There are many blogs I respect that don’t serve any ads on their site at all. A even smaller subset find ads on blogs to be distasteful. So I am, at times, led to wonder if serving advertisements on my blog is the right course of action. And seeing that blogging about blogging is a popular topic what better place to explore my motivation and reasons behind my decision.
To answer this question I have to ask, “Why do I have a blog?“. It began as a place for me to share my meager attempts at prose and to rant when the mood struck. Just another personal blog jumping onto the bandwagon. It was also during the blog’s genesis that I had just began to self-identify as an atheist so I had a whole new swirl of ideas to sort out and arguments to rehash.
Over time my thinking out loud attracted comments on and off the blog that made me reevaluate my beliefs. Responses honed my existing points and criticism helped me cull those ideas that didn’t work. Now, I’ve always been skeptical of the power of adversarial debate to aid in the discovery of truth but I have enjoyed participating in communities of serious individuals. It’s often very difficult to find an online community that lies between a homogeneous sect and a pit of vipers.
So why do I blog? I blog because I want to get feedback to my ideas, both positive and negative. I want to inspire discussion in a little pseudo-community that I can have control over so as to prevent if from degenerating into either extreme. I want to put my ideas out there in the hopes that I will be able to learn from the responses I receive. As well as to create a repository of opinion for quick access and to look back on my intellectual journey. Lofty goals and probably futile ones but the pursuit of the good is often the best we can achieve.
To keep this whole thing from sounding like romantic idealism I should probably also point out that I have an ego. I don’t mean this in the freudian sense but rather the popular meaning. I like seeing my words online being read and thought about by others. It feels almost flattering. I like the idea that I’m linked to by others, that my words are being discussed, and that my views are respected by at least some. So by advertising I am increasing the number of people flattering my ego by reading writing and responding to what I have to say.
So what does all this mushy introspection have to do with advertising? The unfortunate truth of the blogosphere is if you just write blog posts and comment occasionally you won’t have any readers. I’m not going to go pick fights across the blogosphere in order to direct an angry mob to my proverbial door so advertising is the next best thing. By setting aside a portion of my blog to allow ads to be served I receive money. This money is a meager pittance, not enough for some grandiose scheme or even to help pay the bills. What the money is good for however is buying my own ads. By buying ads I spread the word about my blog and drive more people here to comment and subscribe.
I serve ads so that I can buy ads of my own to grow the readership of this blog. The more readers the more points of view chiming in help me grow intellectually. Oh yes, and I have an ego that needs feeding. Maybe it’s a waste of space or an obtrusion to my readers but that’s the plan as it stands. I would love to hear from my readers about what they think of blog adverts and the purpose of blogging.
Tagged: blogging
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8 Comments
I have mixed feelings on ads. I don't mind other sites doing so (as I read their content in my reader), but I just don't think the space they take up on my blog is worth the little bit of money I get in return. Plus the fact that my blog readership is small (75-100 unique/day) and typically on my blog for the content and not paying attention to much else. Maybe if I go big time and the money is worth my time I would consider it. But right now I don't see it worth my time.
I don't spend money on ads selling my blog either (as I never click ads anyways). I think the best way of selling my blog is through visiting other blogs and being diligent in taking part in the conversation. Good content, dialogue, and "manners" is the best strategy.
I am generally shocked and surprised at the number of people who actually click ads. If you look at the footer of this page you will see a list of referrers. My biggest is entrecard which is a mostly free (relatively blog centric) ad network that has helped me find some great blogs and brought traffic to my site.
My experiment with other ads is really just begun but I have around the same traffic level that you stated and I make several bucks a month so far. I hope to fine tune it over time for the best value, but project wonderful already allows me to buy ads with a small amount of money.
I'm still reluctant and undecided on the ultimate fate of ads on my site but I thought I'd present a bit more of the technical positive side.
Thanks for the great comment.
My blog has ad's on it, I try not to make them too obtrusive…since the redesign I have decided to try selling the ads directly through paypal on top of using Entrecard and Project Wonderful (payouts aren't bad) and im trying to find a place for adgjitize…cus they pay out pretty well for me also.
So far my blog is only making enough to cover the costs of the server and all that jazz.-which is really the only goal I have. My domain is only 5-6 months old and getting about 300-400 uniques/day (large chunk from EC) but search term hits are increasing daily…so maybe one day I can actually make some decent money on it .
Either way, it's your blog and it's your right to show ads…as long as the content is good folks shouldn't have issues with it.
Ads on blogs are so common nowadays, no one should have a problem with it ^^ Also i think it's nice to get a little bit of encouragement from the ads
i serve ads on my blog too!
My ads don't make enough money to pay for my server costs but that is also a good reason for serving ads.
I'm curious, and I address this to all the readers, do you find the ads on this blog obtrusive?
I don't find them obtrusive at all….
If they were on both sides of the screen, I would say yes, but i think it looks just fine.
You think mine look ok as well? I have been concerned about that with the new spots opening up..let me know what you think
I have ads on my blogs and make next to nothing on them. What I do make I use to advertise to get more people to my blogs for the very same reasons you state. I wouldn't have found your blog if not for Entrecard so at least those ads work. I'm glad I found your blog as I really enjoyed reading your thought on the ideas you have here. In the words of Ahnold, I'll be back.
I think that blogs, like all newsmedia, are beholden to whomever funds them. I don't see a problem with advertising on blogs as long as the blogger doesn't change or edit their content based on the advertisers wishes. There was a great examination of this very question on a recent episode of The Joan Kenley Show all about the media called The Media: What’s True, What’s Not. Norman Solomon of the Institute for Public Accuracy was on the show, a good listen.