Saturday, April 15, 2017

Some Reasons This Blog Will Not Be Monetized



Just as I was formulating a post outlining the reasons this blog is not being monetized, I received this lovely letter. It explains some of the issues I have considered regarding advertizing.

One reason I avoid advertizing is that the products are from companies and brands that are already super-rich. They offer the blogger less than a pittance per click, erstwhile promising to help you make money. It would take me years to make money, and if I advertise for them I am making them even richer while they pay so little.  A big advertising company would charge much, much more to run ads, but the companies pay a tiny bit to the blogger.  

If you do not make over, say $100 a month, the amount you earned does not count, and you have to start your earnings all over again the next month. If any employer did that to an employee, no one would work for him. It's not honest and definitely not Biblical. 

When these rich businesses keep your earnings unless they are $100 it drives you to seek more attention to the ads to get more clicks, and when it is all analyzed, it will take a year to get $100. In my case, a year of ad clicks will result in less than $20, which I will never get. Each click represents only a fraction of a dollar, and in some cases, a fraction of a cent. It isn't worth the time from a busy homemaker. It may also cost you money, since it takes up so much time.

Thinking they are helping me, ladies have bought art posters from Allposters, or tea sets from Amazon, two things I have featured for sale.  If I make a commission of five or ten dollars, I never receive the money unless my sales commission goes over $100 or some other required amount. That is why I put the donate button on the side bar. If you want to give me $5.00 I am happy to receive it and at least you know I will be getting the donation.  

That being said, I do not mind helping friends sell the products of their own hands.  I just do not like advertizing for the corporations that are already rolling in wealth. If they want to run their ads on my space, they will have to pay me a lot more. How about $100 a click. They can afford it.

Another reason is that I do not like endorsing things that make us focus on buying and selling all the time. The ads make the blogs ugly, they are a nuisance to click off, they are not really about making a home. They are about their companies making more money. These companies also donate huge sums to things that cause trouble., and the products often contain caustic ingredients.

Please enjoy this letter:


Dear Lydia,

It has been several years since I last wrote to you.  Sometimes it will be many months between visits to your blog, and then when I have a moment to sit down and look for edifying things to read, or, when I am trying to write words of encouragement to my daughters-in-law or to other young ladies in the church I will type in http://www.homeliving.blogspot.com/ to do a little bit of reading.  As I'm typing in the address for your blog, I'm usually thinking:  "How is Lydia doing and what has she been writing about lately?"

When I walk through the door of your blog it's like I get to visit with a dear kindred spirit.  The sights of lovely portraits and vignettes of domestic glory delight the eyes of one who is hungering and thirsting for righteousness.  And then to take the time to read what you have written is like filling one's cup with the wonderful word of life applied to homemaking.  

Before it sounds like I am gushing I'm going to reign myself in and tell you one of the reasons for writing this little email note to you.  Like you, I'm in my sixties and I remember when I first started to read blogs written by ladies filled with delightful inspirational articles on homemaking and homeschooling and encouragement to live a sweet, contented Godly life as sisters-in-the-LORD.  In the last several years I've gone from homeschooling my three sons to now helping my daughters-in-law to homeschool my grandchildren so I've had very limited time to browse the old places I looked at several years ago.  Many of them are no longer there and some of the ones I used to go to have changed drastically.

Now, when I walk through some of their doors I still see some of the things that drew me to their blog in the first place.  However, I don't feel so much at home anymore because the ladies who author those sites have turned their blogs and websites into a money making business.  And to top it off some of the ladies who started out encouraging other ladies to "come home" from their jobs downtown to learn contentment in homemaking, relying on God's means of provision through their husbands - Now those same ladies are tutoring other ladies on how to make an income through blog writing.  And they are making a profit while teaching the other ladies how to do it, too.

So, the reason for my writing to you is to not only thank you for your work that you've done over the years in writing good sound counsel for other ladies on your blog, but also to thank you for not turning your "Home Living" blog into a "Business Making" blog.

It is true that the ideal woman described in Proverbs 31 is a shrewd industrious woman who re-invests her husband's capital to make a profit, but I believe she acted more as a steward of her husband's provision than the women in the church today who work to bring in a second income to add to their husband's provision.

The resulting message of all this is confusing to our daughters and granddaughters because we tell them to come home and focus on homemaking and then we set before them examples of homeschooling moms who are making thousands of dollars on their computers.  The only thing we've done is to change the geographical location of their work desk from downtown to their office at home.  Their attention is divided and they certainly aren't learning contentment and how to trust in God's means of provision through their husbands.

And, now I must abruptly bring this letter to a conclusion because my husband has finished working on the taxes and is about to go to bed.  I beg your pardon for a hastily written note which hasn't been proofread before sending it, but I won't be able to get back to this until toward the end of next week because I'm going to be at my daughter-in-law's house helping her keep her house going.  She just had a baby eight days ago.  So Olivia now has a sister named Evelyn.

May God bless you as you seek to walk faithfully in The Way that He has laid out before you.

Vivian

14 comments:

Mrs. White said...

I love this!!

Rachel and Family said...

I concur with Vivian!

Rachel and Family said...

I concur with Vivian!

Mrs Honeybee said...

I can't tell you of the pain of having my attention divided between wanting a lovely home and making money online. Your honest post accompanied by Vivian's heartfelt letter cemented my decision to forgo the latter and focus on thriving in my role of contented wife, mother and homemaker.

Linda said...

This was so beautifully written.
Thank you for posting it.
Linda

me said...

Dear Lydia,

I am glad you raised the issue. Your lack off adds is just one of the many reasons I love visiting your blog. I have visited several similar blogs, but once adds start popping up I leave and don't return. They make me feel like a customer rather than a welcome guest and like-minded thinker. It changes the whole tone of the atmosphere and aim of the blog. I wonder how many readers are lost through adds on blogs. It might actually be a self-defeating exercise.

Your idea of a donation button is, as ever, sensible, discrete and far more 'classy'.

Thank you for just being you:-)

Lynn said...

I really like Marie's take on this issue of ads on a blog....Lydia, I am so glad that you don't get involved with all of that.

ladypinktulip said...

I agree! Very important points. Love Kelly T.

A. Law said...

Dear Lydia,
Thank you for posting this !
It is so helpful in keeping our priorities in the right order.
Aline L.

Maggie said...

This is an excellent and timely post. As a former career gal learning to be content at home as a SAHM, and still battling pangs of guilt because I don't earn an income that would help when money is tight, I appreciate you addressing this subject. I absolutely love your blog and get encouragement from it, and yes, part of the reason is because you keep that moneymaking clickbait stuff off of your beautiful pages. Today I'm reminded that I do have my priorities right. Thank you to you and Vivian for pointing that out! Much love and God bless!

Songsparrowgarden said...

A beautiful letter for sure.

I had a friend - - we both lived our lives based on voluntary simplicity. And it was wonderful. . . until she went to work full time to pay off her 'second' home.

I found your original writings on LAF when I used to frequent "Wendy's Modest Dress". She's not there anymore, which broke my heart. . but I found great comfort in your words and articles. I printed some and still re-read them. They have great meaning for me.

Glad to know you will never turn yourself over to the conglomerates. . . where only $$$ matter.

Many blessings,
Chris

Michelle said...

What a lovely letter. And your post is educational to us who may not realize what is happening on blogs that advertise. On most blogs, I don't see a lot of the big company ads, because my son helped us block them using ad-blocker. So many bloggers have monetized blogs, that it seems easy to make money blogging. I'm sure it depends on how you're trying to do it. I like some of the printables and ebooks that bloggers share with us, and I don't mind if sometimes they want a little bit of money for their time and effort, but I do hope that they aren't making a career out of it. Thanks for this reminder.

Paulina Marie said...

Thank you for writing on this very issue! Now I know why the only blogs I like to read are the ones without ads, constant reviews, and giveaways. Your blog exudes peace and serenity. That is why I love to visit frequently. I am glad to know your blog won't be joining the slew of monetized blogs out there.

Mama to 12, so far said...

This is a wonderful post! I have lost interest in many a blog when they have become a advertisement haven instead of a haven of sharing and mutual interests. I enjoy reading your blog. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.