Everything is on sale
No they didnint. We all know that everything is on sale on cyber Monday, but my inbox just got hit by a “sale” for Hootsuite for their Cyber Monday “Sale”.
Since starting this blog, and starting a couple start / stop / die blogs in the past, my theory is, that blogging is a cottage industry that’s designed to set people up for failure. More specifically, set up for companies to make money off the backs of those doing the real work.
Living beneath your means
Since I’ve been writing this seriously for about 4 or 5 months, I’ve noticed expenses piling up. That actually goes against my lifetime theory of “living beneath my means”. Graphic design $50 here, SEO $50 there…do you feel me?
I’m not saying I’m not willing to pay for a service that’s worthwhile, but how can I assess, which services truly are worthwhile? Only by trial and error, and my antennae are already up when most blogs that I follow have a link to “Start your own blog”. That kind of blew me away, until I started doing a little digging and realized that these links are paying on average of $2K per month.
No judgement, but it’s part of the reason I’ve decided to not monetize my blog at this time. All the disclaimers in the world, can’t wash away the fact that many blogs sell false hope with what they pitch. Getting rich in the stock market is one thing (Doable, over time) , Starting a blog that actually reaches people and forms opinion? (Highly improbable) To use a quote from a recent newscast. “The chances are slim to none and slim just left town”. If you’re bent on trying random services, the best way to prevent being fleeced on a recurring billing cycle is to do what I do with my credit cards and set up a drop dead calendar.
What has value to you?
The reason that Hootsuite in particular, struck a nerve with me, is because I tried it, and I didn’t find it useful. Actually, I found it counterproductive to what I’m trying to do, which is truly engage my readers.
However, I don’t know if that really matters because at the end of the day….
Everything is on sale, even blogging.
Are you buying?