I am talking about those little amazon adds, or indie bookstore adds that try to get you to click and order so that the blog owner gets a percentage of the profits. Do you love them? Hate them? Ignore them? Run from them?
Okay, folks. I have been going back and forth, up and down on this subject of advertising on my blog. I still just haven't been able to set my feet on solid ground one way or another. Does advertising turn you off? Do you not care? Do you actually enjoy it?
Does it say something about the blogger when they have these adds? Does it make you think differently about that blogger, like they are in this for selfish reasons? Tell me- I won't bite!
Do you not know what I am talking about? On B&b ex libris it would look like this:
Does that bug you? Does it make you run away and never return? Tell me about it, please do share.
25 comments:
I know some people hate these ads, but I've decided that whenever I order from amazon, I'm going to do it through a fellow blogger's site, so they don't bother me.
I don't really like the ads, but I certainly wouldn't avoid anyone's blog because of them. I do want links in blogs, though, because when I buy books on Amazon I want to support other bloggers, so I guess I'm okay with them.
- Meghan @ Medieval Bookworm
bermudaonion-
That is a great idea! I feel silly I never even thought of that :)
Doesn't really bother me. I have some advertising on my site and don't expect other bloggers to refrain on my poor account. Anyway, I mostly only see ads if I'm commenting (which is not so often) since most don't show up in feed readers. I don't think it's unreasonable to want to make a little extra income from your blog.
I am ok with adds, if they are discrete, I've seen those for amazon.com at the bottom of a review, so if you like the book you can directly click the online store and order the book if so inclined.
I am thinking of doing this, the adds just become lost in the margin.
I never notice them. But I like the idea of ordering through bloggers ads IF and WHEN I order! Great idea Bermuda!
I don't mind ads as long as they're subtle. I have been to a few blogs that were plastered with ads, one had them at the top, bottom, both sides, and between every article. It was too much, and I never visited that blog again. But now that I read them all in google reader, I wouldn't even see them unless I visit to comment.
a couple of my friends who read my reviews emailed me and told me about the amazon widgets for the blog. They in fact wanted me to put in a link along with each book so they could buy it easily.. i tried it for a couple of books and then a lot of people seemed to like it so i've left it there for good now.. i kinda like relevant ads.. but i hate those ad-banners in the sidebar that are not exactly book/blog relevant.. those kinda ads bug me.
I really don't like the Amazon ads because, let's face it, Amazon doesn't need any help. Conversely, I really like it when bloggers feature links to indie bookstores or websites, and I don't mind if they get a kick-back from that.
I have ads for both Amazon and Indibound on my site. Whenever I order through Amazon, I always choose a different blogger each time to support them and hope that others would do the same for me. I self-host. The little money I do make goes to support the site and postage as giveaways. I'm not earning a living, but it's enough to keep me going. It's your site. You decide what to do. If you spend so much time doing it, I think it wouldn't hurt. My husband wants me to monetize even more. I do have several ads that show up for search engine traffic. My normal readers aren't even aware of them. The key is to have them non-obtrusive and not annoying.
I'm pretty oblivious to them, since I read blogs in Google Reader. When I click through, I usually just go straight to comments.
Personally? It turns me off more than a little.
Just my opinion.
I don't even think about them. I took ads off my site, though--not enough money to be worth cluttering up my pages, IMO. I do link to IndieBound because I believe in the cause.
I wouldn't mind seeing a few ads, as long as they're not the screaming kind. I've been thinking about putting a few ads myself but was afraid some readers might get turned off. I understand how much time goes into reading and blogging about them, and how we need all the help we can get for our families.
I don't care for the ads at all, but I wouldn't stop reading a good blog that had them unless they were extremely intrusive (I tend to prefer blogs that feel more personal or "homemade" in nature, so the less commercialism the better). I do understand the temptation to want to make some money back on all the donated time and labor that goes into maintaining a blog, but I didn't take up blogging to become a shill for Amazon or anyone else. If it matters, though, nobody's ever accused me of having good business sense either!
I, too, go to a different blogger each time I want to order from Amazon. I like to spread the wealth to those that I get my tbr lists from.
In general I hate ads and I have definitely been turned off sites that have big banners (especially if not book-related) or those horrible ads linked to random words (not describing that very well, so I hope you know what I mean). However, I'm not as bothered by Amazon or other bookstore ads though I personally don't want them on my blog.
I don't mind a few ads; if I am interested in the content of a particular blog or post, I sometimes appreciate the additional links to something that I might be interested in. I don't want to dig through a site that has more ads than blog content though. I have a few ads on my blog, but I try to keep them unobtrusive; and as many others have said, I often don't notice them on other blogs anyway if I am reading in Google Reader.
Interesting discussion! I like the idea of ordering from fellow bloggers sites. I just added amazon links to my reviews and a tiny google adsense box. I am on the fence about it as I don't want it to detract from my blog. I didn't know that you can ad a link for Indiebound and I'm going to check into adding that. I think that everyone needs to find what works for them and what they're comfortable with. It doesn't bother me to see ads on book blogs except when they are so dominating that it distracts from the book essence.
I don't like the ads, but I'm not turned off by them. As a matter of fact, I read your blog mostly in my Bloglines reader, so I'm pretty oblivious to ads.
I have an Amazon widget with their best-seller list, which I personally like. And another that I have my "bookshelf" on. I also embed the links to the books reviewed, onto the image of the book cover. It doesn't say "Amazon" on that at all, but if you click on the book cover, it'll take you to Amazon.
I do not like big banners at the header, those totally distract from the blog...
As I am a huge fan of Powell's, there is a Powell's search box on my site, and all the book links go to Powell's, provided they carry the book. It's not in your face, and unless someone actually clicks on the link (few do), they probably don't even know it'd take them to Powell's. I've been thinking about adding a little note about my Powell's links in my sidebar.
I just started doing it with Amazon a week ago, though it doesn't look like advertisement until you hover or click on the images.
~Mee
I honestly do not pay attention to the ads. I don't find them distracting or an obstruction.
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