Amazon Ads in RSS Feeds

A while back I’ve added an advertising module to my site that allows me to inject amazon item ads both into the site content and into the rss feeds. I hand pick the items, which most of the time fall into one of the three categories: stuff that I would probably want myself, stuff that I already have, stuff that I mentioned in the post, and stuff that is just funny. Four categories.

This is not “punch the monkey”, not the same one ad that some bloggers stuff into their rss feeds and keep there forever until you are sick of it. From time to time the amazon items are really funny.

On the other hand, at my level of readers, the princely 6% commission that I get on Amazon purchases that come through the site, it’s not really a major financial incentive. The ads do cover my hosting expenses, but I do kinda feel guilty of thrusting the ads on my readers.

So, tell me, what do you think about the ads? Should I just junk them? I already replaced some of the ads on the site with links and ads for products that I simply like, without getting any payment, just as a way to say “thank you” to the people who make these products. I might do the same thing with the rest of the ads.

39 thoughts on “Amazon Ads in RSS Feeds

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  30. Dude, we’re getting all this great content for free – I don’t mind seeing some ads for it in return.

    As long as their not the blinking bouncing flash horrors you won’t hear me complaining.

  31. I won’t stop reading your blog, but I did feel they kind of cheapened the experience. I’d suggest recommending only stuff that you actually talk about in the post, or stuff that’s really funny and adds satire to the post. The “How to become a capitalist pig” would be fitting here.

    Anyway, if you’re making more than 50$/month I’d keep them.

  32. I don’t have an issue with the ads per se. However, since I look at the feed through LiveJournal, the ads are frequently not displayed properly. Instead content (images, links, etc.), I see about a page worth of junky html. It makes it very hard to read your post.

  33. Ah, it seems like Livejournal complains about the html in the ads. I’ll probably fix it or get rid of the ads. Still thinking about it.

  34. I say bring on the ads. They don’t bother me. I am glad to scroll past [or click on] a few if it helps pay for your hosting costs.

    People are used to ads. My wife even seems to prefer TV with the ads; she is less interested in watching TiVo than live TV.

    I like your blog.

  35. The ads are not a bother for me, so if they’re a help to you, keep them.

    Just don’t ever incorporate them in such a way that they become really annoying or intrusive ;-)

    Maybe you could change the design of your site slightly to have a subtle color of choice background block around your entries ( or the ads / sidebars / etc ). That could be a useful visual cue for letting people focus on the content. I know to scan down the middle for the content; I didn’t even notice your left hand sidebar before. I just assumed it was ads :-P so yeah, I’m in the “currently not bothered by the ads” block.

  36. I dont think they’re annoying (at least at the current rate), and yeah, sometimes this stuff is really funny.

  37. I like ads when they are something you’ve personally chosen that goes along with the ad.

    Auto served ads have two problems:
    1. hard to maintain relevance by algorithm, especially with the content you write.
    2. easily stripped out. I surf with add-art, so I never see generic advertisements.

    I tell folks about your writing whenever I can, it’s really great stuff.

  38. I actually like the ads… esp. when they are related to the post. Haven’t bought anything through them yet, but have come close a couple of times.

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  • Bart

    Dude, we’re getting all this great content for free – I don’t mind seeing some ads for it in return.

    As long as their not the blinking bouncing flash horrors you won’t hear me complaining.

  • Anonymous

    +1

  • Matt Winkelmann

    I won’t stop reading your blog, but I did feel they kind of cheapened the experience. I’d suggest recommending only stuff that you actually talk about in the post, or stuff that’s really funny and adds satire to the post. The “How to become a capitalist pig” would be fitting here.

    Anyway, if you’re making more than 50$/month I’d keep them.

  • gwendel

    I don’t have an issue with the ads per se. However, since I look at the feed through LiveJournal, the ads are frequently not displayed properly. Instead content (images, links, etc.), I see about a page worth of junky html. It makes it very hard to read your post.

  • deadprogrammer

    Ah, it seems like Livejournal complains about the html in the ads. I’ll probably fix it or get rid of the ads. Still thinking about it.

  • http://tbmcomics.com Hal

    I say bring on the ads. They don’t bother me. I am glad to scroll past [or click on] a few if it helps pay for your hosting costs.

    People are used to ads. My wife even seems to prefer TV with the ads; she is less interested in watching TiVo than live TV.

    I like your blog.

  • Anonymous

    The ads are not a bother for me, so if they’re a help to you, keep them.

    Just don’t ever incorporate them in such a way that they become really annoying or intrusive ;-)

    Maybe you could change the design of your site slightly to have a subtle color of choice background block around your entries ( or the ads / sidebars / etc ). That could be a useful visual cue for letting people focus on the content. I know to scan down the middle for the content; I didn’t even notice your left hand sidebar before. I just assumed it was ads :-P so yeah, I’m in the “currently not bothered by the ads” block.

  • Anton

    I dont think they’re annoying (at least at the current rate), and yeah, sometimes this stuff is really funny.

  • http://www.morelightmorelight.com Matt Katz

    I like ads when they are something you’ve personally chosen that goes along with the ad.

    Auto served ads have two problems:
    1. hard to maintain relevance by algorithm, especially with the content you write.
    2. easily stripped out. I surf with add-art, so I never see generic advertisements.

    I tell folks about your writing whenever I can, it’s really great stuff.

  • z

    I actually like the ads… esp. when they are related to the post. Haven’t bought anything through them yet, but have come close a couple of times.