You might have noticed I've finally caved in and signed up for adsense, and I'm in the process of looking for other advertising that isn't going to be too invasive or icky (any advice gratefully received.)
I thought about it, and decided that if everyone accepts that newspapers and magazines need advertising to survive, why should a blog be any different? I know many folks have strong negative feelings about advertising on blogs, but I spend A LOT of time on this site, and this is the only way I know of to get reimbursed for that time... though the payment will probably be so nominal that I'll finally decide it isn't worth it and take the ads off. We'll see - it's a trial.
Couldn't they do something about the ads being so dull, though? Why can't we have clever jingles and witty campaigns, maybe Whiffling 'round the internet? (Oh, see, now that's a reference to a book. I suppose I should whack an Amazon ad thingy for Murder Must Advertise in here. Is that how they do it?)
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5 comments:
Stick your ads at the top of the column Kate - not the bottom. Few people will scroll all the way down to read them and pass on those precious click-throughs.
I’ve written about this a couple of times on my PR blog, but never got the moral dilemma with carrying advertising, except when there’s an inference that the advertiser is dictating editorial. The strange idea that intellectual property – be it your writing here, music, books or whatever – should be free and its creators go unrewarded is rather silly.
Print never had a problem. When someone decided to put news instead of advertising on the front page of a newspaper, it was seen as revolutionary. The South Manchester Reporter is 78 per cent advertising according to ABC and that doesn’t include the flyers. Of course, you couldn’t go that far with a blog because people don’t have blogs stuffed through their letterboxes regardless and there’s lots of competition.
Can we talk numbers here? Just how much money do adverts pull in? I've always assumed it's little more than pennies. I've never once seen an advert on a blog where I've thought "Oh, that product or service is just what I'm looking for, I'll persue this." I'm surprised that anyone else looks at them.
Whether or not its tacky I suppose depends on the nature of the blog. I detest adverts on personal blogs, because I've always felt that personal blogging is it's own reward. The thought that someone should be trying to make a buck out of me while at the same time sharing their innermost thoughts only serves to dilute the sincerity of those innermost thoughts.
But if it's a 'public service' blog, about sharing news and information about events and so on, and the adverts are relevant, then I guess it all fits into the purpose of the blog and it's OK.
For market research purposes, if you do go for it, I promise to let you know if I ever click on an advert.
And obviously, if there's millions to be made, I'll be in there on my own blog like a flash. :)
I'd put an adsense for search thingie on your site as well if possible.
I have it on my site and it seems to get more clicks (so more revenue) than the banners.
Whatever you do, NEVER click on your own adverts as Google will pull your entire earnings. I was up to nearly fifty dollars [and not all through my own clicking] and they confiscated the lot and cancelled my account, leaving my blog covered in holes where my extensive advertising had been, including my Google search box.
I`ve got ads from Commission Junction, Amazon and Trade Doubler, and I`ve earnt a little from Amazon and clicks but no sales from the others.
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