Drawing the Line Between Free and Paid Content

This is a guest post by Mike CJ.

David’s recent blog posts asking “Is the future of blogging paid access?” and then spelling out his own approach in “…this is how I’d do it” attracted loads of comments and I suspect plenty of traffic. I followed the debate with interest.

One area where many people are struggling is in defining where the line should or could be drawn between free and paid content, and it’s something I’ve been wrestling with for some time on my travel blog, which has a paid member’s section.

I haven’t completely solved the problem, but I thought it might be interesting to share what I have learned along the way.

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If I Were To Charge For Blog Posts, This Is How I’d Do It…

A couple days ago, I talked about how blogging is broken. I also openly speculated about the benefits of moving a blog over to a paid model.

I must have really touched a nerve because the commentary POURED in on that post, both here on the blog as well as on Twitter and Facebook. Interestingly, hardly anybody seemed to disagree with me either.

Today, though, I wanted to post a quick followup to clarify some stuff. I don’t want people to read my post and then simply knee-jerk into a paid model for their blog. The truth is that most bloggers wouldn’t succeed on a paid model.

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Is Blogging Broken? Is The Future of Blogging Paid Access?

Something is going on. It might be happening slowly, but I think it might be happening nonetheless.

… And I’m aware that this topic might potentially be upsetting to some people who love to see everything be free, or who believe in the power of giving and community (as I do).

It needs to be addressed, however. I like to think I’m smart enough to be looking forward on things and think outside the box. And, with today’s post, I’m going to go outside the box for a bit. In reality, I’m not alone in this line of thought.

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How To Avoid Problems Running Multiple Affiliate Programs Through 1ShoppingCart

I recently relaunched Blog Masters Club and I did it via 1ShoppingCart. They aren’t my favorite system in the world, but they have a good balance of features for the price. One of my biggest annoyances with them, however, is the way they handle multiple affiliate programs through a single account. In this post, I’m [...]

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Is Blogging Right For You?

Most of the people who read my blog and blogs like it are interested in making money from blogging.

Actually, if we just cut to the chase, they’re just interested in making money online. If blogging happens to be the way to do it, then so be it. Right?

The problem is that I think too many people are following this gig with the wrong expectations.

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Maybe It’s Time To Practice A Little Minimalism In Your Business

There are two ways to make more money: (1) Make more money, (2) spend less.

Sounds like a life lesson passed down from our grandfather in a lecture about saving money. Of course, it is sound advice. Smart advice to apply to our business and our personal finances.

I’ve talked about minimalism before and I think there is a lot of truth to the workability of it. It is the idea of simple living, reducing the number of possessions, and increasing self-sufficiency. When you get rid of stuff in your life, you gain more time and you gain more mental energy. Many people have changed their lives for the better simply by getting rid of a lot of their stuff (to whatever degree they’re OK with).

What about applying it to our businesses?

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The Quickest Path To A Market-Ready Membership Site [VIDEO]

You’ve probably heard by now how awesome a membership site is. It really is the hottest online business model going right now. Not only that, it is ideal for bloggers.

The possibilities with a membership site are many. While a recurring revenue model is nice, it isn’t necessary. Instead of selling some e-book, you could put the same information into a membership site and sell that as a one-time access free. A membership site can be as large or as small as you want it to be. It is very flexible and you can make changes on the fly as you learn new things about your market.

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What The Blog Statistics You Track Say About You…

It has been said before in other circles:

You can’t control what you don’t measure.

This statement is true. It means that if you don’t track something and keep tabs on it, you are not in control of it.

Many people tend to think a statement like this is primarily relevant to executives and people who run a company. However, that is limited thinking. The truth is that this statement is relevant to everybody. To you.

And I’ll take it a step further…

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