBS. Everyone is trying to make a buck and it’s harder to find passionate blogs that aren’t gaming Google’s SEO to show 100 ads. Even with woodworking or gardening I found everyone wants you to buy their videos, plans, or swag.

Why do we need to push a single means as the "right" one? All these existed pre-internet, no reason why they can't or shouldn't continue to exist now.

Re: Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

#24

Post by ant6n »

keiferski wrote: post #22
jwr wrote: post #3

I don't! I long for the early days of the Internet, when you published because you wanted to, and things didn't have to be "monetized". Yes, you do have to make a living, but let's be honest: you won't make a living "monetizing" a tech blog anyway.

The early internet had infinitely less content available than today. It was also populated by technical people that didn’t, and still don’t, have any difficulty in getting a high-paying job. There’s a really easy way to get high-quality content: pay for it so that people can make a living from it. If you aren’t willing to do that, don’t be surprised when advertising is the only business model.

Technical high quality content is content marketing for the person who writes it.

Re: Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

#26

Post by keiferski »

ant6n wrote: post #24
keiferski wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The early internet had infinitely less content available than today. It was also populated by technical people that didn’t, and still don’t, have any difficulty in getting a high-paying job. There’s a really easy way to get high-quality content: pay for it so that people can make a living from it. If you aren’t willing to do that, don’t be surprised when advertising is the only business model.

Technical high quality content is content marketing for the person who writes it.

Sure, but that is sort of my point: technical content can afford to be high quality and free because the writer won’t have a difficult time getting work. Most people in other industries are not in the same situation.

Re: Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

#27

Post by lozenge »

It is monetized when you get better jobs - better paying or paying the same with more interesting work.

That said, one blogger did tell me his "desk setup" blog with affiliate links made more money than the rest of the blog combined. So throw in a post or two that you wouldn't normally write about.

Re: Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

#28

Post by tcfhgj »

keiferski wrote: post #22
jwr wrote: post #3

I don't! I long for the early days of the Internet, when you published because you wanted to, and things didn't have to be "monetized". Yes, you do have to make a living, but let's be honest: you won't make a living "monetizing" a tech blog anyway.

The early internet had infinitely less content available than today. It was also populated by technical people that didn’t, and still don’t, have any difficulty in getting a high-paying job. There’s a really easy way to get high-quality content: pay for it so that people can make a living from it. If you aren’t willing to do that, don’t be surprised when advertising is the only business model.

If one isn't willing to pay for it, the price is obviously too high for the content.

PS: it's not like ads aren't payment. It's just the price to you isn't transparent and only a fraction of it ends up at the blogger compared to a real payment

Re: Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

#29

Post by keiferski »

I read some good startup advice awhile ago that went like this: innovate on your primary product, but choose the most standardized solutions for everything else. In other words, if you’re selling shovels, make the best shovel possible, don’t try to reinvent how payment processing works.

Applied to a tech blog, this advice is: focus on writing great content. Choose the most basic, standardized way to get paid for it. That seems to be Substack at the moment.

Re: Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?

#30

Post by vanilla_nut »

- Create some "paid only" articles a la substack.

- Small ads on the right side of the site. Can be standards ads, even better if you can get "sponsored" directly by companies with no adtech middle man.

- Store of probably-not-actually-worth-the-price merch that people might still buy if they like you.

- Be content with not monetizing everything. I personally don't follow any monetized blogs (besides substack and minor sidebar ads, which pays the server bills) because I don't trust opinion from monetized bloggers. That trust is hard to gain, easy to lose, and poor monetization is an easy way to lose it.

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