Are you a webmaster for the money?

[lludawg]

Let's face it, a lot of people become webmasters for the money. However, a lot of people also blog or create sites for the love of a subject. Personally, I started blogging with hopes of making money but now I really just enjoy getting my opinion out into the public and hearing the responses of people who are listening to me.

 

[Maxxamillion]

Mine started for the fact I love the gaming industry I like creating content I love engaging with new people. I would also love to make some money from it. Would be nice to be pain for the hard work

 

[Shortie]

I would not sat that I am a webmaster for the money at all no. I initially started creating my own forums and websites because I wanted to have a place where I could share what I was interested in and I also wanted a place I could share with others who could also use it and meet new people. I have always enjoyed meeting new people from all over the world using forums, blogs and way back chat rooms so having my own forum gives me a place that others can share as well and meet new people. If money can be made then that is great but I don't purposely create websites to get money.

 

[milksheikh]

I am not a webmaster for the money at all. I am a webmaster to help others and become a good webmaster to help others with their websites and help others with my own websites.

 

[wasi90lk]

I am a webmaster for 2 reasons - 1) I want to make money, 2) I love making and managing websites.

Money is important to me, but it is not the sole reason why I am a webmaster.

 

[milksheikh]

Sounds like some 2 good reasons

I love money, but money is not the main thing in webmastering for me.

 

[lludawg]

Yeah I guess I could say the reason I own my blog is
1: because I love the subject
2: I want to make money
If I did not love the subject, I would not blog. Same if I didn't make money!

 

[Alexis]

Me, i blog for the money around subject that i love! If i did not earn money for blogging, i would not invest in buying domain name and web hosting plans. If i did not blog about things i love, it would happen a time where i have nothing to write!

 

[Jordan]

It depends for me.
I would be lying if I said either or, yes or no.

There are sites that I own that are there to generate revenue, and then there are sites that I own that are here for the community.

Example. Hostisto Inc is generating revenue. That business is there to pay for the servers and generate profit.
Then there is this site. WebGuruBB. I am not looking to generate money from this site. While others would argue "But you have ads on the site and have a premium group who pays to be in it". Although both is correct, neither one of these revenue streams remotely comes close to the costs I put into this site. Everything that these revenue streams generate goes directly back into the site. In fact, I have put more then 10 times into this site then I have made from it. When it comes to this forum, I'm here to be helpful, insightful, be part of a community in a niche I love, and help others wanting to start websites.

So to answer your question, Yes and no. Well those sites that do generate revenue equal out the sites that don't.

 

[Alexis]

I like the win-win game of blogging. I enjoy writing a nice article that get interaction and sharing. Those views, sharing and recurring traffic traffic bring money to my pocket. I enjoy getting paid for the effort i put in the redaction of the article! unlike Jordan, i don't make difference on which site is there for money or not. I try to make money and enjoy every post on each of my websites!

 

[Pierre E. (Lancer)]

I am. If you see a website that i own with a domain name and a premium web hosting plan, it is mostly for the money i'll get back. Otherwise, i would build it on weebly, ucoz, wordpress.com or blogger. If i invest, it is obvious that i want something back; and it is not only appreciation.

 

[Robmaniac]

I'm not really in it for the money, I'm in it to A - Create an entertainment for people (my e-fed site) and B - Talk among friends on an interesting array of topics both I and they create and engage in

 

[Azareal]

Both. It's partially to build a vibrant community on my sites and the other is that if my projects / sites make enough to pay the bills then, that's even better. At the end of the day though, most sites will end up failing and it can take a massive investment of time and resources to get them up to scratch.

If I really just wanted to make money then, there are far more profitable alternatives which I could pursue.

 

[Goat of Departure]

I think it's a bad thing to start a site with the intention of only making money. Why? Well first of all, if you think about money first you end up setting that as your main goal which is understandable, but making money off of a website isn't as easy as it sounds. So if you're one of those kids that go "Hey I'm going to make $1000 a day by making a website" then you're better off working at McDonalds.

Since it takes a lot of effort to establish a site and make money off of it, some people might give up at the first sign of hardship because they thought that it's easy money. However, if you start off with the mindset of having fun and enjoying since it's your passion, you won't get fed up with the work because you know you like what you're doing and the revenue is just your consolation prize.

:banana:

 

[cyberpuppet]

I think if most people were being totally honest it would be a bit of both - even if the money making was only 1%. I mean I build the sites and engage in them because I get pleasure doing so and it gives me a feeling of achievement and satisfaction, but at the same time I am hoping to see some money from it (eventually). If there was no possibility of money I might still do it but it would be totally different.

 

[Kleineganz]

For my personal websites, I didn't create them for the money (which is why most of them don't even have ads on them). I also didn't learn how to build websites (back in 1996) for the money. It started out as a fun hobby. However, I then got a job doing it professionally for a tech company, and I kept that job for 11 years. My career evolved over the years and I eventually focused on web analytics more than building/redesigning websites. These days I'm an independent web analytics consultant and I most definitely am doing that for the money (gotta pay my mortgage somehow!).

So now the websites that I own and maintain are generally just hobbies again - most don't even have ads on them so they don't earn me a penny.

 

[calebmelvern]

I started blogging when I learned that you can make money by writing on the web, so yeah I guess you could say that I'm in it for the money. But really, it's a win-win situation. It's like having an office job you actually like. I get to earn money while doing something I'm genuinely passionate about.

 

[Soulwatcher]

I started my first website in hopes of earning and then I realized that its pretty hopeless. 98% of the of the websites out there do not earn a dime and 1% out of the 2% make enough to earn a living from it. So I now just run my websites for the fun of it, I know I am not going to make money. But I enjoy the interaction with others.

Greg

 

[PhilA]

Wow Greg, you think the statistics are that high for sites not making money? I'm fairly new on my site building journey and now I feel demotivated!

My goal is to make a modest income, I have dreams of building and running websites at least as a part-time venture. We will see.

 

[cyberpuppet]

I have to say I think there is a better chance than that of making a small amount of money. A lot depends on how people define "earning" I mean after running forums and websites for several years and never getting around to putting adverts on them this time I have done it differently and put adsense on right at the start - and in the first month when the only visitors were people from post exchanges who in effect I am paying to be there (in that I post to get them there) I showed £3.60 generated. Now that does not cover my hosting package - but my hosting package is unlimited domains, and I have several other sites up, and is less than the cost of a domain - but it is the first month with hardly any visitors. If I can double that then each year I am going to cover the cost of hosting and one domain off of a single site and I can put up as many sites as I want. OK it is not enough to live on - and I would struggle to get a cup of coffee out of the "profit" but it is income and it is in excess of costs and I for one find that exciting (yes I am easily pleased but I have had to live on very little enough times that I know the value of things).

Please dont feel demotivated and dont give up - I do not think making a modest part time income out of a few sites is that unreasonable just so long as you do not want an excessive income. If you have fun doing the sites and getting involved with people then the money is the cherry on the top - and if you dont enjoy it then all the money in the world will not make it fun.