Been Quilting instead of Writing

If you’ve been looking for the last 8 blog posts, they’re in this quilt.

It’s scraps of material I had on hand, and no pattern. It’s cut > Tetris > sew > repeat

Been deep in thought while doing so, I find sewing meditative. What I’ve been thinking about is:

I can’t figure out how to
make a blog make money.

Went for a drive yesterday afternoon in a 2015 BMW i8.

Instant torque never gets old eh.

Watching the scenery stream by, daydreaming still, thinking.

It’s not that I don’t have ideas to execute, one of which is genius – I dreamed up a way to 100% legally circumvent the tax system, while making it rain products and stuff every month. The problem is the execution; I need to hire help, but don’t have the money to do so.

The other problem are my principles. If I was okay bending them, life would be easier. I’d quietly write for the automakers like many do, or take money to promote a product I don’t believe in. But I don’t have that in me.

Remember when I quit the paper, and gave myself a set amount of time to figure it out? That’s done around end of January. And what I’ve learned is: sure I can hustle enough to pay bills every month, but that’s it. There’s no real money this way.

And while yes, of course a blog can make money, each month it’s – a few hundred dollars per sponsored post, sell some Tweets, do a few freelance gigs, then my mortgage is paid, I’m in a press i8, life’s okay.

Problem is I cannot get excited about a few hundred bucks. Not for the amount of work going in. That’s not even close to a nice piece of jewellery.

My ideas and dreams are huge and have way more zeros… I want to pay down my mortgage in chunks, buy an i8. Make real money.

Drive over, back home, back to sewing-meditation.

Back to trying to figure out how to make a blog make money. And I can’t.

‘Lack of Time’ is why a solo-run blog can’t make real money.

Advertising / banners forget it, and while yes sponsored posts pay, I don’t see it being a sustainable business model.

But even before that, take a step back.

Selling advertising it is easily a part-time job – the rate cards, emails, installing, maintaining and tracking the ads, running client reports – but with what time?

On top of being the producer, photographer, manager, PR, writer, publisher, stylist, video editor, IT department, run 3 social media channels, more. Moreover, I’m both the seller and the product, which is weird on the mind. And make sure to eat & sleep enough, no one wants to look at a haggard face. Also make sure to set aside imagination time, since that’s where ALL this comes from. Uh-huh.

I think there’s a tremendous amount of value in a blog – it opens a lot of doors, is good for discipline, and has greatly improved my writing and publishing skills. It got me the job at one of the largest newspapers in Canada. Many bloggers get sent lip gloss and sneakers, I get cars.

But I can’t find the amount of money,
that’s equal to the amount of work.

So here’s the conclusions:

I pushed the blog thing far as possible
it’s time to get a job. Not a bunch of freelance gigs, a job
the job will likely be in automotive
KeriBlog.com will act as the ‘World’s Most Elaborate Resume‘

And off we go.

>>> Look what I’ve done around here with nothing – no team, no resources or money – just me. Imagine what I could do for your business. Hire me <<<