Over the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with some different ways of monetizing this site. Some have worked very well – others, like Google AdSense ads, detracted from the design and simplicity of the site. Over the past month, I’ve opened Pomomusings up for advertisers, and it’s been a really great thing. If you want to know more information about how you can advertise on my blog, check out the Advertising page. Whenever people start talking about making money off their sites/blogs, there will always be people who think you are “selling out.” There are even movements out there, like Ad Free Blog, who believe that corporate advertising on blogs devalue the medium.
Obviously, while I respect those people who don’t put ads on their sites, I’ve moved in the direction of placing ads on Pomomusings. I spend a lot of time on this site, and so for me it’s great if I can make some money off it as well. And while I’m certainly no professional blogger making six figures from Pomomusings, the additional source of income has been good (and is moving me closer toward getting that scooter!). I hope you will agree that aesthetically, it’s been a much better choice than plastering this site with AdSense text ads. This month I am working with Mars Hill Graduate School, MemberHub, faithHighway, Clover, YS and AcreScout. I really enjoy the chance I get to work with these organizations – they’re run by some really great people!
I want to be open and transparent about my money-making decisions behind this blog – because my readers are very important to me. This is why I want you all to know that one thing I’m going to start introducing tomorrow is occasional sponsored posts. Beyond ads, “sponsored posts” can sometimes be an even greater controversy. People who are against them claim (rightly many times) that sponsored posts simply allow the advertisers to drive the content of the site. Which is why I spent a lot of time thinking about this aspect of monetizing my site. However, I am going to do my best to make sure that advertisers do not drive the content of this site. I will only do sponsored posts for organizations I support, or products that I’ve used (or could see many benefits in using).
I hope that my use of sponsored posts will not take away from your desire to keep reading Pomomusings – and I can assure you that they will be infrequent. Thanks for understanding.