Tim’s Mother Tongue Annoyances blog recently tackled a subject similar to my recent post on If I Had Ads Here, Would You Click Them?. In “Ruminations on Personal Blog Advertisements”, Tim tackles the issues of ads on blogs, specifically begging for bucks or straight advertising.
Now then—what do we make of the choice of some weblog authors to display “Make a Donation” buttons on their weblogs? Obviously the decision to do so is a personal and private matter. On the other hand, as a reader of many personal weblogs I am confronted with these advertisements on a daily basis; consequently, I feel that I am entitled to and qualified in my opinion regarding them. Here is my stance:
If I am offering a good or a service to the public, then I feel perfectly justified in asking my customers for financial compensation for my labor. This is how capitalism works, correct? The customer and I agree upon a fair price for a given product, I deliver the product, the customer pays me, and then we both part ways with smiles on our faces. Done and done.
Given the previous scenario, why would I, or should I, feel that it is right to ask the readers of my weblog to send me some of their own hard-earned money just because I think they think…what? That I’m a “good writer”? That I “speak the truth” in the ethereal “pages” of my blog? Or, most nebulously…”Just because”?
If you are considering turning your personal blog into a money maker, the points he makes are worth reading.
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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen
One Comment
I recently added a donation button to my blog, because a few posters to my comments asked me to do so. Not that I need the money or much care for making cash off the blog. I fully expect no donations whatsoever. But if somebody wants to buy me a beer because they found something I posted useful, well, so be it.
I do have Google ads on my blog, however I make no real money from them. I just like them there, really. I think I’ve earned $4 off them so far. I earned way more from CafePress in about 3 weeks just from a design I made on a forum as a lark. I also have Amazon affiliate links on my forum, because I have lists of books I like and music I’m listening to and so forth. If anybody happens to click them and buy something from Amazon, hey, money for me. I’ve had that happen a few times now.
Making any kind of serious money from a blog requires a plan. It’s work. It’s rarely something you’ll just happen to fall into. So feel free to put ads up and such, but don’t expect to make money on them, because odds are that you won’t.
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