Thanks for Offering to Guest Blog or Advertise, But…

Once again I’m blogging on a topic I’ve previously spent much time covering in email replies. So rather than compose that email reply yet again I’m blogging it for today and for future reference.

TL;DR

Thanks for offering to guest blog or advertise; forgive me though but I’ll have to decline.

Or, If You Want to Know Why:

First, thanks for offering to write a guest post here on my blog, or to pay me to advertise here. I’m honored. But pursuing either of those opportunies is not consistent with my purpose for this blog.

I Blog for Myself

While I do obviously blog, I don’t consider myself an active blogger and I intend for all posts on MikeSchinkel.com to be written by me. My blog is for:

1. My opinions when I get inspired to attempt to persude on a topic,
2. To write posts about information I want to remember or refer back to later, or
3. As in the case of this post, to refer people to read instead of writing the same email reply repeatedly.

I’m Not Interesting in More Blog Traffic

I don’t add content to this blog with a goal of generating more traffic, except for when I’m trying to persude and then only from those I’m trying to persude.

I’d Prefer to Have Fewer Comments to Answer

Plus I’d prefer to get fewer comments rather than more because each comment I get generates a “todo” which if I’m going to answer should be answered in a timely fashion. Even though a guest post wouldn’t require writing on my part, I would have a follow-up obligation to answer comments on the post should the author not, since it’s my blog. These would all become “urgent” todos even though they would almost certainly not be important in the grand scheme, they would still compete for time with my “important” todos that I constantly struggle to find time for (see urgent vs. important.)

For Me, Integrity Trumps Ad Revenue

As for advertising, if I started including advertising then people would immediately assume my goals for this blog are to generate revenue and that might call into question any position I might take on the blog; i.e. was I being paid for my opinion? Since my integrity is far more important to me than any small amount of income I might get in ad revenue I say no to any and all advertising on the blog portion of MikeSchinkel.com.

Including One Means Others Will Expect It Too

Let’s say I allowed one person to guest post or allowed one advertisement on my blog. As soon as I did I’d open myself up to be asked constantly to allow it to happen again, and then I have to craft a personal reply explaining why I said “yes” before but “no” to them. Better to just always say “no” and then nobody’s feeling gets hurt and I don’t have to spend time explaining.

Guest Blogging Begets Confusion

Although this may not apply to other blogs, my blog doesn’t have a design that would make it clear that a guest post wasn’t written by me and people might assume I wrote it. Worse, if the guest post was controversial people think I wrote it could result in a negative fallout for me. But the most obvious thing likely to happen is simply that people will start contacting me in comments, on Twitter or via email for clarification or to offer more guest posts, and that would all translate into more unwanted “todos.”

Bottom Line: I Appreciate the Offer, But No Thanks

And yes I know I’ve had this domain for over a decade and yes it’s probably got traffic and Google visibility that a site launched on a new domain today would covet, and some people see that as a waste of opportunity. But it’s my blog and that gives me the option to choose what gets published here. And I’ve decided I want to keep it non-commercial and only include posts written by me.

I thank you in advance for your understanding.