I’ve got two caveats for this post. First, I’m going to talk about things that may bore some of you to tears – things like bandwidth and revenue streams. If that’s you, feel free to skip this post.
The second caveat is that the opinions I express here are strictly my own. They don’t necessarily reflect HighCallingBlogs.com or TheHighCalling.org. Or even Marcus or Gordon, for that matter. I have asked Marcus to look over this post before I hit publish so that I don’t say something glaringly stupid. Hopefully. However any stupidity that happens to leak through is mine and mine alone.
Demise of a Blog Network
The past week was a sad one in the blogging world. For those in our community that may not have heard, one of the larger blog networks, KnowMoreMedia ceased operations last Thursday.
With over 100 blogs in 16 different categories all writing about business from different perspectives, KnowMoreMedia was arguably one of the top 10 blog networks in the world. I knew some of the bloggers who worked over there and count them as friends.
And I’ve worked for a company that went out of business so I know the pain, anger, fear, frustration, etc. that goes along with that whole scene.
A Whole Lotta Conversation
Obviously with such a big player as KnowMoreMedia folding there has been a ton of conversation in the blogosphere about the whole thing. Some big names are talking about it. Wendy Piersall, CEO of Sparkplugging (a network of about 20 or so blogs focused on working-at-home topics), points out a valuable lesson by using a cliche about eggs and baskets.
Jeremy Wright, the CEO of b5media (one of the biggest blog networks out there right now) wrote A Whole Lotta Thoughts On Blog Network Success , in which he discusses what it takes to make a blog network, well, successful. Of all the discussion out there, Jeremy’s is perhaps the most authoritative. (b5 is one of the networks that Marcus talked with when he and Gordon were first starting HighCallingBlogs.com nearly a year ago.) And Jeremy has been with b5 since the beginning right along with Darren Rowse of Problogger fame.
(Another aside for those who don’t know. Problogger is a tremendous resource for blogging information. Darren, a former pastor, started that blog to discuss different ways blogs can generate income. The tips and pointers that are talked about will help improve any blog, whether looking to earn income or just to connect with more readers. The 31 Days to Building a Better Blog series is a great place to start. )
Jeremy’s post about Blog Network Success should be required reading for anyone working with or looking to get involved with a blog network. There is enough meat in that post that it will take a while to digest the whole meal Jeremy serves up.
But HighCallingBlogs is a Non-Profit!
So how does all this talk about blog networks as a business apply to us here at HighCallingBlogs.com?
One of the very first questions I asked Marcus when he initially approached me with the idea of HighCallingBlogs.com was this, "What monetization approaches are you considering?" In other words, where is the money going to come from to keep the site sustainable?
Marcus wants everyone to know that what we’re doing here isn’t free.
And because this is a non-profit organization we certainly should not be irresponsible with our resources. Getting a blog network up and running–and growing–takes resources. Things like server space, and bandwidth have to be paid for.
And that doesn’t include the efforts from the various people that are helping our community to grow.
Not looking at revenue options that would defray operating costs would be poor stewardship of resources at best. My opinion from the beginning is that, long term, HighCallingBlogs.com must become self-supporting.
I firmly believe the network can be self-supporting in the long term.
What Does All This Mean for Us?
Because of my passion to see HighCallingBlogs.com become a thriving network that has a positive impact on far more lives than any of us could ever touch on our own, I pay close attention to things like the demise of a large blog network and the resulting discussion.
Here are some of the things I am taking away from this current unpleasantness.
A strong sense of community is critical.
In the various discussions I’ve read this past week about KnowMoreMedia, I gather that they could have done a better job of building a sense of community among their network bloggers.
This is an area where we are fortunate at HighCallingBlogs.com. We share the commonalities of our faith so we have a common ground for dialog. Admittedly, we can improve in this area, and you can help.
Make it a point to read a few other blogs in the community. Develop a habit of leaving encouraging and edifying comments on other blogs in the network. Pick one or two community blogs that you really like and become their most passionate fans. Tell others about them. Build them up.
When you find an exceptional post, let us know so we can be sure to highlight it.
Don’t Worry. AdSense is NOT the answer.
Running Google ads on the network is probably a bad idea. Over and above the fact that they are no longer as profitable as they once were, contextual ads in general are likely not a good idea considering our areas of interest.
I can’t imagine any of our network members wanting to see ads for cults and who knows what else next to their posts about their own work. To me, that seems like a recipe for disaster from the word go.
Fortunately there are other options in the advertising world today.
Creativity is the Key
The challenge we’re faced with is to develop a system that generates enough income to cover operating costs long term that isn’t obnoxious, especially towards our network members.
While that will take some creativity, I’m confident that it is a very attainable goal. With the rapid state of change in the online world there are new options being introduced all the time. And advertising is only one potential avenues.
For example, on my own blog I run very few ads, and those ads are there so I can become familiar with the ad systems more than for a serious revenue source. In fact, advertising is such a small portion of my income that I don’t even consider it for business planning purposes. Yet my business is growing just fine so I know we’ll find the right solution here.
Your Opinion
I am curious to hear your opinions on advertising in general, and internet advertising in particular.
How do you feel when you see ads on faith-oriented web sites?
Do you feel faith based non-profits should look at ways to be self supporting or should they rely on donation support?
Leave a comment with your thoughts on the whole thing.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
“How do you feel when you see ads on faith-oriented web sites?”
Sometime it can be funny when, say, an ad for a dating service shows up on a faith-oriented web site next to a blog advising against using dating services.
If it’s a product or service I’m interested in, I’ll click out of curiousity because I know I can close the browser if the ad appears unattractive.
Otherwise, coming from a newspaper reporting background I know they’re just trying to pay the bills. I ignore the ads and read what I’m there to read.
“Do you feel faith based non-profits should look at ways to be self supporting or should they rely on donation support?”
Faith-based non-profits need to explore every revenue avenue because God gave those working for them the brains to do so. I’ve thought of hooking my “paid” blog at one of those pay-per-view sites into a local non-profit’s pay pal account so any profits would go directly from anyone viewing right to the non-profit.
“Leave a comment with your thoughts on the whole thing.”
I hate to see any publication go under, especially when it is held in high regard from someone who I read and respect. But maybe a little more consolidation/generalization among blog circles would help.
Sort of reminds me of the age of specialty magazines. The specialty magazines bit it while the general ones like Time and Newsweek managed to survive and diversify departments more.
I’d say the Christian equivalent would be the Salem Network and Crosswalk.com. I go there every day and then pursue any path of interest.
Then there’s my own bloghood Marcus is a part of – that’s a more personal network.
God’s love and peace to you.
-Sam.
I don’t mind ads, as long as the content is okay.
I can’t recall seeing ads on a faith site. Maybe I go to the wrong ones. Again, not a problem.
Ads are fine for a non-profit to keep afloat, I think.
Is it because I’m a blogger and understand the need for ads? I wonder if I would feel differently if just a regular web user?
Sheesh, Chris! Can open; worms everywhere! :-O
Personally, I have yet to EVER click on any blog’s ad. I just don’t care about ‘em – to the point I hardly even notice them now. I’m focused on either looking at the content, or searching for a specific bit of info, or whatever. I’ve often wondered how many others there are like that.
I know, from reading, that “click-through” rates are pretty small in general. I suppose if the site was more business oriented, such as a photography site, then it makes sense to have photo-related ads. But I’ve yet to click on a single one. Ever. Does that make me weird? Or typical?
But ads on a Christian Blog Network? Augh! Plagues of locusts! Hordes of frogs! Fire from Heaven! A sign of the Apocalypse!
Well, maybe not.
No, I’ve often wondered about this myself. On the one hand, there’s an awful lot of, well, awful Christian-oriented stuff out there. Just peruse any Christian Book Store and you can’t help but see all the cheap junk available. (Speaking for myself, of course.) I can’ t help but be turned off by it.
But on the other hand, there are plenty of solid Christian-oriented goods and services that ARE valuable and need advertising just like any other product. Then there are the goods and services that aren’t overtly Christian, just maybe owned or run by Christian folks. I believe they deserve a shot at success just like anybody.
So how DO you guys plan to make HigherCallings self-sustaining? It’s something I’ve wondered from the start. On the one hand, depending on the generosity of others seems to me to almost guarantee mediocrity as money gets tight. But on the other hand, you certainly don’t want folks to feel like they CAN’T participate or even contribute. Christian radio works just fine for the most part, I think, on listener generosity.
An interesting conundrum, Chris. I’m looking forward to finding out the answer.
Sam, Thanks for the well thought out responses. I’ve seen some humorous contextual ads too, like ads for apposing candidates on political sites.
I’ll sometimes click on ads on an especially interesting blog post as much to “tip” the author as my interest in what the add is selling. I figure everyone wins when I do that.
Monica & Robert, They’re all good questions. You’re both spot on about click throughs. Bloggers and users of social media sites tend to be much more ad blind than other internet users. Facebook, for example, is struggling with that very thing.
Obviously many things that we could do to generate revenue here are off the table at the start because they simply don’t align with the vision and values of HighCallingBlogs.com and the non-profit behind us.
And I completely agree with you, Robert, on the challenge of filtering out the junk from the quality goods and services that are out there.
Personally I struggle with many non-profit radio & TV stations (NPR, PBS for example, as well as some Christian stations) that “don’t have advertising” but have lots of long announcements telling all about businesses that have made “donations,” usually with the expectation of announcement airtime. To me it seems a lot like for-profit stations, just with different terminology.
So are y’all saying that you wouldn’t mind ads as much on a faith based site if they were for top quality goods and services and not for low quality things?
I don’t mind appropriate ads. And I don’t MIND them either. Which is to say I don’t pay attention. But anyone who’s been in advertising understands that visual familiarity with a product or service is part of the whole picture. I may not MIND the ads, but they are subliminally entering my mind.
So. Do what you need to do. We all work for a living. (Well, some of us are “kept”, but not many.) Seems to me that entities like the High Calling Blogs might need to “work for a living” too. Whatever that needs to look like.
First, I want to reassure everyone that the blog network if healthy and secure for the forseeable future. That doesn’t mean we should rest on our laurels. Which is why Chris and I talked about him writing this post.
Now to think through each comment:
Sam, are you saying that we should consider seeking a partnership between Salem Network and Crosswalk.com? That is a really interesting idea.
Monica, I agree that ads don’t scare me at all. On the other hand, I also worry that they aren’t a very reliable income strategy–even for breaking even.
Robert, we prefer to think of this as putting our cards on the table–but you can think about worm analogies if that’s your preference. : ) If we went the ad route, it would probably be to sell banners to interested groups. Or have them sponsor posts. Something more organic like that. This is all very new for us. We’re really in the strategy stages at this point.
L.L., we’re definitely working here. We’re living too, I think. And we’re exploring ways to be non-profit entrepreneurs while we do.
I am new to the online blogosphere and really haven’t thought much about the sustainable business models, but I have absolutely no problems seeing ads on the site. Hey, you guys gotta pay the bills. I get it.
Marcus,
My intent was to show Salem and Crosswalk.com as a viable model to perhaps emulate but not partner with.
Let me explain.
Whenever I hold something up as an example I’m harkening back to my business management courses in college where I learned the history of automobile manufacturing.
Seem the Japanese learned the art by first studying who they considered the most successful model – U.S. Manufacturers. Then the Japanese took another step to see how they could improve upon the process and, well, you know who the most successful manufacturers are now.
Likewise, I look to the successes in a field of endeavor and try to think how their model can be improved/adopted to meet a group’s goals.
Nothing original there except in creativity of trying to come up with a method proving more successful than the original model – usually by tweaking it.
To me, it seems the Salem Network is a successful model of communication via the web and I mentioned it because I go there almost every day to read a devotional and/or other articles and blogs.
-Sam
Marcus,
Forgot to mention that if you did consider partnering with Salem Networks your content would most likely fit in under their “Careers” channel.
Just sayin’ because although consolidation and economy of scale has its advantages too often independence of thought and diversity of opinion die off quickly after a merger. You really have to weigh the pros and cons and who ultimately calls the shots.
-Sam
Sam, I hear you. We do not enter in partnerships lightly–and in fact, the only one we really devote much time or resources to is our partnership with Christianity Today at FaithInTheWorkplace.com.
Fascinating post. I think both models – donation driven as well as revenue driven approaches are valid. Your choice may depend on a number of parameters.
In terms of ads, I think it’s a very inefficient way to drive revenue unless you have a very large readership. Pop up ads will turn off a lot of readers…clickthrough ads are more acceptable. I think partnerships and creative affinity programs can be more effective.