QuietStove.com

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The State of the Blog

So, my boss called me into his office yesterday.  After 21.5 years with the company, I got let go.  :(

Not that I know how to do this, but I may have to start allowing banner ads or some such on Adventures in Stoving.  I've always provided everything free, on my own dime, but I may be forced by circumstances to change things up a bit.  I certainly won't charge for content, nor will I personally sell things through my blog (yuck!), but I may allow some banner ads or something like that.  The gang here at Adventures in Stoving likes to eat on a regular basis and have a roof over their heads.

I hope you'll be understanding.

Thanks,

HJ

14 comments:

  1. Bummer, Jim. I wish you the best.

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  2. Sorry to hear that. I also wish you the best.

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  3. Hi Jim
    Banner ads sound like a good idea.

    As for selling stoves, it just might be worth a second look - you would have a LOT of people who would buy from you (me included) if you could get a price point in spitting distance of the established retailers (not easy). The other challenge of course is in sorting out the mechanisms of payment, supply and support.

    What about some sponsored product reviews (with appropriate disclaimers)?

    In any event, good luck with this new phase!

    Andrew

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  4. I use google adsense. No shame in my game. This helped on the Appalachian Trail thru hike last year. Let me know if you have any questions. Not that I am an expert. :|

    Wallace
    Hike, Bike, Dale!

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  5. Sorry to hear Jim, best wishes for you and your family.

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  6. Sorry to hear, best of luck in finding new employment soon!

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  7. Guys, thanks for all the encouragement. Hopefully I won't have to give up the blog. Don't know where things are going right now.

    HJ

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  8. G'day Jim. Really sorry to hear about the job loss. I hope you at least get a redundancy payout. Maybe time to migrate downunder :)

    All the best for the future and with the banner adds. I hope they work well for you. In my case they cover the hosting costs and that is about it which works for me.

    Take care
    Andrew

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  9. Hi, Aushiker,

    Not sure what a redundancy payout is but I didn't get one whatever it is. :( They gave me my final paycheck and said thank you very much.

    I'll have to see about the banner ads. Never tried it, but maybe it would help some.

    HJ

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  10. Redundancy maybe more of an Australian/New Zealand thing I guess. Can be payouts worth $100,000 for some employees.

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  11. Sorry to hear the bad news. I hope this is a temporary setback for you.

    It makes absolute sense to firstly get the blog to pay for itself, and if possible turn a profit. There is nothing morally or ethically wrong with that!

    Take Care,
    Geoff.

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  12. Thanks, Geoff. I really wasn't considering it, but now events have changed.

    HJ

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  13. Sorry to hear that, mate! Hope all works out well in the end.

    Google Text Ad (as in AdWords) could works, and you also could consider signing up at Commission Junction and Avantlink which are affiliate services. I have experimented with some, and found selling banners directly to companies has the best payoff, but is a lot of work. Good luck!

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  14. Hi, Hendrik,

    Thanks for that. I was wondering about that very thing (selling banners direct).

    HJ

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My apologies to real people, but due to Spammers I have to moderate comments. I'll get to this as rapidly as possible but do understand that I like to hike and there's no internet in the wilderness. Take care and stove on!