I had a new idea for a list and post today, and it prompted me to think about my initial reasons for starting a website. Also started me wondering about others’ reasons for reviewing books. Blogging is largely done on a voluntary basis, so I’d like to know what has motivated others to start and continue their blogs.
One of the biggest reasons I started was that my eldest son was badgering me about starting a website. He was excited about blogging himself and felt that everyone should be doing it. I put him off for months, because I didn’t feel I had something large enough to warrant a site.
At the time, I was volunteering, shelving books at the public library a few hours a week. I noticed that there weren’t any new catalogs of recommended books and thought it was something I could provide. I also was recommending books to children and parents who had no idea what they would like to read. We have an excellent children’s section at the Bangor Public Library, so naturally I was excited and wanted to share books I was noticing and reading.
I wanted a database for my own use and my children’s in homeschooling. The site was a way to share it with more people. For ex., teachers that I know have a need to recommend books, but not much extra time in which to read new books. The site started as a database of reviews. As my son continued to talk about blogging, I came to see a blog as a tool for promoting particular books. It still is a large searchable database, but the blogging aspect is equally important now. I have moved beyond discussing books with friends, though I still enjoy the one-on-one discussion.
It wasn’t until after my site was running and I was trying to market it that I found the online community of book reviews. I was staggered by the number of sites, but I continued because I still feel that I have much to say about books and life. I would like it to be more interactive discussion, but I am finding some of that haphazardly through occasional comments and viewing others’ sites.
So, how about all of you that review books? Why did you start, and what motivates you to continue?
January 27th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Adsense is profitable if you have a huge amount of traffic. If not, then you need to develop a base of readers and try personally solicited ads instead, so that you can control the fee. Adsense allows advertisers to pay too little to benefit most bloggers. It hasn’t helped me, and I am thinking of doing my own ads instead. Or look for other ad management companies.
My son has had some success. His blog deals with webmaster issues and site development.
http://www.webmaster-source.com/