just enter your email address below to get this blog's updates, news, and more!Monetization is For Amateurs
So there’s this phrase that fancy bullshit copywriters are using a lot. The phrase is “money getting,” as in “my product is . . . quite simply . . . a money getting system” or “you should buy my money getting blueprint.” Or whatever.
This phrase (“money getting”) appeals to buyers because it implies passivity. After all, who wants to buy a money earning system when they can buy a money getting system?
All of this brings me to “monetization.”
Let’s talk about monetization for a second.
Monetization is the process of taking something that’s not making money – and that (usually) wasn’t created with the intention of earning money (or getting it) – and then trying to squeeze money out of it.
Think about it for a second . . . if something is making money, you don’t monetize it. You might want to increase profits. You might want to up your margins, or improve your conversion rates. But you don’t monetize it.
It’s kind of like freezing an ice cube. It’s pointless.
Sam Walton never thought “how can I monetize my store?” (because that evil organization started out intending to make money).
Restaurants don’t say to themselves, “how can I monetize food?”
You don’t fucking monetize a business . . . because it’s already a business.
So what we end up monetizing are things that were never intended to create money in the first place. And the result is kind of awkward. And unnatural. And amateur.
And like a diesel engine jerry-rigged to run on gasoline, it never quite works right.
It’s backwards. And it leads to a lot of mediocrity.
It leads to a lot of amateur eBooks, wasted time, and low ROI.
Amateurs monetize. Professionals build businesses.
Amateurs occasionally write mediocre eBooks that anyone else could have written, to squeeze a little money out of their website.
Professionals get up every day; look at themselves in the mirror; rededicate themselves to their mission all over again; execute like madmen; and produce excellence week after week after week. (Actually they produce excellence week after week regardless, because that’s the difference between an amateur and a professional).
Amateurs don’t.
I’m not saying this to talk down to you. I’m not saying this because I think you’re amateur. And I certainly have no high horse to ride. Because I’ve tried to monetize several times in my life.
What I am trying to tell you is that you’re better than monetization . . .
. . . and that thing you care about A LOT, it deserves better than monetization. It deserves to be a business run by a passionate person.
Or it deserves to be left the fuck alone.
Pure. Unadulterated. And unmonotized.
That thing you care about. It doesn’t deserve monetization. It deserves better than that.
About the Author: Clay Collins writes this blog. One of his businesses is called Project Mojave, which he runs with 5 of the best people he knows. It re-launches next Thursday.
View Comments
I was going to send you a $50 PayPal donation to thank you for this kickass post and help you cover the time you spend writing on this blog. But then I realized, fuck that: Clay has a business. I need me one o' them.
Great point. Too many people got caught in the 2000 dot com rush and then the web 2.0 rush and think give everything away and find a way to make money later.
You have to have a plan and you have to plan for money.
I don't know what you're talking about Clay. My penis was not originally intended to make money, but one day I decided to monetize it and now it's its own corporate entity and a money *getting* machine. I mean the IRS audited it last year, so I kind of completely disagree.
Very true Clay.
I loathe the word 'monetization' because it is so ugly.
I think the reason for it is that what we are passionate about (unless we are born business types) is that our passion doesn't start out including money. In some sense making money is 'added'.
I do think we then need to move on to building a business with our passion at the core. I think the hard truth is that sometimes this is not possible (hands up all those interested in a physical, christian spirituality. Hmm, I won't become wealthy selling my book on that will I?) Usually my guess is that it is possible.
My hope is that my new website will do this. I figured out that I needed to sell my own product and build a business around this. I still do my blog – it fits as marketing for the website (it currently has a much more traffic) but the website is what I need to build a business.
Thanks for a great post.
Stating on the record that this comment cracked me up!
Thanks for the advice regarding my cash flow problem in the PM forums. I may swallow my pride and ask my penis for a loan. P.S. I may be doing a video testimonial that mentions you so BE ON THE LOOK OUT!
Excellent point, Clay. Perhaps even extraordinary!
Awesome post. I really appreciate the insight. I'll wake up tomorrow and produce excellence. No, wait – better yet, I'll produce some excellence right now. (Closing browser and getting back to work)
Sigh. I recently went on an inbox clearing binge, where I unsubscribed from all the “personal development” lists I was on because they were sending me crap in a box every week (or day ack). I really wanted to hate this post so I could unsubscribe from you, Clay, but this is fantastic. And also explains why my hope for making money off my blog last year was dashed immediately.
Still subscribed!
Even stupid people can sniff out inauthenticity, which 'monetization' drips with. Great post.
I have often thought that many bloggers are simply marketing to each other. I'm one of the few readers out there who reads blog for the fun of it and isn't trying to lure readers to my blog because I don't have one.
I started my own business last Nov. I did better than my goal for this school year was. I am also expanding for next year. It is a blast but I work my butt off. At the end of a day, I am so tired, but it is such a good tired. I'm already planning what I want my business to look like in five years. It is exciting!
You may be the only dude in the “internet marketing space” who is either brave enough or cool enough or just not so much of a fucking dipshit that he is willing to call Walmart by its rightful adjective: EVIL.
Thanks man. You continue to impress me.
Dude – you're probably the only person in the “internet marketing space” who is either brave enough or astute enough or just not such a fucking rah-rah all-business-is-great Republican dickweed that he's willing to call Walmart by its rightful adjective: EVIL.
Thank you for that, and for all the rest. You rock.
Some of the lamest ideas I have ever encountered were attempts at “monetization.”
Brilliant post here.
“Amateurs monetize. Professionals build businesses.”
That's a line to be quoted, and for the ages. Well done, Clay.
-Sam
“The best things in life are free… but you can take the birds and the bees – i want money!”
thanks for helping keep the focus tight Clay – keep it coming….. looking fwd to hearing more about the project mojave re-launch……!
Had you placed a Creative Commons license, I'd be translating this gem right away. Probably one of your best post so far
And this is why I don't use the word “monetize” at all.
Clay, do continue cranking out good stuff man. 
Unlike most people, Jim has figured out what he's truly passionate about.
19 comments, feels like I'm really late to the train.
I had a realization at 4am/5am this morning before I went to sleep that made me feel some of this.
Having a business is really what it's about. We can talk about getting paid to exist, money by doing what we love, but really we still need to know it's a business. Thanks Clay!
Hello ,
A very different aspect taken on Montization .Normally all blogger would write for writing an ebook and stuff .. your approach is very different . But thoughts are definitely in a gr8 direction .Made my grey cells working for a while for sure .
Regards
Sudeep
Monetization is more of a hobby, something you do on the side to squeeze some cash out of what you;re already doing. I totally agree with you there.
However, I don't think monetization is a lesser form of business. They both have the same end result: Generate an income.
Building a proper business does have it's distinct advantages over monetization and it's these that increase your ROI.
I think that eventually anyone monetizing will discover how things -should- be done to get a better ROI and take it seriously. They end up reworking the whole lot and building a business around it.
It's the caring that's key here. Care about what generates income for you and you'll want to do that the best way you know how.
Either you keep the status quo and are happy about it, or you realize that there's much more you can do, you take it serious, investigate, generate ideas and put your heart and soul not only in what (in case of blogging) you write but also in how it will generate an income for you.
Care about both things equally and you have a business.
Wow, quite the passionate post here. Definitely a way to get comments on your blog. If you are going to say something, don't sugar coat it. The most successful people you either love them or hate them!
why are you calling wal mart evil? because they sell actual products at prices that people (specially now) can afford?
(i think is a lot less evil than making money by just telling people “how they make money” for instance).
no one is forced to shop there.
the ONLY reason why wal mart keeps thriving is because people voluntarily shop there.
this why this country is going to crap.
bigness, success, productivity, and achievement are now seen as “evil”.
I agree that if you want to have a business that makes money, monetization isn't typically an effective strategy.
However, if you started doing something without the intention to make money, and it took off far beyond your expectations, your surprising success can be utilized towards the creation of a business.
I also think that it's ok to do noncommercial things in life, to have a blog on Buddhism or digital photography or Medieval art that doesn't make any money and doesn't intend to.
On the internet, I think why many people want things to be free or even just offer things for free is because part of us deeply wants a commons again, a place where something (ANYTHING) is free again. Social media in my opinion is largely driven by the interest in creating a commons. Our live communities are devoid of places where we can just hang out, for free, with other live human beings, so we have tried to create online communities that are free and counter-cultural. Social media marketing represents the opposing force, the drive of late capitalism to seek new markets in order to sustain infinite exponential growth.
So yes, start an intelligent business, and also have your free blog for a hobby if you want, but it may be smart to keep them clearly differentiated…unless your free blog has tons of traffic and your business is suffering, and if only you could sell your products to your blog readers…. (sometimes it's complex, eh?)
Thanks for this post, Clay. A real slap in the face but that's often what I find myself needing. “That thing you care about” was the real “Ka-POW!” moment for me. Why do I pretend there's some other calling? Passion. When will I stop fighting the obvious and move forward?
Clay,
I wish I could argue with you…
But you're so fucking right!
Marc
I like your writing style. It's very in your face, but straight and to the point. I think you make a great distinction here. I've gone from seeing ways to monetize my blog, to looking at as my side business. I think what you've pointed out here is just that we have to look at differently. Great post.
Its true, you need to just build it as a business. However the term monetize gets people's attention. Monetize sounds easy, building a business sounds like hard work.
Dr. Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
http://wrightplacetv.com
http://www.twitter.com/drwright1
Really thought-provoking distinction there, I love it. Especially the line: “That thing you care about. It doesn’t deserve monetization. It deserves better than that.”
One point in favor of monetization, though, it might help people get on the “professional” business ladder, and so that's a good thing. It might still help to reawaken dreams.
Really thought-provoking distinction there, I love it. Especially the line: “That thing you care about. It doesn’t deserve monetization. It deserves better than that.”
One point in favor of monetization, though, it might help people get on the “professional” business ladder, and so that's a good thing. It might still help to reawaken dreams.
I like your point. Monetize is an ugly word, like “commoditize.” Turning something into profit, that really shouldn't be. But I interpret “monetize” to also mean “how to make something pay that really doesn't seem like an obvious money-maker.” Like a blog, for instance. The word suggests to me that new business models are being formulated for new media… and for those of us who aren't trailblazers, the word itself implies that there IS a business in it somewhere, even if we can't quite see what it is when we're starting out. I like that!
Sorry, I disagree. When I started in online communities years ago, they were not monetized and therefore had no business value. More than once they were “given away” or simply deleted. The process of finding monetizing strategies around something that wasn’t previously monetized is actually the process of figuring out what is of “value” and finding a way of spotlighting that.
If you don’t sit down and say “where’s the value?” you don’t have a business.
Plenty of people have created a business out of something they are passionate about and then run out of money… figure out the money stream, it will keep you ahead of the game.
All currency is, is an exchange of value. “Free” does not allow either the giver or the recipient to put value on the item, always a dangerous strategy. Stick with “free” as in “freedom of speech” and leave “free” as in not monetized, alone, is my recommendation. Given an option of “free” or “monetized” I will take monetized – it allows me to pay for that which I respect and value and be paid in kind. YMMV.
@Laurel Provided there’s real value people are willing to pay for, then absolutely – because what you’re creating then is a business, trading time, skill and knowledge for money.
I think what Clay’s getting at here are the people that have no value to offer (“Amateurs monetize. Professionals build businesses.”), yet still try to monetize, making them look even *more* amateurish, while getting them nowhere – ultimately souring them on the whole idea.
~ Wogan
I don't think it's a problem with monetizing as much as they need a …. People who are not amateurs care!
I too feel the same.
well, I had millions of korean, chinese and other asian visitors to my domain names but nowhere to monetize it
I was going to send you a $50 PayPal donation to thank you for this kickass post and help you cover the time you spend writing on this blog. But then I realized, fuck that: Clay has a business. I need me one o' them.
Really though, I appreciate this thought. So many people are trying to get rich quick or use business models that rarely turn a buck. Yes, we need to follow our passion, but we need to recognize how you make money off of it in a plain and simple way, right off the bat.