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# On Websites and Montetization
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/on-websites-and-montetization/
- Published: 2012-01-25T10:36:10.000Z
- Updated: 2025-12-30T10:52:56.000Z
- Description: The platform is a means to an end—not the end itself.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Platforms, Strategy, Frenemies, The Age of the Platform, Twitter

Should you try to monetize your website? Probably, but it's more important to monetize your *business*. Not every site can and should be monetized, at least directly. I don't charge people to read my blog posts or watch my videos, but I sure charge them for consulting, speaking, and writing services.

Let me put it another way. Few people are able to directly monetize Twitter. [Kim Kardashian](https://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/02/01/if-kim-kardashian-gets-10000-a-tweet-last-week-she-made/?ref=philsimon.com) is one of them. But millions of people do it anyway. Why? Because, if done right, it can contribute to the overall success of a platform and, more important, of a business.

## Simon Says

The platform is a means to an end—not the end itself.