monetizing my restaurant review blog
Ohioguy
restaurant blog that I own. (roughly 1 million population metro area) It
has mostly been a hobby for me, because I like the idea of helping
people find better places to eat. I also realize that if I have a bad
experience, and I post the info where everyone can read it, the issue is
MUCH more likely to fix the problem.
However, it is also nice to get something more out of the writing - like
a few bucks. I've enabled Google adsense on the blog, and actually made
5 bucks in the past month. Yee-haw!
I was wondering, can anyone suggest any ideas for other ways to get
something ($, whatever) out of a blog like this?
Yes, of course I could simply send out business cards to virtually every
local restaurant, ask for gift certificates, free meals, or whatever in
exchange for a review. That would be an easy and straightforward way to
get something out of the time put into it. (my wife pointed this one
out) However, this really wouldn't be much better than people schilling
for paid reviews on their blogs - wouldn't I essentially be on the hook
for a good review if somebody has "sponsored" the meal? So I don't think
that will work out, in order to maintain the integrity of the reviews,
and allow me to write whatever the heck I want about the places I've
tried - at least those are my thoughts on the topic.
Yet I'm having trouble coming up with anything better. Anyone have an
idea or two?
Thanks!