Big news!!
Because of the Smart Bitches After Dark community, I’ve been able to turn off ALL of the external ads on SBTB.
You’ll still see ads in the sidebar, or between content if you’re on mobile but that adserver is in-house – meaning I manage, administer, and control it.
Which also means that you won’t run into ads for things that are offensive or anathema to the community values here at SBTB, such as banners for pregnancy “crisis” centers, concealed carry options, right-wing candidates or referendums, or *shudder* ICE.
I won’t get into the long story of trying to play whack-a-mole with advertisers who may not always represent their businesses accurately, but I can say that over the past few months, trying to stay ahead of ads that are harmful or appalling has been a job. I have categories I approve of, and categories I requested be blocked, but that doesn’t mean that the ad itself is coded correctly by the advertiser. One hypothetical example: homeland security is not “home and garden.”
You may have noticed the proliferation of ICE ads and other DHS blather freaking everywhere, and many outlets have been covering how Spotify, HBO, and other streaming services are replete with these ads.
I’ve been dealing with a similar challenge with the podcast – a listener let me know a dynamic ad for ICE recruitment had run prior to the show, and as a result they would no longer be listening. To be clear: I don’t blame them. I am eternally grateful that they let me know what was happening, and grateful to the podcast community for helping me turn off those external ads, too.
Basically, not to dwell on this though I think and rant about it A LOT, it’s lucrative to run right wing ads. Right wing grift is abhorrently well-funded, and being complacent and letting ads like those run means more passive money for the creator (me) and for the platform that serves the ads.
Ad spend for these spots tops $20 billion dollars, and comes with higher percentages of revenue for creators than non-political campaigns. In other words, they’re more profitable than your average ad, and businesses like podcast platforms, streaming services, and internet ad brokers want to run them.
They make SO much freaking money.
Your support through After Dark membership means I can remove all of them for everyone who visits.
Your support has made the site better for all the readers who come to hang out here. Thank you.
Other upgrades that aren’t as visible include a server upgrade (woo!) and a caching options that should make the site load much faster, plus some improved functions coming in 2026.
One example: I’ll be moving the SBTB Daily newsletter and the Books on Sale newsletter from MailChimp to an in-house newsletter manager (as soon as I, um, teach myself how to use it) and SBTB will be able to offer weekly digest options and a newsletter of just After Dark content for community members!
And as I mentioned earlier in October, we’ve got plans for fun stuff:
- A quarterly romance book club
- Live streaming of video games
- Old Skool recaps of whatever truly off the wall romances I can find*
- Remember those Judith Krantz and Danielle Steel tv adaptations? Oh, yeah. Those.
- A video series “From the Romancelandia Older Folks Home”
- Exclusive coupons for books, candles, and more
*I procured some truly opulent old skool romances and will be sharing pics and requesting direction on which one to read and review first.
And I’ll be continuing with the monthly Crafty Zoom Zoomy Craft hangouts, plus Tarot After Dark, After Dark at the Movies, our in-depth commentary and analysis about romance and publishing trends, and everything else you’ve been enjoying.
But most of all:
Your support has helped make us even more
independent as a site and a community.
I am having trouble finding the right words to explain how much that means.
In the past 20 years, everything about the internet has changed, and very few people are doing what we do here at Smart Bitches. I take your trust in us very seriously, and I don’t take for granted that we’re part of your digital routine when you visit.
We’re turning 21 in January, and I’m really looking forward to celebrating another year with all of you.
If you’re not a member of After Dark, and would like to join, we would LOVE to have you.
Because if our community is important to you, we need your help to keep our doors open to everyone who wants to connect with romance readers around the world to discuss the books we love to read.
Also – if all these gifs are making you think about how much you want to watch Robin Hood: Men in Tights, here are your streaming options!
This is such great news!
Your care for this community and your readers is one of the reasons I support Smart Bitches with my patreon dollars and with an After dark subscription. Long may the Bitches rule!
Thank you! I do not take myself very seriously, but I take very seriously the care of the SBTB community, the safety of the comment space, and the well being of everyone who hangs out here. There wouldn’t be an SBTB or a podcast without y’all, and I appreciate your support as we become more independent and reader supported. Thank you.
Perfect timing! Partner was just asking this morning what I want for holiday gifts. You are going to the top of my list!
I always find it super weird that people jump so quickly to cancelling other nows. Anyone who has been around SBTB or your podcast for more than 5 minutes knows that you don’t advocate or support that ad’s content. We all know that we can click away trying to get rid of ads we don’t like and they still show up; I can only imagine the feat it involves on something like podcasts and a longstanding website like SBTB. The en-caca-fication of the internet is so real.
Can we just chill a bit and assume in good faith that it was the podcast company running the ad without your knowledge and say “Hey, just FYI, I heard this today and wonder if you knew about it?” instead of flouncing out with an “I’M NEVER GONNA LISTEN TO YOU AGAIN”?
The interwebs was a much more fun place 20 years ago, and I’m glad that you’re preserving this lovely little corner of it. I think I found you about 17 of those years ago – maybe going on 18 – and to have a site that I can go to and trust will be a lovely experience at this point is not something I take for granted.
It’s funny, a few listeners who know me were like, Uh, hey – did you know about this? But this was a new listener who had just tried the show – my GOSH I was mortified.
So many shows are grappling with the problem of ICE ad proliferation now, and Spotify is getting some heat from their podcasters. I’ve been sharing my campaign notes with people because it truly stinks how much money there is in right wing grift, and how difficult it is to avoid it. It’s like AI. And poison ivy.
It’s wise that you help readers understand site owners do not have absolute control over advertisements, despite what the ad supplier may “guarantee” when a site agrees to show ads.
This blog and community has been a haven for over two decades and I’ve been happy to support it through After Dark and Patreon. Look forward to the next decade!
@LML: we don’t usually have much control, and some were egregious – which I would take note of. But when I filed complaints I was asked to document the ad AND the URL so anyone complaining would have had to click the ad?
And then the solution was, “We can add a ‘Report this Ad'” flag to the ad” – which makes my community do the work? Deeply unserious responses.
This is the one and only place I comment on the interwebs these days. There’s no AI crap. No clickbait. No trolls. No creepy algorithmic attempts to keep eyeballs on the site for hours at a time. No attempts to exploit the interests of your readers in order to squeeze out every last dime you can uncover. Just a place for actual human beings to have some fun sharing a hobby.
Thank you for all the hard work that has gone into making this such a nice place for your readers to hang out! I have renewed my membership.
This is great news!!!
This is wonderful news! I was a lurker for a long time and finally felt comfortable enough in the past few years to post here because it’s such a welcoming community. (It’s not you, it’s me. I’m an introvert even on the internet, but I’m opening up a little!)
Amid all the chaos, it has been great to be part of a kind, inclusive and diverse group. I am a proud After Dark member and am so so so glad the money is being to give SBTB more control of itself.
Yay! No more Toenail Fungus, ever again! And apparently no more in-your-face anti-adblocker popups just because AdBlock refuses to grasp that I have poked a hole for this site.
THANK YOU!!!!!
This is wonderful news!
This is wonderful news! It feels good to know we’ve helped enable a positive change. Yours is the only Patreon I…patron, and I support SBAD because I support your work, and appreciate this site, and the commenters on it. It’s also the only site I feel safe commenting on. Keep it up, @Sarah, we appreciate you!
I’m all teary eyed now at all your comments. Thank you. I’m really honored you spend your time here, and I can’t thank you enough for your support.
Well that settles it then. I’m joining After Dark! Take my money please! I had not joined because it’s been a rough year personally (lost both of my parents) and I’ve just been unable to really engage in much extra. But this news is amazing and this choice on behalf of SBTB deserves to be rewarded and celebrated. Thank you for standing up and doing the good thing here!
Lauren, I’m so sorry for your losses. That sounds incredibly difficult.
Sarah, have you thought about showing a preview of After Dark content to give non-members a taste of what they’re missing, like Book Riot does (if the website’s capabilities make this possible)?
I love this and I want to do this….but my brain wants to revolt at the idea of one more thing on subscription. Is there any chance of linking this and the Patreon at some future point and we can bucket those two subscription services (and if this already part of Patreon benefits and I missed it please halp?)
@Rae: I get it, totally! I am looking into ways to link the Patreon and the After Dark membership at registration and should be able to do that in early 2026.
Ugh, those ICE ads are like freaking kudzu, I swear to God.
I’m beyond thrilled that my subscription to After Dark has enabled this website to manage to break free of that infestation!! Looking forward to 2026!