I have the opportunity to maybe (as in also maybe not) moving Fatand40 to a blog network. Here are some of the pros and cons as I see them.
Pros:
- Possibly a little money. I have to put this up at the top of course, but we are talking "a little" as enough to keep me well stocked in Pria bars. It eventually could turn into more, but I have learned this isn't something to count on when it comes to writing on the web.
- More readers and more incentive. As part of a network, you immediately increase your readership because each blog on the network is linked to each other. More readers would, for me, equal more incentive (or pressure depending on how you look at it) to lose weight.
- Expanded weight loss and diet topic. Though I'll continue to journal my progress or at times lack of, I will also broaden my writing topics to cover more about wieght loss and diet. Being so into this now, I've been reading more and more about it, and really, it's always been a topic of interest to me, so I'd just share from what I've learned myself.
Cons:
- Some loss of control. Of course, as with anything that you don't completely own yourself, there is a price to pay and with a blog that means that I would have to answer to someone else for a change. That means posting regularly (though I'm pretty prolific right now) and thinking about stuff like search engine optimization.
- Being really out there. This is a public blog now, but with about the 6 people who actually read it, I feel pretty safe to talk about personal stuff. With more people reading, I wonder if I would start to censor myself more. Would I lose my "voice" so to speak?
- Not an expert. I'm very much not an expert on this whole diet and exercise thing. Heck, if I was, I wouldn't have started writing about it in the first place. I'd be skinny and in great shape and wonder why everyone else was so fat. Again, with a larger readership I worry that people might expect me to be an expert rather than understand that I'm just like the average 40 something who will always have a battle with the bulge.
I'd really love your feedback on this. While money is always a good thing (those Pria bars aren't cheap!), I wouldn't be doing this for just money. Should I just stay here and be safe and keep it fun, which it is? Should I venture out? Am I insane for even thinking about it?
6 comments:
That's a tough call. I think if it were me, the possibility to offset the cost of things like Pria bars and $3 cantaloupe would be a motivating factor in the debate.
You can get your blog out there, grow a readership, put ads on, without a network- but it means more work on your part, and probably a lot more time before you'd see results. However, you'd also maintain control over the blog.
The issue over number of posts per day/week/month/whatever on a network would be what would make me personally hesitate. For me, some days/weeks are full of inspiration and free time, and others have zip/zilch/zero in that department. Own site means that if I don't want to post, I don't *have to*.
I'd say that regardless of whether you go with a network, or keep your blog on your own, that putting ads on wouldn't hurt. I know some people get pissy about bloggers using advertising, but they don't bother me. :)
Thanks Deb. Your input is very helpful. I'm still on the fence about it. Another option would be to keep fatand40 as is and start a diet and weight loss blog on a network. I have tried it on my own before without networks to blog with the idea of making some income, and as you point out, it is very time consuming. I really prefer to write. I'm not very good or interested in marketing and techie stuff when it come to blogs.
As on of your "six" loyal readers, I thought I'd offer my two cents worth. For me the decision would center more on what I wanted to accomplish with the blog.
If my goal was to lose weight and get in shape, and being able to pour my heart and soul out to readers, getting their support for my progress in return, I'd not want to put myself in a situation that I would worry about censoring myself. I think you'd find yourself just writing then, and losing touch with the reason and passion behind it.
If you want to help a broader group of people, model behavior that could work for other people, write about the process on a larger scale, then self censorship probably isn't an issue. I'd still want to know that you were being honest with me about the struggles during the process, and that I wasn't reading another "hip" diet program
I'd just think about what I'm trying to do, and plan it out from there.
Good points, Mary Jo. Without passion, even a blog out to make money falls flat. I'm thinking now of being somewhere in the middle of fatand40 and just a stright information based blog. There's no reason it couldn't be a little of both. Plus for readers to care about what you say, I think it's important to show them that you are in a way their peers. Obviously, I'm no diet expert because, heck, I'd be skinny then. But, on the other hand, I fight it every day and I know it will be a battle forever that I'll continue to fight, and I think this is the average person's situation who deals with weight issues. Therefore, I think I have something relevent to say.
am not sure whether you counted me as one of those six, but i agree with mary jo here. if i remember right, one of my main reasons you started this blog is to amke some sort of public commitment or promise to keeping fit. if moving to a network is going to get in the way of that, i'm not sure it's a good idea. you and your health first, pria and cantaloupe next.
however, as you said, there's no reason why you can't start a totally fresh one.
Thanks Ruth. You guys are right. Fatand40 stays here. However, I have put in a formal request to a network about starting a diet and exercise blog. We'll see what happens.
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