The Canadian Capitalist site got a big makeover this week as a result of his new affiliation with MoneySense.ca which is a really good Canadian money magazine. I’m very happy for Ram but I have to say I was extremely disappointed in some of the comments he received on the announcement. Numerous commenters said he sold out and they were disappointed and blah, blah, blah, blah….
I think this is ridiculous – first of all, if you read Money Sense and the Canadian Capitalist then you know that they are a great fit. They both have exactly the same approach to personal finance and investing so I don’t see how there would be any interference from MS. Second of all – Money Sense doesn’t strike me as big business. I suspect that they need Ram a lot more than he needs them so I don’t think they will be trying to influence him at all.
Ramit from I will teach you to be rich has been promoting some self-made products over the last year or so and has gotten a bit of flack. His answer is that people who read blogs and don’t want to pay for anything (including even looking at ads) are free loaders and he’s ok if they leave. I couldn’t agree more – there is nothing wrong with “free” content but you get what you pay for. I’ve been involved in blogland for about 3 years and I’ve seen a lot of blogs come and go. One thing I’ve noticed is that the staying power of blogs has a lot to do with the ability of the blog to earn some money and make continuing the blog worthwhile. Bloggers who aren’t able to monetize their site almost always end up fading away. Readers who say they want Ram to “not sell out” and not make any money might not be so pushy if the result was a formerly great site that hasn’t been updated in ages like so many others.
The rest of the links
Financial Uproar rated the hottest personal finance blog chicks. Sure, it’s sexist but I can’t say I disagree with his list. 😉 Check out his blog too – it’s pretty good.
Canadian Dream had a great post about guilt from not being able to get everything done. He also uses bad words which I liked. 🙂
Krystal got laid off this week – sounds like she got a raw deal.
Million Dollar Journey (aka Kathryn) gave some tips to know when it is time to leave your job.
Squawkfox shows us how to make a budget.
Fiscal Geek asks if there is such a thing as good debt.
Preet has a 4 part series on going bankrupt in Canada.
Financial Blogger says that the media is full of sh*t. Well duh!
Debt Free Adventure got a refinanced home loan and saved a bundle!
The Wisdom Journal says that Net Quote is a good place to look for home owner insurance quotes.
ABCs of Investing wrote about reasons for doing a Roth IRA conversion as well as explaining how to convert to a Roth IRA.
“people who read blogs and don?t want to pay for anything (including even looking at ads) are free loaders and he?s ok if they leave”
Amen to that.
Personally, I have no qualms about admitting that my blog’s primary purpose is a business one (that is, both direct and indirect generation of revenue).
Yes, teaching is great. Discussion is great. Learning is great. But if there was no compensation to be earned, I’d be running a different business rather than blogging for free.
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I don’t think people realize that the more money us bloggers earn, the more time we can justify spending on our blogs. Let’s be realistic here. If your blog makes money, you can spend more time on it. If you spend more time on your blog, readers can expect: more posts, more research, more interaction, and higher quality products.
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If you don’t want to see the ads get no script, if you don’t click, that’s cool but I get irritated when people complain about affiliate links and ads. Look the print newspaper prints more ads than worthwhile material. We pay to host these sites, we pay in countless hours to create good content I don’t see the problem with making the occasional dollar or two. For the most part no one sugar coats reviews for money, we tell it like it is. Buy or don’t buy it doesn’t matter to me but don’t judge me for trying to make some money.
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Nicely said – great point about the monetization helping with the staying power of the blog. I can attest to that. I hope that over time, readers will eventually come to separate the wheat from the chaff on their own anyway, and realize that some blogs are worth the monetization, especially when it enables the blogger/content producers to keep the content “free” for the reader.
I know that some of the content on my own site is pretty high quality for being “free” – I’ve had a few consulting requests from different business/financial outlets and I have received some great compliments from people in a position to make that judgment. This is just to make the point that all of our blogs provide a great service.
We’re not “just” bloggers. Anyone who keeps it up as long as we do, with continued good quality content, is sitting on something worth sharing that others can benefit from. So I agree completely with you here! And big congrats to Ram. I will have to check out the new format.
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It takes A LOT of work to run a popular blog. I can’t even begin to imagine how many hours Ram has spent running the Canadian Capitalist over the years. He posts five times a week. He writes wicked good content. He answers readers’ personal finance questions. And he asks for nothing in return. I can’t think of a personal finance blogger more deserving of success than Ram.
I was horrified when some of his readers — the very people who benefit from his free posts — tore into him for profiting from his blog by striking a meaningful partnership. I understand we Canadians can be wary of success, but being rude and unappreciative is a shock to my system.
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I don’t think leaving comments that are not supportive are considered rude and unappreciative. Often, they are meant to be constructive and help improve the site. Cluttering the site is not improving. Have you ever watched CNN and wished they did not have so much banners flying around? I hope all you bloggers make some money running your sites cuz a labour of love only lasts so long. Just don’t whine when someone leaves a comment unless you say Leave a Nice Comment only.
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BadCaleb – the comments I was referring to were the “you sold out” and “I’m disappointed you did this” type of comments. You’re right that people are entitled to their opinion but that doesn’t mean that I can’t tell them they are wrong! 🙂
I think you know very well I was not talking about the formatting comments which of course means that YOUR comment is a bit out of line.
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Great rant :). I used to agonize over monetizing my site, or throwing up 2 paid posts per year, etc. I worried I would look like a sellout. But about a year ago I realized that if I didn’t make at least a little money off my blog I couldn’t justify the time and expense anymore. Simple as that. I am no big fan of Ramit’s but he’s right about this point. People who don’t click ads, buy products or at least try to ‘evangelize’ (tweets, links, etc.) Can leave if they want. Why should we, as bloggers, care?
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Thanks for the vote of confidence Mike. Many readers love the blog almost as much as I do, so I understand where some of the comments come from (don’t say I agree with all, but certainly understand). And I take constructive criticism in the right spirit and actually am grateful for it. I have developed a pretty thick skin over the years blogging but I can’t pretend that calling it a “sell out” doesn’t sting.
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“people who read blogs and don?t want to pay for anything (including even looking at ads) are free loaders and he?s ok if they leave.”
Amen and amen!
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Best of success to Ram and the blog. Some of the sell out comments fall into my pet theory about personal finance: people spend too much time and money on the wrong things and too little on the right things.
Have a great weekend.
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“He also uses bad words which I liked” So I should swear more on the blog?!?! *evil grin*
Thanks for the link,
Tim
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Thx for the mention!
I am totally with you in regards to blogging. Yes it is cool because we have unique content and there is someone behind the blog. But it is still a business.
I can’t understand people thinking they have their right on a blog since they enjoy its content for free 😉 You can’t complain about something free?!?
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There will always be jealous and cheap people. Ram shouldn’t worry about them. Those who liked his writing will come back. And I agree that that people take blogs as a free way to get important information. You can’t read a book or newspaper for free, so those who read your articles should at least help in.
FB great point: why would anyone think that they can complain about something free??? Oh this is “freedom” without respect.
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Thanks for the mention Mike. As for the CanadianCapitalist and MoneySense merger, I think that it’s a great fit!
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I honestly think all of these canadian bloggers are in bed together – they simply post on each other’s site back and forth like inbreeding. Of course they stick up for one another and comment towards that fact that they’ve all made the “right move” but honestly…. are you kidding me….. it’s for money. Don’t BS us like it’s “the right fit” blah , blah, blah…. it was the right PAY! Be honest…. the rest of CC, MDJ, FP, are usually honest… so why BS your readers now??? Anyways – my rant was almost over, but I remebered that these bloggers are actually trying to make the readers feel bad for posting their feelings to ward the move – you’re lucky the bulk of your readers are Gen-X/ Baby Boomers……. the GenY/Z are coming and we truly call BS as we see it.
Good luck…..
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AUM – Who said it wasn’t about the money? Of course that is why CC and MS are doing a partnership. The point is that both CC & MS had similar opinions towards investing and personal finance before the partnership which I think means that they are a good fit.
Thanks for leaving your first comment ever on this blog (unlike all the other Canadian bloggers) 🙂
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@AUM, seriously, where in “it’s a good fit” supposely BS, it says that is wasn’t a good fit in term of:
– making the blog a substainable business
– helping Ram continuing writing free high quality content for the next 5 years (have you ever done something requiring hours of work per week for people you barely know fo free for 5 years and never ask anything in return?)
In a business perspective, it is an awesome fit!
You can say you are dispointed all the way down… which kind of right do you own on any of those blogs? Did you ever contributed to them or you just stop by and read for free? I’m glad if you enjoy our free content, but don’t complain and you realize that the guy who is writing the blog is trying to make a few bucks out of it!
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I think it’s always nice to ‘see another brother get ahead’ so to speak, and I think your comments serve justice to what has been said about CC.
In my view, CC has grinded it out over the years and deserves this opportunity. I agree with TFB, I think its an awesome fit.
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@ Are u KiddingMe: I don’t think I have ever gotten a back link/round up mention from either Four Pillars or CC, but does that mean I’m not going to visit their sites or contribute by commenting/participating even though I’m also a Canadian blogger? Get real. I like what I read and see, it’s that simple.
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Rat – actually I did link to you (once) https://moneysmartsblog.com/2009/11/06/some-canadian-linkstuff-ing-referral-code-and-book-links/
If you have a post that you would like me to consider for a roundup then feel free to email it to me.
qffpillars AT gmail DOT com
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@Mike: Holy crap, you did didn’t you! My bad my bad. 🙂
I was just trying to prove a point in my last comment to AreuKiddingMe that all PF bloggers aren’t in it for the money. Anybody who’s blogging will quickly realize that it’s definitely one of the least lucrative areas to earn money and with a lot of people, they’re in it for the fun of it.
BTW – I will hit you up a post from time to time to consider for your roundup! Sorry about the oversight.
Cheers,
The Rat
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