Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Since 2007

A favor I’d like to ask of you

Jim Grey
28 comments on A favor I’d like to ask of you
1 minute

If you don’t block ads in your browser, you’ll see two small ads at the bottom of every post on this blog. I make somewhere between $2 and $8 a week from them. That won’t let me quit my day job, but it does cover this blog’s hosting costs and pays for some of my film and processing.

I’m inserting a couple more ads into my camera reviews as I update them. I’m also inserting more ads into a few other evergreen posts. Those posts drive a lot of search traffic to my blog and I figure I might as well let them drop a few more pennies into my PayPal account.

If you block ads, I’d be grateful if you’d turn off blocking for my blog. I’d consider it a favor. I get it, ads are a scourge — but the little bit of money I make from them really does help me keep publishing this blog.

Comments

28 responses to “A favor I’d like to ask of you”

  1. analogphotobug Avatar
    analogphotobug

    I haven’t blocked Ads for the blogs that I follow. Glad that you are actually making enough to support the Blog. No Problems here.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I appreciate it! Thank you!

      Reply
  2. hlpaul Avatar
    hlpaul

    Done

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I am grateful for your support!

      Reply
  3. Zimmette Avatar
    Zimmette

    Got it. To follow the adage “You get what you pay for”, I will continue accepting ads on your blog.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Many thanks!!

      Reply
  4. Barry Avatar
    Barry

    Keep up the fight Jim.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      👊

      Reply
  5. Martin Cutrone Avatar
    Martin Cutrone

    Not a problem, glad the ads help with your ability to keep publishing.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Many thanks!

      Reply
  6. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    Unblocked. Keep up the great work Jim!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Thank you!

      Reply
  7. seatacphoto1951 Avatar
    seatacphoto1951

    If a site I follow has ads that take over the page constantly I just do not follow the blog. I did not notice you had ads until you mentioned it.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I work really hard to keep my ads from being invasive. I could make more money, probably double or triple, if I enabled all the ad placements available to me. But then this site would be too ads-forward. Yick. Nope.

      Reply
  8. nataliesmartfilmphotography Avatar
    nataliesmartfilmphotography

    I never noticed you had ads either 😂

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Could be because they’re tucked so quietly into the space at the end of the post!

      Reply
      1. nataliesmartfilmphotography Avatar
        nataliesmartfilmphotography

        I suppose I’m so engrossed in reading the blogs that I zone out from the ads 👍

        Reply
  9. Dan James Avatar
    Dan James

    Jim, I’m not going to say much because you know my views about ads on blogs.

    But I’m wondering if you might explore this option –

    Rather than the apparently quite random ads that appear (I often get a horrible image of burgers on a BBQ with melted ice cubes on that look like an unfortunate skin condition, and most this week have been for furniture. I can’t remember when I last bought any furniture!!), could you reach out to some fellow photographers who also make products?

    For example, there are a number of people over here (in the UK) who make all kinds of lovely wrists straps, cases and so on.

    Having ads that linked to their site (and you could choose only products you have tried and enjoyed yourself), where you get a commission, they get a new customer, and the reader gets a quality product, seems like a triple win to me.

    Or even just ads to a camera store you use, or even Amazon links to photography products that have used and enjoyed.

    (I’ve noticed from my own browsing that if I look at certain camera stores in the UK, then when I visit other sites with ads, the ads are for that camera store (and often a specific product) I was looking at earlier. Even this would be better than the apparently completely random ads we see now – at least Google ads are targeted to an interest based on previous browsing history.)

    The main issue I have with the ads I see here are how random they are and because of that they stick out like a sore thumb (and often feature an image that also jars compared with the other images we see here, ie your photographs).

    Photography related ads would be far more in keeping with your site overall.

    Just a thought!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      The great thing about WordAds is that I have to do nearly nothing to earn my $2-8 a week. If I did my own ads I’d have to manage everything about it. It would add to my administration overhead here, which is something I’m not sure I want to take on right now. Geez, right now I’m even publishing on a reduced schedule I’m so busy! (I don’t count my announcement posts of updated camera reviews.)

      Reply
      1. Dan James Avatar
        Dan James

        Yeh I appreciate you have plenty on right now.

        It was just an idea to keep things photography related, and perhaps mutually support fellow photographers.

        I’m obviously in a great minority when it comes to ads online. Baffles me why someone would visit what’s predominantly a photography blog to read about cameras (and you said your camera reviews pages get the best response with the ads) then be interested in a random bbq recipe or a new kitchen table while they’re at it!

        Reply
        1. Jim Grey Avatar
          Jim Grey

          Yes, I hear you. I’m not 100% thrilled to run ads. I can afford everything about this blog and my hobby without the ads. I could turn them off today and be fine. But I feel like this blog provides value and if a couple ads, only lightly intrusive, defray those costs it’s only a minor sin to run them.

          That said, I’m not closed to advertising for photo-related services. My wordpress.com template doesn’t let me place permanent ads but I could run them in posts or do sponsored posts.

          Reply
          1. Dan James Avatar
            Dan James

            Or set up a “photo products I like” type page then have a link to it at the end of each post, like you do with your subscription invite. Then the products page could have a couple of different fixed ads you could rotate periodically.

            Anyway, ultimately it’s your blog. : )

            Reply
  10. bodegabayf2 Avatar
    bodegabayf2

    I think you would make even more if they served the ads up properly. One ad is blank and the other one, I think, is for a razor…
    /Users/johnsmith/Desktop/Down The Road ad screenshot.png

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I see a fair number of blank ads here too. I think my blog is too small to attract the bigger advertisers and so sometimes all of my avails aren’t filled.

      Reply
  11. Alex Avatar
    Alex

    I mostly view blogs on mobile, without an adblocker. I’m happy to support blogs and websites with advertising. In the past month, I’ve actually bought two products that I would never have been aware of without web advertising, so I guess that proves that advertising can work.

    I’ve noticed your adverts and I am happy that they allow you to support the blog!

    I block adverts on desktop, though I wish I didn’t have to. There’s always a small group of advertisers who go too far, spoiling it for everyone else.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Desktop ads are so easy to abuse. Even here on WordPress I’ve had to contact Support more than once for video ads that autoplay and ads that auto-redirect. They’re good about killing those ads but it’s frustrating that they get through in the first place.

      Reply
  12. Victor Villaseñor Avatar
    Victor Villaseñor

    Done!

    I think its time for more blogs to open up as you did Jim, and explain the economics of this, I run adblock by default, as usually ads get obnoxious and its ridiculous the screen state they take, but in this case, knowing the numbers, and seeing you want to keep them to a minimum and clean.

    I have no issues with some ads here and there, if that helps you in anyway.

    Please keep writing/sharing and walking down the road.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I appreciate it Victor! Yeah, ads can be so obnoxious. I work hard to keep mine from being that way so it doesn’t ruin the experience here.

      Reply

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