I’ve been debating whether or not to include a donate button here and on my other sites. I’ve made no secret about the fact that I wouldn’t mind making a little extra income from my blogging efforts, but for some reason this gave me pause. At first blush, it seems like an online version of panhandling to me.
But giving the matter a bit more thought, I suppose it’s more like internet busking. I mean, you’re not asking for something for nothing, you’re providing a service (in this case, news, opinion and info). So if someone wants to chip in what’s wrong with that?
Still, for some reason it makes me wonder about the whole monetizing process and whether or not that’s something I want to do or not. I don’t mind placing ads, I myself am very particular when it comes to selecting ads to click on, it has to be a website I like plus an ad that I actually find interesting, thus paying my karmic dues to both the publisher and the advertiser by not giving any false leads so to speak.
I expect the same from anyone considering checking out ads on my sites. I leave the option up to the consumer, and I’ve tried to place the ads strategically both from a marketing standpoint as well as an esthetic one.
So anyway, that’s a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned and I don’t mind making a little extra scratch from it, but I’m still reluctant for some reason to go that extra step and ask for donations directly. Maybe I shall and maybe I shan’t, but in any case it’s something I feel requires some careful consideration before deciding one way or the other.
Any advice or thoughts would be, as always, greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!
