Earlier this week I discovered that a blog I occasionally contribute to (Devlounge) had been acquired by Splashpress Media.

AJ (the former owner of Devlounge) informed the Devlounge authors that our posts would remain up and that not too much would change. So far, Splashpress seems to be honoring that.

One interesting thing to come out of the acquisition is that I was told an amount I would be paid per post for each additional contribution. I’m not going to disclose the sum, but let’s just say it’s not a whole lot.

With a monetary value being placed on my posts, regardless of length and/or quality, I had to think long and hard about what value I placed upon myself as a blogger. To be honest, I’ve turned down any form of compensation from blogging. When I did a paid review for Devlounge, I gave 100% of the amount back to the readers for Reader Appreciation Week.

I’ve been offered paid positions on other blogs, but have turned those down as well. Why would silly me turn down being paid for blogging? I think Lorelle summed my position up nicely: I consider blogging my hobby, not my business.

When one starts blogging for money, there are new considerations. Who am I really writing for? Am I writing for my new boss that will pay me per post? Am I writing for Google so that people will search for the right keywords and click on my ads? Am I writing for the advertisers who demand mainstream articles that people will read?

I didn’t start blogging just so I would have to answer to some pie in the sky boss. I started blogging to air my thoughts, get out my writing, and share the knowledge that I have with others. I never started blogging to make money and frankly refuse to let money be my motivation to continue.

If it gets to the point where I’m blogging for cash, I might as well quit. I’m no Darren Rowse or John Chow. I will never make my living off of a blog, and I don’t really want to. I’m perfectly fine keeping blogging as a hobby.

So what do you think? If given the opportunity to be paid per post, would you go for it? Would you tell the guy to keep his money? What would you do?

Thanks for reading.

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