Was I excited this morning when I read my email from Pam at Mannix Marketing. She told me my new blog ads had gone live and were already earning money ($7.49 at 8am).
It was after seeing Jenna’s blog Cold Antler Farm, that I first thought of having ads on my site. I was surprised to find that I actually thought the ads looked good on her site, serious and professional. They also made me admire Jenna’s business sense. This is a woman, I thought, who knows what’s she doing and is doing it well. But I never imagined I could have ads on my blog.
A few weeks ago, when Jon suggested I go to the meeting he was having with Chris and Pam at Mannix I was embarrassed. I thought they would laugh at me to assume I could actually make some extra money from my blog. But they didn’t laugh, they took me seriously and wondered what took me so long to try.
I have come to love my blog, I love writing about my work, getting feedback and selling my work, but I also love the idea of it changing and growing. It makes me feel successful to know that I can continue to grow my business in ways I wouldn’t have imagined. And, like hiring Kim to do the assembly work on my potholders, having my blog make money for me just by my doing what I’ve been doing all along, frees me up to be more creative. If I’m thinking less about money, I can spend more time on my work.
So this is how the ads work. There are three of them listed below my Recent Posts. (also notice my new search bar, it looks and works better that the long list of past blog posts) They change automatically relating to the content of my blog. That’s one of the things I like about them, they’ll be ads for things I might want to buy myself, things having to do with sewing and the ideas I write about. Every time someone clicks on an ad, I get a few cents. To me they are not visually offensive I think it makes my blog more interesting.
So this morning when I looked at my blog with the new ads, I felt like I had taken a big step. For me this has so much to do with my feelings of self worth. Until recently I never imagined I could make a living doing what I love. I didn’t know that I could choose a good life or that I deserved to have one.
By the end of the day I had made $14 on the ads. Later, when I picked up my potholders from Kim and dropped off 20 more, I couldn’t stop smiling. Things are moving and it feels good.
Maria, What a wonderful validation for you, your blog and your art. YAY! Terah
Maria, that’s awesome! First day out, $14? Multiply that by 365 days – ok, maybe just round it off to 300 since you might not blog every day, and that’s still $4200 in a year! I will click every time, promise – even if it’s nothing I’d really be interested in – every click helps! You may be interested in clicking on this site which is free (for the click) but all the clicks go toward food for rescued animals –
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3
A friend of mine told me about this years ago, and it’s so easy to do in the morning when going through the usual email housekeeping! Best of everything as you and Jon transition to your new Bedlam Farm. Susan
I clicked Susan, thanks
I am SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! I think this was definitely a step in the right direction! Good for you!!! … I love that potholder on top of the left hand pile….LOVE the lime green in it! 🙂
Just to let you know — when I opened your blog tonight, the ads that appeared were for Mazda CX9, TV parts, and Showtime subscriptions. I thought, hmmmm, those don’t seem too relevant. But when I opened this window to comment, they all switched to quilt-pattern and Etsy ads. So perhaps one needs to actually engage with the blog to see the relevant ads?
I don’t know Annie, I haven’t seen those ads.
Congratulations! and best wishes for continued success!
From Fran
Hi Maria. I like the new search engine feature and the ads on the navigation bar on the right side do look very professional and are not overwhelming. The only thing I saw that I thought was odd is that there is one ad that is below your post but above the comments section here on your page? That looked weird to me to have an ad there. Just wanted to provide some feedback.
Love the potholders!
Thanks JoAnne.
I’ve noticed on other blogs, a donation button. Where if you like what you are reading, and you enjoy it, you can donate to the cause. Ever think of something like that? You and Jon?
I have thought of it, I’m not there yet.
Oh Maria, many people have ‘Ad-Block’ or some such ad filter so that they don’t see ads on ANY website. I see nothing on your blog page.
I never heard of Ad-Block, what a good idea, for those who don’t want to see ads.
I couldn’t understand why I didn’t see the adds but I installed ad block months ago and forgot about it. I do love ad block. It’s strange that it doesn’t block ads on Jenna’s website though. I see all of the ads on her web site.