Writer’s Log going ad-mad!
Well, as you can see, I’ve been experimenting with various advertisements on Writeside.net and Writer’s Log.
I have Google Adsense and Auction Ads on the main site. There’s also Text-Link-Ads, but they haven’t managed to sell a spot on my site yet!
On this blog I have Amazon ads. Recently I also signed up with Kontera (with a referral from OpenDesigns). In Kontera, in their own words:
a contextually relevant keyword…on a web page from within Kontera´s vast network of publishers…is automatically turned into a link to the most relevant ad.
This means that some words on this page will show up with a double underline. Hovering on those words with pop up an ad. Moving your mouse away will take the pop-up away. I know that some people will find this annoying. (There are Firefox extensions to turn off these ads, by the way.)
I debated on a number of ways I could generate revenue from the site, to at least cover part of the hosting costs. A number of people who have used my free templates have offered money (one man donated £5 to Battersea Dogs’ and Cats’ Home!), and I thought about (and rejected) the idea of having a “donate” button. I think having ads is better, but I would like to hear opinions if you have any!
~PD
22 July 2007 at 7:44 pm
No popups!
23 July 2007 at 6:15 am
I can’t blame you for wanting ads. I’ll probably one day have to do the same with MW, although I would probably put up a donate thing first. But then, my host has a program that lets people donate funds directly to your hosting account.
Good luck!
26 July 2007 at 7:10 pm
Having ads on your blog is not a bad idea at all; but I think, you should wait till you get at least 100,000 page views a month.
Then only you could earn some decent money to really justify any possible annoyance caused to your readers
And sorry, Plz don’t have Kontera or whatever…It’s irritating to say the least.
27 July 2007 at 4:33 am
Hi Rajesh,
Thanks for your comments. I used to find Kontera irritating too, but I got used to it on various other sites, and I’m hoping the same will happen for readers here. But I will keep your opinion in mind. I’ve been advised to try it out for 30 days to see if it works. If I find it’s not generating more revenue than Google Adsense, I’m not going to continue with it!
I don’t really like the idea of a “donate” button. What do you think?
27 July 2007 at 12:29 pm
if you give something for free, it is perfectly fine to ask for something in return.
so why not a donate button ?
and kontera is not bad either.. i am planning to put it on my blog.
27 July 2007 at 2:27 pm
it works! Although the links it generated didn’t feel too interesting…. Maybe it is because this post is about ads? You should write a new post about something interesting… Or I suppose I could go visit an older post and see if it makes funnier ads.
27 July 2007 at 6:16 pm
I heard Kontera earns more than Google Adsense, I’ve been wanting to test both for weeks now, as soon as I get some spare time I’ll get into it and test them both like for a month or two.
Why would you wait until you get 100,000 visits per month? “Some say why put ads, they’re annoying”, I say “why not” if others do, and it could turn into a little income to pay the hosting bill.
27 July 2007 at 8:58 pm
Thanks for your comments!
It is hosting costs I’m looking to cover. I also intend to separate my work and personal sites in the near future (when I have some breathing space to work for myself!), so hopefully people coming to my blog will not have ads to contend with!
29 July 2007 at 11:18 am
Hi Payal,
No, you don’t need to have a Donate button here.
You are doing enough public service through your writing