Advertising. Its all over the 'net, and is the reason that we can use it for free. Personally I have no problem with that as long as its not too intrusive (Photobucket's constant stream of ads made me want to throw the 'putor across the room!), but, should it be here, on my page?
Allowing adverts on this blog might bring me a little more income, which would of course be quite handy, but the cost would be, well, adverts on me blog. Which I'm not sure that I want. Adverts in the side bar, as on Phil's blog, don't bother me too much, or maybe as I've been following Phil for quite a few years now (this blog was/is inspired by his) I don't really notice them. Adverts at the bottom of the page, as on Stephen's or Chris', do bother me for some reason (not a criticism of either author), especially animated ones. However, I did come across a blog t'other day that had ads in the text, almost after every paragraph, which was far too much. Is the author blogging to share his work, or to bring in some extra dosh I wonder? I won't be returning however interesting his projects are.
So, do I become part of this? Do I want to sell part of my page for a few extra shekels? Is adding another layer of clutter to the sidebar, or worse the bottom of the page, worth it? Will it make me want to add content when I really have nothing to say on that day/week/month just to get views, and therefore possible income? Sometimes I have lots to post about, like now, sometimes my mojo leaves me for a few months and I have nothing to add. And I will only post if I think that I have something worth posting about (feel free to disagree on that point!).
Then there's the traffic. Which isn't much on the whole, 100+ views on a good day, less than twenty on a bad. This is quite deliberate, I'm a very private and quite contrary person by nature, and to be honest this blog is a way of recording my work for future reference as well as an exercise in writing and communicating (something that I'm not particularly good at) rather than an attempt to 'engage with a wider audience'. I'm also aware that the content is a bit niche, and I do wonder what people that stumble on it by accident make of it all.
Your thoughts are welcome.
And don't be surprised if this post disappears in a day or so.
Paul.
For what it's worth, my adverts bring in a couple of hundred pounds a year - which I sue to offset IT costs such as domain names and the online backup service I use. Sadly, it doesn't make me rich!
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I reckon I'd be lucky to get a third of that. But thanks for the info.
DeletePaul,
ReplyDeleteI normally look at the blogs that I follow using the Wordpress 'Reader'. That strips the ads out - unless I decide to comment on a particular post in which case I then have to go the the 'proper' blog site.
From a personal perspective if I was to receive payment from advertising then I would have to accept a degree of moral responsibility for the products that were shown. At the same time I would have little or no control about what type of products were advertised.
Geoff http://fifteenflatout.wordpress.com/