The Commercialization of Blogging

Why do all hobbies need a profit?

I have been on Substack for a little over a month at this point. But the consensus is that you must grow for paid subscribers. Find a niche, become a professional networker, and more. Only then: will you find true success and happiness with the dollars rolling in.

But, why? Why does everything have to be for money? I’m not talking about the people whose jobs are as writers and journalists, they have their issues to deal with as their life is on the line. But more so as the average people who enjoy writing as a hobby, and wishes to merely share their work. Not everyone wants to write and promote a massive operation for money.

People have even asked me about it, asking if I (could) make any money from my writing. If that were the case, then I’d be either putting up paywalls or installing advertisements. The former of which can be detrimental to readers who might be frugal about what they spend their money on.

Over the past few decades or so, the mass culture appears to have shifted from “doing what you love as a hobby” to “doing what you love for money”. Which, for some people, is fine. Some people want to use every second of their waking life to make more money and succeed. If they want to do that, by all means. I'm not writing this post to shame them. I hope they do well and find a successful career!

Instead, I have a problem with forcing that philosophy down on everyone. With the general atmosphere on platforms such as Substack being: “You must find a niche to succeed in and be the award-winning expert in! Then, the green will flow!” But who says there is anything wrong with just writing for fun?

I have been writing and posting publicly in various places since 2020. With no focus in mind. I write what I find interesting at the moment. How does that work out for me? Well, I’m satisfied. But I know that others might want more. A community, something that they can pinpoint directly back to their writing.

Their writing style might be unique and independent, but their formula and growth strategy are probably not. A consultant might have been used to forge their path. At that point, are you doing it for the writing, or the money and possible fame?

At this point, I’m not even just talking about Substack. I’m talking about other blogging/writing platforms in general. r/Blogging in particular is a good use case. People will constantly ask questions like “How to make money?” or “How can I do [x] to make money?" and forget about what blogging was in the first place.

Blogging, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, has two definitions. While the second definition is “a regular feature appearing as part of an online publication that typically relates to a particular topic”, the top definition is “a website that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks, videos, and photographs provided by the writer”. The act of blogging in that case is synonymous with Web 2.0. The age of the internet was user-generated content. It was a time when it seemed that everyone (i.e. teenagers and young adults) could share their thoughts (wink) and ideas.

Of course that wasn’t meant to last. Social media took that concept and was easier for users to navigate. Blogging became relegated more towards the second definition. With a niche, you could become more successful. Yes, that is the case; for those who want to do that. But some of us just want to write for fun. Write pieces like this and share them on our own site (or stack).

I hope that sooner than later, people will become more welcoming towards those writing for fun. Those who take the time to make what is truly theirs with no interference. Running a publication as a side hobby with no intent to make money. (If you happen to make money while doing so, great! It just isn’t their overarching concern.)

Even though I scoff at enabling subscriptions for my work, maybe there will be a time where I will do so. But that time is not now, and I shouldn’t feel forced to do so.

When creativity is unleashed with money not as a concern, who knows what could be accomplished. Not just from writing, but from all disciplines. It just needs to not all be about the monetary gains to be had.