Comments on: Is Disclosing Earnings Unprofessional?

By: TV on the Web

TV on the Web — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:15:50 +0000

I think it definitely depends on how you feel about it. When you give someone hard numbers, they tend to be impressed if it’s a high figure.

It can be inspiring to see how much money a site brings in, and it makes it easier to understand how what they are doing works. You can them try to emulate their success in ways.

But all blogs are different as are the goals and personalities of the people running them, so that might be a downfall of the whole disclosing of your profits.

By: 303 Insanely Interesting Links From 2007 -- Jarkko Laine - Insanely interested

303 Insanely Interesting Links From 2007 -- Jarkko Laine - Insanely interested — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:36:06 +0000

[...] Is Disclosing Earnings Unprofessional, Nate Whitehill dot com [...]

By: PAULA'S LIST OF BLOGGER SALARIES

PAULA'S LIST OF BLOGGER SALARIES — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 06:55:30 +0000

By the by, Nate. Do you post your income?

I’m updating my list of blogger salaries right now.

Just leave me a comment with the link to your latest income numbers if you do, humbly and respectfully, tell the blogging world how much you make.

Thanks,
Paula

By: Investorblogger

Investorblogger — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 05:43:33 +0000

Anyone ever stop to ask why it is unprofessional to talk about your salaries. One of the usual ways to figure out reasons is to access who benefits and who loses by talking about salaries.

My guess: it’s employers that don’t want employees to know how much each other make. Hence, they tell employees, don’t tell or we’ll fire you (it’s in many contracts).

Perhaps if everyone talked about salaries/incomes, such discussions wouldn’t be such a problem as this one.

Of course, some people feel this is ‘personal’ information.

By: Aaron Cook

Aaron Cook — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:20:39 +0000

Well said. I think it definitely all comes down to your audience as well as how relevant it is to your blog. I think the important thing is to do it with tact. I’ve seen a few blogs where the authors just seem to be bragging about the earnings, which turns me off. I never visit those blogs again.

By: Jane May Blogs » Blog Archive » May Earnings Update

Jane May Blogs » Blog Archive » May Earnings Update — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 20:27:31 +0000

[...] has been much debate recently about whether or not it is unprofessional to disclose your earnings. If presented in a humble manner I do not see anything wrong with it. Especially if the blogger is [...]

By: Entrepreneurs - Making A Living Online « TechZi

Entrepreneurs - Making A Living Online « TechZi — Tue, 29 May 2007 20:51:09 +0000

[...] not to do the standard ‘May Earnings Report’ that so many bloggers do, as I find it highly unprofessional and in many cases slightly imposing on a [...]

By: Goldy

Goldy — Tue, 22 May 2007 22:09:30 +0000

If your blog is about how to make money online then I don’t think it is inappropriate or unprofessional… I think it’s inspiring.

By: Gary Lee

Gary Lee — Tue, 22 May 2007 18:27:27 +0000

Personally, i’ve never big fan of telling people about how much I actually make. I know it can help motivate and show people that it can be done, but I rather have them guess.

By: Ryan J. Parker

Ryan J. Parker — Tue, 22 May 2007 17:42:19 +0000

If you write about making money online then I assume it’s a required disclosure or you wouldn’t have readers.

By: john anthony

john anthony — Tue, 22 May 2007 17:33:25 +0000

I can see why some people would think it is unprofessional, but at the same time it brings more value than it takes away. Think about how many hundreds of people John Chow has inspired to blog and how many minds he has opened up to the possibility of making a full time living online. Most people would have no idea it is possible to make $11k+ per month from a simple blog. It pushes people to keep thinking and constantly innovate – I know it has pushed me.

By: Janet

Janet — Tue, 22 May 2007 13:18:55 +0000

I’m not sure that $1.98 is really anything to brag about If I ever started to make a significant amount, I would be pretty proud of myself and I would certainly want my friends and family to know. I don’t think I would publish it though. It wouldn’t be very relevant on my blog – which is about food. My readers would probably be more interested in how much weight I gained the week before, than how much money I earned!!

By: 5 Vital Elements of Blogging And the Questions it Raises

5 Vital Elements of Blogging And the Questions it Raises — Tue, 22 May 2007 12:01:33 +0000

[...] in my opinion as nearly all of the elements apply to the most successful bloggers out there. Nate Whitehill raises a good question in response to the “humble and modest” aspect of the list and [...]

By: Fellow Entrepreneurs Wrote (7) : Andreas Bard

Fellow Entrepreneurs Wrote (7) : Andreas Bard — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:38:01 +0000

[...] is discussion if disclosing you earnings is unprofessional.Â I do not think it is unprofessional but if you are consistently posting your daily average it [...]

By: Nate Whitehill

Nate Whitehill — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:36:46 +0000

Andreas,
Thanks for the comments. Yes, I believe that showing off earnings, such as displaying it as a stat, is not exactly the right way to inspire others. It seems more like bragging in that sense. Thanks for the comments.

By: Nate Whitehill

Nate Whitehill — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:27:48 +0000

Ajaxus,
Thanks for the kind words. You make a great point – “there isn’t a statement which is always true.” I agree with this – there are always exceptions. Like I mentioned before, I think context is very important when choosing what to blog about. Thanks for commenting.

By: Nate Whitehill

Nate Whitehill — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:26:09 +0000

Delani,
You raise some interesting points. Do the exact dollar amounts really matter? I also agree that they are not as valuable as tracking the progress of different monetary streams. That makes me think – I wonder when we will see blogger’s income start to decline. I hope never, but what goes up, must come down.

By: Nate Whitehill

Nate Whitehill — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:24:16 +0000

Mike,
I wholy-heartedly agree with you. Disclosing earnings all comes down to relevancy on the blog. Like I said before, on JC’s blog, it makes sense. On others, it just feels unnecessary.

By: Nate Whitehill

Nate Whitehill — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:21:30 +0000

Armen,
No problem – I am proud to mention your blog as one of my daily reads now. You write some insightful and well written content.

You are right – there is no doubt that JC’s earnings bonanzas do work for him. As you said, there does seem to be many carbon copies arising who are only focusing on how much money their blog can make them instead of the more important benefits.

Thanks for the comments, and great to have you in my community!

By: Nate Whitehill

Nate Whitehill — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:18:49 +0000

David, yes, I feel though as I am in the same boat. My blog is not focused on earnings, so I see it as unprofessional to blog about it. I see the different in speaking about the potential to earn, but exact figures do just seem irrelevant.

By: Nate Whitehill

Nate Whitehill — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:17:39 +0000

Allen,
It’s been a long time, buddy! Great to see you back in the ‘sphere! I checked out your blog recently — looks like you are up to some exciting new endeavors! We should chat it up when you get a chance! Take care, friend.

By: Nate Whitehill

Nate Whitehill — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:16:40 +0000

Nathan,
I can definitely see your point. I guess, like Josh said, it all depends on the nature of the blog to whether the earnings are relevant. Personally, I don’t talk very much about “earnings” on my blog, so I guess I see it as irrelevant. Thanks for your perspective.

By: Nate Whitehill

Nate Whitehill — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:15:16 +0000

Josh,
Thanks for the response. I completely agree with what you said. I am also very impressed with how succesful you have made your web sites in such a short period of time. Congratulations, friend, and good luck to you in the future!

By: Andreas Bard

Andreas Bard — Tue, 22 May 2007 08:40:05 +0000

I have disclosed my earnings in numbers in one posts, and that is because a bunch of my returning readers has asked me to do so.
But I can not understand why anyone would want to “show off” with displaying their daily average and such staticly on their blog, but maybe they see something that is good with that, I do not?

// Andreas Bard

By: ajaxus

ajaxus — Tue, 22 May 2007 06:51:20 +0000

Good post Nate! Congrats!

my opinion is that there isn’t statement which is always true. I mean that if disclosing earning is unprofessional to one it will be the perfect approach for others. just like many other things in web field there isnt a golden rule.

its all depends what your aim is, and how you want to achieve it!

Thanks again for the interesting reading!