I expected to miss my first-quarter income goal, and now I know how bad it's going to be: With less than a month to go, I've earned just $2,401, or 40% of my $6,000 plan. Even more than last quarter, advertising is contributing only a fraction. Here's the breakdown:- Advertising: $379
- Sponsorships: $2,022
Second, although I'm a novice at making money as a blogger, I've always known the first quarter is slow in business. And that's under normal circumstances. Now, with even Warren Buffett (above) saying the economy is in "shambles," you know we're in hard times.
I'm trying to earn $6,000 quarterly, mostly through sponsorships of $5 per reader, plus limited ad sales. Please use the "Donate" tool in the green sidebar, upper right. Or mail cash/checks payable to: Jim Hopkins, 584 Castro St. #823, San Francisco, Calif., 94114-2594.
If this were a Gannett project--
ReplyDelete"Hmmm, they can't raise $6000. I won't pay them unless they reach their new goal of $12,000. And I want reports each and every day...and take crappy specs from India...and oh yeah, you are getting a new territory."
Don't give up yet. Something good will happen!
ReplyDeletehire a commission only salesperson, pay only on receipt of payment, target gannett markets
ReplyDeleteWhat would a commission-only salesperson require, as a minimum, to sell ads on my blog?
ReplyDeleteI have two theories on why subscriptions are down:
ReplyDelete1) some people paid a year's worth of subscription fees last quarter.
2) many readers got laid off and have no money to spare.
I don't know what a good commission-only sales rate would be, but I bet 20% is enough to entice someone to try. Especially if they think big.
Good luck with making $6,000 any quarter, much less this one. If you did have a sales person you would have laid them off by now I suspect. Your readers were all fired up for a while but now things are settling in. However, if you could deliver a print version to my front porch each day I might go for a half-price deal.
ReplyDeleteIf there are any sales people reading this, make me an offer: Maybe we can get rich together!
ReplyDeleteGee, Jim, looks like your business model is a failure. I find that interesting, since you spend all your time criticizing Gannett for its inability to make money off a product that fewer and fewer people want. That's fine, since I agree that they've screwed up a lot of things and continue to do so. But I also recognize that running any company is not easy, that simply thinking the world should pay for what you're offering just because you think it's great is hubris. Maybe you're failure as a media business will help you learn that lesson as well, but I doubt it.
ReplyDelete