Tasty Yummies Advertising Update

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I want to take a moment today to address some advertising changes that happened on my site as of this past month, which you may have noticed. I signed an exclusive content creator contract with Glam Media as part of their Foodie and Bliss sub brands, to provide innovative and quality advertising services to my readers that will not only complement my content but in turn this will also provide some small financial benefits to me.  This will hopefully allow me to continue growing Tasty Yummies by providing quality content to you my readers. In entering into this agreement I am still able to work with select networks as well as directly with sponsors on advertising campaigns, sponsorships, features, giveaways, etc.

Glam has allowed me to get pretty specific with what I will allow for ads, so although it could potentially mean more money, I have personally opted out of any campaigns that I feel do not compliment the vision of Tasty Yummies. For example, I opted out of any campaigns promoting processed foods, fast food, meat, soda, etc. That being said it will likely take some time to get it to exactly where I want it. You will see in addition to banner ads in the right side bar, occasionally there are some campaigns that will actually take over the top half of my site with a full banner across the top and a custom background. It shouldn’t appear at all times and if you were to refresh it would likely be gone. This in particular is definitely something I am getting used to, but for now I am trying it out. Additionally, the ads towards the bottom of the page on the right hand side are brought in via Google Adsense, which sadly doesn’t allow me to get quite as specific when opting in and out, so I try to keep a careful eye on those.

It is a really hard decision to make, monetizing your website. First off, it definitely changes the overall aesthetic and design of the site and as a designer this is a very, very hard thing for me to get over. In some ways I hate it, in other ways I like that if the small financial benefits, allow me the freedom to buy even just a few more ingredients that I think will benefit my recipes and spend just a little more time in the kitchen on said recipes, than it is worth it. Secondly, I don’t ever want the ads to offend anyone or make them feel put-off in any way when they visit my site. So please, if you ever see something offensive on the site, do not hesitate to email me along with a screenshot of the ad. tastyummies [at] me.com  This is very important and I thank you in advance for your help! It is hard to stay on top of when it’s basically just me monitoring it and I do take this very seriously.

Tasty Yummies has always been a hobby / passion project of mine. For the last 3 years, I have taken pride and really enjoyed sharing my recipes and ideas with all of you, my wonderful readers. Watching this site grow and mature has been so gratifying to me. That being said, my husband Mark and I do own a small business that also requires a great deal of my time and energy. As Tasty Yummies grows and ultimately requires more of my attention, this has obviously pulled me away from our business, a bit. In order for me to justify this shift, I do have to make sure that the time spent on TY doesn’t hurt our family financially and is in some ways if all of the time I do spend on Tasty Yummies can be supported by some amount of return on my time and actual dollars invested, even better.

Tasty Yummies is not and never will be about the money.  If you know anyone that keeps a blog, even full time, they would likely agree with me and tell you how challenging making a living just off a blog would be. However for me, if all of the time it takes to keep a blog can be offset even a little bit, it justifies the time I spend in the kitchen some work days, when I should really be sitting at my computer or with my sketchbook working on a new design project.

All of this being said, just because you see a banner ad on my site, this doesn’t mean I personally back the brand or support them by buying their products, these are simply placed advertisements from within the network I am a part of, many of which are targeted directly and uniquely to each of you, based on your recent web searches and usage. So often times other people are seeing very different ads than you. Anything within the “sponsors” section are brands I support and I am happy to promote.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and of course for letting me know if you ever see something on the site that you don’t feel should be there. This is so important. And obviously, thank you so much for visiting my site, trying my recipes, sharing TY with your friends and family, leaving comments about your experiences, etc. It truly means the world to me.

 

** EDIT: Additionally I meant to mention in this post, in regards to direct sponsorships, features, reviews, giveaways, etc. – I will never feature or promote a product within a post that I don’t believe in and wouldn’t purchase myself. Regardless of compensation. I will always disclose when a post is being sponsored, if I am being compensated or if I am only just reviewing a product that I have come across on my own, without partnership or sponsorship from the company. If a company sends me a product to review that I don’t have favorable things to say about, I may not even waste my time and yours, talking about it. Either way, the opinions on this blog are always my own and NEVER influenced or “bought”. I have turned away many direct paid sponsorship opportunities by companies whose products I don’t support. Again as with above, please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding this, my partnerships with companies, sponsored posts, etc. Thank you.

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14 Responses

  1. Linda says:

    I tend to ignore advertising, so if this can help your bottom line, go for it!

  2. Jenilyn says:

    Beth, I was wondering what was going on and also with the promo posts too. I understand that you need to be paid and that you spend so much time on your blog. I support you and understand your decision and especially appreciate you sharing in this post what was happening. You rock! Jenilyn

    • tastyyummies says:

      Thanks Jenilyn. Yeh I figured people were definitely curious. The promoted posts are definitely something that I will only do when I really and truly believe in a product and really want to share it with you guys. I would say I turn down way more products for reviews and features than what you guys will ever see actually on here. Thanks so much for reading, taking the time to comment and share your thought and for understanding 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend.

  3. ellen says:

    This is my first comment to the site. I really appreciate your openness and honesty with this. More power to you, lady! I understand your tough decision to monetize the site, but I’m sure we’ll all benefit from it 🙂

    • tastyyummies says:

      Hi Ellen! Welcome and thanks for the comment 😉 Thank you for understanding. It is so appreciated. Thanks again. I hope to see you around here more often 😉 hehe.

  4. ayah says:

    hi beth – totally respect your decision + applaud your transparency. i first discovered tasty yummies over a year ago, and have been a loyal follower since… my potluck dishes are always planned around the latest tasty yummies post 🙂

    you absolutely deserve to be fairly compensated for all the love + energy that goes into the tasty yummies. this community receives so much from you, and i’m glad advertising + sponsorship can help facilitate some benefits back from our readership. plus, your selective choices + care in transparency make it all the more meaningful.

    much love + many thanks, always!

    • tastyyummies says:

      Thank you so much Ayah. It really means so much to me to get comments like this. It has been a hard decision to make, but overall I feel like this is good for the ongoing level that I hope to provide with TY as well as the future ahead. So thank you again for supporting me and for taking the time to comment. It definitely helps. Take care.

  5. Katie says:

    As long as you keep posting delicious recipes and health tips, that’s all I care about!

  6. elizabeth says:

    I know everyone’s being all lovely and supportive but i can tell you as a first time looker that the ads are very annoying and distracting, and dare I say off putting – especially the huge dishwasher one at the top and both sides, I think it’s because they are moving and changing. so sorry, no emperor’s new clothes from me. cheers

    • tastyyummies says:

      Elizabeth, thanks for your honesty and transparency. I am fully aware that not everyone will like the ads and be on board and supportive. I am ok with that. It is a consequence of the hard decision I had to make in adding them to the site. Unfortunately if I lose one or two (or more) readers because of it, I have to just take it for what it is and move on. I am not in a position to not have banners and ads at this point and that is the honest truth. If I remove the ads and cannot make any money on my site, I would likely have to stop posting and shut down the site. It may sound dramatic but this takes me a huge huge amount of time and it keeps me from my other work, which means it keeps me from earning money. I made the decision earlier this year that if I cannot find some way to offset all of my time and money invested, than something would have to change. If some readers cannot look past the ads to see the content that I provide as being useful and still of interest to them, then my site is likely not for them. And that is OK. You will never please everyone in this world.
      Thanks again for taking the time to leave your comment, it is definitely important to me to hear from all opinions no matter which side they are on. Take care.

  7. Enedina says:

    Thank you for spending the time to share what is healthier for our body. I am looking forward in learning more of your blog and foods.

  8. Bonita says:

    I am just so elated that you do what you do.
    I agree with your site all the way!
    I can’t wait to be as advanced even.
    God Bless☆★♡♥
    You’re Awesome!

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