I’ve read a few blog posts recently about the commercialization of the blogosphere and various other meta-issues which I usually try to avoid here. The posts I have linked are thoughtful and well-considered. I loves me some socratic discourse about issues like ads on blogs and blogging motivation and blogging for the sake of “popularity” and whether that ranks up there on the scale of human indecency along with beastiality and voting for Rick Santorum.
(Funny how when I think of beastiality my mind automatically goes to Rick Santorum. Now why is that?)
But then there have been some posts (and comments) on this topic from what sound to be crazy, ranting nutbars, who feel that anyone considering advertising on their blogs should be drawn and quartered, then publically stoned while being forced to listen to William Shatner sing-speak Stairway to Heaven for six consecutive days. I don’t care to link to them.
Interestingly, there’s one consistent phrase that I’ve seen in both kinds of discussions, either by the author or the commenter. And that’s the idea that those who disdain blog ads, do so in part because they make me buy products I don’t need.
Making them buy products they don’t need! I love it! Especially since I, in my ad agency day job am those people with this magic ability to make you do such a thing! And pssst… so’s Girl Con Queso. Don’t tell anyone.
Now personally, I would loooove to know which blog ad–the majority of which are poorly designed, and show a complete lack of understanding of the blog audience in both content and style–has that ability. Because if I knew it, I would be rich. Rich beyond my wildest dreams. So rich that I could buy you each ponies, and then ponies for the ponies, because hell, even ponies must dream of having their own ponies. And then we’d ride off together on our ponies (these are very sturdy ponies), with our ponies’ ponies in tow, headed right for Canyon Ranch, where the Bali Spice Body Mask and Hot Stone Massages are on me.
I’ve been writing ads for a lot of years. Some people even consider me pretty good at it. And yet I know of no advertising technique with the the veritable power of waving a hand grenade menacingly in the direction of your bookshelf and insisting that you BUY! BUY IMMEDIATELY OR THE FIRST EDITION HARRY POTTER BOOK GETS IT.
Geez folks, any decent arguments against blog ads (and indeed there are some) get lost with hyperbole about people making you–an adult with, one can only hope, free will and common sense and a certain degree of media savvy–buy things you don’t need.
Or maybe I’m wrong.
Is there a product you’ve been forced (forced!) to buy that you absolutely didn’t need? Is there a man out there who just found himself mysteriously drawn to the new lighter, thinner maxipads with dri-weave protection? A 20-something couple with an inexplicably itchy dialing finger after watching the AARP infomercials? An Muslim who just couldn’t resist having all of the greatest Christian power anthems on one double CD?
Inquiring (and manipulative) ad minds want to know.
61 shards of brilliance… read them below or add one
Well,I’m going to be the meany here (without being mean.) You see, I’m a nobody really, who has nothing to lose and I’ve posted and lurked here before and I think you even left a comment on mine(for which, thank you!!)I’m not judging anyone who has ads on their sites… more power to them. But I came across this post and It was so powerful and well-written, and thoughtful, I absolutely thought more people should at least read it, even if they disagree. And no, she’s not talking about stoning anyone…she’s simply raising questions and possible answers. I have no knowledge of the woman prior to twenty minutes ago… but … I am impressed.http://www.hellojosephine.blogspot.com/
Thank you Merry Mama! I appreciate the link. However I must confess, my eyes glazed over after about the 37th paragraph.I can’t discuss the ups and downs of blog ads with someone who seems to be anti-advertising as a whole. It’s like debating the merits of leggings with a nudist. I’ll just say that she’s a bit uninformed as to the control that we all have over our own blogs, where to place the ads, who to accept, and under what guidelines. I’m not selling a piece of myself here; good lord, that’s dramatic! I’m selling some bandwidth. And I find her assertion that by having an ad on here, I “remove my mental reluctance to sell to friends” (presumably via undisclosed product placement in my content) insulting. Again, let me say it – people with ideas like this need to ask questions instead of making assumptions. ASK THE BLOGGERS who have the ads on their sites how it has changed them, their content, their “reluctance to sell to friends.” But then, the debate would probably be over wouldn’t it.
I have never understood why anyone gets upset with ads on blogs. After all, we’re all doing this for free, so why not let us make a few bucks off it, particularly if you enjoy the site? That said, I HATE ads in between posts. Sidebar doesn’t bother me, but that drives me insane.
I agree- come on people! We put ads on our blogs- but that doesn’t mean you have to click them.
I am such a target market. I have a friggin’ degree in communications, I studied advertising at university, and I am still completely manipulated by ads. Will it make me happier, thinner, smarter, sexier? I’ll buy it. Will it make me a better mother if I buy those stretchy diapers instead of those non-stretchy ones? Hell, it’s worth a go. And I’m educated, for cryin’ out loud. I know better – I understand product placement and why they put things at certain levels on the grocery store shelves and how they use my own insecurities to manipulate me. (Oops, sorry, I guess that “they” is actually “you”, eh?) And yet it still happens.You know what, I read every word of the Hello Josephine post, and it and a bunch of other stuff I’ve read recently made me do a complete about-face on the blog ad issue. I was all ready to go – even signed a contract, for goodness sake – and now I’ve had a change of heart. Because the blog IS me – it’s the story of me, and my boys, and our life, and the idea of selling that for $60 a month kind of gives me the willies when I really think about it. How exactly is that different from selling it to a publisher some day? I don’t exactly know, but somewhere in my addled brain, there is a distinction.Another thing that really made me think twice is this: I’m 7 weeks pregnant, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to maintain my self-imposed blog-every-weekday schedule when the baby comes. But would I feel I *had* to blog, because those ads are up there? What if I didn’t post for a month? Would knowing that my traffic stats are tied to profit instead of simple ego-boost make me blog in a different way? I’m afraid it might.Fascinating debate – and I’m actually surprised at where I finally came out. For those who want the ads on their blog, more power to you – but I don’t think they’re for me.
Dani, You totally have to do what’s right for you. The great thing, is you have a choice either way!Just another question though, do you think you really think you’d feel you *have* to blog for $60 a month? If you were paying your rent with it, sure, but $2 a day? Really?I’m not trying to convince you (rather to defend my own choice) but I don’t feel for a minute I’m selling the story of my life. I’m selling a few pixels of bandwidth in a sidebar, separated from editorial. Same as how a personal essay from David Sedaris in the New Yorker may be opposite advertising. Glad however that you came to the decision that makes you feel best about what you’re doing. It’s all good!
Yah, the distinction you make about selling a personal essay and selling blog space is a shifting line for me.I guess it’s about comfort, and I’m extremely lucky (as you mentioned) to have the choice to begin with. You say you’re selling a few pixels of bandwidth in the sidebar, but (to my reasoning, and in my case) I wouldn’t have that space to offer if I hadn’t gained an audience by telling the story of me, and my boys. If it weren’t for the story, I wouldn’t have the audience, therefore my space wouldn’t have any value to an advertiser. I’ve < HREF="http://momm-eh.blogspot.com/2006/09/one-where-she-changes-her-mind.html" REL="nofollow">blogged<> about it a little bit more today, if you’re interested. These conversations are fascinating, and important.
I’m a little late to this post but I did catch a post or two else where and blogged about some of it on my personal blog.Personally, I see absolutely nothing wrong with putting ads upon my site or you putting ads on yours. It’s an easy way to pay for a habit or a lifestyle. That is if you know how to make it work for your sites.I’m one of those people that tests out ad placements often to see where the ads perform best throughout my site and/or blogs. I’m aware that some people dont like the ads there but you have to do whatever works for you. In my experience, bloggers don’t click on other bloggers ads. That market just does not click on ads. Your clickers will come from elsewhere. I’m not going to bore you with a whole internet marketing lesson here. Also, Ad blindness is experienced often when you see the same format and the same ad over and over. Am I making any sense? LOL.Anyway, over all, I see no problem withs ads on a site. For some and myself, it’s a way to make a living. I dont buy something because of an ad. I buy it if I need it. Ads DO NOT make you buy stuff you don’t need. Like you said, it’s ultimately your decision. No one is holding a gun to your head and saying buy.:)but thats just my opinion.
As far as blogs go, I’ve never had a problem with those that choose to advertise on their blogs. If it can make them a little extra money or even turn blogging into a career, more power to them.But in all honesty, I don’t think I’ve ever clicked on any of the ads in those blogs. I’ve just never felt compelled to do so.
I do have to say that an ad that I like will actually make me respect the company more. Really. Even though I know it means nothing other than someone there ordered and managed to approve a cool ad. Still it ups their worth in my eyes.Doesn’t mean I’ll buy the product.But I *might* think about it, whereas perhaps I would not even have noticed them before.(Yes, I’m the perfect consumer for agencies to pick my brain…or the worst…)
I don’t have anything against advertising on blogs. I do not judge a blog as good if it doesn’t have ads or evil if it does — it’s too simplistic a view of the world. There are blogs without advertising that try to skew opinions, and there are plenty of blogs with ads that have never changed their focus or content even while the bloggers are making some money from what they advertise.I think it’s silly when people think that advertising will “trick” them into buying something. That’s like the shoplifter saying that he couldn’t resist picking up a piece of jewelry. There is such a thing as free will, people.