Home blogging Why I Sold My Blog

Why I Sold My Blog

Posted on July 12, 2010 Written by 15 Comments

When I announced the sale of my blog, I tried to keep it low key. I especially didn’t get into the whys and how muches because I didn’t think they were important. I still don’t feel the amount of the sale is very important, and we won’t go there, but after fielding many questions from Twitter, Facebook and my former blog’s community, I feel it’s important to the people who visited my blog each day to know why I decided to move on.

Moving in Another Direction

I wrote about freelance writing and how to find freelance writing jobs for over five years. For the last six months or so, I haven’t really been feeling it and it shows in my writing. The truth is, I haven’t freelanced as a writer for quite some time. I coach occasionally and write the odd article or guest post, but most of my income came from my blog and social media clients. My options were to continue writing for the blog, hire someone to replace me, or sell.

It was time for me to move on. It was either grow as Deb Ng or continue being the freelance writing lady. As I don’t do much freelancing anymore, it really didn’t make much sense to keep it going. Now I’m talking about the things I really want to talk about and it feels good. I feel free.

Free Up My Time

Running a blog network is a full time job. Now add to that a book I’m writing, my job as conference director for BlogWorld, some other projects and family time. When I ran down the list of things that had to give,  it was obvious that I would never have time for my book project and growing my social media career while managing a blog network with almost a dozen bloggers on the payroll.  Now I have time to do my job, write, blog and even have plenty of family time.

Not Enamored with the Niche

I’ve been participating in the freelance writing online community for more than ten years. In that time I’ve seen it turn from a helpful, almost family-like community into one that’s divided over rates and content mills. I took heat for choosing to remain positive and was accused of being whiny if I defended my decisions. To be honest, I dreaded discussing certain topics or participating in certain discussions because of all the negativity. I didn’t visit certain blogs for feeling unwelcome. I didn’t always enjoy being part of the niche. They say if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. I decided to let the terrorists win and do just that.

The Money Isn’t Important…But it Is

My family is renovating and then we want to move from our starter home to a better neighborhood. While we’re not poor, the money from a sale would go a long way towards helping us to achieve our goal. It will also be nice to make purchases (like an iPad) without feeling guilty. Also, having money in the bank will enable me to work on the projects I enjoy without feeling pressure about money.

So, inquiring minds, those are the main reasons I sold my blog.  As you can see, it’s a difficult decision and much of it is personal. However, I have no regrets and feel it’s the best move for me, and for my former blog’s community.

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  • http://www.plagiarismtoday.com Jonathan Bailey

    I think everyone reaches a point where they just need/want out and there’s nothing wrong with that. You had a GREAT run with your blog and built up an incredible site. If you aren’t in love with it, you’ll only be dragging it down and it is best to pass it on to someone who will do the things with it you can’t or don’t want to.

    In short, I support and understand your decision completely.

  • http://wordsforhirellc.com/blog Karen Swim

    Deb, congratulations! Over the years I was a quiet member of your community but no less of a fervent supporter. I started my own professional writing career just over 5 years ago and your site was one of the first that made me feel that I was part of something real. Change never comes easy but is necessary and I applaud you for continuing to grow as a professional. You could have continued half-heartedly but you made the brave decision to act in the best interest of yourself and your readers. I hear ya about the freelance “community.” I look forward to this new chapter Deb and will support you here as well.

  • http://www.alittlegreenereveryday.com Robin

    Hey Deb,

    I enjoyed reading your reasons but I didn’t feel like you owed anyone an explanation. It’s not uncommon for people to change careers, and selling your blog to move your writing in another direction is kind of like changing careers, isn’t it?

    Still, I’m glad you did what you did for those five years, because if for the first three or so of them, I relied on your blog a lot. And it was because of your blog that I was able to stop relying on it.

    Thanks.

  • Jeremy Reed

    Good for you. Smart decision and, I would say, perfect timing all around. You’ve earned it.

  • http://www.poewar.com PoeWar

    I do think there is a limit to how long you can write about a topic unless you move to the point of just discussing new developments in the field (if there are new developments). I have been entertaining a change of topic for years, and I’ve also thought about dropping blogging altogether. Those are tough choices to make though.

    I agree that the family feeling of the writing niche isn’t what it used to be. Freelancing also isn’t what it used to be. So many more people are trying it (many out of desperation) and the field has become more competitive and less friendly. I’m determined to carry on at least through 30 Days of Poetry in September (the high point of my blogging year), but I am evaluating my options and will almost certainly make some sort of change in the near future.

  • http://getpaidtowriteonline.com Sharon Hurley Hall

    I’d like to echo what Karen said, Deb. I started reading your blog when I started freelancing five years ago and it’s been part of my daily routine since then. It’s sometimes hard to know when it’s time to do something new; well done you for taking a tough decision.

  • http://www.veronicashine.com Veronica Shine

    You made the right decision for you Deb.

    I tend to steer away from confrontational discussions and find them to be senseless. I always respected you for having to listen to some of things thrown at you. On a personal note, I would not have been able to keep my composure in that manner that you did for so long. I applaud you for that.

  • http://homeloanninjas.com homeloan_ninja

    Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. ~Dr. Seuss

    do your thang. be. your. self.

  • http://www.workhappynow.com Karl Staib – Work Happy Now

    Selling your blog is not an easy decision, but it looks like you made the right one. Why continue doing work you aren’t that passionate about any longer? It’s silly.

    Now you can branch out and do projects that excite you. There is a bit of envy in me, but at the same time I know how hard you’ve worked to get to where your are. I still have some work to do before that happens. It’s all a part of the journey. You seem to understand that and appreciate it. I’m just glad that you helped so many freelance writers find work.

  • http://patsteer.com Pat Steer

    Deb, we can’t always write about the same thing, every day, forever. I’ve been living with cancer since 2004, but I can’t write about it every day. I’ve been training dogs for 30+ years, and sometimes it feels like I *have* written something about it nearly every day. But being able to switch between the two, and to add a food blog, has been the key (for me) to keeping my writing in each area fresh. I’ve read FWJ for a long time (and still read it.) And now I’m enjoying your perspective in a new area. Way to evolve – and here’s hoping it stays a good place to be for you for quite awhile.

  • Margaret

    Deb, The fact that you just disclosed all that shows the commitment you had to the writing community. Thanks for that. Like the others who commented, I applaud your decision to leave when you needed to, and wish you the best.

  • http://freelancewritinggigs.com Deb Ng

    This is where I wish I could get the darn nesting feature to work so I don’t have to scroll up and down to reply to all the comments.

    @jonathan – You and I began our blogs around the same time, if I’m not mistaken. It’s been a pleasure watching you grow into such an important resource. Thanks for your support, I’ll continue to watch your progress and grow our friendship.

    @Karen – Thanks! My biggest fear (besides the blog going to crap after I’m gone ) is that my community will be upset with me. I did hear from a few people who were disappointed and upset, but for the most part they understand that I’m tapped out.

    @Robin – You’ve been with me since day one and I can’t tell you what an honor that is. I’ll always treasure our friendship and now that I’m free we have to make plans for that lunch.

    @Jeremy – Thanks. I think it’s better to go out with dignity than die a slow death. The freelance writing community deserves better.

    @poewar – I read an interesting Tweet last week by a writer who said she used to subscribe to all the writing blogs to learn more about freelancing. Now she subscribes to one because everyone says the same thing anyway. She’s right. Everyone talks about the same thing and no one is saying anything new. And yes, the community has changed mostly because, I think, freelance writing has become a Work from Home!!! job and the competitive-ness of it all has changed a lot of attitudes.

    @Sharon – Thanks, Sharon. We’ll always have Twitter. Thanks for following me here.

    @Ninja – Love the quote. Will keep it with me.

    @Karl – It was a tough decision, but the right decision. When you stop enjoying what you do, it effects both your personal and professional life. I have a new spring in my step, and I like it!

    @Pat – Thanks! I’m glad you’re here and hope you won’t be a stranger?

    @Margaret – Thanks. I understand that this decision disappointed (and even shocked) a few people. Now hopefully they can understand better.

  • http://inkwelleditorial.com Yuwanda Black

    Deb:

    How gracious of you to provide an explan ation — but you really didn’t “owe” it to anybody.

    I wrote in to say, boy do I feel ya about dreading discussing certain topics in freelance writing (ie, rates). I get such guff when this topic rears its frequent head that I just cringe when I do have to go there (but I always do!).

    Anyway, good luck to you. I’m following you here and look forward to your new adventures :-)

  • http://mistisandefur.com Misti Sandefur, Christian Fiction Author

    First, congratulations on the sale!

    I’m a long-time reader of FWJ, and I use to comment there more frequently than I have in the past year or two. I now stay busy writing for clients and trying to fit in time for my personal projects that I don’t get around to commenting on my favorite blogs as often as I use to. However, a few weeks ago I decided to redo my schedule so I could begin communicating on my favorite blogs again and doing more social media. I’m confident I can stick to this schedule, because I really miss communicating with everyone.

    I realize selling FWJ wasn’t an easy decision for you, but I’m glad to hear you’ll still be around in the virtual world. I know you sold FWJ to focus on a different niche that you love, and based on what I’ve read since the sale, it seems as if you’re enjoying the change, which is a good thing. Sometimes we have to let go of the things we loved and put a lot of hard work into to move on to something else… something that could be bigger than our first project.

    On a final note, I learned a lot from FWJ over the years, so thank you for sharing the information that helped me advance in my freelance writing career! May the Lord continue to bless you!

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