Advertising on Prosophos.com?

Q&A

A few months ago, the good folks at WordPress contacted me directly and informed me about their new WordAds* initiative.

In short, this initiative would allow for advertising on my site and, in return, I would receive financial compensation (amount unknown).  My initial reaction was to be wary, as I don’t condone visual pollution of any sort, and I like the clean and simple look of this site.  However, as time has gone on, the site has drawn more and more viewers:

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I have correspondingly invested more and more time running Prosophos.com, often spending several hours a day posting images, answering comments and individual private e-mail requests for help, writing articles and lens field reports, and honing the overall interface.

I’ve slowly realized that I can’t keep going at this pace, without somehow giving up more of my “real work” time.

I’m left with a couple of options:  I could focus on only posting images, and not respond to questions in the comments section or to private requests for help.  Or, I could give WordAds a chance.  Obviously, I very much enjoy writing and interacting with everybody who visits this site, so the first choice is — in my estimation — not really a choice at all.

So the decision has been made.  Starting soon — possibly next week — you may see advertisements on this site.  I’m told I can shut them down at any time.

We’ll see how it goes.

I hope you understand, and I would appreciate any comments on the matter.

Respectfully,

—Peter.

ADDENDUM (May 14, 2012):  I have held off introducing advertising for now, as doing so would require changing my site theme/interface, which is not something I’m prepared to do.  I’ll keep you posted as things develop…

 

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* if you don’t know about WordAds, you can read about it here and can fill out this form to be considered for approval.

9 thoughts on “Advertising on Prosophos.com?”

    1. Elias's avatar

      Peter –
      I agree with Leslie…keep on sharing your work… and in return you might make some money… what is wrong with that?

      Artists and all other creative people, still need money for food, etc…..

      Best Regards,

      Elias

  5. RobVSF's avatar

    I hate ads. Ads suck. Ads add clutter to an otherwise clear and concise site design; they visually muddle up the message and character of the site. Luckily, for people like me, there are web browsers that, eh hem, prevent ads from showing up on any web site. I therefore say “go for it!” If the ads make your life a little more manageable as well as keep your wonderful blog going, then they are a perfectly viable option. Your readers will stick with you no matter what.

    1. nickolas's avatar

      peter, you shouldn’t hesitate to try and make a little money off the site. Myself and everyone who follow it have been getting free lessons from you on how to take good pictures for a while now. you deserve everything you’ll get, and then some.

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