More Ads = More Money = Less Engaged Readers | Bloggers Lair | Yakezie Forums

A lot of the responses here are either on the side of being fully monetized when they start, while others don't think you should have ads at all.  Personally I think there's a middle ground. 

Can you have too many ads on your site when you start, to the point where it makes your site feel like it's about nothing but ads/money? Sure.  But I also think there's something to be said for having some ads, especially adsense ads,  on your site from the start.  I had ads on my site from the start, and while I didn't make a ton from them right away, I made enough to be able to pay for my domain name and hosting. 

Also, having them there right away meant that users were used to seeing them there from the start – and there was no point in the future where they were feeling like I "sold out" because I added ads to my pages.

I have to tell you that I have only heard complaints about the ads on my site once or twice in 3 years. Considering I've had over 3 million page views, that's not that bad.   Were there others that didn't complain, but stopped reading because of ads?  Certainly, but I don't think they're the majority. 

I don't think there's anything wrong with monetizing your content – even if you're mainly doing it for fun. Your writing is worth something, and why not be compensated for your hard work and worthwhile/useful content?

Having adsense ads on your site can also be useful.  When hooked up with a google analytics account it can help you to figure out what articles are getting the highest paid clicks, which topics pay the best,  and also what types of topics people are finding the most useful.  That in turn can help you to improve your content to make it more useful for your readers.

While you can probably tell by now that I'm more on the side of including ads from the outset, i should also note that I don't think you should add a ton of ads – adsense, CPM ads, or text link ads to your page.  As far as adsense I try to keep it to one or 2 ad units per page, sometimes just 1.  Having more ads doesn't necessarily mean you'll make more money. In some cases I've found one well placed ad unit will outperform 3 poorly placed ones.

So, I come down in favor of monetizing from the start, but in moderation. Don't go overboard, and make sure you know the risks of certain types of monetization like text link ads..

Best of luck!

Kay Lynn Akers said:

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff said:

I don't know the percentages, but direct ads and sponsored posts combine for at least 80% probably.  The other 20% is Amazon, Adsense, and freelance writing.  My Adsense is building up and I won't need direct ads when it starts to really go, but as of right now, Adsense has made me about $250 and direct ads have made me at least $7000.

Crystal, how to get sales to Amazon?  Are links in posts best or is it mostly through a sidebar widget?

Most of my Amazon sales have been through the sidebar widget.  I also put in links in posts to books I actually like.  But we are not talking huge money – maybe $60 from Amazon in a year.  Adsense has been $240 ish.  Freelance writing has brought in at least $750 over the past 6 months and I have not done much.  My biggest money-makers are direct ads and sponsored posts.

@Crystal,

you are right. I should have written "blogs with more ads than yours" -)