Should You Include Ads in Your Blog Posts?
In a previous post, I talked about ways to start monetizing your new blog. One of those ways is by including ads in your blog posts.
Including ads in your posts is one of the easiest ways to make passive income. But blogger opinions vary as to whether or not you should Include ads in your content. I happen to be from the school that says if you’re getting traffic, throw ’em in there. But don’t go crazy.
Related Articles
A lot of what you’ll read on this blog is inspired by something I’ve seen or read by other bloggers. When my natural tendency says “that’s crap”, you’ll get a new post. Like this one
I recently read a post by a blogger who thinks that you shouldn’t include ads in your content. Her reasoning was that ads take the reader away from your blog, which is a valid argument.
She also says that ads can detract from your design, and I suppose that’s true for those who go crazy with tons of ads on one page.
Do as I say, not as I do.
That said, you know that I don’t listen to what these bloggers say, nearly as closely as I watch what they do. And watching what this blogger was doing in this particular post, let me see that she completely contradicted what she was telling her readers to do!
In evaluating whether she was adhering to her own advice, I counted 11 ads in that post.
The blogger who’s telling you not to include ads in your posts, included 11 ads in hers!
What does that tell you?
I’ll tell you what it tells me; it tells me that not only did she straight up lie to me (AND you), but that I should now question everything that comes from her fingertips.
There are a lot of people out there who build blogs for the simple sake of spewing the same old shit; pushing the same verbiage about blogging that seems to have been working up to now.
But think the days of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ are numbered.
Ms. “Don’t Put Ads in Your Content”, while littering her own content with ads, is apparently from the ‘fake it til you make it’ school of blogging. Either that, or she’s confused AF.
So…with regard to whether or not you should include ads in your blog posts, I’m of the opinion that it’s entirely up to you. It depends on a few things that are in your own control, and what you find works best for you.
Test it out. If you don’t like the look and/or the feel of your content with ads in it, omit them.
Some will tell you that Adsense ads can slow down your site. How much is anyone’s guess. But if you’re making decent money with Adsense, odds are that you could qualify for a better network. So making the switch could only be to your advantage.
Adding affiliate links to your posts can also be a lucrative way to monetize your content without subjecting your readers to actual ads.
There are any number of affiliate networks that you can join, and do a search for companies whose products match the needs of your audience.
Some great networks that I use include:
Sharesale
Flex Offers
Magic Links
VigLink
If you’ve grown your audience and your email list, you might want to consider replacing your ad income with your own digital product. This is something that I’ll be doing with a couple of my own blogs sooner rather than later.
Currently, this blog makes it’s money via ads in the content and sidebar, and affiliate links for products that I like. I don’t include affiliate ads for products that I’ve never used, or don’t particularly like. It just doesn’t make sense. I also won’t do a sponsored post for something that I’ve never used, and know jack-shit about.
You could also consider replacing ads (or combining them) with sponsored posts. Sponsored posts are a lot less obvious than ads are, and it’s been my experience that you can make more with one sponsored post than you’d make with ads. The most that I’ve made on a sponsored post was $1400.
All in all, including ads whether in your content, or in your blog sidebar is a choice that you’ll need to make for your own, likely in the not too distant future.
Peace.
Debbie
The post How to Monetize Your New Blog appeared first on She Loves Nice Things.
