Ads or no Ads, that is the question
- By: Qwaider
- On:Saturday, March 07, 2009 11:00:59 AM
- In:Blogging Tips
- Viewed: (5346) times
- Currently 4.6/5 Stars.
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Rated 4.6/5 stars (102 votes cast)
Have you thought of monetizing from your blog? Have you been contemplating with the idea of accepting ads to help with the costs? Are you struggling with what to do, and if you should do it? Are you trying to know if it's worth your while?
Well, after running ads on my blog for a good while I can confidently say, go for it. Run ads, Monetize on your blog's success and help offset those costs.
Here, I will help demystify some of the common misconceptions about running Ads on your blog/Forum/Social Network or any kind of web presence that you might have. It's free, easy and almost guaranteed to make you money.
It has been ... for me. If it wasn't for binding contracts, and policy of the advertisers. I would have revealed how much. But I can't. Let's just say it's considerable. Enough for me, to positively recommend it.
Anyway, on with the tips, and some thoughts
Myth: Ads make my blog look trashy
Truth: Ads are elements that are there to promote services. You have total control on what appears and what doesn't. AND you control the type of ad and look. It's up to you to make it "blend" with your content. How? I'll leave that to your creativity. But trust me, it's not the Ads that make a site trashy or not.
Myth: Ads only appear on 3rd class sites.
Truth: There isn't a single top-notch site, in the world that doesn't have ads.(There are very few exceptions for sites that live off donation, like Wikipedia, where they have their own ads for things like "Donations" and "Support")
Myth: I'm will never make any money. It's not worth my while
Truth: It's almost impossible not to make -some- money from online advertising. In fact, online advertising is the only sector that is projected to continue to grow despite the worldwide recession. So there is money there, and it is worth your while.
Myth: It's too hard, I don't have time for this
Truth: Setup is usually a breeze. It takes few minutes, and it's practically maintenance free. In most cases, there's nothing that you need to do. All the code/scripts/gadgets are provided for you and all you have to do is follow few steps. After that, it goes on autopilot.
Myth: This is awesome, I'm quitting my job and turning to online ads
Truth: It takes a while for your online presence to start making you money. And even then, there's no guarantee that it will sustain you, or be renewable. It's a good project to keep on the side. You will make good money AND you don't have to quit your day job
Myth: Running ads is unethical
Truth: This is a legitimate business and sanctioned for practice all over the world. There's nothing unethical about it. It's 100% legal business that abides by the law.
Myth: They banned my friend, they're crooks
Truth: These advertisers mean business. They invest billions into this business and they're not going to allow people to game their system with fraudulent clicks, or any other method of "fooling" people into clicking. They're not crooks.
Myth: They'll never accept me, all I have is this tiny blog thing
Truth, they almost accept everyone. You'll never know until you try
Tip: How can I start?
Simple, you can go and submit your site to Google's Adsense (http://www.google.com/adsense) it will take some time to get approved. But it eventually happen. Although, google will make you some good money. My preferred advertiser has been text link Ads
Huge TIP/warning
Do not, EVER, be tempted to click on your own ads. This is SERIOUS business and advertisers KNOW and TRACK everything you do. Don't try it from another PC. Don't encourage your friends to click on your ads. If they did out of their own will. Then that's fine but don't ever try to "game" the system. You will be caught. All your money that you have accumulated will immediately get frozen. And you will be banned from tapping into this wonderful resource. So DON'T DO IT!
Memories....
If I was dirt poor and needed to make money, fine.
However, I can always use cash for my hobbies. So maybe I will consider it. Will I annoy my readers? I doubt it. I think that they, like me, will ignore the ads.
If it goes well, I will blame you, Qwaider. ;-)