Blog Advertising: Yea or Nay
I’ve recently been approached by several different people to inquire about advertising on my blog.
It doesn’t cost me anything to run this blog. I used to host it myself on my cable modem, and my employer, Vertigo Software, generously donated hosting when I outgrew the limited upstream bandwidth of a cable modem.
I do have a bit of advertising on the blog already, through my Amazon affiliate links. That seemed like a natural fit for my recommended reading list when I originally put it together. But there’s never a visible advertisement. The affiliate links are indistinguishable from a normal link to a book on Amazon, which is usually quite useful.
I can understand wanting to recoup hosting costs – if I had any – but Scott Hanselman asks: what about the cost of your time writing all those blog entries?
I’m not opposed to advertising. I won’t pretend that I don’t like money, particularly here in the United States where money is synonymous with freedom.
But advertising responsibly is difficult.
- Stand behind the products you’re indirectly selling. They should be products or services you yourself recommend. Some of the more selective blogs join targeted ad networks with products they hand-pick, such as the deck.
- Realize that advertising changes the nature of your blog. The first ads you take convert your blog from a non-profit to a commercial venture. It’s no longer a hobby; you’re being paid to blog. It’s work. And unless you’re only accepting only random ads, there are also new avenues for conflicts of interest.
Limit the number of ads you take. Using the Ronco spray-on monetization plan and filling your page with as many types of advertising and affiliate programs as possible smacks of desperation. Even worse, it makes your website look like a tacky Nasar joke.
At least for my blog, I don’t think the benefits of advertising outweigh the negatives. I like the idea that every time I write an entry, I did so purely for my own reasons, whatever they are, and not because I needed to drive ad revenue.
