Blogs that have a loyal following can offer “premium services” to people who are willing to become members or subscribers. A perfect example of a blog that makes money through memberships is the Daring Fireball. One of the ways the blog makes a profit is by offering members a little extra including access to the:

• full-content RSS feed;
• feed for the Linked List; and
• John Gruber’s daily list of links and blurbs related to Mac, web, and design nerdery.

If you notice the perks are not that extraordinary. However, readers that really do enjoy your blog will be willing to fork out a little extra dough to be able to access this feeds and lists. If you feel that you haven’t developed such a loyal fan-base as John Gruber has (which realistically speaking is probably the truth) then you can offer other added features for members such as adding them in the blogroll, giving access to members-only articles, occasional newsletters, etc.

The point is that if you do maintain a worthy blog people will not feel ripped off at all for shelling out money and in fact will be more than willing to help you make sure that finances don’t get in the way so that you can devote ample time for your blog.