Yesterday, I received the first advertising solicitation that has ever piqued my interest. It was from a student loan consolidation group. I've previously received solicitations for ads and paid content from payday lenders, weird social networking sites, and seminar gurus. I've turned them all down without a second thought. This one, on the other hand, comes from a service that seems to operate in an aboveboard fashion (I searched for negative reviews six ways from Sunday before responding to the email) and be a viable option for people who are looking to consolidate their loans...so I don't really see any reason to turn it down. This is exactly the kind of thing I had in mind when I wrote about monetization back in January. So I wrote back, and we'll talk terms, and maybe an ad for a student loan consolidation company will pop up on my sidebar.
I'm thinking I might give a little monetization a try. My eventual hope would be to monetize to the level of $500 per month with individually-negotiated ads for companies that provide services that aren't detrimental to my readership (even Dave Ramsey approves of student-loan consolidation!). Why is my goal $500/month? Well, because it would just about cover my Roth contribution (remember, the maximum is going up!) plus taxes while I'm in grad school, assuming I continue to blog. I was very much affected by the commenters who generously shared their experiences with me, and the consensus that indeed, taking on additional work is liable to negatively influence one's academics. But this blog doesn't feel like "work" to me--it mostly feels like something I do for fun, like something that provides the benefit of kicking back and watching a movie. If I could manage to cover my Roth contribution (and thus, keep investing while in grad school) out of money I get for working on a hobby...well, that would be pretty great.
Of course, I would never, ever sell content, I'd never advertise a product that would be harmful to my readers, and if any of my readers could show me that one of my advertisers was shady, I'd drop the ad immediately.
So...how does that sound, as a policy?
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Further Thoughts on Monetization
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7 comments:
I think that sounds like a very solid, conscientious policy. I know at least one reader would appreciate it. :)
Psst, get off of blogger before you do any serious monetization!
Kudos on your policy - I think that what is in the policy doesn't matter as much as consistently following it.
Him, I've definitely heard that before, but can you take pity on me and explain why it's true? It would be very much appreciated.
Strange Bird, thanks for the input—I value your opinion on these sorts of things.
Nothing wrong with that! ^ ^
Heh. I think that was the one that finally made me update my profile to inform people that I wouldn't be including ads.
I have no problem with blog monetization, and I think yours is a fine and consistent policy.
But for me, having ads on my blog would mean that I'd have to stop doing anything with it during work hours (including commenting on other blogs that give me a link back). And even if that weren't the case, it also would make me feel obligated to post more than once a week. Once a week is a comfortable rhythm for me.
Good policy. I have a few different blogs, and each are monetized in different ways. As long as you maintain a certain level of integrity about it--which it sounds like you plan to do--it should be fine.
Come to the darkside. Make money off your writing! muhahahaha
You won't be sorry. Just make sure you save enough to cover the taxes of the extra income.
Picking and choosing your advertisers is certainly your right. I made a choice to stick with a mainstream website and their clientele. So far I haven't cringed at the ads they've served for anything more than the color scheme vs the advertiser.
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