What’s up with these ads?

This is a post I’ve intended on adding to the site for a while now. You may have noticed that in the past couple of months, there have been a couple unwelcome visitors to the page. Yes, the dreaded ADVERTISEMENTS! (boo and hiss at the computer now)

Yes, I know, nobody likes ads on websites. They can slow things down or clutter up the page, or just can be just plain weird. You might be thinking, man, Dairy-Free State has changed. Now they’re working for “the man” and I’m going to stop visiting until these ads come DOWN!

If you’re one of those people, first off, I admire your commitment to a cause, and you’re probably not reading this anyway since you made that vow to not visit. For those of you who are regular readers, first off, THANK YOU for being awesome, and I’d like to explain these ads to you and why I decided to take steps towards monetizing my site.

In the beginning of 2013, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted Dairy-Free State to be. I was looking to build a site that contained information I’d always look for online but could never find. There are a couple good dairy-free resources out there, but not exactly what I wanted, so I figured I’d just build what I’m looking for myself so that I have a resource and others can benefit as well.

Over the past year or so, I started to receive thank yous from friends who became regular readers, and I’ve had a few emails and messages on social networks from total strangers, telling me how the site and information has affected their lives. It’s this kind of encouragement that has inspired me to continue the blog, and find other ways to expand.

The tricky part of expansion is that you need money to do it. I’m hoping down the road, hopefully starting this year, to work on a couple ebooks and guides for those who are just starting out on their dairy-free path, so they don’t have to wonder about brands like I did, or struggle through bad recipes that I had to endure to find the good ones. Who says you have to experiment with bad dairy-free alternatives? I want to provide information to all readers on the best ways to start out cutting dairy out of their lives.

So, I need some money to hire some folks to help me make this ebook, and then probably some more money to promote it. Where is this money going to come from? You guessed it, ads.

There are a couple different types of advertisements on my site right now. Let’s talk about them.

Google Adsense – I’m using these ads to earn a little bit of cash from the visitors I already have. They are the two banner ads at the right of my page, near the top and the bottom. Basically, if I have more visitors, I make more money. I have also tailored these sites to be closely related to either what you’ve visited before or the topics of my site, so you shouldn’t get served any ad that seems totally weird to you. If you do, seriously, let me know. I’m trying to make them as relevant and meaningful as possible.

Amazon Affiliates – These ads are a little bit different, and you might not notice them at first. If you look in the right-hand column, I have linked to books I’m reading and will be reading next. If you happen to buy a book from one of those ads, then I get a small percentage of that revenue. In the future, I’ll be featuring these a bit more. Nothing crazy, but if I reference a cookbook or use a product in my recipes, I will link to the purchase information on Amazon. If it seems like a cool product or book to you and you want to buy it, buying it through my link means I can make a little bit of money for the site. Cool, right?

I’m also currently doing some guest writing for some health-related sites and am always on the lookout for other money-making opportunities. If you need a dairy-free guest blogger or you’re looking to advertise your product on someone’s page, let’s talk. I’m all about community and helping others out.

So that’s information on my ads in a nutshell. Like I said, I’m looking to expand, this page will continue to evolve, and I’m experimenting with different opportunities. I’m always interested to hear what my readers’ experience has been with them, so if you have feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out.