Going Forward

I’ve decided to blog less. I posted daily (mostly) for two years, with the theory that my efforts would be compensated in four ways.

1. Advertising dollars
2. Compiling the best posts into a book.
3. Growing the audience for Dilbert
4. Artistic satisfaction.

Readership of The Dilbert Blog is growing rapidly, but at about the same rate people figure out how to use RSS feeds to get the content without the ads. So there’s no longer a correlation between how hard I work and the ad income I earn. It topped out at “trivial,” even while the audience grew to substantial.

My book based on the blog posts, STICK TO DRAWING COMICS, MONKEY-BRAIN! got great reviews for content, but angry reactions in people who feel that other people, who didn’t read the content on the Internet, and never will, should not buy the book, to protect the rights of the people who already read it on the Internet, and might want to read it again for free sometime. You win.

I hoped that people who loved the blog would spill over to people who read Dilbert, and make my flagship product stronger. Instead, I found that if I wrote nine highly popular posts, and one that a reader disagreed with, the reaction was inevitably “I can never read Dilbert again because of what you wrote in that one post.” Every blog post reduced my income, even if 90% of the readers loved it. And a startling number of readers couldn’t tell when I was serious or kidding, so most of the negative reactions were based on misperceptions.

Lastly, the blog has been a source of tremendous artistic satisfaction. I enjoyed being relatively uncensored, and interacting with the readers on fun topics. That’s why I will continue blogging, albeit less controversially. I’ll just do it less often, especially over the holidays. It’s hard to tell the family I can’t spend time with them because I need to create free content on the Internet that will lower our income.

Try www.reader.google.com to see blog posts without the ads.

Comments

[poetryman69]

stick to the knitting

dance with the one that brung ya

etc.

---qkq

[Amber]

Well, I agree with ya...

I have been reading Dilbert since I was like 9 years old. I searched for Dilbert on the internet to see if I could find somewhere to buy the books, and I found your site here... and so I subscribed to the Dilbert Blog.

I don't know what RSS feed is... But I prefer to just read stuff on the net.

Now that I'm all grown up, and am pursuing my degree in computer science with concentration in Computer Programming, and working for a big company as a data specialist (which was in no way inspired purely by Dilbert comics lol), I plaster Dilbert comics all over the walls of my cubicle.

I read on!! Keep on Bloggin!

[ulindi]

I just wanted to let you know that after reading your post, i went and furiously clicked on all your banner ads, and followed paths way way down until i was being offered mugs, calendars and balloons with pigpen on them. I then retuned to your blog and did it all again. Not something I ever do.

While I can unfortunately not purchase from these sites being from south africa, I hope I helped your ad servs even just a little bit. :)

thanks for a great blog

ulindi
south africa

[Dave L]

Monetizing a blog is part art, part science. Traffic has little to do with it, as long as you meet minimums. I looked at some numbers for the (often reviled) John Chow blog and found he was making 14.7 cents per visitor. Even removing some of the things I wouldn't do, he was still making 8.8 cents per visitor.

And his traffic has held steady the better part of a year, while income goes up each month, now without traffic from Google. Why not turn monetizing your blog over to a different (set of) professional(s)?

[toivo]

Just start another promotional feed? for companies that want to advertise on dilbertblog.

[Hemant Waghe]

Pls pls pls for gods sake bring Asok back. He made us proud all indians.I am in the process of starting " Bring Asok Back" community on Orkut.
Pls mail me on [email protected]
Hemant

[Charlie]

Feedburner.

I only read on the subway via mobile RSS... I can't make time for the site during the day at work... just put ads in the feed!

[Stephen]

I agree with Claudia (December 05).

Although I totally understand your motives, and have enormously enjoyed your blog for a couple of years, I've now deleted The Dilbert Blog from my Bloglines feeds.

I did this because of the way you've now abbreviated your posts in the feed so that to read the full post I am now obliged to go to your site instead of comfortably reading within Bloglines.

I think it is admirable that you'd rather spend time with your family than entertain me, and that you wish to secure a more reliable income stream for them.

However, as you said in your recent 'Free T-Shirts' post "I don’t like it when companies use my torso for their marketing". I don't like it when my attention is so blatantly used to generate your income.

Actually it makes me a little sad that it's come to this. I will miss your enlightened writings and I may drop in to the site every now and then.

Good luck, I wish you success.

[Guipo]

Good Choice.

[Quincy]

dance monkey dance

[Claudia]

Please do not blog less. I relate to you as well as Dilbert. Reading Dilbert and your Blog on a daily basis as I enter my cube each morning have become the highlight of my work day.

There is even a fan club established where I send out the Daily Funny. If they do not receive it, they ask "Hey, where is my funny!" There is a growing fan base within Verizon for Dilbert!

Maybe Dilbert and the Test Man could travel about the country together! You never know....

But please do not blog less, some of us rely on it like my $5+ cup of Starbucks, they got me too!

Claudia

[Jake]

I used to read your blog regulary, but I unsubscribed from your feed when you moved to partial feeds... it interputs my reading flow. The only real reason I have ads blocked is because they are banners. I never click banners. The only ads I will ever click are text ads, and those not too often.

[Joe]

Please don't blog less often ! This is often the highlight of my day, and certainly my favorite thing to read online.

[crs]

"For today here is your standing ovation, we're all applauding in hopes of an encore, applauding because of how good the show was, applauding because of how bad all the other bullshit sucks, applauding because you put your heart into it. Applauding because you made us a functional part of your show.
the twice dead prophet'

Quoted from a much earlier poster. I'm there. I wanted to simply say "thanks for the memories" and mean it. When Bill Watterson quit I wrote him a letter and told him he was stupid. He was of course brilliant but he was stupid for quitting on us and his wonderful unique connection with us. I think a part of him must have died when he left.

You've still got Dilbert and your once-in-a-while blog. Thank you. please don't go getting stupid on us.

[Maria]

I've also had responses to blog posts like, "How can you not support the war? I'll never buy any of your books again!"

But it's more important for me to be true to myself -- and my readers -- than to make a few whiners happy by walking the thin line and keeping my true thoughts and feelings and ideas to myself.

Ask yourself: Why do I really blog? Isn't it to share what's going on in your mind with the world? And to get it down in writing so it's always there for you to look back on and remember?

That's why I blog.

And I do read Dilbert every day.

[Paul]

The purpose of RSS is not "to get content without the ads", it is to provide not only a means to be informed of updates to sites, but also to read them. By limiting the feed to a "blurb", the second and most important aspect of an RSS feed is lost.

Now in order to get click-through, your blurb needs to be compelling enough to bother reading further - whereas before, the hook could come at any point. It is an artificial point at which a decision is made.

Writing a blog is hard work, especially on a daily basis. I hope you have received some reward from your efforts, even if not in the revenue kind. You always appear to have fun playing with the robots.

Perhaps you'll find that the blurb experiment doesn't alter your revenue or your enjoyment of blogging, and you'll revert to the previous setup. Albeit with less frequency.

I hope so.. I have a stack of RSS feeds I like to get through and the ones that have content are the ones I prioritise. I haven't yet found a reason to click through the recent entries - though before I enjoyed many of your posts.

[Stanley Miller]

Hey Scott, Maybe it is time for blogging to change. Blogging itself has become far too serious, no? And, as you've noted the economics under the current model don't necessarily add up.

At Stanley Miller Media we hope to lighten things up a bit on the content side by introducing a new format called the "sitblog." (Basically a blogging version of the old media sitcom.) On the revenue side we believe we can generate higher (and more meaningful) sponsored income by making everyday products and services part of the storylines (e.g. Doritos sponsoring Colbert's campaign). We'll have interactive income - so to speak. :)

Our first project to launch in early 2008 is titled "MegaMistakes" hosted at MegaMistakes.com. MegaMistakes stars the Megan family (Donald, Donna, DixeTheDog, Dick, and their neighbor Rob) all of whom (except for Rob) recently decided to quit their day jobs to blogcast (and dogcast) their lives online.

Meet the Megans
--------------------------

Main site: MegaMistakes.com

Cast and sites:

Donald Megan - DonaldMegan.com
Donna Megan - Donnanomics.com
DixieTheDog - DixieTheDog.com
Dick Megan - DickMegan.com
Rob (TheGuru) - AccidentalEmpires.com

Donald Megan - The patriarch of the family. Practitioner of entrepreneurial methods. Loves bloggging. A likeable misfit. Makes many mistakes. Blogs at DonaldMegan.com. Most recently, misallocated resources into DonaldsDonuts.com. Currently applying to be distributor for cosmic ceiling maker StarScapes.com.

Donna Megan - Donald's wife of two years. Can't live without her organizational therapist. Loves shopping. Advises on bargains, shopping, and credit cards at Donnanomics.com

DixeTheDog - Donald's nemesis. Produces mini-rock opera's for entrepreneurs through iTunes. Currently going through a Stevie Nicks phase. Likes products from PetSmart. Blogs about Donald, pet issues, and current events at DixieTheDog.com. Also responsible for all site administration of MegaMistakes.com and character sites.

Dick Megan - Donald's father. A cleaner version of the dirty old man. Likes wings from Hooters and Craftsman tools. Donna finds him tolerable. Dixie is indifferent. Blogs at DickMegan.com

Robert McGavin – Used to date Donna. Now lives next door to the Megan's. Successful internet entrepreneur and consultant. Advises companies on search engine optimization and word-of-mouth marketing. Self-described expert at creating buzz. Blogs at AccidentalEmpires.com. Dixie views herself as Rob’s protégé.

More Parts And Junk
-----------------------
We have other projects in development as well: The father-and-son team at PartsAndJunk.com. The coffee themed DeliciousCup.com owned by two sisters and later to spin-off DoubleDeliciousCup.com. Then there's a clan of friendly aliens over at OnThePerimeter.com all experts in tech and surveillance products. And even a radio station, BurnishedVoice.com, where Hannity and Franken-like hosts can trade barbs.

So what do you think? And, would you be interested in getting involved? Perhaps writing one or more characters? As an advisor? Partnership? I'm a long time fan of Dilbert and your books. I believe you're writing and point-of-view would be a perfect match.

If you or your readers would like to help, please drop me a note to stan 'at' stanleymillermedia.com.

[Megha]

Hey Scott,

Have loved reading your blog for an year now. And yes, Google reader does simplify the reading experience though its fair that you've limited the view of your blog on its feed. The only unfortunate part is that now I have to wait until weekend to read your week's blog as office has firewalled your blog :)) Hope this decision of your brings you the moolah you are after. Else, it will be a lose-lose situation !

Megha

[Kila Morton]

As some of the others have said, you should only blog if doing so is what you want to do. You have actually violated one of the top blogging 'rules' - never blog just because you want to make money. Your heart will never be completely in it. Also, you have to realize that not everyone is going to agree with you. That is a part of life. However, negative comments offer you additional things to blog about. You shouldn't see the fact that someone voiced an opinion that was opposite to you as something awful. Good posts often spur debate and opinionated writers spur even more debate. Use that as a catalyst. It may be that you aren't used to people talking back to you :-) and if that is the case, well I can't help you there.

[Rolf Marvin Bøe Lindgren]

I disagree with everything you write and by association, with everything said by anybody who is similar to you in any way, real or imagined. I will continue to read Dilbert anyway. Please keep on blogging.

[David Anderson]

I love your blog, especially the controversial posts. Now that I know the twisted, edgy, geeky soul behind Dilbert, I read it more often than I used to.

[faithful reader]

couldnt be bothered to read the above.

BOOO HIISSSS

[DC]

My favorite part of this post is how you suggest we can view the blog posts without ads by using the google reader, but then you immediately change the blog so that using google reader no longer shows the entire blog post. Feels like multiple people are running different aspects of this show...

[Anonymous]

Or you know, you could just do what other people in your position have done and (a) add advertisements to your RSS feed, and (b) only show a blurb of the post in the RSS and force them to click-through to get the full post.

I use RSS so that I don't have to open 150 tabs in my browser every morning, and for the blogs that I enjoy reading that use the burbs, I just click through.

You sound awfully defeated, man.

[jim]

I know you are mis-interpreted all the time. And I know you are not saying this exactly. But it does seem like you are blaming us for not continuing this blog. We are using RSS feeds now. We didn't buy your monkey brain book. We suck.

You know what? I like reading the Dilbert blog. It exercises my mind. But if you don't like doing it, don't do it. I would imagine you have more money than 99.99% of the readers, so don't expect the "i did this to get more money" angle to get any sympathy.

I would agree that your family is most important (well, it is since you don't have that God thing going for you). And that is also a complicated argument. If writing this blog makes you happy, and that pushes over to how you respond to your family, then continue it. If it is stressful because you want to be spending more time with them than doing this, then don't do it. If there is some balance in between, we, your loyal readers, would appreciate it.