jotsheet

If you’re a regular reader of the jotsheet, perhaps you’ve been wondering, “What’s the deal with this web host stuff? Has Tom Sherman turned into a hack mouthpiece for a pyramid scheme?”

Backstory

I spend a lot of time on this website. Far too much time, in fact. I tweak it endlessly: the design, the CSS, the underlying HTML. I moderate comments. I make my own (usually snarky) comments. I produce new content, of course. And, like most bloggers, this is for the pure enjoyment of self-expression. I just like to write and to rant. I’ve never tried to make anything big out of this.

Well, for good reason. This site isn’t a big deal. It’s silly and stupid, and that’s kind of the way I like blogs. I don’t think they should take themselves too seriously, and when they do, I think they lose a lot of their appeal. In the 4+ years of this site’s existence, I’ve taken pains to make sure the content of this site stayed true to the core, guiding principles of free flaming, free expression, and rampant, unadulterated sarcasm.

The System

Rewind to about two weeks ago. For the first time ever, I made some money off this site.

Is that a bad thing? Not in and of itself. It’s not bad if it doesn’t corrupt the appeal of my blog. It’s not bad if I still enjoy my blog afterward.

The story goes like this. My web host gives its users money when they refer new customers. By its own admission, my web host has a ridiculously high profit margin, allowing them to pass on a generous fee ($97) for every new user signed up in an existing customer’s name. But this was the old system, and frankly, it wasn’t very exciting. Many online businesses have similar referral programs, and the amount of money you can make off such a system is roughly proportional to the number of friends you’ve got online willing to do you a favor.

Then my hosting company had a very interesting idea: allow their users to give up part of the $97 award as a discount. Allow their users to create custom codes. Why? To spread the wealth and to create competition. No longer would all of the award money go to the existing customer; now it would be split between the existing and new customer.

It was a brilliant innovation. Here’s why:

• The hosting company immediately recruited loyal users to advertise on their behalf.
• The hosting company did not suffer financially by the move, since they were paying $97 out anyway. Now, they simply paid it to two parties.
• Existing users provided tangible benefits to prospective hosting customers.
• Existing users were still able to benefit financially (albeit less) but were no longer locked into the level playing field of the old system.
• New users benefited tangibly with discounts to which they were not previously exposed. Furthermore, existing users had a reason to tell new users about discount codes. There was no reason before.

Money and blogs

So, it’s an interesting system. No, it’s a brilliant system. But, truth be told, I’m a bit uncomfortable with playing this game on the jotsheet. I’ve criticized bloggers in the past for “selling out” and writing sponsored blog posts. How is this different? It’s not.

However, after much thought, I’ve come to the conclusion that my previous idealistic view of blogs as pure avenues of expression was hopelessly na�ve. It is inevitable that blogs will be structured to make money; for many popular blogs, this structure is already in place. The question is how this can be done properly.

In my own mind, I’ve come to grips with “the money question” vis-�-vis blogs in the following way:

1. Monetary interest in any product, site, or topic must be fully disclosed. Do not sacrifice your personal values for a few extra bucks.
2. Running a good blog is time-consuming. As Ben said to me, “You spend enough time on your site—you might as well make some money off it.”
3. You can’t please everyone. I probably annoyed people with what they see as shilling. There’s nothing special about my site, and they’re free to go elsewhere.

The Game

In the bigger picture, I have found this entire experience over the last week or so to be enthralling. For whatever reason, I’ve shied away from business-oriented endeavors much of my life and have never seriously considered business school or anything of that nature for my long-term career. Although it probably sounds funny, this experience probably constitutes my first exposure to relatively pure capitalism. Success in this little game is a question of SEO, advertising, personal appeal, segmenting, understanding of context, and business intelligence. It’s very exciting. Very exciting indeed.

To my regular readers, I appreciate your patience. I’m still playing this game. Partly for the money, partly for the experience, but it will infringe in a small way on my blog, at least in the near-term. That’s the decision I’ve made.

The Code

If, after all that, you’re just looking for a code, look no further:

$90 discount: DEAL90 (and $7 to me, because you’re just that nice)

Full $97 discount: MAX97 (best discount available)