I'm a web publisher that focuses on technology content. Here's a list of my blogs:http://desktoplinuxreviews.comhttp://desktoplinuxreviews.com/linux-tipshttp://jimlynch.comhttp://jimlynch.com/technologytipshttp://eyeonlinux.com
I run Adsense ads and Amazon affiliate links/ads. I can generally average 5 or 6 bucks per day without a problem. I dumped all my other ad networks for the following reasons:
1. They run flash/animated ads. I have no ability to turn these off or opt for static image ads only or text ads (Adsense is the only ad network I know of that lets me control this).
2. They slow the page load down considerably.
I have made it clear to readers the kinds of ads I run, where they are placed and also the kinds of ads I don't run. I have a widget at the top of the sidebar that explains all of this. In the widget I also offer a PayPal button for readers to contribute if they don't wish to see ads or buy stuff from Amazon.
Here's the text included in the Thank You for Whitelisting widget:
"Thanks so much if you've whitelisted this blog in your browser! We appreciate your support.
This blog survives financially by running Google Adsense ads and Amazon affiliate ads (clicking an Amazon link and buying something supports us).
1. The ads on this blog are text ads or static image ads.
2. There are no animated ads, and no flash ads.
3. We only allow Adsense ads from Google's Adwords network, we do not allow external networks to run ads.
4. The ads appear only above and below the content, and in the sidebar.
5. We do not allow in-text ads on this blog.
6. There are no social media “like” buttons and that sort of thing on this blog. The only social media icons that appear are simple, static .png images in the sidebar that link to our social media pages. They are there for your convenience if you wish to follow us.
7. We support ABP's Acceptable Ad Intiative.
8. If you still prefer not to see advertising, and don’t wish to purchase anything from Amazon then you can support this blog by clicking the Pay Now button to make a financial contribution via PayPal in any amount.
All contributions are appreciated and welcome. Thanks!"
I think that publishers need to take a clue from Adblock Plus and from the angry/frustrated thoughts posted by ABP users. Ad blocking isn't going away, so publishers need to totally rethink the kinds of ads they are running, where they are placed (no ads in the content at all) and which ad networks they allow on their sites.
I have laid it all out in my sidebar widgets for my readers, they know what they will see if they turn off their ad blockers, and they know which kinds of ads they WON'T see if they do so.
I had to rethink my entire approach to advertising, social media buttons, etc. to make my pages load faster and to get rid of all the stuff that readers hate seeing on the pages.
I do not know if other publishers have started thinking differently, but I certainly have. Publishers are going to have to change or die because the use of ad blockers is only going to grow. At some point I expect a strong majority of people to be using ad blockers while browsing. We are almost there for technology savvy readers, and it will spread to the rest of the population over the next few years.
So I think the original poster should rethink how he or she approaches ads on their sites.