Advertising...

[Neil]

I've been approached by an advertising company as regards placing some adverts on HPotD. I've always resisted up until now, but the company seems quite upfront and genuine so I'm tempted to give it a whirl...

I certainly do not intend burying the site in adverts, but instead would be looking to place some subtle adverts on the main page, on the top of the fiction section and this forum.

I understand adverts are not wanted by some individuals, but I believe they will not be obtrusive, so hope you'll be patient while I try different things out.

Thanks...

[SymphonicX]

My concern is that if these ads delve into the realm of viagra or "no strings" dating sites then it may make this board NSFW....any insights into that?

I understand you may feel as though it's necessary and it certainly wouldn't hamper my experience of the board but advertising is evil man.

[Tricky]

Can we be assured that logging into HPoTD isnt going to result in spyware being stealthily installed on our PC's by said advertising company? If i arent sick of having to locate & delete all that shit from my PC from various other websites!

[Neil]

Take a look at the fiction section and main site for examples...

http://fiction.homepageofthedead.com
http://www.homepageofthedead.com

This is currently using google ads as a test/example. Later the media company will place more appropriate ads in there...


My concern is that if these ads delve into the realm of viagra or "no strings" dating sites then it may make this board NSFW....any insights into that?

I understand you may feel as though it's necessary and it certainly wouldn't hamper my experience of the board but advertising is evil man.

Well, initially - while playing around - these adds are from google. But the media company I was initially talking about choose specific advertising for the sites involved. So I'd imagine adverts for this site would be horror/movie etc related?

If adverts prove to be a pain etc I can soon remove them...

---------- Post added at 12:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:47 PM ----------


Can we be assured that logging into HPoTD isnt going to result in spyware being stealthily installed on our PC's by said advertising company? If i arent sick of having to locate & delete all that shit from my PC from various other websites!

No, we're talking about google adverts while I play/learn, and then the specific media company I'm talking about is a high profile company, so we're not going to see any nonsense.

[Danny]

adverts on a forum? thats kind of odd. First and foremost these people want to make money off you i'd be inclined to do as much digging as possible. Its not unheard of for a few people to approach a high traffic site like that only to gain information to use, which doesnt mean its happening hear but this is a small forum, and a niche' forum at that. Why would they approach you?, what are they wanting you to advertise to us, its members, for them?

Like i said, its an odd thing to be put forward to you, basically do you want to align yourself with these people and associate your work on this site with whatever they want you to try and sell to people who don't visit an internet forum of any sort with a desire to be advertised or to spend money in the first place? I mean who ever clicks on ads ever on websites? i never do, mostly because 99% of the time there illegitimate scams leading to sites that only serve to scam you in one way or another.

[Neil]

adverts on a forum? thats kind of odd. First and foremost these people want to make money off you i'd be inclined to do as much digging as possible. Its not unheard of for a few people to approach a high traffic site like that only to gain information to use, which doesnt mean its happening hear but this is a small forum, and a niche' forum at that. Why would they approach you?, what are they wanting you to advertise to us, its members, for them?

Like i said, its an odd thing to be put forward to you, basically do you want to align yourself with these people and associate your work on this site with whatever they want you to try and sell to people who don't visit an internet forum of any sort with a desire to be advertised or to spend money in the first place? I mean who ever clicks on ads ever on websites? i never do, mostly because 99% of the time there illegitimate scams leading to sites that only serve to scam you in one way or another.

Seriously, they're a big reputatable company :) I've dug and only seen good things about them...

Also, the ads in question, are not typically clicks, but "impressions". ie: Product awareness etc... ie: Making you aware of an upcoming horror film for example.

ps: Don't forget at the moment, my tests on the main page and the fiction section are using Google ads, purely as a test...

[MikePizzoff]

While I do think it's odd that they'd want ads on these forums, the test runs you've done do look alright. Plus, it's extra money in your pocket.

[Neil]

While I do think it's odd that they'd want ads on these forums, the test runs you've done do look alright. Plus, it's extra money in your pocket.
Well, nothing is set in stone yet, and it's all just testing at the moment.

But if you see adverts at the top of this forum, you know the test has spread :)

[Skippy911sc]

I use firefox with an ad blocker and never see those pesky ads anyway...go for it. Might as well make a little coin for your trouble.

[AcesandEights]

I'm initially skeptical of course. Why mess with a good thing, right? Then again, that's only from my perspective and I trust your judgment is more well informed and in tune with the long-term interest of the site and forums.

If you've done your due diligence and the deal looks solid and makes keeping the site online more likely over the long haul, then go for it.

A forum (http://www.yog-sothoth.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=1) (for a completely different interest) that I occasionally frequent, has a very active community, large user base and had made the decision some time ago to incorporate ads into their forums is no longer doing banner ads anymore (just a side ad that looks like it's controlled by the admin). I'll drop a line to an Admin asking what went into the change of mind on it.

Anyway, if you feel it will make the site more viable for the long term in covering maintenance costs/offsetting the time you devote to it, you gotta do what you gotta do.

[bassman]

Those small ads are no problem at all. Just PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't have the ones that pop up or take over the entire page.:stunned:

[Tricky]

And please, please, please dont allow the ones that suddenly pop out or make loud noises if your cursor goes anywhere near the ad box, I really friggin' hate those ones!

[Neil]

A forum (http://www.yog-sothoth.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=1) (for a completely different interest) that I occasionally frequent, has a very active community, large user base and had made the decision some time ago to incorporate ads into their forums is no longer doing banner ads anymore (just a side ad that looks like it's controlled by the admin). I'll drop a line to an Admin asking what went into the change of mind on it.
Please do! Any advice/info is most welcome!

[Skippy911sc]

I frequent ar15.com and they have ads all over... I don't even notice them.

[Wyldwraith]

Amen to Firefox Ad-blocker.
Anyone who doesn't care for the adverts. (like me) should already be running it or a similar application. I just don't care for the rare page that won't load (or loads incredibly slowly) if you block the ads.

I'm with others about wondering why a decent-sized advertiser would want to mess with a niche forum-site. HotD is great, but hardly a significant pool of potential customers for whatever they're pushing.

[Neil]

Amen to Firefox Ad-blocker.
Anyone who doesn't care for the adverts. (like me) should already be running it or a similar application. I just don't care for the rare page that won't load (or loads incredibly slowly) if you block the ads.

I'm with others about wondering why a decent-sized advertiser would want to mess with a niche forum-site. HotD is great, but hardly a significant pool of potential customers for whatever they're pushing.

I have found Ad-Blocker cocks up some sites... ie: The page doesn't even really load. I've had to turn it off due to a few sites behaving this way with it!

[Neil]

Are we talking about ads that appear every five or so posts or a big juicy one at the top of the page?

Prior to having my Firefox ad blocker up, ads seriously slowed my shit down on a bad day. Wasnt a major hassle but could be quite annoying. Also, I highly doubt members will welcome advertisements when presented with a 'should we have ads or not' thread because most will say "hell no".

I'm a member of one videogame forum where the ads seemingly had a mind of their own (prior to ad blocker), appeared randomly, doubled on top of themselves, even glitched up some pages. Not only that but after some weeks/months there were a number of dodgy ads popping up too.

But at the end of the day, I'm neither for or against it because it's no bother to me in the grand scheme. Firefox ad blocker is your friend, peeps.
No popups, most likely just a 90pixel high banner advert towards the top. Look at the fiction section for an example http://fiction.homepageofthedead.com

[darth los]

While I do think it's odd that they'd want ads on these forums, the test runs you've done do look alright. Plus, it's extra money in your pocket.


I was thinking the same thing. We might want one thing but we can't hate on him if he's trying to make money out of this thing. Who here wouldn't do the same?

Cosmetics aside, as long as it doesn't change my experience here dramatically i have no prob.

2 cents ova.

:cool:

[Publius]

We might want one thing but we can't hate on him if he's trying to make money out of this thing. Who here wouldn't do the same?

Cosmetics aside, as long as it doesn't change my experience here dramatically i have no prob.

2 cents ova.

:cool:

Hear, hear. I'm just glad to have this place to come to. I won't begrudge Neil the chance to get a little more money off it, as long as he's dealing with reputable people who won't afflict us with malware, popups, or noisy ads.