The donations mania
I often stumble across very professionally looking blogs, that appear to be successful and respectable, and then I see what puts me off the most in any website: “If you like our site, support us and make a donation!”. Or it’s just this nice blue PayPal’s button with puppy eyes saying “Donate”.
I honestly understand webmasters who overflow the site / blog with ads, hoping to milk the maximum from each visitor / hit. I might not be a big fan of sites dominated by adverts, but still – the webmaster is making money, he invests some work and in a respectful way gets it in return. But donations? Whats the point in paying for a decent host, getting a top level domain, designing your site, giving some marketing advice and at the same time sit on the floor waiting for handouts..?
What amazes me is that many online marketing pro’s actually recommend using the donations button as a way to monetize your site. Washington Post, Steve Pavlina, ShoeMoney and many others, suggest donations as one of the top 5 ways to make money with your site, blog or forum. I personally see no difference between online and offline donations. In your office, on your working desk, will you put a cup with a small note on it – “if you like my work, donate me”?
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You might be unaware of how many sites get started with accepting donations. Often the visitors are the ones who request it.
When your visitors continually ask you to give them the opportunity to donate or to send you a gift of some kind for the value you’ve given them for free, accepting donations seems like a good solution. Otherwise you deny your visitors the opportunity to support you. Many people feel more comfortable giving something back, even though the content is free.
I tested the donations feature because many of my visitors requested it. It worked well, so I kept it. Nobody has to donate, but several donations are made every day.
Hope this helps…
You made a really bad comparison. You don’t ask donations in your office/job because you are already charging for a service. You should compare these donation with “community service” or “volunteer service”. The church for example doesn’t charge you a fee for entering there, but you know you can donate whatever/whenever you want for support.
You asked… “what’s the point of PAYING for a decent host…..”
I answer that’s exactly the point of donations. You are investing time, money, giving away your knowledge, etc. for free; but people know all these things cost money, so what’s wrong for donating if I’m getting something of it?
I’ve seen those donation requests as you say… but never any of them have made me upset or put me off because I know there are bills to pay.
Blog full of interesting informations. Keep up good work!