Passive Income M.D. Joins the WCI Network

[Hatton]

Vagabond MD wrote:

And, despite what you think, Johanna and I may yet have a professional relationship. As I near retirement and all of the associated financial complexity, I recognize that I will needs some help with planning. Because of her sponsorship to the site and the relationship we have built on the forum, she would be the first person I would approach. I already trust her and like her— that’s about 99.9% of the battle.

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Johanna should do your plan for a discount since she just got the most valuable advertising around.

[DMFA]

The White Coat Investor wrote:

Vagabond MD wrote:

Congrats to all parties involved. I believe that PIMD’s blog is a very high quality product, with lots of actionable information and advice, but the content does not speak to me, at the moment. Perhaps as his blogs get distributed through PoF and WCI, I might feel differently.

I am at the point where my email is clogged with blogs! I might have to retire early just to have the time to read all of the articles to instruct me how to retire early.

There is a lot of great content out there, and I appreciate the docs (and others, especially ERN and AoF) spending their time to educate, enlighten, and edify me, and I especially give props to those who are doing it only for joy of the pursuit (THP comes to mind).

The advertising banners never bother me. Perhaps it is my training as a radiologist, or maybe its anyone who spends a lot of time looking at computer screens, but I only see what I need to see and hardly notice ads (sorry, advertisers) – unless it is something that I was just shopping for, like shoes or a kitchen gadget, that follows me when I visit another site- I still find that creepy.

But seriously, is anyone else feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of physician-oriented non-clinical content?

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There have been 30+ new physician financial blogs in the last 24 months. That might be part of the issue. For whatever portion of that is my fault, I’m sorry. In being transparent, I also tend to be encouraging. But it does help me fulfill my mission. More people blogging = more doctors reading.

By the way, you’re not the target audience for the ads. You think Johanna is trying to reach you? Give me a break. Think lurkers and people coming in off the search engines. That’s who clicks ads and who hires the advertisers. I assure you they get hired or they wouldn’t re-up their sponsorship.

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I'm surprised you have as few ads as you do, tbh.  Some pages I read are more ads than content.  This site has a little square on the right hand side every few scrolls or so; no pop-ups, no "wait to bypass this ad in 10...9...8..." or videos, no significant interruption of the content; that's fine.  You have traffic.  Get paid.  That's how this works.  Quite reasonable, imo.

[Kamban]

Vagabond MD wrote:

But seriously, is anyone else feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of physician-oriented non-clinical content?

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I have said that before. Once Jim put up his earning numbers the number of people trying to blog and earn side income has exploded. They might all start out as trying to do it for the joy of it but after seeing the earning potential they now hope to monetize it fully.

I have only so many hours in my life and seeing one blog after another recycling the same old content has started to bore me. How many times can one take the 4 % rule and stock / bond ratio and slow steady wealth. I now focus exclusively on the forum part of this blog with the time I have. More fun for me, and don't mind the ads I have to see in return for that.

[Re3iRtH]

You misinterpreted what I said.

I didn't say that he needs to blog for free.

Take a look: https://tim.blog
Not a single banner ad on any of his blog posts. And he didn't monotize his podcast until the 6th episode or so. Here is a blogger with millions of uniques, yet you don't see a bunch of banner ads (actually none are) on his page. And btw he had his blog long before starting a podcast.

What I said was, get proof of concept, earn your chops, then add ad revenue tastfully. The WCI and PoF blog never had (and still don't) an excess or clutter of ads. This guy had a stack of 10 ads longer than the blog post itself. Unprofessional and too "try hard". Worry about quality first then try to squeeze every cent out. Just my opinion.

[ifonlyFI]

I'm not surprised by the negative opinion regarding passive income doc, especially when it comes to the multi level marketing.  I trust WCI and PoF did their due diligence before bringing PIMD on board.  I see at least two positive attributes from PIMD.

1.  He lives in the same HCOL as I do.  No matter how much I follow WCI and PoF, I can guarantee you that I pay more for gas, milk, taxes, and even beer.  It will be refreshing to hear from someone who can relate to multimillion dollar homes as being the norm even while carrying student loan debt. If he can be successful, then maybe the rest of his neighbors can be, too.

 

2.  He and his spouse have a side job that is typical for "more normal, non-MD" people.  Whether you agree with the job or not, it shows that doctors can have successful side hustles.

[VagabondMD]

Kamban wrote:

Vagabond MD wrote:

But seriously, is anyone else feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of physician-oriented non-clinical content?

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I have said that before. Once Jim put up his earning numbers the number of people trying to blog and earn side income has exploded. They might all start out as trying to do it for the joy of it but after seeing the earning potential they now hope to monetize it fully.

I have only so many hours in my life and seeing one blog after another recycling the same old content has started to bore me. How many times can one take the 4 % rule and stock / bond ratio and slow steady wealth. I now focus exclusively on the forum part of this blog with the time I have. More fun for me, and don’t mind the ads I have to see in return for that.

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I will second that I am enjoying the camaraderie and interaction on the forum, at the expense of reading the seemingly unending list of blogs, a list that I continue to contribute to, as a volunteer/guest, for full disclosure.

[Complete_newbie]

Not sure what Rei3 was thinking and agreed no one does it for free but I can give example of undermonetized famous blog: MMM. There are a few others. Reason ? Not sure but I can't be that MMM is an idiot. I'll venture a guess: he does more with less in life and that's his motto; enoughism. Blog follows that philosophy.

Other blogs is more capitalism and rising advertiser demand (guessing)

[Complete_newbie]

Sorry just saw your post. I agree actually front page criticism from me was the exact same- like he does MLM but where are the details ?

Is the content really that solid when compared to WCI and PoF??

[VagabondMD]

ifonlyFI wrote:

I’m not surprised by the negative opinion regarding passive income doc, especially when it comes to the multi level marketing.  I trust WCI and PoF did their due diligence before bringing PIMD on board.  I see at least two positive attributes from PIMD.

1.  He lives in the same HCOL as I do.  No matter how much I follow WCI and PoF, I can guarantee you that I pay more for gas, milk, taxes, and even beer.  It will be refreshing to hear from someone who can relate to multimillion dollar homes as being the norm even while carrying student loan debt. If he can be successful, then maybe the rest of his neighbors can be, too.

 

2.  He and his spouse have a side job that is typical for “more normal, non-MD” people.  Whether you agree with the job or not, it shows that doctors can have successful side hustles.

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Well said, on both points.

Occasionally, it occurs to me that WCI and PoF could be living on a different planet, and I mean that with all due respect. They are positive role models and are doing a great job for the physician community and the broader professional/higher income  community, for sure. Other than the MDs after our names, however our lives and issues could not be more different (other than a shared interest in travel and beer (PoF only, for the latter)).

This is why it is good to have a lot of different voices talking on the subject of physician personal finance issues. Every unique individual will have a different take, and even the same, sometimes tired lessons and messages will be nuanced differently.  You never know how you are going to be reached and by whom.

[beagler]

Well I guess WCI is just renting out his advertisement and business network. That's fair for him.

At least PIMD isn't going to cannibalize WCI or PoF traffic. PIMD is a different subject and so far a different level of quality.

Good news is I won't be spending even more time reading yet another financial blog. I'll save my spare time for the forums here!

[q-school]

I’m curious how people use the wci.   Basically I only use the forum part.

I don’t read the blogs.  So actually my experience as a relative newcomer here is that wci posts in bursts intermittently but more so in recent weeks.   Other than providing the forum his actual impact is limited.  His posts are generally extremely inciteful but too short and too few

 

PoF-I actually read his blog.  I don’t know if he has a forum but don’t have time to get into it.   I like the spreadsheets.  I like that he is living his philosophy.   Look forward to seeing how his journey plays out.   Love the few posts he makes on the board but he seems busy with his own life and preparing for Sunday reviews

Passive income—never heard of it, what curiosity I had was squelched by posts.

I guess for me the impact of the addition of passive income will be minimal.   I can hear wci already—“you think this is about you?   It’s about the x readers who never post”.  

 

[Arkad]

hatton1 wrote:

Since WCI, POF, PIMD are free for us to browse and read for free, I feel that criticizing the business model and layout is wrong. If were paying to read the content you would have a valid point.  The ads do not bother me.  I also have noticed the explosion of MD blogs.  Yes it is becoming a full time job to keep up.

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I agree with this.  I find the same about people complaining about Facebook ads.  You do not get something for nothing in this world.  I like reading the blogs and am happy to ignore the banners to not have to pay for my reading pleasure.  If you do not like the ads on free radio, you can always buy a Sirius subscription.  Maybe the next business model is to offer content with no ads for a subscription price.  That will never fly just like people tend not to buy an app upgrade for a dollar or two when 20 years ago you had to pay hundreds for a disc at the software store.  It is human nature.

[Hatton]

I post on this forum quite often.  Every so often I pick up a pearl.  I consider myself to have won the game and hopefully can inspire others to hang in there.  I too have considered starting a blog really as a retirement activity.  I really do not know what is left to write about so I don't do it.  I like this forum because of the interaction with a diverse group of educated people.  People in my real life would have no idea what a DAF or SWR is.  I read the blog too.  POFs blog is truly funny and I love it.  I have read PIMD when linked to POF.  I thought it was more real estate focused.  I will not be doing MLM or real estate.  I have stock and bonds but a lot of them.  I have guest posted (interview) on MissBonnieMD and ChiefMomOfficer.  It was fun and easy.  I am trying to read these Physician blogs but it is consuming lots of time.  I think the happy philosopher is interesting and well written.  I like Rogue Dads ''unique" take on life.  I am forgetting Wealthy Doc and Wall Street Physician.  Oh, I also like actuary on fire, ERN, Oblivious Investor, and Michael Kitces.  I know I am leaving someone out but you see I am behind in my reading......

"

[ITEngineer]

Arkad wrote:

I agree with this.  I find the same about people complaining about Facebook ads.

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I would happily pay FB to not have any ads. About 1-in-3 posts is sponsored or promoted now so I visit the site less and less. Obviously they are still making a ton of money so the business model works but there is less and less utility for me.

[The White Coat Investor]

Re3iRtH wrote:

You misinterpreted what I said.

I didn’t say that he needs to blog for free.

Take a look: https://tim.blog
Not a single banner ad on any of his blog posts. And he didn’t monotize his podcast until the 6th episode or so. Here is a blogger with millions of uniques, yet you don’t see a bunch of banner ads (actually none are) on his page. And btw he had his blog long before starting a podcast.

What I said was, get proof of concept, earn your chops, then add ad revenue tastfully. The WCI and PoF blog never had (and still don’t) an excess or clutter of ads. This guy had a stack of 10 ads longer than the blog post itself. Unprofessional and too “try hard”. Worry about quality first then try to squeeze every cent out. Just my opinion.

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Oh...6 episodes. How noble. You're cracking me up.

Seriously, every one wants free content. You want your radio free, your TV free, your blogs free, your podcast free. The way that content becomes free is by selling ads. Most of the time you don't click on ads and most people don't click on ads. But if 1 out of every 50 or 100 does, and you multiply that by hundreds of thousands, there's a business there.

For 5 years you don't hire anybody that advertises with me. Then you have a friend that needs a disability policy, or a mortgage, or some advice, or a student loan refinance or whatever. So you send them to who you know and trust. That's all marketing and advertising. There is this idea among docs that marketing and advertising is some sort of dirty business. It isn't. It is just business- connecting the producer of a product or service with its consumer.

Seriously though, to anyone who wants to blog for free, knock yourself out. Maybe you'll be super successful, but I think most of us (and certainly me) have some mix of nobility, altruism and self-interest that we balance in order to live out our lives. When you recognize that and learn to work with it is when you're most successful. I know many people who practice medicine without needing to, but very few who did it for nothing.