I gave a workshop today on blogging at AWI. My last point was: Should you or should you not advertise or accept PR on your blog? Looking around lwm3b you can see which decision I made. But I’ll humbly agree it’s not for every blog nor every blogger.
Turns out, very few people feel lukewarm about ads. Most are emphatically in support or decidedly against advertising.
The case against ads:
Let me make this very clear. If you are blogging solely to make money on ads, you will fail. You. Will. Fail. Blogging for financial gain is very transparent. Don’t insult your readership’s intelligence by assuming they won’t see right through that.
Ads can be distracting. I particularly get all a buzz by the fast-paced, zippy ones. I am not anti-animated button completely; I just avoid that ones that appear seizure-inducing.
Too many ads can be overwhelming.
The case for ads:
I trust bloggers more than commercials. All commercials say their product is the best. All companies pitch you. If I can relate to a blogger, and particularly if she has earned my respect, I am interested in the products that have made her life easier, better, enriched, more enjoyable. I want the “tried and true” low down on a product not some infomercial.
When you come to lwm3b, you can feel confident that the products I am willing to clutter my pretty sidebars with (you all know how I feel about CLEAN sidebars!) are either products I use myself, or companies I feel you will benefit from. Those partnerships are made judiciously and with respect for your time and interest.
Case in point: I actually think you should drink illy coffee. I’m not just putting that big ol’ honkin’ thing there because it’s pretty. That’s my espresso machine, and that’s how I start my day – a triple shot illy latte. The world shines brighter shortly thereafter. I think it’s magic.
Amazon Prime membership? Free two-day shipping. It’s changed my life.
B&H Photo. I recently read that Pioneer Woman made it all the way from Oklahoma to NYC (where sits the real ginormous B&H Photo Store) and somehow willed herself to stay away. I don’t know how. I ordered Handy Man’s Nikon d200 from there, as well as all our lenses. They have been top notch. And as much as it can sometimes dampen my style, I totally respect that they shut down their website during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and seemingly whenever else I’m last minute shopping for my hubby’s gifts. Shalom!
Academic Superstore. Gracious. My wallet thanks them! Yes, as a homeschooler there is a small hoop to jump through to prove you are an educator, but the result is up to 75-80% off software. $99 for Lightroom 2. That’s a HUGE discount. I hope the savings you find there allow you to more easily afford the software I talk about on my blog all the stinkin’ time – like Photoshop and Lightroom. I purchased my Adobe software through them and not only do I use the software all the time in homeschool projects – the software I purchased there keeps me gainfully employed at home.
And therein lies the difference – if you are a blogger and you have interesting content, post regularly, are mildly entertaining or enlightening and want to share your experiences with companies and products AND you can get a kick back from it? I tip my hat to you and say “You Go, Girl!”
So that’s how I feel about ads. How do you feel about ads?
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b&h…ahhhh. i have uber love. love the pioneer women who made that journey for us!
i have gone the non-ad way. i just haven't made a firm command.
Seeing as how I just put a monstrous BlogHer ad on my sidebar just yesterday, I'm all for ads, but I agree with you…as far as placing ads from individual companies or bloggers, I would never put one on my blog I didn't know and trust. Good post!
I'm there with you. When I started blogging, I didn't even have a blog or know what it was. I seriously, just set it up to make comments. I didn't even know people could make money do it. After starting mine and finding out I loved it, but knowing how much time it takes to have a successful blog, it's amazing to me that people would be upset about ads. And they are.
And then starting to reach out to the home school community more. Cracks me up that I am this big old home school mom and I have very few home school readers…I run in that decorating ring with all my buds (of whose blogs you designed), but I am so much a home schooler first..decorator? Leaving the expertise to them. 
I love connecting with my readers but as a home school mom, involved in a gazzilion other things, the difference between me spending two hours/day on the computer and 10 minutes/day is going to be the fact that now there is an incentive to help my family as well. I love it and would blog for free ( I did for most of this year), but now I prioritize it. I have my readership numbers up, now I just have to understand the whole ad process. I'm still such a newbie with that. Next step – moving from marketing companies to personal ads…well, not personal – yikes, but you know what I mean.
Wish I would have heard you speak. I know it was amazing.
hmm….I've taken over your comments. Wish we were just talking IRL…hee hee
There really isn't a question about ads – when ya have no readers – lol! Not an issue for me. But I've found that they bug me when I'm 'introduced' to a site. Yet I am glad for them when I feel like I 'know' the blogger, just for the reasons you mentioned – that I trust the person's opinions and choices.
However – I haven't yet tried illy! Soon…soon maybe…
Thanks for mentioning Academic Superstore. We're working hard for education and appreciate your kind words.
The only ad I have on mine is for Amazon. There is a button ad…and then any of the pretty books pictured there…take you to amazon. I have not made anything yet…but one day I will get that $10 credit!
The only ads that bug me are the ones from blogher. They are just so huge…
Ok Darcy, our darling Web Guru and Internet Sherpa, say you want ads, how do a couple of Mommy Bloggers go about getting some?
And based on your recent posts you should change your button to "making the blogisphere beautiful and error free".
Thanks for all you do for us
S
how do you get the personal business ads. do you ask if they'd like to advertise or do they come to you?
great article! oh I like melissa's question. what was your answer!
love the subtle change to your header!! =)
I was so glad to read this! Great points and I think I'm going to go with ads very soon.
will you post soon about choosing a company vs. individuals and generic info about rates?
Thanks so much for the info!
I like your header change. I've gone ad free on my personal blog and cleaned it up a bit since I was already in the mood to clean up side bars (eh-hem). But, I appreciate and trust the ads that a blogger might use to junk up their side bars with.
I like offering ads because they allow me to do things on my blog that I would not otherwise be able to do. A prime example is (are?) giveaways. *Most* of the giveaways I've done have been sponsored, meaning the giveaway item has been supplied by someone else. However, for a few of them, I've had to foot the bill. In our single-income, homeschooling family, there is no way to cost justify purchasing something to give away on my blog. Blogging should not cost me money, but it's fun to do giveaways. Having ads allows that.
Ads also allow me to do things like pay for my domain name and order fancy custom headers from really talented designers. *ahem*
Ads most definitely do NOT allow me to fund a vacation home, my kids college education or our next school year's worth of materials. So far, without fail, any income that I've made from blog ads has gone right back into my blog.
So, I'm all for bloggers having ads. I'm fairly certain that the vast majority of mom bloggers are not getting rich from blog ads.
I had never even heard of the superstore until now, and now I MUST see it, but….the link does not work!
Oh, my goodness, girl! I came over here to say hello and because I was mulling over the ad thing. BlogHer no longer approves of anything I do and wants it all on ad-free pages (which don't show up in your feed – you have to do "teaser" posts). I'm thinking about selling my own ads, so you may get more questions from me, because I've never done that.
Darcy – You are the blog guru! I have three of the 4 ads you mentioned. As an addict to coffee, gonna have to try Illy.
As far as ads go, I don't mind them if they are on the side, and not to many. Four to six is the max for my reading eyes.
Thanks for sharing your blogs tips!
Ads don't bother me at all, on established blogs. I can't say that I'm too crazy about going to a brand new blog and have it covered with ads.
But, like Kris, I agree that while I'm not making a fortune with ads, I put it all back into some aspect of blogging (prizes, URL, website design by a fabulous designer, etc.).
I have been considering doing ads, how does one get started? I'm still such a blogger newb.
I don't want to do it to make money per say, but I thought it would help offset the costs of things like a blog makeover.
What are your thoughts on that? Am I tacky?
I would probably put ads on my blog if I had any confidence that I could do it with any success. I just don't actually believe that it works, lol! We're all too well informed. Plus, I think it's far too easy to get what we want without the ads….right? I dunno. Anyway, I enjoy your thoughts, either way.