Liz wrote a post on why do givers not ask to be paid, something that I’ve been wondering this last week or so. I’ve received lots of thankyou emails and comments over the years on this blog from users who have been helped from the posts on this blog. I’ve also read other blogs where people have mentioned that they have made some money from donations on their website/application purely by having a donation button on there. After all if you don’t make it easy for users to donate or even ask them, then it’s unlikely they will.
Therefore I’ve been considering putting something like a paypal donation button on the blog posts so that if a post has helped someone then maybe they would like to donate. If it’s possible I’d like to only put it on pages where users have been referred by Google or other search engines. This way regular users who read the blog via the web wouldn’t get the donate button, rss readers wouldn’t get it, but those who I’ve really helped by providing answers would get the button on the page.
I’ve previously not put something like this on the website as it has always been my personal record of solutions that I have come across in my daily life and I like to help other people – getting the thank you emails and comments make my day (and they still do).
So what do you the readers think of this idea? Do you think I’m selling out or do you think it is a good idea? How many of you click the adverts on this blog already? (Some already do as I make a little money from adsense but not much).
Comments
Andy,
I have created over 37 YouTube videos (http://www.youtube.com/saturnalliance) as well as a Sharepoint site ( http://supportweb.ciaops.net.au) to assist SMB resellers. I started asking for donations on my videos since I figured that the any money received could be devoted to improving my offerings. All the stuff I provide is done outside my normal business and I am happy to keep doing it for free but I am not going to spend as much time on this as I used to because my normal business is what pays the bills. I have decided that you really need to look at this sort of stuff pragmatically, because there are people out there who simply suck your information and then use to make money for themselves without every contributing something back.
So in summary I don’t think there is anything wrong with asking for donations and being pragmatic about what you are offering for free. We all gotta pay the bills and if you don’t ask for a donation you’ll never receive one. All I can say from my own experience is don’t expect it to be a revenue centre.
Thanks
Robert Crane
Andy,
I think it just comes down to your personal preference. I know you and know first hand that you will give someone help free of charge, but at the same time, most people understand that it takes money to pay for web space and a domain. It makes you feel good to help and just get a reply e-mail saying thank you…if you feel money is over the top you can always have people donate to something you enjoy or purchase a gift card for you instead. I say one guy that instead of receiving cash donations had a button where people could buy him a cup of Starbucks Chai Tea.