WTF, Why is there advertising?

ComicBloc has been around for quite a while now (10ish years), and something we’ve resisted up to this point in time is placing any advertising on the site. We have paid for the site out of our own pockets, and our members have donated money to us that we’ve used in terms of site upgrades. Over time, the site has become more and more expensive to the point that paying for it is becoming somewhat difficult.

Now, something else to consider as you’re hopefully reading the articles: Last time we had a news and article portion of the site, the people who contributed were all volunteers and all did this for free. Our thinking now is that if we take money for hosting, it becomes somewhat unethical (at least in our eyes) to make money off the sweat of any volunteers. So any money we make from advertising will be split with content contributors.

We have no idea if this will make any money, but it’s not really the point. This is, and always has been, a labor of love. None of us will quit our day jobs and retire from anything made here, but if it allows us to continue the site for another 10+ years, then we’ll be as happy as clams.

Personally, I think advertising is a very frustrating reality of the web, and because we aren’t out to make profit, you won’t have to worry about this page being mucked up with 10,000 ads. Just one. And if that one ad doesn’t sell, so be it. But we integrated it into the page design to make it part of the holistic experience.

If you do consider clicking on the ads, or buying anything, then think of it as it being a soft-contribution to the site on a whole – not because we, or you, are selling out.

 

If you have any questions or interest in pursuing advertising opportunities, feel free to contact me.

Dustin

Dustin Davis

WTF, Why is there advertising?