Look, I work fucking hard on this blog. Even at this early stage, I’ve put in hundreds of hours of work – uncompensated. I don’t mind for now; I love what I’m doing. But eventually I want to make some money. You know, get paid for my work. Cover what few bills I have living in a van down by the river.
Why Ads Are Dumb as Fuck
But ads ain’t the way I’m gonna do it, nope. They’re goddamned annoying. And they’re dumb business. Here’s “13 Reasons Why Blog Ads Are a Silly Monetization Strategy.” I agree with all those reasons. Plus advertisers are assholes.
Amazon.com and Others Can Go to Hell
I tried affiliate ads with Amazon.com, for example, mostly recommending shit I’ve used. Not totally sleazy. But do I know those are the best products for vandwelling? No, I’m not Consumer-fucking-Reports! I’m not the high fucking prophet of vanlife! I tried some junk and it worked for me. Big fucking deal!
And I don’t give a rat’s ass whether you buy stuff from Amazon.com or not, buy other products somewhere else, or make your own shit.
Actually, I think it’s cooler if you make your own gear from trash. And there’s no money in that for me or the Corporatocracy at all. Good!
Let me expand on that. Vanholio advocates putting as little into the Corporatocracy as possible, whether through work, taxes, or consumption. I’d be committing high hypocritical irony to preach simplicity and take the pigs’ ad money the same time, like bullshitters Real Simple and TreeHugger do.
As if you can consume your way to a simpler, greener lifestyle … Just don’t buy shit!
Will Vanholio Ever Make Scratch?
So, yeah, I still swim in this festering swamp of Consumer Capitalism. I still need some cash.
But I won’t offer anything for sale until I have something I think is worth you buying. I’m speculating on maybe writing some books or something. Maybe I’ll just ask for patron donations and hope ya’ll’ll pay me direct for my efforts. I don’t know.
Until then, enjoy Vanholio.com’s infotainment ad free. Subscribe for updates and insider vanlife info. And tell your friends to check this blog out. Peace! [Drops mic, Makes V, Exits … ]
Hey, Beer Vanholio! He works hard on this blog.
Awesome post! As a new blogger I've been debating when/if I should ever try putting ads on my blog. On the one hand getting some extra money to potentially extend the trip by doing something I'm already working on sounds great. On the other I have the same issues with ads as you do. I think it's too early for me to say absolutely never to any idea, but I am definitely looking at exploring other revenue avenues and just continuing the blog as a fun side project instead of my "job."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kudos! Check out this article: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2015/04/24/the-full-blog-monetization-menu-60-ways-to-make-money-with-your-blog/
DeleteWell, I've decided to include Amazon links in the posts to products I mention. But I won't make a big deal of it. And I've got those "Beer Me!" icons. Plus there's the gear store and the bumperstickers and t-shirts at CafePress.com. Hell, I'm a regular old fucking capitalist! Shit, I hope I don't piss people off with too much in your face selling. Well, a man's gotta make a living. It's that or get a fucking job.
ReplyDelete