Full Disclosure Regarding Site Advertising
Published on - July 26th, 2006 (Modified on - March 13th, 2009) (by J.D. Roth) Recently, several people have asked how much money Get Rich Slowly earns from advertising. This subject makes some people uncomfortable. If you’re one of those people, please skip this post.
I believe that full disclosure is in the best interest of this site and its readers, so here’s a quick run-down of how I currently use advertising.
Google Ads
Google Ads appear on the archive pages. These are context-sensitive ads, meaning the ads are based on the content of the pages. Unfortunately inappropriate ads are sometimes served. When I see ads for get-rich-quick schemes, etc., I block them. (If you ever see an inappropriate Google Ad, please e-mail the URL to me.)
Feedburner
Every page on this site has a Feedburner ad. They’re often served in the RSS feed, too. I don’t accept all the ads available from Feedburner — as with Google Ads, I block anything that I deem inappropriate. For example, I recently rejected a “make money fast from my stock-market technique” ad.
Amazon
Whenever I mention a book, I link to its Amazon page using my affiliate ID. Though I encourage you to use your public library whenever possible, I recognize that sometimes you want to own a book. But really: you should get your personal finance books from the library. I do. The Amazon links are the only ads here that may not obviously be advertising.
Sharebuilder
Sharebuilder is a specialized discount broker. It’s specifically designed for small investors who want to make automatic stock purchases at regular intervals. I love it, and I use it for my own investments. Sharebuilder is not a good choice for everyone. The site is not as robust as some, and it doesn’t have great research tools such as those at eTrade. But if you want to set up no-hassle automatic investments, Sharebuilder is fantastic.
Dreamhost
Dreamhost hosts all of my various web sites. If you sign up for a Dreamhost account by following a link from this site (or by using “jdroth *AatT* foldedspace.org” as your referrer), it costs you nothing extra and it nets me some cash.
Revenue from ads totals several hundred dollars per month.
Despite this, I’ve actually considered dropping the ads completely. I don’t mind ads on web sites — and I have no qualms advertising on my other sites — but I don’t want the ads to get in the way of the message at Get Rich Slowly. I’m not doing this for the money (though I don’t mind the money — don’t get me wrong), but because I have a passion for this information and because I believe that people need to hear about sound personal finance. I don’t want ads to get in the way of that.
If you have concerns regarding the level or methods of advertising on Get Rich Slowly, please let me know. I’ll consider what you have to say. And from this point forward, I’ll explicitly note when there’s an important change in the way this site deals with ads.
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I don’t see how you would benefit from dropping the ads. They don’t interfere with your message. Keep up the good work.
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I like the design of your site (it’s very neat) and the financial tidbits you share. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for sharing anyway.
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The ads on your site are a lot less intrusive than in other places. I won’t worry about it. If they start getting fugly, I’ll let you know!
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Thanks for providing this information. It’s good to hear that you’re getting something in return for your great work. Keep it up!
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I agree, your site has probably the least intrusive advertising I have seen on these types of websites. Your articles appear very cleanly, you clearly get your message across, and you’re making a good deal of money on the side. Awesome job!
Also, I would like to thank you for sharing your information on this post. I’m putting together a site of my own and information like this seems very hush hush. Once again, you have posted a very valuable article.
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Don’t take down the ads. Just tell me how I might add them to my site….
I’m especially interested in how you got the Sharebuilder ad. Did they approach you?
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I don’t mind the ads at all. You deserve to be compensated well for your work.
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The Sharebuilder ad is an affiliate program; more here: http://www.sharebuilder.com/Affiliates/Index.asp
Do not worry about the ads- they are not intrusive. As long as you disclose conflicts of interest and the ads do not get in the way of the content, you are doing fine.
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Man, keep the ads. You deserve every penny you reap from this site. Entrepreneurship, remember? Part of becoming rich slowly is to have multiple streams of income.
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Keep the ads. Like everyone else has said, they are not instrusive or distracting. This is my first time visiting this site, but I plan to come back regularly for sound financial advice.
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Lots of people like to whine about ads. If they don’t like them, there are ways to block them using firefox extensions. And it’s not like they have to click on them. Keep them!
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To add the umpteenth similar sentiment, keep the adds. You are providing an actual service to the readers here, and not requiring any direct compensation from any of them. The adds really don’t distract, and if they keep a worthy website going (or even just make the pain of running it a little less), then they’re completely worth even the small amount of irritation they may cause.
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I don’t mind the ads. I don’t see them!!
I block everything. I never see ads on the internet anymore. 
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ads, dump them now. or how about you split it between us equally. im going on strike.
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At the very least you should be able to cover your costs.
Love the site
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JD – I think your ads are very unobtrusive and appropriate for this site. I don’t think you need to change your advertising policy at all. There isn’t a negative thing I have to say about this site. I like the design, the content is great, and like everybody else I am shocked that its only been around a few months. Keep up the good work. I just started my own website and I hope I can generate traffic like you have been able to. I would also be interested to know what other sites you have. Drop me an e-mail and let me know if you ever get a chance.
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I’ll add my vote that you should keep the ads. They are not a bother and provide a little reward for your work.
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[...] I already have a fine retirement account through my employer. I also plan to fully fund a Roth IRA when I’ve finished paying off my home equity loan (in March 2008). But because I have a strong itch to invest, in January of this year I opened a Roth IRA with Sharebuilder [disclosure] with the intention of funding it at $100 each month. During the first nine months of this year, I’ve put $700 into it. [...]
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[...] an example: I had planned to stick a few hundred dollars into my Sharebuilder IRA next Tuesday [disclosure]. Because of the way Sharebuilder works, this trade would only cost me $4. However, now it’s [...]
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