Blogging and Begging

~ beetleypete

Some bloggers have ‘Affiliate’ sites. They act as a conduit for retailers or specific products, and if you click through their site to buy them, they get a small commission.
That’s fine with me. The bloggers almost always state that fact from the outset, and they are just trying to make some money whilst featuring books, or other products.

Occasionally, a blogging friend faces genuine hardship. Maybe a bereavement, or serious illness. They might ask for a personal donation to help them out.
That’s fine with me too. I can choose to help them, or not. Mostly, I do.

Then there are those bloggers raising money for a charity close to their heart. They might be fundraising for medical charities after surviving an illness, or running a marathon to help out an animal rescue shelter. If they ask me to support them through a valid donation site, that’s fine with me as well.

However, I have noticed a recent trend is on the increase, and I don’t care for that at all. I saw on the sites of a few new followers that they are asking me to ‘Buy me a cup of coffee’.
In other words, send them some money that they may or may not spend on coffee. Why would I do that? I don’t ask anyone online to buy me anything, let alone the coffee I drink. You people are embarrassing yourselves, believe me. This is just begging by electronic means. I think it has no place on blogging platforms. Anyone else agree?

Then there are the ‘blatant’ beggars.

They put things like this on their sites. “If you enjoy this blog, please consider making a donation so I can continue to keep blogging”. Or, “Donate now, to see more great stuff”.
These bloggers have ‘Payment’ buttons on their sites, linked to companies like Paypal or Western Union.

Why would I ever want to send money to a stranger so that they can continue to blog? The platform is FREE, let’s not forget that. It costs them nothing except for their time, and if that is so valuable to them, I suggest they get a job instead.

So, buy your own coffee, and pay for your own time at blogging.

And if you are just blogging to beg for money, be honest about it.

71 thoughts on “Blogging and Begging”

  3. I noted this when I was teaching blogging Pete, and many students wanted to make money doing it!?! I told them it was not likely unless they had a product, but I suggested they didn’t pitch it every blog article. Oh well, some people are always looking for ways to make money. It’s not why I read blogs.

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    1. Thanks, Lara. It’s fine if they just want to try to make money, as long as they make it clear that their blog is ‘commercial’. Then I can just ignore it. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  10. I only enjoy writers who let me know how I can buy their books. I have been able to buy a number of books that way. That makes sense to me since I enjoy their writing on their blog. I really dislike the idea that I have to support someone so they can write a blog unless it is a particular service I enjoy. For instance, I give money once a year(and he only asks once a year) to a blog which discusses the daily New York Times crossword puzzle(my passion.) I wouldn’t have to, but I really do appreciate the amount of work he puts into it.

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    1. They are both good examples of when it is worth someone paying for what they enjoy. I have bought many books advertised by fellow bloggers too. But I refuse to send someone money so they can go backpacking in Thailand, write their own book as an online blog, or try out various restaurants. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  11. In a similar vein, I have seen a lot of ridiculous Go Fund Me campaigns online lately. I should give money so that some stranger can get a motorcycle? The problem with these copycat vultures is they make one gun-shy to give to any charitable cause.

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  12. I have seen the coffee comment but have never given a donation in response to such a request. I actually never really thought about it much at all. I have also helped fellow bloggers where I consider it is something I want to do to help someone and I am happy to do that if I have the money available to give.

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    1. I have made many donations to ‘genuine bloggers’ in this community, Robbie. But this ‘donations and coffee’ thing on general blogs is really getting on my nerves. Yes, we can just ignore them, but I think they also need to be exposed for what they are.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Thanks, Jaquie. It is definitely a ‘growing trend’ in blogging. Hence why I have broken my previous silence about how much this irritates me. People blog on free platforms, then try to get money. That is not what blogging should be about, in my opinion.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      2. oh i am with you, Pete. and i’m sure we all have our own little charities. but asking donations here, in this particular site, is definitely not acceptable to me. 🙂

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  16. This makes me feel bad because of my posts today and because of last year. I agree that it’s getting out of hand with some people. I don’t make anything off the deal I featured today and last year I was so ashamed to even ask. I know I meet your exclusions on your post. I just have been feeling guilty but still very thankful for the help I received last year. I know I shouldn’t because it was a miracle and saved my family. Anyways, I guess I am rambling on again and not great at explaining myself. Lol. This is a great post, my friend. I can see why you wrote it. You’re right this is a free service and the people that do it constantly it makes me feel off put.

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    1. You are completely excluded from what I am talking about, Dani. That’s why I put those first paragraphs in, as I have also supported charity runners and walkers.
      This is just about the growing number of people who expect me to support their ‘blogging experience’, while they enjoy travelling, or not working. You work hard, as I know only too well.
      Don’t concern yourself that it has anything to do with you, or anyone else in your situation. 🙂
      Best wishes as always, Pete. xx

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  19. 🙂 Your points are indeed valid.

    However, I would like to point out, that are people who blog for a living; they would starve without the incoming finances.

    I blog for the fun of it; therefore, you would not see any such widget that pertains to buying me coffee or affiliate links on my blog.

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  20. I get what you mean, Pete.

    I only consider it when the blogger is passing on knowledge that I value. So there’s a guy who has been making YouTube videos for years. He passes on a lot of ideas and knowledge that I don’t get anywhere else. It’s basically his full time job, and I don’t mind passing on a pound or so every now and again in cases like that.

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    1. I can see that, Ian. I have used ‘un-boxing’ tutorials on You Tube, and would be happy to pay for such ‘expertise’, if asked to do so. But I’ll be buggered if I will send money so someone can go travelling around the far east, then write about it. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. Damn! And there I was just getting ready to plan a trip to Australia and New Zealand so I could blog about it for you and now you say you won’t fund me!

        Seriously such people p**s me off. Go pick some grapes!

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  21. I agree with you, Pete. And I’m glad that you’ve addressed this as I am seeing more and more of it too. As for me…I’m honored that anyone would take time to read my blog. That’s very satisfying to me. I wouldn’t think of asking someone to pay to read it. I would be embarrassed to do so. There are so many great bloggers writing about the same thing I write about and, many great bloggers writing about much more important things than what I’m writing about. Even so, I wouldn’t pay them to read their blog. Thanks for blogging about this.

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  22. Pete, I agree with much of what you wrote. If you are a daily follower of that blog, the looming ‘send me money’ is waved in your face every day. It gets old. One nice thing about reading blogs through reader is that you cannot see those things. I do, however, visit my favorite blogs through their URL because I like to see the format of photos, etc., as the blog owner intended. I am saving my coffee buying for the off chance I may meet face-to-face someday. Then I would be happy to buy! Patron was created so people can support artists/writers they like, so why add it to your blog, too?

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  23. The real mind-blowing thing is streaming gamers. Watch one session and see the donations come in. I’ve seen everything from a dollar to 500 dollars, real people giving money to these folks for playing a game. Imagine that system for writers.

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  24. I have to confess unless someone makes an actual comment I never visit sites who just follow me without any dialogue, so I don’t tend to see this kind of thing. Stay away from the sites Pete then you won’t get annoyed 🙂

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    2. When I am truly bored / or it is raining then I go through my followers and check out their sites. It is surprising how many have 1 post from months ago. They and all the religious ones, make-up and beauty, motherhood are deleted. They never comment anyway and follow me so I will follow them I guess. If someone comments then I will have a look at their site, but I have enough blogs to follow without adding more.

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  25. I have the buy me a coffee button on my homepage but don’t advertise it as there is something a bit cringe worthy about asking for money or advertising it…I did make mention of the button once when I added it but nothing since. To be honest, as I’d seen others adding it, I decided to add it too. I mean to remove it but keep forgetting… the actual site this goes through always seems to want me to “upgrade” my service with them but I don’t see any need for it. And in reality, the blog is my hobby and keeps me entertained and I’m happy to spend my own money on it! Xxx

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    1. Thanks, Suzi. The button on its own is obviously a ‘take it or leave it’ option. It’s when each blog post ends with the ‘Now buy me a coffee or contribute’ stuff that I get irritated. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  26. Well put, Pete. I agree. I’ll also add that lately I’ve seen statements like, “I’ve been told I need to gather an on-line base for my upcoming book/music release/fill in the blank so that is why I’m writing this blog”
    Ick.
    I came to that/those blog(s) because the article was interesting, but I feel ‘used’ and thus I quit following…(also, they tend to not respond to comments which added to that decision).

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    1. The people building a supposed ‘fan base’ to launch personal projects are not real bloggers, in my opinion. They are ‘one-project’ bloggers, and have no real interest in being part of the community.
      Thanks, Laura.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  27. I can, and can’t understand the whole “buy me a cup of coffee” thing. Blogging can still be expensive, even if people haven’t upgraded and are still using the free version. I, myself understand this as the drinks I make to pair with different books can get very expensive (especially, as I live in Canada where the cost of alcohol is bloody CRAZY!) And, there have been many times that it’s been a challenge because the drink that I’m pairing is not to my tastes, but pairs PERFECTLY with the book. So, I buy the ingredients and make it anyways for those who would like that sort of thing (I’m not a fan of sweet things). So, I could understand needing help with costs..
    IN SAYING THAT, I have never actually asked anyone for money, myself because it was also my choice to pair my books with booze to set my blog apart from other book review sites (and because I love it!). But, that’s because, although I love my blog and enjoy it immensely, I don’t look at my content and think “man, people should give me money for this stuff!” I feel that if you’re asking for money, you should be giving people something that is WORTH money! 😅😉🍻

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    1. Thanks for your thoughts, Nicole. I think if someone wants to spend money on a blog, especially travelling to blog about it, or cooking recipes to show them online, then they should pay for it themselves, and not expect others to. If it’s that expensive, then they could just show some ‘teasers’, and ask people to subscribe for more content. That’s easily done too. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  29. I used to have a rule if I ever passed someone who was down on there luck sitting in the street, rather than giving money I would roll them a few cigarettes or buy them a coffee or a sandwich. Those that actually asked for cash tended to be the professional beggars so I think I would have to take the same view as you Pete and steer clear.

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