Ask HN: How to you monetize a tech blog?
52 comments
I don't!
I long for the early days of the Internet, when you published because you wanted to, and things didn't have to be "monetized".
Yes, you do have to make a living, but let's be honest: you won't make a living "monetizing" a tech blog anyway.
I long for the early days of the Internet, when you published because you wanted to, and things didn't have to be "monetized".
Yes, you do have to make a living, but let's be honest: you won't make a living "monetizing" a tech blog anyway.
As a longtime and successful tech blogger, I endorse this position.
The tech blog is primarily for personal growth and may also help get you a good reputation.
The personal growth is the important part. The blog gives you practice thinking about things and writing them down. It extends your memory by building an archive of your ideas. And it is fun.
The reputation part may help you attract better job offers.
Several people have suggested writing a book. Having done this, I will say: Do not do it for the money.
The tech blog is primarily for personal growth and may also help get you a good reputation.
The personal growth is the important part. The blog gives you practice thinking about things and writing them down. It extends your memory by building an archive of your ideas. And it is fun.
The reputation part may help you attract better job offers.
Several people have suggested writing a book. Having done this, I will say: Do not do it for the money.
The early internet had infinitely less content available than today. It was also populated by technical people that didn’t, and still don’t, have any difficulty in getting a high-paying job.
There’s a really easy way to get high-quality content: pay for it so that people can make a living from it. If you aren’t willing to do that, don’t be surprised when advertising is the only business model.
There’s a really easy way to get high-quality content: pay for it so that people can make a living from it. If you aren’t willing to do that, don’t be surprised when advertising is the only business model.
If one isn't willing to pay for it, the price is obviously too high for the content.
PS: it's not like ads aren't payment. It's just the price to you isn't transparent and only a fraction of it ends up at the blogger compared to a real payment
PS: it's not like ads aren't payment. It's just the price to you isn't transparent and only a fraction of it ends up at the blogger compared to a real payment
There are plenty of things that people “aren’t willing to pay for” on an individual level yet are overall beneficial for society at large. That’s why the tragedy of the commons is a concept.
The point is that unless you’re willing to pay people enough money and provide enough job security to create high-quality content, you will inevitably end up with advertising, attention-seeking, and subsidization as the main business models.
The point is that unless you’re willing to pay people enough money and provide enough job security to create high-quality content, you will inevitably end up with advertising, attention-seeking, and subsidization as the main business models.
True, but if we as society want something like that we can still chose to explicitly pay that.
For instance, Germany and other countries funds public journalism or public infrastructure through tax or obligatory fees.
You will never be able to be willing to pay enough, because there is always someone who provides a little less value, but also wants to earn money that way. And it's not like earning enough money to make a living is enough... our system encourages growth beyond that.
For instance, Germany and other countries funds public journalism or public infrastructure through tax or obligatory fees.
You will never be able to be willing to pay enough, because there is always someone who provides a little less value, but also wants to earn money that way. And it's not like earning enough money to make a living is enough... our system encourages growth beyond that.
Technical high quality content is content marketing for the person who writes it.
Sure, but that is sort of my point: technical content can afford to be high quality and free because the writer won’t have a difficult time getting work. Most people in other industries are not in the same situation.
I did this with a DIY themed blog a few years ago, not out of any principal but because I had another income stream. Fast forward to today and several similar sites have popped up with content that is the same as mine but re-written to look unique. They are all, of course, heavily monetized.
The moral of this story is that if you don't monetize your content someone else certainly will.
The moral of this story is that if you don't monetize your content someone else certainly will.
Same here. While my blog is more an infrequent dumping ground for (mostly technical) thoughts, I try to write up new info, things that I can't quite find elsewhere, in hopes others find them useful as well. Years ago, when ads didn't feel quite so smarmy, I had a simple banner on the page and would get an extra $100/mo or so. But then this fell off a cliff and the ads started feeling cheap, and I pulled it all off and now just have things up for free.
Yes, it costs me a bit out of pocket, but it's a useful shingle to hang, a place to dump thoughts, and an easy way to reference them in the future. It's not worth the time it'd take to even make the site pay for itself (~$20/mo).
Yes, it costs me a bit out of pocket, but it's a useful shingle to hang, a place to dump thoughts, and an easy way to reference them in the future. It's not worth the time it'd take to even make the site pay for itself (~$20/mo).
I use a github pages site for my technical notes. Costs nothing to do
You could use it to a host a blog if you really wanted to
Me too.
I’m privileged with a well paid job though.
I’m privileged with a well paid job though.
>> I’m privileged with a well paid job though.
No excuse not to make more money. You can start a business if you have more money and employ a bunch of not so privileged people.
No excuse not to make more money. You can start a business if you have more money and employ a bunch of not so privileged people.
I long for the days of the pre-internet where everyone agreed writing was worth paying for.
The worst thing the internet had done to society is convince us that writing isn't worth paying for.
The amount of writers (journalists, novelists, etc) who have abandoned the profession these past 30 years is heartbreaking. But just as every newspaper and magazine has learned: the internet means writing is free.
The worst thing the internet had done to society is convince us that writing isn't worth paying for.
The amount of writers (journalists, novelists, etc) who have abandoned the profession these past 30 years is heartbreaking. But just as every newspaper and magazine has learned: the internet means writing is free.
The old internet was full of hobbyists and passionate people who wanted to share their knowledge. There’s nothing wrong with paying for a real news outlet with real journalists, I pay for PBS.
Everyone is trying to make a buck and it’s harder to find passionate blogs that aren’t gaming Google’s SEO to show 100 ads. Even with woodworking or gardening I found everyone wants you to buy their videos, plans, or swag.
Everyone is trying to make a buck and it’s harder to find passionate blogs that aren’t gaming Google’s SEO to show 100 ads. Even with woodworking or gardening I found everyone wants you to buy their videos, plans, or swag.
Yeah but everyone's looking to make a buck because it means they can spend more time on a topic they're so passionate they started a blog on the topic. Don't let money ruin things for you. Just because Ms Green Thumb is selling merch for her blog she started about gardening because she'd really like to be able to quit her job and do gardening full time. Those branded hats shouldn't automatically impugn the passion she has for gardening, it's just this attitude that money ruins everything when it shouldn't. well, not automatically anyway. But she'd rather be gardening than putting up with Tom, her kinda creepy boss at the accounting firm she's at. Going viral and selling merch is her only real way out of that. That or a lottery ticket.
Why do we need to push a single means as the "right" one? All these existed pre-internet, no reason why they can't or shouldn't continue to exist now.
The early internet wasn't full of this, it was sparesly populated by it.
You hit the problem on the nail though, most people think like you and will have no problem paying hundreds of dollars in tax or subscriptions to traditional media, while staunchly refusing to pay a dime to independent online writers that they themselves read more and know are of much higher quality.
You hit the problem on the nail though, most people think like you and will have no problem paying hundreds of dollars in tax or subscriptions to traditional media, while staunchly refusing to pay a dime to independent online writers that they themselves read more and know are of much higher quality.
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Very indirectly. My https://wordsandbuttons.online/ helped me cement a publishing deal with Manning, and the book I wrote for them (https://www.manning.com/books/geometry-for-programmers) works as a hourly rate magnifier in contract work negotiations.
Nice.
I did some paid articles for a blog a while back and some technical presentations at conference. Got me a deal at O'Reilly. You should try get a gig at O'Reilly.
It won't be that hard since you got something with Manning already!
- Create some "paid only" articles a la substack.
- Small ads on the right side of the site. Can be standards ads, even better if you can get "sponsored" directly by companies with no adtech middle man.
- Store of probably-not-actually-worth-the-price merch that people might still buy if they like you.
- Be content with not monetizing everything. I personally don't follow any monetized blogs (besides substack and minor sidebar ads, which pays the server bills) because I don't trust opinion from monetized bloggers. That trust is hard to gain, easy to lose, and poor monetization is an easy way to lose it.
- Small ads on the right side of the site. Can be standards ads, even better if you can get "sponsored" directly by companies with no adtech middle man.
- Store of probably-not-actually-worth-the-price merch that people might still buy if they like you.
- Be content with not monetizing everything. I personally don't follow any monetized blogs (besides substack and minor sidebar ads, which pays the server bills) because I don't trust opinion from monetized bloggers. That trust is hard to gain, easy to lose, and poor monetization is an easy way to lose it.
I got some very unique content that I think people would be willing to pay for.
But very good tips thanks!
great tips, also more inadvertent is add in calls to action to a squeeze page for consulting/subscription/anything selling
Depends on what you mean by "tech" - I have two:
https://maxrozen.com, where I write about React, and sell an extremely condensed book on a single function that few understand (useEffect), I use Gumroad for this.
https://onlineornot.com/articles, where I write about common issues webmasters have and ways to improve your team's incident management, and sell a SaaS product (via Stripe).
In both cases, I have a newsletter that folks sign up to, and I slowly convince folks that I know what I'm talking about by sending them my articles, and eventually pitch for a sale. Folks that don't like this approach opt-out by unsubscribing, and the newsletter gets stronger for it.
You could look at other payment providers - no reason to pick the ones I used.
https://maxrozen.com, where I write about React, and sell an extremely condensed book on a single function that few understand (useEffect), I use Gumroad for this.
https://onlineornot.com/articles, where I write about common issues webmasters have and ways to improve your team's incident management, and sell a SaaS product (via Stripe).
In both cases, I have a newsletter that folks sign up to, and I slowly convince folks that I know what I'm talking about by sending them my articles, and eventually pitch for a sale. Folks that don't like this approach opt-out by unsubscribing, and the newsletter gets stronger for it.
You could look at other payment providers - no reason to pick the ones I used.
Monetising content happens in a handful of ways:
1) ads on the site or via email
2) subscriptions
3) build a rep via the blog then sell high value consulting and/or build an agency around it
4) affiliate links or lead generation
I think that’s all there is. So the list of possible options is pretty small.
One thing I will say is that whatever you think you might do, start building an email list today.
1) ads on the site or via email
2) subscriptions
3) build a rep via the blog then sell high value consulting and/or build an agency around it
4) affiliate links or lead generation
I think that’s all there is. So the list of possible options is pretty small.
One thing I will say is that whatever you think you might do, start building an email list today.
I agree with your points, but would add that point 2 is not that suitable for one-person operation. I work in subscriptions business and while it is profitable, it requires quite a lot of people to take off. IT technologies, then editorial needs to be big enough, then marketing is also important, then the subscribers expect there is also a helpdesk, since something will surely stop working...
I keep thinking that some relatively-simple plugin is going to be made which allows for easy, instantaneous, irreversible access to news/blog articles — obviously a centralized issuer could accomplish this, or preferably a blockchain that isn't so slow nor expensive to utilize — and provides some privacy from data aggregation.
One of many reasons I don't PAY for news websites (let alone blogs) is because there is not an easy method to do so without having to create logins and then be trace-able [i.e. tracked]. The cost isn't really an issue, but until I can easily pay to read content, I will just continue to access archived copies of anything behind paywall [but WOULD rather pay writers!].
My ideal environment would be something like Privacy dot COM which allows you to create burning credit card accounts for each purchase — e.g. so that I could utilize above-described plugin to pay for content, quickly and cheaply (per article), that does not track me as a reader.
One of many reasons I don't PAY for news websites (let alone blogs) is because there is not an easy method to do so without having to create logins and then be trace-able [i.e. tracked]. The cost isn't really an issue, but until I can easily pay to read content, I will just continue to access archived copies of anything behind paywall [but WOULD rather pay writers!].
My ideal environment would be something like Privacy dot COM which allows you to create burning credit card accounts for each purchase — e.g. so that I could utilize above-described plugin to pay for content, quickly and cheaply (per article), that does not track me as a reader.
Inkl is news aggregation like this but then inkl would know what you’re reading
Many of these depends on your traffic, but some ideas I've seen:
- Sell weekly/monthly sponsorships directly (https://daringfireball.net).
- Write an ebook about a topic you are an expert in.
- Curated job posts if you are blogging about a niche.
- Affiliate links for products / services.
I'm not sure regular display ads would work well for a tech audience just because of the amount of ad blockers you'll encounter.
- Sell weekly/monthly sponsorships directly (https://daringfireball.net).
- Write an ebook about a topic you are an expert in.
- Curated job posts if you are blogging about a niche.
- Affiliate links for products / services.
I'm not sure regular display ads would work well for a tech audience just because of the amount of ad blockers you'll encounter.
Assuming your core strength is to produce valuable content, you can view it in one of three ways (from the perspective of monetization):
- As the product. Sell access, early access or extra partial access to it.
- As a loss leader. Use it to establish credibility and influence, then advertise for and sell consultancy services using your demonstrated insights through blogging as your pedigree.
- As a generator for qualified traffic. Choose an advertisement format that makes sense for you and your audience. Depending on the exact nature of your blog, this could be standard exchange-served ads (broader audience), direct sold ads (niche but valuable audience), sponsored content (with very clear disclaimers), job boards, affiliate links, etc.
- As the product. Sell access, early access or extra partial access to it.
- As a loss leader. Use it to establish credibility and influence, then advertise for and sell consultancy services using your demonstrated insights through blogging as your pedigree.
- As a generator for qualified traffic. Choose an advertisement format that makes sense for you and your audience. Depending on the exact nature of your blog, this could be standard exchange-served ads (broader audience), direct sold ads (niche but valuable audience), sponsored content (with very clear disclaimers), job boards, affiliate links, etc.
Usually I would sellout and insert unrelated promotional SEO links for $150 a pop.
If YouTube content creators are any indication you start shilling VPN services while vastly overstating the security they provide.
I hear ButtSnake is the new hotness in vpn ads.
https://twitter.com/cmuratori/status/1495608248933974017
https://twitter.com/cmuratori/status/1495608248933974017
I used to have ads. Partly because why not get a little money, and partly for the more direct fun of turning something fun on my own time into actual money that can buy the proverbial coffee. (also partly because I started working for a company that makes most of its money from ads)
But then I realized that why am I making my fun little hobby product (the blog) worse, by putting shit on it, that I wouldn't want to see? So it was not worth the two benefits.
Later, someone asked in a comment if they could donate some bitcoin as a "tip". Sure, I created a wallet for it, and got a little tip.
A few years later, when I'd thought more about cryptocurrency, I felt too disgusted to hold any of it. Holding it would mean being part of the problem. So I cashed out my tipjar. It was the same feeling as when I got ad revenue. In both cases was it "magical internet something" turning into real cash in my bank account.
So in both cases it was just a gambler's high. And at risk of sounding like General Ripper, I was able to interpret these feelings correctly, and got a better understanding of why cryptocurrency advocates can get so delusional.
Not on my blog, but on my opensource stuff page I've had a paypal donation button for maybe 15 years. It's gotten me maybe $15 per decade. But it's not intrusive.
Anyway, my blog isn't much, and I'm sure yours are much more popular. I would not try to monetize until it got bigger. Don't put ads until it can pay like a job. Patreon maybe, if you think it could help your community-building. Donation buttons are unobtrusive, though.
Kurzgesagt has a breakdown of their revenue: https://youtu.be/1x-i9z617z4. It's more merch than you might think.
But really what the internet needs is quick and easy microtransactions. If it cost $0.10 to click a "like" button I'd still click it if I like the content. It shouldn't be hard to make, but we don't have it. Probably mostly because bootstrapping problem.
But then I realized that why am I making my fun little hobby product (the blog) worse, by putting shit on it, that I wouldn't want to see? So it was not worth the two benefits.
Later, someone asked in a comment if they could donate some bitcoin as a "tip". Sure, I created a wallet for it, and got a little tip.
A few years later, when I'd thought more about cryptocurrency, I felt too disgusted to hold any of it. Holding it would mean being part of the problem. So I cashed out my tipjar. It was the same feeling as when I got ad revenue. In both cases was it "magical internet something" turning into real cash in my bank account.
So in both cases it was just a gambler's high. And at risk of sounding like General Ripper, I was able to interpret these feelings correctly, and got a better understanding of why cryptocurrency advocates can get so delusional.
Not on my blog, but on my opensource stuff page I've had a paypal donation button for maybe 15 years. It's gotten me maybe $15 per decade. But it's not intrusive.
Anyway, my blog isn't much, and I'm sure yours are much more popular. I would not try to monetize until it got bigger. Don't put ads until it can pay like a job. Patreon maybe, if you think it could help your community-building. Donation buttons are unobtrusive, though.
Kurzgesagt has a breakdown of their revenue: https://youtu.be/1x-i9z617z4. It's more merch than you might think.
But really what the internet needs is quick and easy microtransactions. If it cost $0.10 to click a "like" button I'd still click it if I like the content. It shouldn't be hard to make, but we don't have it. Probably mostly because bootstrapping problem.
"I felt too disgusted to hold any of it. Holding it would mean being part of the problem."
Lol what problem.
If people don't wanna see adds, surely they can just use a good adblocker.
Lol what problem.
If people don't wanna see adds, surely they can just use a good adblocker.
Yes, "doesn't everyone use adblocker?". Possibly. Maybe that's why I didn't get more money. I certainly use an adblocker. But there's clearly some subset of people who will see the ads. Some company policy bans adblockers. Or someone's using a public computer to do some browsing.
Or they're browsing on a phone. There are fewer adblock solutions for phones, to the point where adoption is basically nonexistant (I don't have data to back this up).
So seeing as how I dislike ads, why would I subject anybody else to them, if the money it gives me is insignificant to me?
It's the golden rule. Don't do unto others what you wouldn't want done to you.
Or they're browsing on a phone. There are fewer adblock solutions for phones, to the point where adoption is basically nonexistant (I don't have data to back this up).
So seeing as how I dislike ads, why would I subject anybody else to them, if the money it gives me is insignificant to me?
It's the golden rule. Don't do unto others what you wouldn't want done to you.
I wanted to see how some of the comments evolved and then compare to ChatGPT. I made up the specific revenue/visitor details. The answers from ChatGPT roughly align with the ideas from the comments.
Prompt:
I run a successful blog about software engineering and get about 250k unique visitors per month. What are the top 1-5 options I should pursue to monetize the blog? I'd like to generate $15k USD per month within the next year.
ChatGPT:
Congratulations on running a successful blog with high traffic! There are several ways to monetize your blog, and here are some of the top options:
Display Advertising: You can place display ads on your blog, such as Google AdSense, which pays you when a user clicks on an ad. The revenue generated from display ads depends on factors like ad placement, ad format, and the number of visitors to your blog.
Sponsored Posts and Reviews: You can write sponsored posts or reviews for companies or products related to software engineering. Companies pay you to feature their product or service on your blog. However, it's essential to ensure that the sponsored content aligns with your blog's theme and interests your readers.
Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing involves promoting products on your blog and earning a commission for every sale made through your affiliate link. You can promote software development tools, software courses, or books related to software engineering.
Digital Products: You can sell digital products such as e-books, courses, or templates related to software engineering on your blog. This requires creating high-quality products that your readers are interested in purchasing.
Consulting and Coaching: With your expertise in software engineering, you can offer consulting and coaching services to individuals or companies. You can promote your services on your blog and generate leads.
Generating $15k per month within a year is a reasonable goal, but it depends on various factors such as the monetization strategies you choose, the engagement level of your audience, and the competition in your niche. It's crucial to experiment with multiple monetization strategies and measure their effectiveness to achieve your income goals.
Prompt:
I run a successful blog about software engineering and get about 250k unique visitors per month. What are the top 1-5 options I should pursue to monetize the blog? I'd like to generate $15k USD per month within the next year.
ChatGPT:
Congratulations on running a successful blog with high traffic! There are several ways to monetize your blog, and here are some of the top options:
Display Advertising: You can place display ads on your blog, such as Google AdSense, which pays you when a user clicks on an ad. The revenue generated from display ads depends on factors like ad placement, ad format, and the number of visitors to your blog.
Sponsored Posts and Reviews: You can write sponsored posts or reviews for companies or products related to software engineering. Companies pay you to feature their product or service on your blog. However, it's essential to ensure that the sponsored content aligns with your blog's theme and interests your readers.
Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing involves promoting products on your blog and earning a commission for every sale made through your affiliate link. You can promote software development tools, software courses, or books related to software engineering.
Digital Products: You can sell digital products such as e-books, courses, or templates related to software engineering on your blog. This requires creating high-quality products that your readers are interested in purchasing.
Consulting and Coaching: With your expertise in software engineering, you can offer consulting and coaching services to individuals or companies. You can promote your services on your blog and generate leads.
Generating $15k per month within a year is a reasonable goal, but it depends on various factors such as the monetization strategies you choose, the engagement level of your audience, and the competition in your niche. It's crucial to experiment with multiple monetization strategies and measure their effectiveness to achieve your income goals.
What I do (and would recommend) is building an adjacent product and selling it.
The product could be just a higher quality version of the content (e.g. book, course, etc.), or it could be something in the space, like a SaaS that helps your audience solve a problem the blog talks about.
This is a good way to upsell the people willing to pay without upsetting any of your readers. Also, positioning it as a different product breaks the "blogs should be free" mental block many people have.
The product could be just a higher quality version of the content (e.g. book, course, etc.), or it could be something in the space, like a SaaS that helps your audience solve a problem the blog talks about.
This is a good way to upsell the people willing to pay without upsetting any of your readers. Also, positioning it as a different product breaks the "blogs should be free" mental block many people have.
I read some good startup advice awhile ago that went like this: innovate on your primary product, but choose the most standardized solutions for everything else. In other words, if you’re selling shovels, make the best shovel possible, don’t try to reinvent how payment processing works.
Applied to a tech blog, this advice is: focus on writing great content. Choose the most basic, standardized way to get paid for it. That seems to be Substack at the moment.
Applied to a tech blog, this advice is: focus on writing great content. Choose the most basic, standardized way to get paid for it. That seems to be Substack at the moment.
Another option is monetizing via a niche job board for your readers. Pallet.com is good for that - will find companies, etc. Disclosure, tiny investor.
Receive more career opportunities as your reputation increases.
Alternatively see it as community building for your next idea to bootstrap on top off
Alternatively see it as community building for your next idea to bootstrap on top off
I run a Patreon and started running ads via Ethical Ads. The main way it's monetized is by my software job.
It is monetized when you get better jobs - better paying or paying the same with more interesting work.
That said, one blogger did tell me his "desk setup" blog with affiliate links made more money than the rest of the blog combined. So throw in a post or two that you wouldn't normally write about.
That said, one blogger did tell me his "desk setup" blog with affiliate links made more money than the rest of the blog combined. So throw in a post or two that you wouldn't normally write about.
Regarding the Stripe availability issue, I guess you could open a US based LLC and be able to operate with bank accounts there and use Stripe. It is possible to do all the "paperwork" online from overseas, no need to travel to USA.
1) Write blog posts for another company who pay for articles
2) Package your content as an ebook (add illustrations, exercises, online/offline support, etc to make it more featured than your blog posts)
2) Package your content as an ebook (add illustrations, exercises, online/offline support, etc to make it more featured than your blog posts)
I used to do this.
But damn writing articles for other companies can take super long and be boring especially if they come up with the topics.
But good points!
[deleted]
Any ideas besides doing a paid substack on how I can monetize a tech blog?
Just curious how other people do it. Only thing I could think of was to do adds on the site for a store where I sell tech related tshirts.
Thanks :)