I’ve been thinking about ways I can generate a little income to share with the writers here so they can pay some subscription fees or whatever and there is only one way I can think of that doesn’t bother me too much. I am considering adding an Amazon.com store on a separate page, which would be linked on a tab at the top. You’d never see the store if you don’t want to see it, which I like.
This way, if you want to buy something from Amazon.com you can and we will get a tiny portion for the referral. If you don’t, no big deal. Don’t click on the Store tab and you’ll never see it at all. If you want to buy something and support us at the same time, you can if you choose to do so. I would frequently hand pick things I feel would be of interest to our readers, so it would not just be random items.
In fact, I will add the tab for a short time so you can preview it and see what it would look like. Check it out and let me know what you think.
At the risk of being called a hypocrite, how do you folks feel about that?
– Ethic
It isn’t obtrusive at all, so best of luck :)
I’m not one to complain about folks trying to get something for the work they put in, so I say go for it. I’ve been toying with the idea myself, but haven’t been sure how to go about it.
Ads don’t bother me, because I know how to ignore them and read the content, even if my subconscious is quietly telling me to buy the product I just ignored the ad for. :)
I don’t see a problem with that. It’s not like it’s an intrusive ad or anything.
I don’t know how robust the store interface is but could you break it down by recommendations from the different contributors?
Store? What store? Oh… that… didn’t even see it there until you mentioned it.
Seriously, as long as you don’t screw with the actual integrity of posts by splitting paragraphs with ads or using that key-word pop-up crap, you’re all aces in my book.
Ads in the center of posts bother me to no end. The intention doesn’t, mind you, but if it gets in the way of the content of posts I may barf. :) up top, ok sides, etc.
Don’t suppose Steam has a same sort of offer? If so I could really support you guys! :)
Yeah, I hate in-line ads, but I’m cool with everything else! Obviously… :P
The Amazon store can earn a nifty little bit of pocket change over time. People don’t even need to buy exactly what you sent them to the store for. You could send them there via a link to Warhammer Online and you’ll still earn a referral credit if they buy something completely different, like a pair of Wallabees shoes!
It’s fine by me, I may even use it — the problem being I usually forget and end up using vanilla Amazon.
I wouldn’t even mind some Project Wonderful ads or something relevant (Massively?) in the sidebar or above or below posts. I agree that mid-post advertising is very irritating.
Yay, now I don’t have to type amazon.com ever again!
That’s what we are here for!
I think it’s a great idea. I have no issues with bloggers unobtrusively adding methods of income to there blogs. It’s only ads in the articles that annoy me (/cough Massively).
Some of my fellow bloggers have had success in the past with adding a Paypal donation link on the side. It allows readers to donate at will and for an amount they feel comfortable with. Only downside is that you’ll get a big initial donation from all your current readers, but very little after that.
Another recommendation is to add a small message on the sidebar of your blog along the lines of:
“If you liked reading this blog, please use our Amazon store. It provides us with a very small benefit at no inconvenience to you. Thankyou”
This should also help out and is moderately unobtrusive.
You’re welcome to put up an Amazon store; I can’t see myself visiting it, though.
On the other hand, for a site with this level of content and traffic you could do quite well out of a Google adwords placement or suchlike; it could be embedded fairly discretely under your blogroll, I suspect. I’ve gotten used to the idea that anything able to keep up a high level of quality will eventually monetize in some way. The key isn’t being unobtrusive, it’s in ensuring that advertiser content doesn’t eclipse or detract from core site content or the user experience.
Oh man, I just used discretely when I actually meant discreetly. I have become the person I hate.
Discreet and Discrete are abominations of the English language! :P
As long as there’s no flashing banner with dancing lemmings taking up half the page, I don’t mind.
Some people complain about ads but I don’t think anyone has ever seen a traffic hit when introducing them and there’s always ad blockers for people who get annoyed.
I don’t like ones that blink & move a lot or jump in the way when you enter or ones that make sounds but other than that I think it’s ok. It’s not like the blog’s topic doesn’t involve money so I don’t really see a problem.