Have you ever given a child a present which you put tons of thought into and after unwrapping it, they put the toy or present to one side and end up playing with the box? Are your visitors doing the same thing? Do they get all excited about you and your site but don’t actually do what you would like them to do?
- Ads
A few sites I visit are plastered with ads and at first I could handle it, because the content is so outstandingly good, but after a while the ads got more and more intense and I stopped visiting because every other paragraph had a link text in it that wasn’t an internal link to a related post, it was an ad link. It looks something like this, in which normal related links are interspersed with ad text links.
I get why ads are on sites I really do, but honestly if you are writing such amazing content and putting so much sweat into it, then ads could potentially distract your reader from actually really listening to what you have to say. If you are trying to get a really important point across and all the while a flashing text box is going off right next to it, then it could, not always, but could put people off from actually playing with the toys.
- Fluff
I like to think this site and it’s videos get to the point and don’t skirt round it. I also like to think the readers of this site whether they be regulars or first timers understand everything that is published. Now think of a time when you have had a present that was wrapped in bubble wrap…. Know what I’m going to say?
Bubble wrap is physical fluff, how many people can sit there popping all those bubbles? Exactly my point, if you wrap your content in too much fluff, whether it be over producing your videos or simply skirting round your point too much then your visitors just won’t come away with your message.
- Infection
I call it content infection you need to have the ability for your readers to spread your content easily if they want to. It’s no good having a share box that is lightly shaded hidden at the very bottom of the page. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is when I visit and comment on a site and want to actually promote their content for them, but their share buttons are either really difficult to use and awkward or just non existent.
If you want your content to be read by the masses then you have to give people the means of spreading it for you. Think of your site or business as a virus an infection that could be out of control instantly if you allow the readers to become carriers, now if you put up too many barriers to your readers, too many infectious control measures, it’s going to be very difficult for people to spread your content.
Has your site or business ever suffered from box syndrome?
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These are some really interesting thoughts. I do have a couple of ad’s on my blog but I don’t think they are distracting. I can think of countless blogs that have great content but I no longer visit for a heap of reasons – from too many ads to badly designed themes (or pretty much anything using blogger).
.-= Tom | Build That List´s last blog ..Finding the Perfect Temperature For Your Mailing List =-.
Hey brother,
You actually touch on a subject that I’m considering writing about soon
Great tips man. Most bloggers sites Ive visited recently have switched from advertising peoples stuffs to their own personal products be it ebooks or paid memberships.
I am on my way to do same and place ads only about sites, forums or products which I like and use, who are not necessarily affiliates.
.-= Martin´s last blog ..Are you on these lists? Then quit now! =-.
Hey Martin,
That’s good to know I think it’s important to advertise your own products ( in most cases) over other peoples
Great thought here James. I agree with what you say. There are blogs out there that have great content but they have so many ads that you no longer visit them. I had ads on my blog but I removed them because I don’t want people to visit my blog and be like “oh great this is another blogger trying to make money.” I think it’s a big turn off for most people.
Another thing I agree about is that you should avoid fluff in your content. The best way of describing what an article should be like is what my U.S. history teacher used to say when referring to the length of essays ( I think it equally applies to articles):
An essay should be like a woman’s skirt. Long enough to cover it. But short enough to keep it interesting.
.-= Julius Kuhn-Regnier´s last blog ..The 3 Unwritten Rules of Blogging =-.
Dude loving that saying…… I may have to use that lol
Personally, I think I have 5 image ads (4 affiliates and one ad in my header that pays monthy) but I don’t look to monetize my blog tips site with ads predominantly, I have a business plan for that site (as with my other 2 sites that I make my living off of) and I plan on sticking to that plan for making money with the site.
Depending on your target market, different types of ads work very well. An example is having a site that gets tons of search engine traffic vs a site that gets mostly referral and RSS traffic. The search traffic will click on adsense, while the referral traffic may click on an affiliate you promote because they read your blog regularly and trust that when you say a product is good, if they need that product they will purchase it through your affiliate link.
In essence, there is a time and a place for all types of advertising on sites. If your blog attracts other bloggers, you will most likely be spinning your wheels plastering ads everywhere.
What I hate even worse than what you stated is when a blogger claims they don’t care about making money with there blog, but insist on having so many ads you can’t find the content.
.-= Keith´s last blog ..Dell 23inch Monitor Review =-.
Keith bang on there brother, your last sentence;
”What I hate even worse than what you stated is when a blogger claims they don’t care about making money with there blog, but insist on having so many ads you can’t find the content.”
Brother you do see this a lot and it’s this sort of thing that bugs me, I mean I’m no expert and it’s only my opinion but this really does bug me lol, how’s your new screen working out for you? That’s a nice bit of kit
I try my best to stick to the point – so much so that that can become a problem. No fluff at all and you could wind up not having much to say. To combat the issue, I use personal experience and interesting analogies to create an engaging post. I also try to keep my posts short, but I think too short runs the risk of not being called a post at all.
.-= Kiesha @ WeBlogBetter´s last blog ..Iron Blogger Contest Results =-.
It’s a tricky balance to find, luckily I think this site has found it’s balance and it’s holding up well. Just keep going Keisha your readers will tell you one way or another if they don’t like it
It’s a bit of a shame that people leave ugly blogs so fast, sometimes the site owners don’t realise that their blog is absolutely hideous. I had that, until someone pointed out that my blog was hideous. So now I think I improved it a little.
Can’t really comment on the share thing, I have one. Whether it works well or not, I wouldn’t know. I must say some sites have icons that you just want to click. Maren Kates blog has this cocktail rss icon that just begs to be clicked, or perhaps I just like the originality of course.
.-= Experimently´s last blog ..I made $5000 in one day using this special method =-.
I’m with you on Maren’s site I think exactly the same way lol. You can guage your share buttons if you are getting comments and visitors but your not getting many RT’s to you or another way would be to analyse your incoming traffic links, if they are coming from any of the social networks or email adds then it maybe that people are sharing your content.
James,
I completely agree with your points about ads and how they can be distracting. I can admit that I get pretty annoyed when a word in the text is a highlighted advertisement. I think that is just the easy way out. I am going to be moving away from the 3 small google adsense ads that I have up that do absolutely nothing for me. Someone once explained to me that advertisments take people away from your site. You want them to stay. I thought that was pretty interesting advice.
.-= Alex Monroe´s last blog ..Are you trying to be New Coke? =-.
Hey man,
I heard the same thing and I was going to put it into the post but I forgot. Yeah man that’s why I’m going to be advertising my own stuff man
Giving too much fluff in the articles I create has been my main problem. Sometimes I tend to use too much words that don’t really contribute to the main idea. But over time, I managed to improve this by being conversational and straight to the point in the posts I write.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..>When Sound is not an Option: A review of Vibrating Devices for Deaf People =-.
Hey James, I have been kicking the ads onscreen thing around for a while and especially the word link ads. I finally got rid of them after not making any $$ with them for over a month now. Will I go back to them later? Maybe. John Chow still uses them but he is already known. I started looking at my product (me and my blog) and decided that I had other things to offer that may actually pay. I have some affiliate links still. I think a you bring up a good point here, that is look at your blog once in a while and see what is annoying. and don’t be afraid to change your blog to work for you. One of the best things I have done is to use my kids computer like I was just a random user with no login or anything else. They have and old CRT monitor and it looks really different than a 17″ lcd screen. those links were really hard to differentiate. thanks for the good info yet again, packed with tips to make all of us better!
Justin
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog ..I did the Twitter thing 20 years ago! =-.
Hey brother,
thanks man you know all this stuff I talk about here, I’m not actually thinking about the strategics of when to post it etc, just thinking that this will help and thats it really lol
I don’t have any share buttons… I never thought of it being a disservice. Maybe I will have a look into getting some!!!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Mar 15, Time Management Books: A Collection of Books on Time Management With Reviews =-.
Yeah Michelle,
Seriously look into it, you want your readers to spread your content for you, they can’t do it without buttons. I use Tweetmeme, digg this O’Mine, and sexybookmarks all can be found in your add new plugin in WP dashboard
Yeah, I think it’s a true art to find the right balance between offering awesome content and placing your ads.
I have no ads (yet) but once I do, I’ll make sure it flows right into the overall design.
.-= Mars Dorian´s last blog ..The state of mind you need to rock the web galaxy =-.
Brother to be honest the longer this site goes without ads the less I want to put them on…It’s almost becoming a mental block lol
James,
You’ve made some great points here. When visitors come to your site treat them with respect and make their life as simple as possible. They don’t want to be searching high and low for something they expect to be there.
If your site is portraying something; it should be easy to find!
Thanks for the reminders.
Regards
Paul
.-= Paul´s last blog ..Performance Related . . . =-.
Anytime brother, I always try and stick to the KISS system
Remember James when I first started my blog a few weeks after you, I had various ads, some at the top of a post or at the bottom? After taking some serious advice I removed most of them, and then decided to remove all of them precisely for the same reason as Alex, you are effectivley driving traffic away from your site. Now I only have a traffic ad because it does actually send traffic.
.-= Maria´s last blog ..Life Without Inspiration =-.
Yeah I remember, man what a roller coaster you have been on since! Hopefully a lot better off though eh?
what else do you suggest to monetize a website…there are few sites which ask for donation for growing their sites (like open source software)..but can you let me know the way to grow a site without ads…
.-= infopediaonlinehere´s last blog ..Gmail Account Change Themes, Colourful Look And Feel Gmail =-.