Should I Monetize This Blog?

You could say I’m putting a bit of thought as to whether I should monetize The Tinbasher.

My main points of contention are:

#1. Whether I should monetize it at all?
Forget any of the reasons why or how, this is the fundamental question that needs answering.

#2. Why I should monetize the blog?
Well, hosting costs have gone up considerably since we switched to a vps host. Does it not make sense to recoup these costs somehow? Could monetizing be seen as the online equivalent of ‘doing a foreigner’? (And I don’t mean getting it on with a Slovenian housekeeper.)

#3. How would I monetize the blog?
Do you go down the adsense route and if so, how far down that particular route do you go? Do you provide adspace in some way or even advertise occasionally via a post? Now I’ve used targetted adsense on a blog before with slightly higher traffic and it amply covered costs.

I suppose I’m worried about appearing like some form of ‘sell-out’ at the end of the day, but I also feel duty bound (not that it’s been mentioned) to keep costs to a minimum and to drive revenues if at all possible. Or, am I just being a tight Northerner?

Basically, I’m handing this one over to you in the comments.

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Paul Woodhouse

That's bloody marvellous.

Yes, adsense does take you down a very sinister road of spam if you're not too careful.

I'm thinking of not bothering unless something decent rears its ugly little head.

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An Oasis

Paul listen to shoemoney, seo rockstars... basically if you want money from adsense, create crap content, scape... and then your only competition is the back button.

The better your content the less reason people have to click on ads. So highly focussed affiliates is the only way to go, if you want to keep creating good content.

Is that better?

I know what you mean, Steve.

I'm only thinking about using adsense on select posts that draw in traffic for no other reason than for specific search terms that have no real bearing on what we do here at bsm.

It'd be an archived adsense thing, if at all.

Perhaps I'll experiment with it at some point.

Steve Sawford

I Think as long as the ads are related to the site content and not intrusive (as in the sidebar), they do not detract from a blog. You don't have to read them, they are easy to ignore and occasionally interesting!
I use adsense on my mainsite and the income just about covers the hosting.
I think the blogging community can sometimes get a bit "holier than thou" on this issue.
That's my "tuppence worth", er make that a penny, I'm a Yorkshireman after all.

There's no chance I'd start throwing ads out there for no apparent reason.

With regards to adsense, I'd only use it on scrap metal prices posts or other certain select archived posts - if at all.

I'm really rather torn by the idea to be honest. It's more of a case of needing to be persuaded why rather than why not.

Ideally I suppose I'd like to get machine manufacturers and suppliers on board as opposed to running an adsense campaign.

However, I really can't move away from the idea that it feels a bit of a sell-out.

Once you start I can imagine it could become quite a slippery slope.

Geoff

Of cause you should, Paul. Just leave the rss feed ad free :-)

v[[-a,S;p/+E&gt;r)S t;H&#39;e %G,,r+aT^e

monetize : to coin into money, to legalize as money.

money : anything used as a medium of exchange.

To perform digital alchemy, a blood from a turnip quip, to equip the bridle of honor, fine honed in to set itself off to best advantage, the belt of fabrication must be loosened to set it free.

I see it as going from chatty blog to ecommerce site. We can talk, via typing, on our blogs. Called a post. Published.

Then why can't we also recommend products we sincerely buy, use, like, and can, er, recommend? If we are lying buzz agents, the readers will find out quickly, we lose cred, lose readers, and the universe goes back to normal again, apparently.

So I allow only ads for companies I really use and enjoy. I may kick an advertiser off my site if I lose confidence in their morality or \quality/.

We enable our readers to become aware of companies we trust, use, are customers of, etc. It would be nice if our readers yanked out their credit cards and bought something, anything, at the sites where the advert points to. Right? You know it's right!

Thanks awfully for finally trotting out from behind the shadows and being of no bloody help whatsoever.

I've used adsense on blogs with similar traffic to this and would easily have paid for the hosting.

I'm about to re-launch the Tinpot Alley blog again, from which I'll gladly link to your good selves and offer you plenty of greased-up shiny metal articles for you to link to.