For Love or Money

Memoirs of a Single Dad has thrown down the gauntlet. Am I a blogger for the writing or for the money? That is the question. Here’s my long response that may or may not hit the nail on the head.

In the Beginning

Never in a million years when I started blogging did I ever consider where it would go (this seems to be the theme of my life). I guess you could say that when I started blogging, I wasn’t even a “real” blogger depending on who you ask.

So what was I? I was a Christian book reviewer. I had (have) such a passion for sharing good Christian reading and sharing books as giveaways that I thought Woven by Words would be the way to share that passion.

All I wanted was to read. Nothing else. I was getting free books and doing what I loved!

Then came the detour of product reviews. I figured if I could get free products and my readers could get those same free products, then we would both come out winners! I’m a winner, the company’s a winner, wouldn’t you like to be a winner too? (sung to the Dr. Pepper theme)

And So It Goes

So, I started branching out to mainstream household products and created a new blog called Marvelous Mom Reviews. It seemed a good choice to separate the personal from the products. Nearly a year I threw myself out there to company after company hoping they’d see me as a viable blogger to work with. (I have since put MMR on hiatus to try to make my life a bit more manageable.)

I wasn’t even thinking about monetization at the time. As a single mom working part time, I felt this was a great way to supplement for the things I couldn’t purchase. I did my best to stick with products someone in my home would use, be it me, the children or the pets.

What I didn’t realize was how hard it would be to get that ball rolling. I was “competing”, if you will, with bloggers who had been in this venue for a minimum of a year longer than me. They were up there in the high hundreds into the thousands for followers. I realized I had a looong way to go. The gap has grown significantly in the past year!

What’s Ahead

For me, it’s still not about the cash (probably because I’m not making any). I can’t see myself doing Google AdSense or any other type of ads to try to earn $. I just don’t see that as a viable source of income, especially when I see bigger bloggers showing how little they’re making with that option.

I’d love to connect with a company or two and become an Ambassador. Who wouldn’t. It would be somewhat of a sign to me that I’ve arrived, I can play with the big kids, the other bloggers that everyone clicks to from their RSS feeds. My blog needs more meat. Not just product reviews and Wordless Wednesday posts! I can then ask to be fit into the line up to be featured at The Secret to Success is Support (SITS) or somewhere similar.

My hope is that I will continue to build a readership, learn to hone my “writing”, and bring you amazing products…and I do mean YOU! If I can share products with you, that would make me supremely happy! I know I’m not the only one struggling in this economy.

As my blog didn’t start out about my writing or pouring my heart and life out into my posts, I’d have to say my blog had never been about that. It’s always been about connecting with others in regards to products, whether books or . Last summer when I was interacting with the SITSGirls I realized how good it might be to add more of myself to my blog.

I’m trying.

I’m trying to find my voice. Trying to figure out how I can get my personality to spill over into the written word. It hasn’t been easy and I’m still trying to find my blogging legs. As you can see, if you’ve made it this far, I can ramble, thanks to my ADD, but I hope and pray that as I work on my writing and don’t sound so elementary, I’ll be able to connect with anyone who stops by!

By participating in this “challenge” I’m entered to win a $50 gift card either to keep or to giveaway.

This post was created before my break.