We all hate internet advertising. It’s almost a universal truth.
One of the loudest and most frequent pieces of feedback we get is that advertising on Ausdroid is annoying. We know a lot of you probably block it anyway, but we’d rather not have it on the website at all.
We started our Patreon campaign to try and achieve this, but I think we aimed too high. The campaign has been running a while, but it has begun to look like we initially set too high a target. I think there’s a real sense that we were asking people to put their money up, but that the goal of removing ads might never be realised. That’s disappointing, for us and for you guys, especially for those who backed us.
So let’s try something different.
To show we’re serious about reaching this goal, we’ll go first. On the 1st of July, Ausdroid will go ad-free. Google AdSense will be turned off.
In exchange, we’ll ask you — our readers — to back us on Patreon, but to a more achievable goal. If we can reach $1,000 a month (a figure which is less than our monthly advertising revenue from AdSense), we’ll stay ad-free for good.
There is one catch; we have some advertising arrangements already in place with specific advertisers, and we will still show their content in accordance with our agreements with them. However, this will not be junk ads, it won’t be pop-ups or any other spam; it will be targeted advertising that we’ve specifically agreed to run, for products that should be of interest. Most importantly, it will be for limited runs, and so will not interfere with your overall enjoyment of our website.
At the time of writing, we’re roughly 33% of the way there. We’ve got just over four weeks to reach our goal, and then we can be rid of AdSense and junk advertising completely.
We’re also going to offer a little gift of thanks, as follows:
- Support $30 a month, and receive a limited edition gold Ausdroid lapel pin. There’s only six of these, so don’t miss out.
- Support $20 a month, and receive a limited edition silver Ausdroid lapel pin for the first twenty supporters on board.
If we reach our goal, we’ll have another special offer for people, and we’ll come up with something good.
Will you help us get there? Will you support local content, and help us keep the lights on?
Supporting is easy. Hit our Patreon campaign, and make your pledge today.
That’s discrimination, cats, why not spread it between DOGS and Cats….
I strongly support going ad free! (noting the caveats) I read Ausdroid only on tablet and phone so not so much with ad blocker sadly (I like dolphin browser). Have just signed up on patreon ($5/month)
This is a great website, however, I suspect this idea won’t succeed.
In my experience with an android app I made, the free version with ads clocked up 1.3 million downloads and made 8x more revenue, than the $1.99 paid version with no ads.
Not saying don’t try it. Websites could be completely different to apps, and, as long as you can absorb the dev and lost ad revenue costs, then why not. Just my 2 cents. 🙂
As you know I’m happy to support but maybe be careful with the promises, during the last drive there was talk that the top supporters would have some kind of recognition in little bits and bobs, afaik that hasn’t happened yet
I dont support this. I dont mind adverts, they just need better quality control.
I totally agree. I don’t see the problem with ads. That’s normal on the internet. I love Ausdroid but am not prepared to pay for it.
Quality control over AdSense ads is almost impossible, sadly.
The problem is not ads, it’s the deceptive way they’re embedded to look like articles that grates me. Scrolling on mobile, I have to constantly decipher whether an article block is actually an ad. It totally frustrates the browsing experience. If you have to con people into clicking ads, what are you achieving? Put ads in a distinct colored box so there’s no ambiguity and I wouldn’t care if you tripled the ad count. I’m not against you guys making money with ads. Btw, scrolling on mobile has been really janky since the site update a month or two ago.… Read more »
I have stated this before, so I will totally agree with this statement. Last time I said it, was the last time I visited the site, and I said so. I saw this on my Google+ feed and the last few months I stopped visiting so I thought I would come in and check it out. I would come back, and would contribute, but if I have a return of the feeling of being tricked that an ad is content I will pull the pin immediately (even faster this time). Make sponsored content appear in clear contrast and I am… Read more »
Hi Greg, and Jules, thanks so much for your honest feedback. I think we’ve learned a bit from the Cammy episode, and from others. Yes, advertisers do want some native content advertising, and within reason, we’re prepared to consider it only if the content is actually somewhat worth reading, ala our VPN pieces (we try to make them somewhat useful even if you’re not interested in the product).
We would like to keep (or win back) your readership, and keeping ads — and making them more clearly marked as such — is something we can definitely consider.
Love the website for Android news with local flavour … keep up the good work! Have been a Patreon since your original campaign. Don’t particularly hate the AdSense … your income/sustainability is important too. Whats happened to podcasts??
How on earth are you going to survive on $1000 a month?
Adsense is just part of Ausdroid’s income.
Good! Id like to see Ausdroid survive.
I’ve got no problems with you using AdSense – it seems an eminently sensible means of monetising your work. Ridiculously obtrusive ads that take over the whole screen or suddenly start playing some sound file/video or throw up pop-up pages that cause you to lose where you are, are another matter. In any event, I’m happy using an adblocker (adaway) and will continue to donate to your Patreon fund as I have been since the outset, but I don’t think ads, in themselves, are your problem and find it surprising you’re choosing to go down a route that appears aimed… Read more »
AdSense has been good to us, but if we can bring in roughly the same amount of income without having ads in place then I’d rather that outcome. The problem with AdSense is that their quality control isn’t fantastic, and some fairly rubbish ads do sneak in and ruin the experience.
If we can keep the lights on, and deliver a better user experience for our readers, then we’re better off all round.
lol