The Tip Jar – Going Ad Free

Blogging is a labor of love. I love sharing with you what we’re up to and what we learn. I really hope that all of my readers learn a little something from our adventures and can become more self sufficient in their lives as well.

I spend several hours every week researching, writing, finding guest posters and answering email questions. Because this site is self hosted I also have to shell out a fair amount of money for the hosting along with the domain name. I’ll admit, ads are annoying but looking at my options, I felt that they were a necessity. I’m clearly not looking to get rich by any means but I was hoping that between the ads and my Amazon store over on the left under Tools and Books (Amazon will pay me 4% of whatever people buy through my website – it doesn’t even have to be in my store and you don’t pay anything extra) I could at least offset some of my costs for running this blog. Maybe even get a little bonus for all the time I spend writing.

I had originally gone with Google AdSense but they decided that once I was nearing my first payment amount that they would accuse me of fraud based on an uptick (that really wasn’t that big) in visits to the blog due to a really popular post I had written. I tried to appeal it and it was a no go. It made me really angry that for over a year I had provided their clients free advertising and then they accused me of doing something I never did and wouldn’t even allow me to plead my case to a human being. So then I switched to AdBrite, which I had read good reviews on, but I got annoyed with their ads that had sound and video even though I specifically said I didn’t want that. So they are out. My options are diminishing.

I’ve thought about getting sponsors but feel that my readership just isn’t big enough yet to be worth it to companies to sponsor. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be more than happy to take on a sponsorship if  So now I’m looking at alternatives. Erica over at Northwest Edible Life first turned me on to Monetization Her Way. Instead of doing ads she has a Tip Jar where people can give her a tip for all the useful information she provides. Even though I’m generally not one to ask directly for money I thought it was a great idea considering how much work she puts into her blog.

I’ve decided to swallow my pride and go for it. Of course there’s no pressure and I don’t actually expect anything, but if you feel inclined it would be very much appreciated.  But regardless of any tips, I’ll be here still to answer questions, offer advice, and share our adventures because you, my readers, make it worth it.

 

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