Over the course of the past few years, I must have received a few dozen letters from people suggesting that I try to incorporate advertising into MM.com. I suspect that they were thinking that if I was making some money with the site, I might be more inclined to do a decent job. Or, maybe they were just thinking that at least ads would take up some space that would otherwise be filled with my self-indulgent, often paranoid drivel… At any rate, I’d thought about it over the years, and always came to the same conclusion — the presence of ads wouldn’t enhance the overall experience that I’m looking to create here at MM.com. I had thought, however, that it might be neat if I could somehow work something out with Amazon so that if I linked to something that they were selling that I could make a few cents on resulting sales, and perhaps even generate enough each year to pay for the hosting of this site.
Well, when I was stuck here at the coffee shop yesterday afternoon, unable to work on my scripts (because I’d forgotten to install Word on my new laptop), I got on-line and filled out an application to join the Amazon affiliate program. And, just now, I got the word from Amazon that MM.com passed the test. (Apparently they decided that my readership was reliable enough, and that my references to “ball shaving,” “monkey taints,” and the “ejaculation ray” didn’t in themselves constitute a complete lack of merit.) So, I am now happy to announce that anytime you follow a link from this site to a product for sale at Amazon, and then buy that item, I will get a very small cut. More importantly, I wanted to let you know that from now on any suggestions that I make should be viewed with a great deal of suspicion. (I will push the boundaries, but hopefully not too far.)
So, if you see me hawking something like “State of Fear,” the new Michael Crichton bullshit bestseller about the big lie of global warming and it’s proponents, the environmental terrorists, please do me a favor and put together a posse to hunt me down and remove my blogging hand.
If, however, you find me suggesting that you purchase truly great things, like the new Daniel Johnston album “The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered,” or Brian Wilson’s long awaited “Smile,” do yourself (and me) a favor, and buy it immediately.
I love you all so very much… I don’t think I say that often enough, but I really do.
6 Comments
I just put Google ads on my site archives after hearing good things from friends. Basically anything that has gotten enough PageRank for me to get comment spam and/or off-topic questions I close comments, which turns on the ads. I’ve made $5 in the past week, which brings the grand total to $5.
Matt Haughey got written up in Discover as the Google-AdSense-on-Blogs poster boy for PVRblog.com (disclaimer: I write for PVRblog but because I’m passionate/stupid I have yet to earn one red cent).
You should post something about blogging for bucks on ArborBlogs.
I just hate ads, George. I run them in Crimewave, but I don
Mark, Did I not suggest this to you some time ago? Of course, if it blows up in your face, I never said a thing. I just wish you had it up during xmas as you would have gotten a cut of my Dora the Explorer Princess with her Magical Growing Hair purchase(hey man it was that or Barbie- to wit your readers have already heard my shallow soul searching). But why does Amazon send every damn purchase in its own box, that is definately a problem. Thank you so much for posting my note, I just hope someone has a definitive answer. Thanks too for the link, it is a good balance to your imminent amazon link. BTW, let your advertisers know that I read their advertisements as they are in Crimewave, but yet have been compelled to make a purchase. WHich is more than I can say for advertisers in the other rags I read. In fact, I take great pleasure in ripping out those multi-page adds (I do not give a fucking shit what Ralph Lauren is having his morons parade around in and am surprised he thinks I do) on the thick paper from the new Yorker and tossing them in the trash. I do this with great flourish on the streets of New York hoping some jr ad exec witnesses it and dies a little death. You just can’t fold the bitch when those ungainly adds are in there.
I like the phrase, “you just can’t fold the bitch.” I might run it on the cover of the next issue.
Speaking of ads and Crimewave… Is there anyone out there who would like to intern for us selling ads? We could give you a cut of whatever came in, or something like that… Or we could print one of your shitty poems that no one else would ever think of printing…. I just hate selling ads and I’d like for someone else to do it.
you are correct. the daniel johnston cover cd is absolutely excellent.
Have you considedred buying another copy, Todd? It’s really not a bad idea to have a spare.
Or, how about picking up a copy of his album “Songs of Pain“? It’s one of my favorites.