Over the last year I have been looking with more than normal interest at some of the key players in (my) blogging world. Every one of the people I have been watching had one thing in common with each other, although – at first sight – there is no direct relationship between them. Or they have been keeping it a secret, so no-one has a clue. Maybe you have the latest gossip on that? Anyways they do understand the true meaning of “YOU are your key investment”. You better make that work.
Anyways. You are worth a buck or two. I am not good at making compliments – as you can see – but you will get my drift later, I hope.
Investments
You are worth a couple of bucks!
You are investing time and perhaps $$’s in your precious blog. Depending on the question “Why do you blog” you want some of the moolah back in return! We are talking ROI here, baby!
Let’s face it and be honest. I would like to be able to live from income generated by my blogging. I love to blog. I like the interaction with people that comes with it. I don’t invest a cent in my blog. Uhmm… Is that true? Let’s go through things and stuffies and see.
- I use a computer and internet to blog. Is that a real investment? I guess it’s not, because if I was not into blogging I would have Internet and all that comes with it to. So no. $ 0,00 investment there.
- Ok. Host? $ 17,00 per month. (8 GB, 15 GB traffic + full services). I guess that’s my main investment.
- Domain name? $ 1.30 per year.
- WordPress account plus Suffusion theme? $ 0,00, zilch, nada, nothing. Thanks WordPress guys and girls!
- Uhm time? I spend 2 to 3 hours of my time on blogging and blogging related stuff per day. No money involved there, so I call it $ 0,00 investment.
- RSI related medical costs? Nahh… I try to sit up straight. $ 0,00 again.
Do the Math
Break it Down!
Ok. Let’s break those numbers down. Get out the old Casio and start punching in the numbers.
Based on the information I gave earlier, blogging costs me (12 x $ 17.00) + $ 1.30 = $ 205.30 a year. So to get what blogging costs me I need to divide that by the number of hours I spend blogging.
Press ‘CE’, Whoops, numbers gone. So. $ 205.30 (365 x 2) = $ 0.28 an hour. Are you still with me? Ok that’s the same amount HBO makes per hour from every subscriber to their premium cable television channel.
When I’m looking it in that way I do not cost myself a lot of money. I guess the only thing that costs less money than blogging (per hour) is playing checkers in the park…
That might be as cheap as one can get – legally anyways.
YOU Rock – YOU Rule!
YOU are your Key Investment
I know, I’m cheap and you probably spend a lot of money keeping your blog up and running. No matter how you look at it, you are your key investment.
And you are worth every cent / penny / nickle / dime of it. Maybe it’s time to get yourself a little Return Of Investment. Things you can do to spoil yourself rotten on a budget are:
- GET that darn blogging theme you have been wanting all that time.
- GET that awesome subscriber plugin or service.
- GET that 23 Inch LED screen for the computer you use for blogging your heart out. Your computer might start liking you even more.
- GET that awesome blogger to do a guest post for you – for free!
- GET more out of your key investment. That means YOU
“Get Down Tonight,” K.C. & Sunshine Band:
“Do a little dance, make a little love, Get down tonight.”
Thar! I hope I gave you some ideas! 
My point? YOU are worth every cent you invest in yourself. YOU deserve you and it’s about time you finally give yourself credit for that. A pat on the shoulder and someone saying “You are awesome” is great, but it does not pay the bills. So give yourself some well deserved ROI. You have every right to it. Why? YOU are awesome!
More in Return
You want more in return?
If you want more in return of investments you are making (we’re talking money again) you have to invest more. More money, more time, more of everything you have been investing in your blogging career.
But that’s no rule.
If you are happy the way things are going just leave things as they are. If you intend on investing more bucks on your blog you will need to deal with the stress that will come with it.
After all, you want more in return and that almost always comes at a high price, paradoxical as that may sound to you.
Oh and by the way, I put this pic of money on my blog for educational purposes only. Now you can see what we use in Europe as a poor excuse for money.
On the other hand, I can buy everything I need with it.
So… What do you do to improve your ‘Return Of Investment’ on your blog? Or are you perfectly happy the way things are right now? Feel free to share that ‘make $ 1,645.00 per hour with absolutely NO investment’ tip. Oh, and by the way, donations – in almost any form – are appreciated.
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Jan, I’m just starting to try to gain some ROI from my blog with the introduction of my eBook and affiliate programs. So far my Sponsnored tweets is paying more. (A post coming soon on that). I think once you realize the time you put in to blogging that you should try to monetize the blog in some way. I don’t like being all pushy and salesy about it though.
Once you put the hourss into the cost factor – ouch! What else would I do with that time? Watch TV, clean house or maybe exercise more. The only one that would make me think is the exercise more
Have a great new week Jan!
Lisa recently posted: Can More Than One Blog Be One Too Many To Juggle?
Hi Lisa,
When you start thinking about the amount of time it takes to keep a blog up and running… Nah… Don’t go there. Blogging is fun – or at least it should be, in my opinion. I think I’m not ready to blog for money – yet. lol.
And You? Keeping several blogs going is like doing one of those circus – acts, trying to hold all those dishes spinning on those sticks. Awfully hard work involved there.
*wink* at your next blog post title!
Have an awesome Sunday Lisa and thanks for stopping by!
Jan Bierens recently posted: Why YOU are your key investment
Great post Jan! I haven’t made any $$ with my blog, but then you can’t put a price on everything, right? My payment comes in the form of keeping the mind busy and functioning, and meeting people from all over the place! And yes, now that you mention it, I’m up for a new theme. Vanita and I are gonna get our heads together on that one. And what else would I be doing anyway besides raising two 13 year olds? Sitting poolside with a tall iced tea? Soon!
Karen Hug-Nagy recently posted: HELP, I’m Outgrowing My Blog!!
Hi Karen,
Good to hear Vanita is called into action. Trust me – you are in good hands. She manhandled me into switching from blogger to WordPress. Her and some other great blogging friends!
Agreed! The fun and feedback we get from blogging and everything that comes with it has no price tag. Priceless!
I bet you’re a busy bee going through life in hyperdrive or something.
Jan Bierens recently posted: Why YOU are your key investment
Another enjoyable post, Jan. Well, so far, this is just an expensive hobby. LOL I went ahead and purchased three years worth of hosting, because it was cheaper per month that way, only $4.00! Guess I’m in it for the long haul!
Then there’s the domain name, which was also cheap, as well as the “Whois Privacy”, (because I seriously don’t want to make my real name and address available to the entire world), and the SiteLock. (Don’t know how well that actually works, but it looks good: “No malware”.) The last big expense was the CommentLuv Premium, which was $70.00, but that was a one-time expense and the multiple functions are worth it, in my opinion, to increase followers. I am looking at ways to monetize the blog,and possibly get some of my expenses back, like Amazon, Adsense etc., but, I don’t particularly care for the whole “Keyword” and “SEO” thing. (Nor do I really understand it.) I just want to write what I feel and not be concerned whether or not it contains the required words or fits some kind of a mould.
Debbie recently posted: WHAT IF…
Hi Debbie,
You are in for the long haul, you have been blogging since the introduction of the Internet. lol. No matter how much money you spend running your blog, it’s ok if you get back what you put in – in any form. Could be money, could be fun!
And fun it is. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. If you don’t want to do the whole SEO / Pageranking thing that is perfectly ok. You have come a long way over the last few months!
Jan Bierens recently posted: Why YOU are your key investment
Thanks, Jan. Yup; jumped in with both feet! LOL What’s interesting is, I read an article about how to check your blog’s page rank and found out it was ranked at #3! Pretty good, since I wasn’t even aware of that stuff at the time.
You know what they say: “Do what you love and success will follow”. So far, so good, methinks. 
Cool, Deb! Oh a question? What tool do you use to check your ranking and what search keywords did you use? I’m just curious!
Jan Bierens recently posted: Why YOU are your key investment
I just used the Google page rank checker. Followed the instructions from a post of Mayura’s. Still don’t understand much about keywords. Apparently this is not as important as other types of rankings?
Debbie recently posted: #8sunday WEEKEND WRITING WARRIORS; MAR. 10/13
Hello Jan, interesting post my friend. I think you can safely say were all investing our time and money in our blogs or websites we manage.
For most of us depending on what we hope to accomplish with our blogs some may invest more then other. I for one don’t mind spending a few bucks on my blog because it’s one of my online activities that I’m am converting it my own online business.
I use just a few affiliate programs and I now monitor them to see how well they preform.
As for placing Ads on my blog I try a few and did not like having my blog cluttered with them.
Now on my YouTube channel I do just fine because it’s study income and Google will have your revenue each and every month.
I use my YouTube revenue to fund any and all of my online ventures.
Thanks so much for a great post as always it’s my pleasure.
RobG recently posted: Please Read: Converting Over To AWeber, Keep Your Eyes Open
Hi Rob,
I have heard that “You get back, what you put in”. In relation to blogging that would mean we all should be getting rich pretty soon!
Most of us bloggers put in a lot of time keeping up their blog(s) and everything that comes with it.
Advertisements. I have been thinking about that, but it just clutters my blog with stuff I don’t have real control over. Imagine me writing a blog on “growing your business” and a lot of viagra advertisements pop up? Naah.
I got to check out your YouTube account… Have a great one, Rob!
Jan Bierens recently posted: Why YOU are your key investment
Hi Jan,
Well, for me, I just started blogging. It’s true that I started blogging in hopes to make money from my affiliate products. Unfortunately, I haven’t got paid in any of these affiliates although it says I’m getting 100 unique visitors a day.
Hoping too that someday, I’ll be making from my real product and that’s — graphic designs online and offline. Oh well. Like they said, try and try again till you succeed. I guess making real $ from these affiliate can TAKE TIME. So I’m patient.
Angela
Angela McCall recently posted: Secret Of Affiliate Marketing
BTW, I forgot to say…did you say you got your WordPress for FREE? How? All they have available there are the twentyten, twentyevelen, and twentytwelve. And I heard that these are the only EXCEPTIONAL “free themes” that’s okay to use. Other FREE themes I heard…gets hacked a lot. Anyhoo…
I had to pay $59 (one time charge) for the GENESIS frame on mine. And only $18 for the child theme. They say, “Better be safe than sorry.” And so I was just being OVER PROTECTIVE. Anyway, you’re doing pretty good for having a FREE theme.
Angela
Angela McCall recently posted: Secret Of Affiliate Marketing
Hi Angela,
The frameworks costs money but the WordPress software is free. I was not clear about that in the post.
The free themes are ok’ish to use, but I made myself a promise to pay as little as possible for my blog. I am so cheap. lol.
I have tried various freeware themes and some are better that others. My theme changes as much as the Dutch weather does – a lot! lol
Jan Bierens recently posted: SEO Your PDF Download Page
Hello Mr. Jan
This is my first time on your blog, and I will say how you write is different, but I love it.
I agree, I AM my total investment in what I do.
Like Angela, I am new to this world, and there is much to learn, but one thing about me… I do not give up.
I have invested in a Thesis frame and I still purchase my images, but I am going to change all that today…. I want the free images.
Thank you
Gladys posted..A diseased called bullying
I look forward to our relationship.
Gladys recently posted: A Perfect Pathway To Connect To God
Hi and welcome Gladys.
Blogging is an exciting world, with a close community and international friendships. Depending on what you want to achieve blogging, the possibilities are endless.
Blogging is like watching people playing a game of chess. At first you may think there are just two people shoving little pieces of wood over a board, but when you discover the various ways to play the game it becomes even more interesting.
We are ALL learning, always.
Oh and please, don’t call me Mr.
Jan Bierens recently posted: Twitter Tactics – My Way or The Highway
Hello Jan,
Very interesting thought indeed. In fact, I never really into details on the numbers. For now, I try to put aside that issue and to concentrate on blogging. Maybe the main reason for my decision is because I’m using a free host. So until I get my own hosting account, domain and further advance my knowledge in the blogging field to try it out on my own, monetization will come in second.
~ Donald
Hi Donald,
Blogging can be along running hobby / occupation. I have been blogging since march 2011 and enjoy every moment. The only drawback could be the fact I have not much time for blogging now, because of work which is crazy at the moment.
Blogging for a hobby gives one freedom to take a little break sometimes, although I miss blogging. Your site looks clean and crisp. My (unasked advice) would be: keep up the good work and enjoy what you like to do with your blog. Itś never to late to upgrade!
hanks for your input.