A Word on Ads

Blackberry Macaroons

So here's the thing. I don't write this blog for the money, and I don't write it for you. I write it for me. Yes, down the line, it would be great if ad revenue was a more substantial part of our household budget, but I'm not planning on quitting my day job any time soon (well, some days I think about it, but that's a different story). Currently, Short & Sweets makes $1-$2 per day from ads. It's not a lot, but it's more than it used to be, and I'm 100% ok with it.

If you're a regular reader, you may have noticed a few more ads on the side than there used to be. If, at any time, you find that an ad is offensive or gets in your way, please, please let me know, and I will work to get rid of it. I don't want the ads to do either of those things. I have some categories of BlogHer ads excluded, and I also can control ads from specific brands/websites if they ever become a problem. I've chosen to increase the number of ads on the side, and there are sometimes ad links in a recipe, but I've made the decision not to use in-text ads (the ones where "reader" might be a link to a bookseller's site, for example) or ads on top of my photos. Those are real options which I think are just too intrusive. The ad links that sometimes appear at the end of a list of ingredients are on probation. I haven't decided yet how I feel about them, so please let me know if you have a strong opinion.

Oatmeal Molasses Whoopie Pies

I have a few different types of ads right now. Some of them pay me when you click on them, and some of the pay me simply when you view the website. I also have some Amazon ads. Amazon ads work a little bit differently. They are what are called "affiliate ads." They don't pay me when you view my blog, and they don't pay me if you click on them. Amazon ads pay me only if you make a purchase after clicking on one of my ads or links. So for example, I have a couple Amazon widgets under the "I'm Craving" headline on the right. If one of those items catches your eye, you click on it, and purchase it, I get a small percentage of your purchase price. You are not charged anything extra, and you won't even see it on your receipt. If, however, you click on something from a widget or from my recommended list of cookbooks (under "I Recommend"), go to Amazon, but ultimately choose to buy a different item, I will still receive a small percentage of your purchase price because you got to Amazon through one of my links.

To be clear, I'm Craving items are not necessarily items that I have or am familiar with. They are simply things that caught my eye. The list of cookbooks under I Recommend are books that grace my own bookshelf and which I like. There is also a banner ad for an Amazon Prime free trial. We have Prime and it's worked well for us.

What does all this mean to you and why am I telling you? Well, I'm mainly telling you so that you know, and so that you know that you should contact me (KatesShortandSweets at gmail dot com) if you ever see an offensive or overly intrusive ad.

But.

I'm also telling you so that you can make the choice to support me, my writing, my recipes, and my contribution to the internet by making Amazon purchases through my links. There's this unwritten feeling that bloggers shouldn't ask for money. But I'm asking - if you like what you read, if you come here to find inspiration and ideas, if one of my recipes has gone into your regular rotation - please support my work without spending an extra cent. If November is the start of the holiday season, it's also the start of the buying season, and so I'm asking you to think about making your dollars go further.

Gingerbread Ice Cream