Are ads bad?
So I’ve decided to try a little something for April and run some text ads in the sidebar. I went back and forth on the idea of running ads for a while. I was a little uncomfortable doing it because, hey, the PostSecret guy doesn’t. But he’s also running his blog on Blogspot (and presumably not paying for hosting there). Not that I’m paying loads for hosting, but One Sentence does use more bandwidth than any of my other sites…
In any event, consider this an experiment. I’m going to run the ads for a month. They’re going to be limited to a 120×240 pixel banner in the sidebar. The RSS feed won’t have ads. And I’ll donate 25% of any money I make to a to-be-determined charity.
If the ads drive you nuts or you feel very strongly that I shouldn’t run ads, speak up. Let me know here or via the contact form. If the masses speak and the ads drive you batty, then I’ll ditch ‘em.
April 4th, 2008 at 5:56 am
go ahead and run them - as long as the ads don’t get invasively big and ugly, i don’t see why they shouldn’t generate a bit of extra cash for you/the site.
April 4th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I agree with Niki. You aren’t trying to make a profit, the ads don’t consume the site, it’s reasonable.
PS: I love this website : )
April 4th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I don’t mind them. They’re not obnoxious and I barely even notice them. Do what you gotta do, dude. ;)
April 4th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I thought they had been there the whole time…. so, go for it.
April 4th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I agree with everyone else - go for it if it’s something you want to do. As long as they’re not those huge flashing “Win An iPhone!!” ads :)
April 6th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
You could always try to run ads that have something to do with the onesentence mind frame. Who knows where those ads could lead the readers? :)
April 7th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I honestly didn’t notice them until I read this post. So you have my permission to keep them ;)
April 8th, 2008 at 3:45 am
Wow… you are probably the most up front person I’ve seen on a blog in terms of whether or not to post ads.
I think your choice of non-intrusive ads was a good one, and no one can fault you for trying to pay for your bandwidth.
However… another idea might be to find maybe one sponsor relevant to onesentence, who is willing to trade payment of your bandwidth costs for a permanent, classy, fitting advertisement…
But either way… I love onesentence!
April 10th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Your tasteful use of text ads to help pay for your web hosting is perfectly acceptable to me. You should would be lucky to MAKE ten or twenty bucks an night!
April 13th, 2008 at 2:21 am
I hadn’t noticed until you mentioned it, so if it helps the site out, go for it.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:21 pm
The ads don’t seem to be annoying. I think it’s probably a good idea.
I enjoy reading your site and look forward to my weekly visit!
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 am
I think it’s great. Perfect sized, not distracting at all! The donation to charity is a really neat idea. One Sentence rules, fo’eva.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
If the ads help pay the bill and don’t overwhelm the clean look of the site, who can complain?
Keep up the good work.
April 25th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I didn’t even notice the ads till you mentioned it. If it generates more cash, more power. Also the charity idea is an awesome one. ONE SENTENCE ROCKS!!
May 29th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I’d agree with what Arj Says i.e. find one classy sponsor that would allow you to be sure that the ads weren’t intrusive and match the (wonderful) nature of the site’s content.
Good luck!
Seth