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Blogs on Kindle

Posted by bnsullivan • 1/07/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: blog marketing, blogging, kindle, making money

A few months ago one of the agencies that syndicates my blogs sent an email stating that they had entered into an agreement with Amazon to market blogs for Kindle (Amazon's wireless reading device), and that my blogs would be among the offerings.

Call me a Luddite, but I couldn't imagine that anyone would pay a monthly fee to read a blog feed on their Kindle when they could read it for free on the web.

So imagine my surprise when one of the items on my last royalty statement was for Kindle subscriptions! Someone actually did pony up some money to read one of my blogs via Kindle.

Who would've thunk it?!

My first question is to anyone who is a Kindle user: Do you (or would you) pay to read blog feeds on the device, or was the instance I cited above a fluke?

My second question is to bloggers: Could this be a new avenue for monetizing blogs that has been overlooked?

(Yes, I searched before I posted this, and saw no previous discussion here about blogs on Kindle...)

Bobbie

User Comments

1/07/09

searchingwithin

I have never heard of Kindle, but I would never pay to read an article. Book yes, article=no. Even with a book, I need to see some sort of evidence that my investment will be worthwhile. By the time you convinced my an article would be worth my money, you would have given too much of the gist to pay for.

[reply]
1. 1/07/09
  
  bnsullivan
  
  The deal for blogs on Kindle offers a 14-day free trial, and then a monthly fee to read the blog's feed on the device. The fee is for the whole feed, not article-by-article.
1/07/09

clioandme

I'm surprised they're paying royalties. I figured this would just be something they would charge a connection fee for. But I suppose as soon as a fee is involved, this will happen.

If this ereader catches on, then maybe it is a posibility. It's perfect for people away from their computer and on the go. Is it safe to assume this was one of your airline blogs? If so, it makes perfect sense, since many pilots and flight attendants don't have the luxury of being tied to a computer.

[reply]
1. 1/07/09
  
  bnsullivan
  
  Yes, Mark -- it is my aviation news blogs that are syndicated on Kindle now.
  
  I have no idea who would subscribe. I have yet to meet a pilot or flight attendant who owned a Kindle (and I have asked around). The device sells for well over $300 to begin with.
  
  Pilots and cabin crew I know are buying little netbook computers now, because they are small, lightweight = ultra-portable, but I doubt they'd spring for a Kindle.
  
  (Sometimes I get the feeling that the Kindle may eventually go the way of the old dedicated word-processors, but meanwhile....)
1/07/09

GabrielGadfly

Once I get my webnovel going, I plan on offering it on Kindle; I've heard some surprisingly good numbers from others that have done the same.

[reply]
1. 1/07/09
  
  bnsullivan
  
  Yes, that would be something worth looking into.