I started blogging in 2001. I didn't do it for any particular purpose. I didn't intend to make money from it, or to advertise, or to have affiliate links. I just thought "hey, this is interesting. I can write about stuff. Cool."

Since I started my personal blog in 2001, I've written...oh, I don't know, maybe 1700 articles or so? The blog is all over the place: I write about science, I write about kinky sex, I write about computer security, I write about photography, I write about ethics, I write about cats. If it interests me, I write about it.

I still don't have an agenda. I have a Patreon I set up a few months ago, and I talk about my books on my blog, but I don't see it as a way to make money. I just write about...stuff.

Apparently, a lot of folks like the stuff I write about, because over the years it's attracted a startlingly large following. And that following has turned out to be interesting in a lot of ways.

Last December, I blogged about an idea I had to make a strap-on dildo that was covered with sensors attached to a tiny wearable computer that would send signals to the nerves in the vagina, effectively becoming a sort of bionic cock you could actually feel. Within 20 minutes of going up on the blog, I had a phone call from someone who wanted to invest in the idea, and my partner Eve Rickert have founded a tech startup to make it.

I have blogged about being stranded unexpectedly in a strange city, and had people show up to help me out (or just to meet me). I've blogged about being on tour and needing a place to stay, and had people open their homes to me.

It's amazing. You can connect with people in fantastic ways through blogging. I've met people online, and in person, who have told me that things I've written about on my blog have saved their relationships. I've had people tell me things I've written have changed their lives.

That's both inspiring and humbling, and I am grateful to be able to connect to so many people in such an intimate way.

If you see a blog as a way of making money, I think you're missing the most fantastic thing it can be.

To make money with your blog you have to build your audience. If you publish content and don’t promote it no one will ever find your blog. In addition to writing for your blog, you have to guest post on other blogs in your niche, constantly share your content and others content on social media, and find time to give advertisers a reason to work with you.

Making Money from my Blog