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Let’s just say it and get it over with – Catholics are really bad at business (myself included).  Yes there are the rare public speakers that sell their recordings and books for a good amount, but for the vast majority it’s a very lonely business road if you are Catholic.

Why is that?  Why do we not dominate the business landscape?  After all, there are 1.2 billion of us, right?  Well, this is purely from experience but I think that there a couple of ways for Catholics to create a successful business blogging.

1. Sell something

Seems like common sense, right?  Wrong.  Check out most Catholic blogs and they do one of two things – talk about theology or talk about the Church in general.  That’s totally awesome, of course.  We need those blogs – but did you notice the little Adsense advertisements in the sidebar?  Here’s the reason why those are there…

1. The blog owner wanted to create a Catholic blog that would provide an outlet to teach, evangelize, etc.
2. They figured that it’d be great to do what they loved and get paid for it, so the “best” way to do that is to get some advertisers, or hopefully get asked to be a Catholic speaker after a while.
3. They realized that there aren’t many Catholic businesses so that made it hard to find direct advertisers, and nobody is calling for speaking gigs.
4. Well,  they then figured that they’ll just use Google Adsense to make some income to support their endeavor.
5. They make $1.20 a month and quit blogging because even though they are passionate about the subject, there are more important things to worry about – you know like feeding their family.

It happens over and over again.

What’s the solution?  Sell something! Record audio into an iPhone, write an e-book, interview a well-known Catholic speaker.  Nobody will buy anything from you if there is nothing to buy!  Use something like E-Junkie to create digital downloads or you can even sell physical products with it.

By far, selling a product is the easiest and most lucrative way to monetize you blog.  There really aren’t any barriers other than getting enough traffic to your site and figuring out ways to get those visitors to buy what you are selling.

Want to be an apologist?  Create a podcast that draws people to your personality and makes them interested in your 4-hour Q and A session that you sell on your site.  Are you a musician?  Sell digital downloads of your MP3s.  Poets, candle-makers, painters, crafters, anyone can plug in a small piece of code and get started selling something on their site!

Don’t wait for EWTN to call you and give you your own show.  Create your own on the web and sell each seasons as HD video.  Yes, it’s possible!

2. Think Outside of the Catholic Box

Please, please, please… if you one only get one thing out of this post – please let this be it!  Repeat after me, “A Catholic business doesn’t have to be Catholic.”  Now that you probably think that I am a heterodox apostate, please let me explain.  Just as the Church Fathers and the saints Christianized secular ideas like philosophy, you can Christianize business.

Rather than create a Catholic bookstore, create a membership site with the best Catholic speakers being asked questions by the members. Build a iPhone app like Angry Birds and use the money to support your local youth group, then promote it on the blog.  Create a web development tutorial membership blog that teaches young people how to code for large companies.  What better way to reach out to non-Catholic or Catholics alike than to create an atmosphere that has Christianity running throughout it?  Think this isn’t effective, that’s exactly what J.R.R. Tolkien did with the Lord of the Rings.  Create a business that lives and breathes Catholicism and doesn’t just preach it.

3. Sell a service

Just like with a product, why not create a site that promotes a service that you provide?  The service can be anything, but by having clear call-to-actions you can drive visitors to something that will benefit them.

For example, say that you are great at design.  Rather than just have a design blog (or “Catholic” design blog if you absolutely must), have a banner or something in the sidebar that shows your latest project with a clear call-to-action to contact your for design services.  Just as with a product, if you don’t have something to sell nobody can buy.

Bonus: Selling Something for Money Is Not Bad

For some reason, we Catholics feel dirty when we try to sell something that’s we’ve produced or that we’re marketing for others unless it is explicitly Catholic.  I challenge you to find an encyclical that says that a legitimate business that provides value is something that should be avoided.  Yes, avarice is bad, but a good business is not greedy.  In fact, a good business ALWAYS gives more value to a customer than the money that is given.  Think about it, why do you buy Catholic books?  Is a great book worth more than $14.95?  Of course it is…. a good book is life-changing.

God will sanctify your business.  You don’t need to pre-fix your service or product with the word “Catholic” for it to be good and holy.  If you want your business to be holy, make it holy though virtue.