Blogging Ain’t Easy

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Blogging Ain’t Easy

James Joyner | Monday, November 26, 2007

Scott Adams is going to cut down on blogging because, while he’s been tremendously successful at gaining readership, he finds he’s actually losing money:

I hoped that people who loved the blog would spill over to people who read Dilbert, and make my flagship product stronger. Instead, I found that if I wrote nine highly popular posts, and one that a reader disagreed with, the reaction was inevitably “I can never read Dilbert again because of what you wrote in that one post.” Every blog post reduced my income, even if 90% of the readers loved it. And a startling number of readers couldn’t tell when I was serious or kidding, so most of the negative reactions were based on misperceptions.

Perhaps because I’m not a multi-gazillionaire, I’ve managed to come out ahead financially by blogging.

I do, however, share Adams’ problem with people not knowing when I’m serious or kidding. Or, that this is a blog, not a newspaper. And that, if I mention a person in a blog post, I’m not actually them.

via Megan McArdle

Adams’ flagship product:

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

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