Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Is anyone having a really good time? A changed life?
Is it because you get to do what you most enjoy doing, with contextual ad revenue making it possible?
Who here is really enjoying themselves, in a way that you must attribute to your earnings?
What do you enjoy most?
Why?
Best of all, AdSense has been a simple "plug and pay" source of advertising revenue from just about every topic (no matter how esoteric) on my site.
The money I earn with my brick and mortar business on the other continent is nice for investment, building our new house etc, but AdSense buys our bread and butter. AdSense certainly made my life easier and happier.
It's a supplemental source of revenue, yet it usually keeps churning along when another source may be having a hiccup.
Money from Adsense just makes it .... I dunno.... even more interesting?
It seems to me that IF people were doing what they loved and were writing about it, we would be seeing more win-win posts: "I'm doing what makes me happy and I'm getting paid to write about it, and the more I do it and write about it, the more money I make - so I'm on this upward trending happiness spiral and I'm loving it."
Does that idea - that Adsense might help set up a "positive feedback loop" in life - make sense? Do what you love. Write about it. Earn some $$$ that might be deployed to allow you to more of what you love . . . and so on. Win-win. Happy posts. :) Yes?
Time after time I've read posts that urge people to write about what they know and what they love. I've got to think that the percentage of such publishers - those who publish content about what they love to do - would be fairly high. OTOH, I think there are a fair number of people whose mission and ambition is to pursue high value clicks, which may mean they write about something they know little about.
That notion that people would be wise to write about what they know and love leads me to believe I would be reading a high percentage of posts crafted by people who are happy - thankful - for a chance to have money flow from writing about what they love to do.
Maybe I should ask: Do you write about what you love? What you do that you love to do? In so doing, has the act of writing and publishing enabled you to do more of what you love to do?
If not, what are you waiting for? Don't tell me. You're waiting to develop hobbies that are more . . lucrative? :0) )
[edited by: Webwork at 12:47 am (utc) on June 9, 2006]
I was wondering, in part, if getting to make a few $$$ by publishing about a favorite activity or hobby put anyone in a position to do more of what they enjoy doing.
I was about to give my site up about 7 years ago. Running it was expensive then (hosts for the domains were much more expensive) and it earned no income, it was just a hobby. Then started Amazon ads and that paid expenses and a little bit more. I added something now and then but wasn’t that motivated
But I do enjoy my topic and now with AdSense I feel like it's worth researching and writing new articles so I've added a lot in the last couple of years. I also pay more attention to what my readers are interested in. So I am more likely to write on those topics instead of some more obscure topics that I might be fascinated with. But it’s still interesting so overall it's been a great experience.
I've also been able to buy hobby equipment and materials and go to some interesting workshops & conferences which is great fun. The money is getting ahead of me though. It's starting to pile up in the bank. Can't complain about that though. ;)
But AdSense can be seductive. You see an increase in income and want to make more or you get a drop and want to get the better earnings back. Sometimes I spend way too much time trying to squeeze a little more income out of my pages and find I’m doing tedious work too often for nothing.
That notion that people would be wise to write about what they know and love leads me to believe I would be reading a high percentage of posts crafted by people who are happy - thankful - for a chance to have money flow from writing about what they love to do.
That might be the case if Webmaster World members were a random sample of AdSense publishers. In reality, WW's membership is likely to be skewed toward Web entrepreneurs who are building sites around AdSense, as opposed to using AdSense to monetize sites that were created for other reasons.
Cheers,
CaboWabo
But the money makes the non web aspects of the hobby and other things more enjoyable.
Signed my AdSense check over for a 325i, so yes, it has made life fun!
Wow!
I agree. Adsense has started giving me freedom and flexibility in what I do , and this is what I love about this program..
im not expecting to get rich from adsense.. but my earnings have quickly gone from almost nothing to about half of what my "real job" pays me(after the long sludge to the first $100). when i get my first check it will be a doozy :)
im a young guy,.. been out of college for about 2 years. i have a handful of sites, but one in particular is making 99% of my adsense income,.. and that site is not yet a year old,.. so i have a long journey ahead of me with that :). being that im so young, adsense gives me a great opportunity to save for the future, and have a comfortable life now.
both my day job and web publishing are things i love to do so i am truly enjoying life. hopefully my adsense earnings will continue to grow,.. though i couldnt see myself looking into doing it full time. im a bit of a workaholic and i know id go stir crazy with all the extra time on my hands :)
how many people you know still check their site statistics first before checking the earnings and clicks?
Oh, I still check the site stats first and more carefully, though they load so slowly that I sometimes look at Analytics or Adsense for a quick temperature check. Adsense stats are only interesting to the extent that they tell you how much the site is earning right now, site usage stats tell you much more about how your overall business is doing, and what you can expect to happen in the future.
It's more or less turned an enjoyable hobby related website something more like a less enjoyable job. But the money makes the non web aspects of the hobby and other things more enjoyable.
There's something satisfying in reading the above statement. I'm happy to read it.
Some part of me wishes I was reading one such post after another, since it strikes me that Adsense offers a unique opportunity for people with a passion to fund that passion.
The sense that there may be a high percentage of newcomers who "do it for the money" versus "it's my joy . . and the money is nice too" is a bit disappointing.
I get a sense there are likely many people who sign up, who if they focused on what they uniquely know and enjoy, might do far better at the end of the day.
I can't fault people who see Adsense as a way to pay the bills or a way to get a leg up. I can see how in certain parts of the world an Adsense income might make a big difference.
Still, I have this nagging sense that if people in such areas of the world made a point to have at least one website that focused on their special bliss - localized, insightful, whatever - they might actually see their income increase. I mean, after all, the concept of "finding a niche" is one that is repeatedly put forth here. So why not write about something local or specialized? It might just draw in some travel ads and valuable clicks.
Is there anyone who - in addition to websites that are "their moneymakers" (focus = make money) has taken it upon themselves to put up 1 or more "purely for the fun of it" websites - that are also running Adsense?
Is there anyone who ever put up a website, saying to yourself "Whatever comes of this the income - if there is any - is going to be devoted to (fill in the blank: fun, vacations, hobby expense, chartity, etc.)"?
All work and no play makes Webwork a dull boy, fer shur. :)
Is there anyone who - in addition to websites that are "their moneymakers" (focus = make money) has taken it upon themselves to put up 1 or more "purely for the fun of it" websites - that are also running Adsense?
Yes of course! Many of us have put up websites just for the fun it! I started my first website 6 years before Adsense (3 BA) existed. Why? Because I had a point of view about a topic I still love. I was the very first in the world to have a website about that topic and within months my stupid little website from the Netherlands was reviewed at ABC! I had to do international tv and radio interviews cause I was suddenly considered an expert on this specific topic! All of this was so much fun that money didn't come to mind. Besides, the niche of that site is only interesting for a small audience, so traffic is relatively low. So there was never big bucks involved.
My second website was founded 3 years BA.
Again I started it because I wanted to tell the world about a certain topic. Although it is not as succesful as website #1, it still got some pretty impressive international exposure.
Not because I advertised it, but just because of the content.
And then Adsense came along. I started with $1 on my first day. I have had my ups and downs with my earnings, but things have been looking good for the past few months. Since I am with Adsense (over a year now) a started 4 other websites.
All about topics I love to write about. All of them make me money. Sometimes life can be good...
Has the amount of fun, satisfaction, family fun, health, recreation, emotional satisfaction, sense of well being . . any of that stuff of life . . increased or improved in your life since the arrival of Adsense in your life?
Is anyone having a really good time? A changed life?
Changed very much. Before all the stress about how fast to get contracts and money from new possible clients.
Is it because you get to do what you most enjoy doing, with contextual ad revenue making it possible?
Yes. I like to invent, evaluate technology and think how the futute should lool like.
AdSense made me a free scientific journalist
AdSense made it possible to visit all interesting fairs and new projects
What's a council tax?
What we pay to the local authority each month to keep them in limousines, "fact finding" missions to Australia and plush offices. There's just the odd chance that they might empty the trash occasionally, but not on bank holidays, sunny days or any month with a vowel in it.
I had a website that was my 'baby' long before Adsense came along. So the desire to build and grow it was always there.
Same here. If Adsense ceased to exist my website would continue.
[edited by: david_uk at 11:52 pm (utc) on June 9, 2006]
