Hakkerman over at HakkerBlog doesn’t want to buy you coffee. Coffee here refers to the “Buy Me a Coffee” or “Ko‑Fi” buttons you might have seen around in other blogs. He comes off a bit grumpy, so I like him already. He has this disclaimer in place:

Do note that this is a slightly negative post, there is alot of negativity on the internet at the moment. Take a moment to reflect if you want to expose yourself to more negativity. There are plenty of positive posts out there as well :)

I like this disclaimer, and I understand why he put it up. Some folks (me included at times) are tired of negative, critical posts, and this being one of them, you get a fair warning. Appreciated.

Before I continue, I want to quote what I think his point is:

…Hobbies cost money, you need to accept it. Turning them into a net gain is a fools errand; there magnitutde (of) more effective ways to turn your time, effort and money into income.

Yes, hobbies cost money. Absolutely.

I’d say that passion and money, while they can co‑exist, often compete with each other for your attention like two kids chanting “are we there yet” in the back seat of your car while you’re driving.

If you’re writing for money, then you probably treat your writing as a job (or a second job, or a third, whatever the case may be), and chances are you don’t enjoy it as often. Yes, in this case writing can be fun, but it’s usually a math of how much time you can spend on it, what is considered to be a “trendy” topic, what gets you a higher SEO score, who’s your crowd (hence creepy analytics), etc.

On the other hand, if you want to do something mostly because you like it, it doesn’t matter as much who you write for, why, and how. You just do it. This means you often (but not always) think less about what you’re saying on your blog, which, in general, you want to do less when you blog. At least in my experience.

Creating something out of passion is creating something for yourself, because you want it to be; creating something for money is creating something for someone else, because you want them to buy it from you.

Now after I’ve agreed with what Hakkerman says in his post so far, it’s time to admit that I’m one of those guys who used to ask for coffee. Or Ko‑Fi, in my case.

Yes, I have an account, and yes, I even got a few dollars through it. I had a Ko‑Fi button and Liberapay on my website for a while. I took those down when something broke (I forget what) and didn’t bother putting them back up.

So what’s up with that?

I think there’s some of a middle ground, though I’d say I’m in the camp of the passionate bloggers. I explained it before, and I’m pretty much on the same page today. I look at those buttons as tips or tokens of appreciation. When I first put those buttons up on my site, I made this point: “money can express gratitude. Tipping. It’s even called gratuity.” Importantly, I also said this: “A tip does not mean I’m going to adjust my writing to someone’s liking because they tipped me. That would be payment, which I refuse to receive.”

Coming to think of it, I said a few more worthwhile things, so why won’t you just click the link above? And don’t forget to like and subscribe…! I kid, I kid! Yeesh, you guys are a tough audience.

Many years ago, I worked as a barista at Starbucks (before Schultz left. And it was a nice store in Jersey. And they had a pretty decent health insurance, OK? Leave me alone.) We had our regulars, and we liked these people. They were nice, they knew us on a first-name basis, and we smiled when we saw them because we wanted to, not because we had to. It was nice to welcome these folks to our store, even though they were paying customers, because they were never just that.

There was Tom, the guy with the funny haircut and the round glasses, and Stacy, who had the poodle that begged for scraps outside all the time, and Albert, who always had a funny story that made us laugh. These were the people who stayed at the store after closing hours, the ones who got free pastries at the end of the day, the folks who would ask us about our exams and about our families, and we asked about theirs.

And yes, they also gave us tips. Some were pretty generous tips.

I never thought of this as a form of payment from them, or even, if you think about it, as a form of bribery. These were just nice people. Honestly, I’d treat them the same even if I didn’t see a single dollar from them, just because they were who they were. The money was nice, sure, but Stacy, who always asked for her Latte to be “hotter than the sun”? She’d get it no matter what. As cliché as it sounds, I liked the smile on her face, and when she told my shift supervisor that I knew how to make it.

Today, when I see a blog with a Ko‑Fi button, I’m fine with it, as long as it’s not obnoxious, as I think Hakkerman means. If it’s there to the side, waiting patiently without being one of those bullying hijacking ads “YOU LIKE THIS THEN CLICK HERE TO PAY! GIMME GIMME!” then it’s all good. And yes, I bought a few other bloggers (and artists) a coffee cup or two at times.

As someone who used to have a Ko‑Fi button, I have some advice you never asked for. Here goes:

First, write an explanation of how much it costs to maintain the website, and break it down into details. Beyond being good for transparency, it also gives other folks an idea of what to expect if they want to start their own blog. You can write a quick breakdown, or make a post out of it, like I did. Whatever works.

Second, don’t beg. Don’t be obnoxious. The button, if it’s on your main page, is often enough. If no one is tipping you and it bothers you, I suggest you think why. Is it because you expect to get paid for what you put up? Is it because you can’t afford the blog? Is it because you deserve it? If so, you’re doing it wrong. No, really. This is not a hobby for you; this is a job. Start treating it like one. And if it still doesn’t pay enough, find another job.

Third, I’m against any form of subscription. I actually went out and said it in the old post I linked above. Subscriptions are a form of an advance payment. It’s blackmail. It’s saying, “Hey, you better put another post up, I’m a paying customer. Otherwise I’m gone.” Leave that stuff to YouTubers. Getting a tip once in a while is nice, and if people really like what you say, they will tip you again.

Fourth, and I hope this goes without saying, thank people who read your blog – not only those who tip you. Because that’s the point. Wouldn’t it be offensive in a way if someone tipped you without reading your stuff? Think about it. Are they tipping you because of something you spent time and effort (but had fun doing, right?) or just because you look pretty (and if so, how do they know? creepy…)

Fifth, and most important, it shouldn’t matter if you get tipped or not. You know, I realized I never put my Ko‑Fi button back up only when I wrote this post now? For real. And I’m not saying this as a way of showing off - it’s just true: I really didn’t realize, because it doesn’t make a difference to me. I enjoy my time here, and I hope you enjoy it too. That’s what this is about, yes?

Well then. Now that I got a chance to grump, reminisce, be obnoxious but also be nice (it’s hard, OK? I’m working on it), and even ran out of tea (it’s evening time), I think I’m going to take a bit of a break before I work through the next part of this post: formatting, editing, putting it up and scattering it around the few social networks I actually still give a damn about for some reasons. Because this is part of the fun, too. All of it is. From writing posts, to figuring out my CSS, to writing emails, to… everything really.

Until next time!