Ads
I wrote this post about 6 months ago in consideration of advertising and policies here at Macdrifter.com.
I worry that if I start to make money off of advertising then it becomes work. It subconsciously influences what and why I post.
—Me (Gabe)
At that time, I added what I called an "endorsement" to the sidebar. An unpaid ad for something I really like. I'm still running the same endorsement for Marked because it's still awesome. I've since added my indispensable partner in computing Hazel.
In the same article, I wrote:
Can a site be paid to advertise a product and write a honest review? Absolutely. Should the reviewer disclose that they are being paid to advertise the product in the review. Probably.
I still believe in this. I still buy every app and service I write about here and I still disclose every affiliate link I include. I do my best to write the site I want to read.
I'm sure you've figured out what this post is about though. It's a bit of self indulgence and a bit of disclosure.
Macdrifter.com is joining The Syndicate.
Why The Syndicate?
The Syndicate may be one of a handful of advertising networks I respect. They advertise the things I like on the sites I respect. They care about what they are doing and they do it in a way that I respect. I've turned down offers from other advertisers. The first time I even considered running ads was when Marcelo Somers contacted me. I mean, look at the sites working with The Syndicate. I'm flattered, to say the least.
Why Now?
When I added an option for donations, I was humbled by the number of awesome people that bought me beers through PayPal. It was kind of shocking. More people bought me beers in one week on this site than in six years of grad school.
I'm sorry to say, that I didn't actually buy beers with that money. I bought fonts for this site. I bought a new logo and a couple new WordPress themes1. Basically, I wanted to make a better experience for the people that were generous enough to donate.
There's still more I want to do and I'm now tapping into my own money again. I'm ok with that, but at some point I need to ask myself what the hell I'm doing with this hobby. The site is sustainable as it is now through affiliate links if I don't change anything. That's boring though. I visit my own site and I still don't like it. There's more I want to do and advertising can help me do that.
Onward
Sorry for all of the self-referential self-indulgence. The first draft was only three words: "Ads are coming". After editing, I ended up here.
The biggest change for me is that I need to finally start keeping stats for my feed subscribers.2 The biggest change for the feed will be a sponsored post about something I probably already use and like. Sponsored posts will always include an honest and obvious disclosure because that's how The Syndicate works. I think it's a good fit.