Comments on Life With My 3 Boybarians: To Ad or not to Ad. That is the question.

I would probably put ads on my blog if I had any c...

2009-06-15T12:30:27.701-05:00

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.

I have been considering doing ads, how does one ge...

2009-06-12T13:44:02.759-05:00

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?

Ads don't bother me at all, on established blogs. ...

2009-06-11T12:12:49.222-05:00

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.).

Darcy - You are the blog guru! I have three of the...

2009-06-11T11:14:35.662-05:00

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!

Oh, my goodness, girl! I came over here to say hel...

2009-06-11T00:05:37.741-05:00

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.

I had never even heard of the superstore until now...

2009-06-10T16:29:11.242-05:00

I had never even heard of the superstore until now, and now I MUST see it, but....the link does not work!

I like offering ads because they allow me to do th...

2009-06-10T14:07:21.985-05:00

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 like your header change. I've gone ad free on m...

2009-06-10T13:44:40.125-05:00

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 was so glad to read this! Great points and I thi...

2009-06-10T11:24:00.652-05:00

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!

great article! oh I like melissa's question. wha...

2009-06-10T11:00:30.259-05:00

great article! oh I like melissa's question. what was your answer!

love the subtle change to your header!! =)

how do you get the personal business ads. do you a...

2009-06-10T09:53:02.480-05:00

how do you get the personal business ads. do you ask if they'd like to advertise or do they come to you?

Ok Darcy, our darling Web Guru and Internet Sherpa...

2009-06-10T09:26:39.281-05:00

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

The only ad I have on mine is for Amazon. There i...

2009-06-10T09:21:01.080-05:00

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...

Thanks for mentioning Academic Superstore. We're w...

2009-06-10T09:10:59.222-05:00

Thanks for mentioning Academic Superstore. We're working hard for education and appreciate your kind words.

There really isn't a question about ads - when ya ...

2009-06-10T08:37:51.186-05:00

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... :-)

I'm there with you. When I started blogging, I did...

2009-06-10T07:32:49.101-05:00

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.
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. :)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. :)
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

Seeing as how I just put a monstrous BlogHer ad on...

2009-06-10T07:26:34.794-05:00

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!

b&h...ahhhh. i have uber love. love the pioneer w...

2009-06-10T07:25:34.767-05:00

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.