| I used to have ads. Partly because why not get a little money, and partly for the more direct fun of turning something fun on my own time into actual money that can buy the proverbial coffee. (also partly because I started working for a company that makes most of its money from ads) But then I realized that why am I making my fun little hobby product (the blog) worse, by putting shit on it, that I wouldn't want to see? So it was not worth the two benefits. Later, someone asked in a comment if they could donate some bitcoin as a "tip". Sure, I created a wallet for it, and got a little tip. A few years later, when I'd thought more about cryptocurrency, I felt too disgusted to hold any of it. Holding it would mean being part of the problem. So I cashed out my tipjar. It was the same feeling as when I got ad revenue. In both cases was it "magical internet something" turning into real cash in my bank account. So in both cases it was just a gambler's high. And at risk of sounding like General Ripper, I was able to interpret these feelings correctly, and got a better understanding of why cryptocurrency advocates can get so delusional. Not on my blog, but on my opensource stuff page I've had a paypal donation button for maybe 15 years. It's gotten me maybe $15 per decade. But it's not intrusive. Anyway, my blog isn't much, and I'm sure yours are much more popular. I would not try to monetize until it got bigger. Don't put ads until it can pay like a job. Patreon maybe, if you think it could help your community-building. Donation buttons are unobtrusive, though. Kurzgesagt has a breakdown of their revenue: https://youtu.be/1x-i9z617z4. It's more merch than you might think. But really what the internet needs is quick and easy microtransactions. If it cost $0.10 to click a "like" button I'd still click it if I like the content. It shouldn't be hard to make, but we don't have it. Probably mostly because bootstrapping problem. |
Lol what problem.
If people don't wanna see adds, surely they can just use a good adblocker.