UPDATE: if I do decide to monetize things, I might have take down MBL – it looks like its spying on Adsense and THAT might violate Google’s TOS
A few months ago, I signed up for ReviewMe in an effort to find out a few things about it. Initially my attempt at signing up for an account was declined; but this soon changed. I didn’t think anything more of it as I had already posted some thoughts on the matter.
So, much to my surprise, as I was trawling through my mailbox (sometimes I peruse, but I was trawling, as the volume was immense) yesterday, did I find a notice from ReviewMe. I had gotten an invitation to do a paid posting!
The second surprise, once I looked up who it was (sitepoint auctions), was that the value of a paid review here at DeepJiveInterests had actually gone up – way up — since I had initially signed on.
For the uninitiated, ReviewMe uses an algorithm much like Text-Link-Ads, to determine what the “value” of your blog is worth — and assigns a value to how much a paid review is as a result. They use a bunch of metrics, including Alexa and Technorati ranking, but its not clear exactly how each value contributes to an overall value score.
[Digression Alert!] As an aside, for those who ever want to know WHY a Technorati or Alexa ranking is at all useful, think ReviewMe or Text-Link-Ads. They directly relate your “worth” according to these metrics, no matter how useful (or not) they are. Since SOME people are willing to pay that price that they’ve calculated (whether in paid links or paid postings), yes — it means that the Technorati or Alexa ranking is in fact “worth something”.
So back to my point: in recent months my Alexa ranking had done better than previously, and my Technorati ranking also has done pretty well. Part of this is because of my joining b5media, and part because of my short stint at Darren Rowse’s Problogger during the month of January. Some of my articles were linked to, and in turn DJI.
Bottom line? The cost of paid reviews for DJI have gone from $60 to a princely sum of $250.
If I ever decide to take ReviewMe up on it, it’ll mean a cool $125 in the bank (ReviewMe splits the cost of the review in half).
MMmmmm. Paying the bills. ;)
Anyway, up until — and including now — I’ve not put any ads on this site. Mostly because in the beginning there really wasn’t much traffic to warrant it. Then, I just sheer ass lazy, and didn’t even really think about it any further.
While blogging is a worthwhile pursuit in and of itself, I do wonder whether or not I should begin monetizing this blog. After all, a little gas money in the pocket isn’t a bad idea every now and again.
On the other hand, where do I draw the line? Should a line *be* drawn?
I think every blogger needs to answer that question him (or her) self — and its a personal one. Google Adsense is fine for some, because it removes the connection between ad buyer and blogger, thereby removing any undue bias and influence. On the other hand, some readers hate any ads — and will refuse to read a blog that has anything including Adsense.
And then of course there’s the whole thing with paid posting that I’ve blogged about ad nauseum.
At this point I’m going to give YOU a chance to let me know how you feel about this blog — after all, I don’t really write for myself, but for people who read it (at least that’s my intention).
Let me know what you think — either through comments or through the poll on the right (yes, I know it looks crapped up on MSIE as its shifted all the way down to the bottom; I’m in the process of fixing it, thanks) … because I’m very interested to know what you all think.
Cheers,
tony.
12 Comments
Clearly, I think it’s a great idea but, then agan, I’m biased!
I think deciding whether to monetize your blog comes down to what you want out of it – branding, profile, a place to express ideas, money, or all of the above. That said, I don’t think making money from blogging is a bad thing, and your interest in the idea shows how the blogosphere is evolving.
Mark
I say go for it. Although, my opinion may be moot, since I read your feed. To be honest, this is actually the first time I remember coming to the actual site since I subscribed. (other than when I commented on one of your digg stories)
That said, good bloggers have the right to put ads on their site. Even if you just get enough to help pay for hosting or to buy yourself something nice every once in a while. That’s why I am integrating ads on my site (to replace a laptop I had stolen a while back). If people don’t like ads, don’t click on them. Just as long as you keep them unobtrusive, people have no reason to complain.
fyi, i don’t see any poll on the right, and i’m using firefox.
as far as the monetization, i think it’s entirely up to you. as nathan said, as long as its unobtrusive, nobody shouldn’t mind. although, also like nathan, i don’t visit the site as much since i subscribe to your feed.
I have no problem with monetizing (I have AdSense myself) but with a few caveats – I hope it doesn’t start influencing what you write about and why to a large degree. Second, to where usability is hampered (i.e. the ads are in the way and blocking the good stuff).
Lastly, where appropriate, disclose. If you’re reviewing something that you wouldn’t normally for some cash – admit it and get it out of the way right up front.
We all have lines and prices we don’t cross – it’s different for everyone and I have my own arbitrary lines drawn in the sand so I can still feel good about blogging. But other than that knock yourself out…! As long as your blog is still backed up with the solid opinions and content as before, I don’t have a problem with some ads.
Dont use adsense, if you reader base is mostly bloggers or techppl in short who know what ads mean.
Rather go for TLA and feedvertising. CPM based adds can work well if good amount of page load exists
Hey Tony,
A few thing about monetizing Deep Jive Interests. You are a very good person, someone I can trust and if you do decided to make some money based on reviewing things I would be cool with that. However, people (someone new to DJI or who hardly knows) cannot totally trust someone if there is an incentive involved in reviewing something, You can say all you want you are honest but some will still think you are biased. If I were to do it I would add unique things to what I reviewing, ways others wouldn’t think of trying but in turn can be beneficial and providing real world results with data to back it up, this would build up integrity easily.
P.S. I am sorry if this comes out weird in any way but I am actually very sick (will review my ailment, I am serious).
P.P.S Your sidebar is very messed up in Safari, same way in MSIE (I compared the two between the school PCs and my Mac)
Tony, if you want to monetize, let’s have lunch. Pretty sure we can help you make more than 250$-500$/month ;-)
I came across your blog via a guest post on ProBlogger. It’s very rare for me to find relatively lengthy posts so captivating. Methinks you should definitely reap the benefits. I’m hoping you make a post or two about the online ad scene and your take on it when you get there. ;) Good luck.
Hi Tony
If anyone could monetize a blog efficiently and honestly I would gather you would do a great job of it. I have arrived at a point where monetization of a blog does not for the most part play affect my choice of reading or not reading it.
@Jeremy: Mind sharing some of your tips to all of us to earn money.Guess you have some good one.
Ashish: We’re always happy to chat with larger, industry-leading sites about ways we can help them increase their revenues.
We don’t have anything public to say just yet for smaller sites, but if you’re running a site that’s either a leader in its field or getting more than 250K pages/month, we’re always happy to chat :)
@Jeremy: I understand your point.Thanks for answering my query.I dont have a big site which can fit in your criteria right now but if I reach someday I will surely get in touch with you.
Thanks Again.
Regards
Ashish
2 Trackbacks
[...] Is It Finally Time to Monetize Deep Jive Interests? UPDATE: if I do decide to monetize things, I might have take down MBL ” it looks like its spying on Adsense and THAT might violate Google s TOS A few months ago, I signed up for ReviewMe in an effort to find out a few things about it. Initially my attempt at signing up for an account was declined; but this soon changed. I didn t think anything more of it as I had already posted some thoughts on the matter. So, much to my surprise, as I was trawling through my mailbox (sometimes I peruse, but I was trawling, as the volume was immense) yesterday, did I find a notice from ReviewMe. I had gotten an invitation to do a paid posting! The second surprise, once I looked up who it was (sitepoint auctions), was that the value of a paid review here at DeepJiveInterests had actually gone up ” way up ” since I had initially signed on. For the uninitiated, ReviewMe uses an algorithm much like Text-Link-Ads, to determine what the value of your blog is worth ” and assigns a value to how much a paid review is as a result. They use a bunch of metrics, including Alexa and Technorati ranking, but its not clear exactly how each value contributes to an overall value score. [Digression Alert!] As an aside, for those who ever want to know WHY a Technorati or Alexa ranking is at all useful, think ReviewMe or Text-Link-Ads. They directly relate your worth according to these metrics, no matter how useful (or not) they are. Since SOME people are willing to pay that price that they ve calculated (whether in paid links or paid postings), yes ” it means that the Technorati or Alexa ranking is in fact worth something . So back to my point: in recent months my Alexa ranking had done better than previously, and my Technorati ranking also has done pretty well. Part of this is because of my joining b5media, and part because of my short stint at Darren Rowse s Problogger during the month of January. Some of my articles were linked to, and in turn DJI. Bottom line? The cost of paid reviews for DJI have gone from $60 to a princely sum of $250. If I ever decide to take ReviewMe up on it, it ll mean a cool $125 in the bank (ReviewMe splits the cost of the review in half). MMmmmm. Paying the bills. Anyway, up until ” and including now ” I ve not put any ads on this site. Mostly because in the beginning there really wasn t much traffic to warrant it. Then, I just sheer ass lazy, and didn t even really think about it any further. While blogging is a worthwhile pursuit in and of itself, I do wonder whether or not I should begin monetizing this blog. After all, a little gas money in the pocket isn t a bad idea every now and again. On the other hand, where do I draw the line? Should a line *be* drawn? I think every blogger needs to answer that question him (or her) self ” and its a personal one. Google Adsense is fine for some, because it removes the connection between ad buyer and blogger, thereby removing any undue bias and influence. On the other hand, some readers hate any ads ” and will refuse to read a blog that has anything including Adsense. And then of course there s the whole thing with paid posting that I ve blogged about ad nauseum. At this point I m going to give YOU a chance to let me know how you feel about this blog ” after all, I don t really write for myself, but for people who read it (at least that s my intention). Let me know what you think ” either through comments or through the poll on the right (yes, I know it looks crapped up on MSIE as its shifted all the way down to the bottom; I m in the process of fixing it, thanks) because I m very interested to know what you all think. Cheers, tony. Tony for Deep Jive Interests, 2007. | Permalink | Be the first to leave a comment! Search blogs linking this post with Technorati Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under General, Deep Jive Interests. [...]
[...] Pamela Heywood puts some nice perspective on the tracking situation after examining the Google terms of service. I would like to point out to Tony Hung that he doesn't have a comments policy on the Blog Herald or on Deep Jive Interests. You really shouldn't block people from comment spamming you without some kind of ToS or policy. I wonder if he realises that it is almost impossible to use any tracking service without some conflict of interest or insecurity, and he will need something if he is going to monetize his blog. In fact I don't personally know of any tracking service or script that doesn't represent some risk or conflict. Mathew Ingram has made a fairly balanced post, but I think he like others might not be aware that Shoemoney was specifically asked not to post another exploit without giving a heads up. I would love to know what Thomas Hawk would do if someone was attacking his servers with a denial of service attack… maybe block their IP? What happens if someone was trying to hack into private data? Block their IP? Would he send them an email first asking them to kindly notify him before revealing whatever exploit the hackers discovered. I wonder how much it would cost to pay an East European programmer to come up with some Zooomer hacks and exploits, or maybe Indian would be slightly cheaper. It seems that as long as you are not looking to change the data on Zooomr, then any hacking is allowed, and providing information on how to change data or tools would also be within the ToS. Unauthorized attempts to infiltrate the Web Site electronically for the purposes of changing some part of the service are actively monitored and are prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, 'cross-site scripting,' 'worms,' 'viruses,' and 'trojan horses.' [...]