Candy and I have been kicking ideas back and forth regarding advertising on this site. On one hand, I solemnly swear on all four of my cats, and on Candy’s cats, that we will never subject you to epileptic seizure advertisements, popup windows, or those bastard sliding ads that get in your way and won’t let you see the actual content. So fear not- annoying ads are not in our plans.
Neither, for the time being, are Google ads, which are content-specific, and, as Candy pointed out, the number of times we mention backdoor lovin’ might bring some seriously questionable advertisement blocks.
So – I came up with an idea, and I want to ask you, our noble – and somewhat titled – readership what you think. We’d like to offer dedicated advertisement space on a weekly basis for authors, publishing houses, editors, and writers. We’d link to reviews or point-of-sale sites for your book, and feature a graphic, and a small blurb about your book or product. Candy and I are still discussing rates – and your suggestions in that department are certainly welcome – but since we are both happy with the number of writerly-sorts that frequent this here bitcherty, we thought we’d make the discussion about advertisement as much of an opportunity for you as it is for us.
So: *puts on Linda Richman voice*: Advertisements for authors and books. To host or not to host: discuss!
I just hate it when advertisements pop up in between posts, as on some blogs. As long as ads are kept to a tasteful minimum (such as on the sidebar, I don’t mind them.
And if we’re talking about book ads…well, those would be better than all the rest anyway.
The only things allowed to be intrusive and obnoxious on this site are Sarah and me. Well, that, and the occasional rogue fluffy bunny.
So yeah, no pop-up ads, no ads between blog entries, no blinky “PUNCH THE MONKEY IN THE NUTSAC TO WIN BIG PRIZE!” ads, etc.
Hear, hear. Further, no “pop Santa’s zit” ads or anything stupid like that.
Our ads will be by our design (so they are both cool, hip, and savvy) and on our sidebar in a prominent above-the-fold location.
But Lord have mercy, I’d sooner eat a romance novel than put blinky zit-poppers on this site.
Yes, I’d be interested in advertising on your site. If someone reads your reviews of my books I think it would be extremely nifty if she could link directly to my publisher’s site and buy my books while the thought of all that hot, steamy, roll- around-like-gators-in-the-mud Florida lovin’ is fresh in her mind.
Also, “nutsac” is the funniest word.
Yes, why not. Join Amazon’s affiliate program if you haven’t already. No reason you shouldn’t profit from your efforts.
This would be more than the affiliates program. We would charge for the ad appearing on our site, and bill the advertiser. We could certainly link to an Amazon affiliate location, but we’d also be open to linking wherever, from the author’s site to a sale page to a Google satellite image of the author’s house.
speaking of advertising, did you bitches know you got some free in this month’s Romantic Times?
A good article called Websites We Love by RT staff…here’s the description of sbtb: “clever, funny romance lovers poke a little [little??] fun at the genre, grouse a bit and also point out some interesing trends about what’s hitting bookstore shelves.”
You go ahead and put in any kind of advertising—as long as it doesn’t defang the snark I don’t care.
No way. NO WAY. We got a mention in RT? Oh Kate. Holy crap I got to see if this article is available on-line.
And the advertising will in no way de-fang the snark. The ads are meant to cover the website costs and those $10 Amazon.com gift certificates we occasionally give away in contests. So if people get all huffy about being snarked at and pull advertising, it’s not as if it’s going to hurt us big-time because we’ve been doing this ad-free for a while and it’s not that much a stretch on the ole budget since we’re not AAR and don’t have their server bills.
Ooooh, errrr, just re-read my comment above and realized I might need to remove my foot from my mouth there:
I do not in any way mean to imply that AAR is biased because they accept advertising.
Oooooh! If you do, I want on the waiting list! You know, when I actually have a release date and a cover.
Even though I’m one of the perpetually-untitled masses.
AAR goes way out of their way to make sure their editorial and advertising areas are separate. A lot of papers and magazines oughta take note and maybe learn about editorial integrity from that website.
If you decide to go for it, I am so there.
Although I think looking at the cute bunnies may have injured me. Need…insulin…
“AAR goes way out of their way to make sure their editorial and advertising areas are separate.”
Yup. It’s one of the biggest reasons why I trust their reviews. When I’m interested in a book and it’s not available in-store for me to give it my 15-page test, AAR is the first site I hit. (OK, to be perfectly honest, it’s the first site I hit after I go to Amazon.com to see if the book has one of those nifty “Look inside this book!” dealies.)
I think this is a great idea, and yes, I would be willing to pay to advertise a new book with you two.
However, I’m somewhat less easy about the idea of you designing the ad; that’s something I’d like to do myself.
If I ever get a book finished and it ever gets published for real, I would *love* to advertise on your site. That is, if you aren’t chargin, like, a gazillion dollars per word or something like that because you might have become so famous and popular that you actually could charge those rates.
Really, you gals could be offering a great service to those of us writers who know we need to do some marketing but absolutely hate the in-your-face stuff. A nice, classy little ad on a great, honest site like this – right up my ally.
Ummmm…
that would be “charging” (I don’t normally drop my gs and I haven’t been drinking. Honest)
and…
Alley (sure, you guys are my allies, but I can spell better than that.)
“However, I’m somewhat less easy about the idea of you designing the ad; that’s something I’d like to do myself.”
Good point to bring up, Sara! Sarah and I will have to talk amongst ourselves about the details, but anything we design for the advertiser will have to be approved by the her before we put it on our site. And if the advertiser decides to do the designing, we reserve the right to reject if it abuses Comic Sans, contains too much blinky crap or displays other instances of fugliness.
In other words: both parties will have to be happy with the ad before we put it up.
Congrats on the RT mention (I’m thinking I’m permanently blackballed, and [advance promotion] I’m working on something that will seal the breakup forever and ever)—and if you ever branch out on the ad sales gig, let me know. We’ve been kicking the idea around, but have discovered there’s a strong lazy streak at Booksquare hq!
You might want to check out blogads if you don’t want to do the work yourself. They’re sized to fit blog templates, and you do have some control over what displays.
Would you use banners?
So none of my favorite font and no animated Spider-Man hawking my book?
Damn.
“So none of my favorite font and no animated Spider-Man hawking my book?”
Yet again, we have to break your heart, Shannon. Though technically the animated Spider-Man isn’t blinky, he’s just… dancey.
Please don’t make us start The Gallery of Regrettable Ads.
I don’t have anything to advertise, so this is purely a reader view, but I wouldn’t mind sidebar adverts at all. I think it’s a great idea!
I’d pay for an ad from y’all. With y’all? Whatever. As long as it wasn’t—as someone said earlier—a patrillion dollars or something… That would be cool.
Fuck no, banner ads? Hell no way. nuh uh. *shakes head like stubborn 2 year-old.*
And heck, it doesn’t have to be for a book. If you want to buy an ad about how great you are, or how much you want to be Duchess Scrumpalotte, whatever. We’re open.
Oh, there you go. The ad for nothing. ADS: The Seinfeld version.
You all are just great! I love browsing your site. Snark and trashy novels all in one place! How could anyone resist?
I’ll certainly advertise here. How about just a book cover with a link to the purchase page? I do happen to like banner ads because they let you pop in quite a bit of info, but they don’t have to be the usual rectangle. Is that, like, thinking outside the box?
Now, if I can just find a cover that doesn’t show a monkey’s nutsac… (No zits since the Proactiv subscription started, thank you very much.)
Yep, I’d pay to advertise on your site! Definitely.