Meta-blogging post alert…
After nearly 2 months of Ad Sense and referral adds, I pulled in a Whopping 2$ (Canadian, mind you). I initially put ads on the page because I was curious to see how it worked.
Since I’m nowhere near the threshold 1000 pageviews a day point (which would land about 0,15$ a day), I average between 200 and 300 page views a day (sometimes mostly mine it seems… lol!), its just not worth the bother to the readers I think.
Having had discussions with some very passionate people about using a blog as a side-buisness, I realized that I really do not need the money. Managing a Genetics lab’s Quality covers that (plus I married a Speech Pathologist).
I really do this because I like doing it and I have this near-OCD need to spew walls and walls of RPG stuff on the Web. I don’t even host my own site so Bandwidth is not a problem (yet).
So as I write this, I’m pulling the plug on ads for the foreseeable future. I’ll probably use the space for new widgets. I’m open to suggestions. In fact, if a kind soul could point me toward a Blogger-compatible ‘top commenter’ widget I’d appreciate greatly!
Have a nice weekend one and all!
More power to you! I hate ads, so if they’re not contributing financially, they should go. We have enough ads everywhere else we look.
I do use ads on my site. They bring in enough money to pay for my hosting costs which justifies it IMO.
And I think you are entirely justified in doing so. Bandwidth can become expensive and ads are a good solutions… selling t-shirts too apparently.
I respect’s Alex stance too. since I don’t have to pay for Bandwidth, ads don’t have an added value for my Blogging needs right now.
You may want to consider doing paid reviews – if you have a high authority blog, you’ll get high dollar.
We don’t run any ads whatsoever on our role playing game site, but we do sell links. This is another approach that you might consider.
I broached Technorati’s top 500 000 yesterday… (Thanks Alex!) so I’m getting there and that might become an option. Although so far my reviews read like thinly-veiled ads for Paizo. I have yet to forge a more critical and objective style.
Speaking of Technorati, I seem to level up on that thing faster than I did on Wow (and faster than my players too!)
Thanks for the tips. Who knows where this little writing thing will go?
Ohhh new (to me)RPG site, must go and visit!
I’m very close to ditching GoogleAds. Over two years, we’ve managed to earn $30… and the minimum payout is $100. We’ve always tried to keep ads as unobstrusive as possible, but even a high value position of the ads hasn’t increased the amount.
We have had a lot of success with Text Link Ads, though. They’re currently paying out hosting and for our contests.
Considering the volume you Crit-Hits guys pull on a daily basis, 30$ in 2 years is a paltry sum…I’m extremely happy to have done this today…
I’m filing the Text-Ads tips for my next Evil Overlord Bid for World Domination…
I think roleplaying websites aren’t attractive to people who click ads and there’s no big money product to sell. T-shirts, books – small money.
There is some cash to be made with RPGs but you’ll have to work harder for your dollar than you would in other industries.
Just my 2 cents (2 cents – the amount of money Google pays for each click on their ads!) 🙂
No need to specify “Canadian” dollars, when it’s about equal to the American dollar right now 😉
But there is a need, since it’s actually more than an American dollar ($1.03 US, as of this posting), and we Canadians are damn proud of it.
I’m no economist Ve4 but I’m not entirely sure we have anything to be proud about the strong Dollar.
Sure it makes our vacation and Amazon spendings a lot cheaper but Canada’s economy is still based on selling natural ressources, energy and materials…. a Strong dollar is no help there if our main client is Uncle Sam.
And Jonathan, I was being ironic which I’m sure you caught on, seeing your smiley…
Oh, it won’t last, I know.
It’s still fun, though.