Hi Guys,
I'm thinking about monetising this blog. I don't know if this would change your thoughts about being a subscriber so I'm asking the question.
When I started this blog it was a wargame diary and the amount of hits and followers didn't bother me much. It's a still a wargame blog and as such will never constitute a pay packet but, monetising might put a few quid into the coffers for future posts, if you get what I mean.
I doubt the sums involved would be sizable but frankly when it comes to hobby spend anything would help right now. Any proceeds from monetising would be ring fenced for gaming purchases.
Leave a comment, as a subscriber or otherwise, on how you would feel about this: Pro or Con.
If the general feeling is neutral or better I'll do it. If definitely anti I will not do it.
It's your choice on this one.
Regards,
James
32 comments:
I've been a fan for a long time. Mostly the DAK/North Africa related content. I would gladly pay a small monthly Patreon fee in support. The bigger question is - are you ok? What do you need? What can I/we do to help?
Hi James,
Your blog I regularly follow and is a source of inspiration,would happily subscribe if you decide to go that way.
Regards
Clive
Oh dear, no. I was just thinking about allowing advertising. I don't want you guys to pay for content, just put up with advertising banners. I'm not sure exactly how it works - I'm not sure that it is as intrusive as five second video adverts, I thought it might be more advertising banners.
I need to look into it further, probably. But there is NO WAY YOU WILL EVER BE ASKED TO PAY DIRECTLY TO RECEIVE CONTENT - NO WAY - NOT EVER.
Adverts - okay.
Subscribe - thanks but no.
:) How much traffic - unique visits do you get per day? I ask because it might not be worth the time and effort to set up ads. The income would be minimal. Sorry I assumed you meant going to something like Patreon. I subscribe to a couple of Patreons. Minimal monthly outlay of a couple of US dollars per month. Well worth the content. One of them offers a private Discord - basically a forum. I think I might enjoy that part even more. It keeps the riff raff out. :)
I'm sure advertising will pay pence, week by week with my hits turnover but at the end of a year it might add up to a small order for figures, or perhaps pay for one of those small one off extras.
I'm not asking for your money as much as your forbearance in accepting a little unwanted advertising.
I think, at best, advertising would make this blog about £50 to £100 a year, unless I've got my sums wrong - which is highly likely. Very small beer but, in hobby terms, £50 ring fenced a year is something - perhaps a unit or similar.
James, Given the quality of the stuff you post here and your longstanding contribution to the hobby with rules and whatnot I think people will stick with you.
I don't know much about advertising on blogs but Graham "Trebian" Evans on Wargaming for Grownup's does it. I recall him saying it paid for a few books a year or so. You might have a gander at his blog to see what it all looks like.
Best regards whatever you decide.
OB
No problem with adverts providing they are not too intrusive. There is an American I used to follow is constantly advertising this latest blog entry on TMP, I'm sure just to get the income (however big it is) it just puts me off visiting his blog. Never had a problem with anyone else monetising their blogs.
I’m generally against it. I prefer a ‘content only’ space without distraction. I don’t do it for my own blog and I have a separate wargame space (a bit like a second blog) that I pay for yearly, to keep it advert free, but that is just personal choice.
However (yes there would have to be one), I find the bigger problem is that internet thing where everything is considered free and well read blogs, seldom have that many people who leave even a simple ‘thank you’ comment and that becomes the rub, putting a lot of work in and totally having that work being taken for granted - so from that perspective, I would say yes to advertising.
It just depends which side of that coin one feels the most strongly about.
I probably wouldn't even notice the banners, to be honest.
Generally neutral about bods moneytising their blogs though only as long as the ads are hobby related and not all over the place. Like everything else, it can be done well and doesn't take over and can ad to content, or can be over done and destroys a website.
Ads can be annoying, depending on how they work on blogger. I generally pay a monthly service if its an option, to avoid ads, and immediately exit sites that involved intrusive, pop-up, or flashing ad material.
I also recognize blogging takes time and effort to keep up. I suggest looking into it to see how it works first.
No problems with you putting advertising on the blog. Go for it if you feel the need to do so. I will visit here and continue reading the posts regardless.
Not a concern at all James. The content and the projects is what brings me back and back over many years.
Richard
Paid adds won't be a problem for me or most otgers, I imagine. Wargames company adds would probably be of interest and an asset, but I doubt that will be the content!
Not a problem. Occasionally I even spot an ad that causes me to click.
James,
You always put a lot of thought and effort into your presentation. I personally feel that if a few advertisements on your pages show up, it is ok. Please just no cookies or auto referrals. I follow a few blogs going this low impact monetizing route, it is ok. Enjoy the extra book when it comes. And thanks for the article on building bridges.
Joe
I've been reading your blog for years- very rarely do I comment on it- but thought I'd say 'go for it'. Given the enormous enjoyment I've had reading (and re-reading) your blog, a bit of a return for all the hard work is well deserved.
Have a look at Patreon, in brief patrons can choose to support you in exchange for exclusive content which varies depending upon the amount they support. For those who don’t nothing changed it’s still the same. It means you do a bit more hobby stuff that others may not necessarily see straight away. There are fantasy gaming blogs that do similar. You can only try.
I tried monetizing one of my side blogs - the ads were never targeted toward my audience, no matter how I set the parameters. I won't mind ads, but I'd rather just send you the 50-pounds... lol. I always enjoy your blog.
Also, I second Stuart's suggestion of Patreon... 1 pound per month would hit your low end target with only four subscribers. I've paid more for less...
Fill your boots chum. Not sure what c.700 followers will earn you but if you need the cash go for it! Try to have soe control over who/what gets to advertise though.
Best wishes,
Jeremy
@ Fire At Will: I hope that your comment about posting my latest blog entries on TMP isn't directed at me. I post some "here's what I'm doing" posts on TMP to get some traffic going to my blog (I do not get paid for clicks on my blog), and based on the number of TMP hits on my TMP post, people seem to like such posts.
@ James : your blog so you can do what you want. I haven't done this on my blog because I want it to be an ad-free zone where followers can read and relax. I guess it kind of depends on how intrusive the ads are - do they pop up and cover up half of your page or are they just non-intrusive banner ads? Give it a try and see how YOU like it.
cheers,
Jim (the other Jim )
Ads not an issue in theory but depends on ad type/content and how intrusive/frequent as they can be annoying wee buggers
Subscription style not for me but would certainly miss seeing your posts.
In the end do what suits you as its your Blog maybe trial it for a few months
I'd certainly be OK with advertisements - although happier if they were wargaming related but no doubt (from what others have said) that is probably asking too much.
Cheers,
David.
I don’t see any problem with having some advertising as long as it isn’t loads of pop-ups that make the page almost unusable.
I understand you don’t want or ever intend to charge a direct subscription - I think it is hard to make that work in the context of a blog. I’ve been thinking about it in regards to podcasts. I’m a big podcast listener and many of these have advertising which is a lot more intrusive than a few banners. They then offer a paid version to skip the adverts and support them but these are fairly expensive - Angry Planet, for example, asks ‘only’ $9 per month and I don’t get that much value from it, nor could I afford (or at least justify) paying the same for each of the other dozen or so independent podcasts I dip in and out of. Even if the amount was much less, I wouldn’t want the hassle of managing so many subscriptions and remembering to cancel the payments for those that I no longer listened to. I wish there was a global subscription (it would have to work across multiple platforms) where for £50-£100 I could skip the adverts on all those podcasts. Something like that could work for blogs, giving the free with advertising or paid option. In the absence of such a scheme, the only other online option is the ‘buy me a coffee’ button for one-off small donations but I guess not many people click on that and it certainly is asking for money. Otherwise I’ll drop off a tin of Humbrol or some MDF next time I see one of your display games at a show:-)
Thanks for all the interest and inspiration your blog has provided..
Thanks for all the input. I'm seriously thinking about trying it. I can always lose it if I don't like it. I don't like pop ups, either. I don't mind a single 5 second obligatory video before watching a YouTube but only if it is one per piece, at the start. I'm not sure what will be the choice on a blog - a trial is in order, I think.
DAF, I didn't quite get the TMP thing either. I do that too, I do it there and on LAF but, it's more to direct non-followers to the blog. I know a lot of regular visitors, who aren't actually followers, who rely on the 'heads up!' that TMP and LAF, etc. provides.
This blog, when I don't post much (like this month because I've been ill) will get over 9000 hits a month - I'm not sure what percentage of that will be listed followers. If I post more, or what I post is interesting (less so, lol) it regularly gets up towards the 16,000 bracket. I think the record for a month, set earlier this year, is 34,000+ but I think that was Lithuanian bots. Even without bots it's pretty amazing. I used to think 3000 a month was massive - for a wargame blog.
Hi James, your blog has inspired me in several periods and I think monetizing would be a great idea to get a bit of cash in the coffers especially with the following you have I'm sure they'll see this as a great asset. Go for it!
Hi James, I find your blog a source of inspiration for the hobby in every facet. I think the pro's look pretty obvious in helping you sustain this blog. Initially, I thought you intended to require a subscription charge where the only con I could think of is if it became a deterrent to newcomers to the hobby discovering and being inspired (like me). If it were advertising, I am not sure that could possibly be a con.
Good luck, and thanks for all your posts.
Mike Gunson
I'd have no problems with small ads, and I'd likely be into a low cost patreon as well. As others have stated, you are a source of inspiration and resources for the hobby. Best of Luck
Go for it, James! If it allows you to get a few more figs on the table each year, that's a win for everyone.
Cheers,
Aaron
Post a Comment