Last year I turned google ads on.
This year I’m turning them off.
Here is the why for both choices. Plus a little digressing.
Craft Leftovers the blog has been around since that 2006 Hello World Post. Believe it or not, it was one of the OG blogs on recycled/upcycled/green crafting. Started in art college, and by the time I graduated it was my full time gig. Then I took a long hiatus. You can read the full story of why I took a break from blogging in the archive. Long story short, the website was hacked and demoralized I just gave up on it.
I got back into blogging because Jason found and rebooted an old back up of the blog. I was so excited. It’s like my crafting/writing fire was reignited in that moment (he surprised one day in 2020). Some of those old posts sure are hilarious, and kind of a time capsule into the 2006-2016 blog world.
In many ways Craft Leftovers has returned to the 2006 roots of holding me accountable to create things regularly, use up my stash, and share what I know (which now includes random biz things via the podcast/livestream). And I’d like that to be available freely. No SEO, no ads. Just unfettered impulsive creative joy.
Turning on Google Ads
Turns out, when I rebooted the blog I had about $50 in my google ads account. So I turned those ads on until I hit the $100 payout.
Turning Google Ads off
So three things happened in December. Finally hit that payout amount (1).And pdf Pattern sales were enough to cover the cost of libsyn and wordpress for the year (the two biggest expenses related to the blog)(2). And I found Ko-fi (3).
Going with Ko-fi vs Ads
I love the idea that if you have the means and enjoy what I’m putting out there, you can offer a cuppa worth of funds in support of the project. And if you don’t, that’s a-okay too. You also get to come and read and enjoy without getting blasted with ads or hitting a pay wall. It’s a win all around.
If you want to get all the posts I put out there (because they most likely won’t show up in google searches), I do recommend Follow.it. It’s refreshed my love of blog reading. I get an email digest of updates to websites I follow. No muss no fuss. You can also sign up for the eNews. I send out an email about 0-2 times a month to let you know about new things going on the blog and locally. Or just stop by from time to time.
Until Next Time…
Kristin M Roach