Every now and then I'll revisit the idea of putting advertising on the blog. There's never appeared to be much sense of putting Google ads up - the amount of money I would get from them would literally be pennies per month. Plus, the ads would more likely annoy people who comes to the blog. I do try and make this a reasonably friendly and inviting place. So if the ads are going to piss people off, why bother for an amount of money that won't even buy me a cup of coffee up here.
However, the idea has been rattling around a bit more lately. My friends Dups' baby, Empire Avenue is getting ready for its public (ie. you will no longer need an invite to take part) launch. Dups has some interesting ideas on how people might be able to make money on their blogs via that website that I may take advantage of one day.
(By the way, if you're at all into social media, I highly encourage you to go and take a look when it goes public on July 20. Dups is building something magical over there).
Also, a funny thing happened this past week. When I did the new version of the Moving to Iqaluit FAQ a number of people put the link up on Twitter. Kent Driscoll, a local APTN reporter (and former blogger) has some especially kind words. I'm both flattered that he sends the link to anyone he knows thinking of moving here and amused/horrified that he does this not only to provide information about Iqaluit, but also to terrify them. There appears to be a bit of a success rate with the terror, by the way. That was never my intention, but I do get a bit of a kick that something that was meant to be helpful and informative to new arrivals apparently also scares away more than a few people as well.
Anyway, he also "tagged" a number of companies - Future Shop, IGA and Well - saying I should be charging them for mentioning them in the FAQ. I thought it was amusing and gave it no more thought, until a day or two later when a marketing representative from Well contacted me.
It was a nice note, very polite, thanking me for mentioning them and also finding the FAQ informative about life in Iqaluit. They also invited me to take part in their affiliates program. Now, this is intriguing.
As I've said, Google ads are little better than spam and I would make pennies. But a Well ad would be more targeted and more likely to actually clicked on, especially by people living in the north. Out of curiosity I checked and Chapters also has a similar program. As it stands, since we used both Chapters and Well on a regular basis, the rewards would actually be useful to us.
However, I am curious as to what regular blog readers think. Would ads on the blog be an annoyance after so many years of the place being ad-free? Plus, would you be likely to click on them at all? Not much sense in putting them there if no one is going to use them.
Last Five
1. You will be my ain true love - Allison Krauss
2. The furious curve - Amelia Curran
3. Love runs deeper - Lindsey Buckingham*
4. My old friend - Bob Mould
5. A fishing tale - Grapes of Wrath
7 comments:
If there is money to be made, you would be cracked not to take it.
Well, I am not really your target audience for Moving to Iqaluit, but I hate ads and never click on them. Since it's your #1 page and the only place you really mention companies, maybe it would make sense to put some ads on that page.
i never mind ads, if they dont apply to me i dont click them, why be bothered by them.
If the ads have a targeted audience, a large segment of whom visit your blog, then it could be argued that they actually perform a service for your readers. The ads would need to make a relevant statement, such as "reliable delivery to Northern areas", and above all, should not be too busy or overwhelming in number. For example, I like the Rock Recipes blog, but I think Barry went a little overboard with the ad placement. Check it out: http://rockrecipes.blogspot.com/
I don't like ads either, but I was thinking that maybe you could put them at the bottom. If you put them on the empty sides I think that would detract from the look of the blog. Say, one is reading and keeps getting distracted by some ad to the left of them.
When I say the bottom, I mean the very bottom of the blog after scrolling down until there is no more.
It's tricky, because I know you want to make some money and it IS your blog after all...so that's just my opinion/advice. If it is on the bottom I feel like it would be least annoying there, and you still being able to have the ads!
Good luck!
p.s. I really like the new (ish) format you have! The gray is a nice background!
I find it funny how people are scared off by your FAQ! But I guess for those people it's good that they were warned instead of going up there and then being miserable the whole time!
I am taking this opportunity to retire from journalism and will only be producing jacket notes for books. Obviously, I have missed my calling.
Megan has it right, sell the crap out of the FAQ page, leave everything just as is.
I'm off to bask in the light of my marketing prowess.
Ads? What Ads?
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