I find the debate around the intentions and credibility of bloggers a fascinating one, and of course being a blogger myself it's something I have to consider constantly. So to break it down from my perspective -
Intention I started Proptechfish a few years back purely with the intention of compiling a written record of my experiences lending through P2P platforms while making it public, with a take it or leave it attitude. I have attempted blogging before, in the music industry, in a minor way and I know I enjoy it (also once wrote a novel with no inclination to publishing it). Now the original remit was P2P platforms with a main focus in property and the term 'Fish' refers to a small time investor which I define as someone with £100 a month or less to invest, hence the focus on the lower entry buy-in platforms. Thats a remit I have pretty much managed to maintain, although REIT's could be argued are not strictly P2P but they do hit 2 of 3 specifications in being property and low entry/mass market buy-in. I only report on roughly a 60% of the platforms/asset classes that make up my portfolio.
IntegrityNow this is a very interesting one, I think the default position in this day and age is a deeply cynical 'anything written on the internet must be written by someone pedaling a conspiracy'. I understand it, I recognise it but I don't wholeheartedly agree with it. There are good people and bad people in the world and being an optimist I like to believe the greater number of good tend to prevail over the bad however on the internet the more sensational rhetoric from bad intentioned writers or posters can often drown out the better intentioned more integral voices, which of course is frustrating.
The question of anonymity can sour the perception of integrity but look this this forum for example, now either I have stumbled into a group a users with the most imaginative parents in the naming the department ever to grace the planet or the vast majority of users are exercising some degree of anonymity, sensibly so. I don't shout off the roof-tops my real identity on Proptechfish with the sole reason being that I'm writing about platforms that are effectively the custodians of a significant amount of my personal wealth. I've not yet reconciled the value of de-anonymization v's the the potential exposure to perceived internet threats, with myself.
Up until a few weeks ago I had actively avoided engaging with platforms specifically with the aim to maintain impartiality. However a few platforms have now reached out to me, emails/phone calls have been exchanged there has been no discussion of any kind of incentivisation, although I'm aware the potential is there in the future and it's something I will have to justify to myself and in respect of maintaining the integrity/impartiality and quality of my blog before I consider any offer.
Income
I'm not willing to publicise the exact financials of my blog because I don't see the point to be honest, but what I can assure you of is that my blog has cost me significantly more to run than I have ever made from it and that's not even considering the time I spend writing and researching. There are a few ways Proptechfish could make money-
Referral links - the obvious one, and yea I have a few and initially I just put them on because they were being offered. I never really expected them to make money, but one has (only one) which I have actually recently removed because I've decided no longer to lend on that platform and I'm uncomfortable with potentially gaining out of directing others to a platform I would no longer put my own money in. A rule I self applied for the use referral links and will continue to apply. Additionally only about half of the platforms I write about even offer referral links so it's certainly not the case that I only write about a platform I can make additional income from for referring.
Banner Ads- I'm not a fan of banner ads at all. I think they're trashy, I think they're annoying, I think they distract from the content you have worked hard to write. A reality check, banner Ad's usually get 1 click through per thousand views for which a blogger may receive £0.03-£0.05, meaning you need mega traffic to even think about retiring on your Banner Ad income these days. I also think they debase your hard earned readers for mear pennies, just not worth it IMO. No slight intended on any bloggers that do utilise them, each to their own, they're just not my cup of tea.
External collaborations - this is where the real money happens. If you build a decent reputation and credibility you can start to attract bigger players who value your input in to their thing. A guest blog/article can pay from a few hundred to a few thousand on a bigger site. It usually takes a number years to reach this point if ever. This raises an ethical question in itself, who does the fee belong to ? The writer may think well I wrote the damn thing the money's mine. But what about the the 10'000 followers than got them to the level of visibility to gain that size of opportunity in first place. So then what? Pay a dividend to 10'000 followers also. This option, I will seriously consider as I would have put in many, many hours by that point and may well think I would like to harvest the fruits of my labour.
The end game- Publish a book- I trust we can still remember what books are and yes personally if I ever put together enough information then I would love to put together a book, but that's way off in the distance right now.
To respond to
mrclondon comment directly (I know nearly 2 years ago) about the 'removal of referral links for serious journalistic endeavors'. For me I like writing as much I like investing and although my portfolio income more than covers the cost of my blog there is a bit of me that can't help seeing the blog as an investment platform in itself and I'm intrigued to see if can get it pay for itself (clearly not at any cost though) and referral links seem the most sensible option right now. Although you may have a point, maybe the use referral links have similar negative effects I highlighted about Banner Ad's, very hard to prove though.
So obviously as a blog grows and evolves difficult questions start to arise over how to best balance intention/integrity/income (payment for considerable effort applied).
If you read all this well done! I just wanted give a perspective from the other side and argue there is a gulf of difference between throwing out an ill-conceived 200 character comment on social media site (which has caused a lot of damage to the perception of the internet as a whole over the years) and a well considered blog post by a blogger that takes what they publish seriously. Good bloggers will consider a multitude of perspectives and understand the impact their writing may have on a reader, as well as considering the permanence of the internet and the effect that can have on their own reputation protentaily for the rest of their life.
But welcome and good luck!