Side Ads?!

[mike c]

I agree, that way we can keep the width. Good idea Mike.


The Sheep

the width thing is culture shock to me

admins:
how are you paid by the advertisers? per click on the ads or just by displaying the ads?
you want me to start clicking?

 

[Francious70]

What ads? Mozilla Firefox with the adblock plugin

That's what I'm screaming.

 

[Methost]

you want me to start clicking?

Good question. Should I go to Axiom Through Audioholics? If I do that when I actually BUY my next speakers, will you make any money?

 

[WndrBr3d]

Our information is only worth a one time fee of $19.99 to you? Sheesh

You just proved my point why we can't rely on our readers to generate any appreciable income.

As for pop ups and spam mail, those are two advertising venues we will never pursue. Our newsletter is opt in subscription only and is mostly filled with content, not advetorials.

You think we have alot of banners, try other home theater sites in comparision. What you will find is significantly more banner ads and significantly less real content.

As for the forum width, Clint will be addressing that when he gets back from a Conference he is attending next week.

Perhaps you missed the part where I said:

I'd pay, I think the information here is worth much more than that.

The whole point of my thread is, where does it stop? Can we expect ads on the left side bar soon if the revenue from the right side bar do not meet expectations?

The whole point of my post is people who don’t want to see the banners can pay a minimal fee and have them completely removed. I think that's fair.

The figure of $19.99 comes from the fact that as a user, I will probably never (unless by accident) click on the banner ads. So unless you're making money based on page views, the odds of you making $19.99 off me ever are slim to none. What this does, is it gives Audioholics revenue that you would otherwise not have, and it gives me a place to read a converse with fellow audiophiles without being bombarded with advertisements.

I think that's a fair trade off.

Let the people who come here and only post twice deal with the advertisements, give those who plan to stick around and help the community another option.

 

[j_garcia]

What I want to know is what the heck happened to the quick reply? I didn't see a USER CP option for it...

 

[ducker]

Audioholics are being taken over by ADs!!!! look out!!!
One of the reason I continue to come here vs. a forum like:www.avsforum.com is because AVS has WAY too many ads all over the place.

Between the top, side banner adds, and the text hyperlink ads I'm spending more time trying view content.

The only time I clicked on a hypertext link was when the page was lagging while loading and I attempted to scroll down, I left the window, clicked on the window to come back and happen to click on a link.

maybe "http://www.antsmarching.org/forum/" a very popular forum that gets by with a single top banner ad is doing somethign differently, I dunno... but it takes a LOT out of the clean/professional look of your website. Is it a website/forum or an "Internet nascar"?

 

[j_garcia]

Can't have a "free" forum without ads. I can understand that, but if they could be placed more effectively, well, that would be good.

 

[Mr. Lamb Fries]

Our information is only worth a one time fee of $19.99 to you? Sheesh

You just proved my point why we can't rely on our readers to generate any appreciable income.

As for pop ups and spam mail, those are two advertising venues we will never pursue. Our newsletter is opt in subscription only and is mostly filled with content, not advetorials.

You think we have alot of banners, try other home theater sites in comparision. What you will find is significantly more banner ads and significantly less real content.

As for the forum width, Clint will be addressing that when he gets back from a Conference he is attending next week.

You dont need to defend yourself. nothing in this world is free! if we have to put up with a few annoying ads so we can continue to come here then so be it. I am a business owner and know what it feels like to do a lot of work for very little compensation. IF THE ADS GET TOO ANOYING, THEN IT MIGHT BE MY CHOICE TO NOT COME HERE ANYMORE. that is the risk for them and they have to deal with it. If putting up with ads keeps this site around, then I have no problem

 

[Sheep]

You dont need to defend yourself. nothing in this world is free! if we have to put up with a few annoying ads so we can continue to come here then so be it. I am a business owner and know what it feels like to do a lot of work for very little compensation. IF THE ADS GET TOO ANOYING, THEN IT MIGHT BE MY CHOICE TO NOT COME HERE ANYMORE. that is the risk for them and they have to deal with it. If putting up with ads keeps this site around, then I have no problem

Well put


The Sheep

 

[gene]

whine whine whine, would anyone like some cheese with their wine

I agree, that way we can keep the width. Good idea Mike.

as both Clint and myself already stated, the width issue will be addressed shortly and the side banners will remain.

admins:
how are you paid by the advertisers? per click on the ads or just by displaying the ads?
you want me to start clicking?

no we charge by banner impressions.

Good question. Should I go to Axiom Through Audioholics? If I do that when I actually BUY my next speakers, will you make any money?

We don't make money off of product bought by mentioning audioholics. That would create a conflict of interest and also be a nightmare to track. However, if Axiom, and others continually hear you mention that you bought their products b/c of the information you read on them here, than that convinces them to continue long term advertising campaigns and allows us to pay the bills

The figure of $19.99 comes from the fact that as a user, I will probably never (unless by accident) click on the banner ads. So unless you're making money based on page views, the odds of you making $19.99 off me ever are slim to none. What this does, is it gives Audioholics revenue that you would otherwise not have, and it gives me a place to read a converse with fellow audiophiles without being bombarded with advertisements.

Please keep your $19.99 and use it to buy a CD or DVD We are not in the business of charging small fees to credit card systems each month for membership processing nor will we likely be in the future. My original goal when developing this site was to create the largest free home theater media to the public with the most comprehensive and accurate information related to home theater. Not to charge a nickle for people to download our reviews and limit our readership to what the print magazines and paid websites currently enjoy.

"http://www.antsmarching.org/forum/" a very popular forum that gets by with a single top banner ad is doing somethign differently, I dunno... but it takes a LOT out of the clean/professional look of your website. Is it a website/forum or an "Internet nascar"?

They are a relatively small site with less demand for ad space. We are continually growing and serve over 10 million banner ads per month. As we continue to grow and get more advertisers it allows us to hire on more staff, buy more test gear and generate more content and reviews. Without a revenue stream we cannot continually provide the quality coverage we have been doing for the last 7+ years. Its a fact of life so I suggest accepting it if you value the content here.

if we have to put up with a few annoying ads so we can continue to come here then so be it. I am a business owner and know what it feels like to do a lot of work for very little compensation.

Amen.

Closing Comments
It is our intention to hire on at least 2-3 more full time staff members on Audioholics by next year. Your support in our advertising expansion is appreciated and we will do our best to ensure it doesn't conflict with the readability of our content.

 

[Methost]

We don't make money off of product bought by mentioning audioholics. That would create a conflict of interest and also be a nightmare to track. However, if Axiom, and others continually hear you mention that you bought their products b/c of the information you read on them here, than that convinces them to continue long term advertising campaigns and allows us to pay the bills

I'll be sure to tell Noreen at Axiom who turned me on to their products.

 

[brian32672]

Wow, I saw where Clint said he would fix it. But damn the side bar ads make the width so annoying...
I would say double or even triple the size ads at the top and add ads at the bottom. But none on the sides..
Also does it need to be in all the posts area? Maybe a bit more like AVS and have them only on the main page.. Or if they are in the post area, then my suggestion of having them at the top and bottom?

 

[Rob Babcock]

I don't mind the presence of the side ads, per se, but on my browser there's a lot of wasted space. There's quite a bit or blank space to the right and left of the ads, leaving a relatively narrow column of text for the actual posts. This lends a cluttered, claustraphobic feel to the forums.

I can see the needs for the adverts, but I would like to see the layout tweaked a bit. JMOHO.

 

[mike c]

width issue

i think this was what clint was talking about

 

[ducker]

whine whine whine, would anyone like some cheese with their wine


They are a relatively small site with less demand for ad space. We are continually growing and serve over 10 million banner ads per month. As we continue to grow and get more advertisers it allows us to hire on more staff, buy more test gear and generate more content and reviews. Without a revenue stream we cannot continually provide the quality coverage we have been doing for the last 7+ years. Its a fact of life so I suggest accepting it if you value the content here.

If this wasn't the "Steam Vent" I doubt I would of posted on the matter at all

banner adds...
annoying? Yes.
necessary for the people that WORK many hours in to a site? Yes

Keep up the good WORK!

I'd love some cheese too!! have any crackers?

 

[Bryce_H]

Personaly I don't mind them at all. I would rather have quality information and "possibly" be slightly inconvienanced, than to start paying. Gene, Clint and crew, keep up the good work. I appreciate your valued information. Despite the rumblings here, you are running a business and it comes with certain requirements (revenue) to be able to produce quality information and acquire gear (expenses). I say leave em if they are contributing to the revenue side, so we can keep benefiting from quality information.

 

[soundsfine]

How about the occasional add between posts? I think I would find that less bothersome than on the side.