After long consideration, evaluation, and reading hundreds of blogs, I came to the realization that advertising has diluted the quality of writing, specifically in my own blog. As of today, my site will be free of ads, namely Google Adsense, and any other form of paid banners, buttons, or graphics. What I do maintain on my blog are services I personally use and recommend, such as Twitter or the Brazen Careerist network. However, I receive no monetary compensation for displaying the links.
My main reasons for this choice is this:
- Low return on investment - Adsense returns about $2 a month on average.
- Turnoff - Readers are turned off on the monetization of the site.
- Wrong purpose - I am not trying to make money on this blog. I’m hoping it will generate publicity and open doors to other opportunities.
- Good old fashion basics - I miss the good old days of “dear diary.”
What do you guys think?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I somewhat agree Daniel. I didn’t start a blog with the goal to make money either but if I can make money while writing about sports then why not? I don’t read blogs saturated with ads [and posts more than 300 words]. I think that if ads are strategically placed (i.e. not within posts unless as hyperlinked text) then I see no reason by bloggers can’t monetize their blogs.
@Aneesa - I agree with you. I took a general broad brush stroke over advertising in general. I don’t think advertising should go away completely. It’s a legitimate form of supporting sites.
That said, I there are a lot of blogs that are so full of ads and some “spam” blogs that are just rehash of information to get to the top of search results and pump out page views in hopes 1-2% of the viewers click to make a quick buck.
Leave a Comment