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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Even an Ugly Cat Knows This

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  December 4th, 2012 at 11:44 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

When you come to RedState, you aren’t charged. The Morning Briefing is free. You want a RedState account? You got one. You want to comment? Okay.

We’re free.

Like listening to the radio, you don’t have to pay. We make our money off of ads. It’s simple.

But you guys complain. Some of the ads are annoying. Okay — some of the ads are damn annoying. When I see my face pop up on my own screen, I just pretend I’m playing that old Ninetendo duck shooting game and click to make it go away. You should too.

What’s the point?

Well, even an ugly cat knows you can’t get something for nothing. Hell, we just had an election where we made that argument and, unlike the winning side there, I have no ability to raise taxes on rich people. I require you and ugly cats everywhere to click on ads.

You may find them annoying and a nuisance, but, like with a commercial time out on my radio show, I hear the angels raining down pennies from Heaven every time you click through.

Seriously.

That’s how RedState makes its money. We put ads in the Morning Briefing and here at RedState. People actually pay us to do that. They expect you will see them and you might click through. Some are better than others. Some are uglier than the cat, but those usually also have a picture of me in them. Nonetheless, we kind of hope you might click through and help us so we can keep helping you.

Click the ads.

On a more serious note, and pay attention to this one, RedState and I piss off a lot of people who might otherwise buy ads at RedState. We pull no punches here and that costs us advertisers. A lot of advertisers on our side peddle squishy people and squishy ideas and they have lots of money. And they won’t come here because they know you are not their audience and I’d probably say something very not nice about them even if they bought an ad here. Why do you think so few sites are willing to write about the incestuous consulting web on the right? Hmmm…..

The reality is that we at RedState don’t believe in compromising our principles or integrity and because we won’t we do not get all the ads other sites may get. We value our readers and our advertisers and it is a symbiotic relationship. They buy ads, you see ads, you click on the ads. We don’t sell out.

It’s the way the web works. It keeps our lights on and you not having to actually pay to read or write at RedState. So click on the ads please and remember they are there to help us help you. And if you feel like it, you can cough up your own coins for the cause. Maybe one day we’ll set it up so if you give enough you can see the site ad free. But that day isn’t here yet. We’ll see.

In the meantime, if you don’t click the ads, well, that kitty just might . . .

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COMMENTS

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  • mch2212

    Works for me but thanks for the reminder.

  • MadElephants

    will continue to click away

  • Dave Lane

    That’s not an ugly cat.

  • merrie7137

    Well, I’ve been steadfastly refusing to pay the NYT $20 a month to insult me, but I’d gladly pay you. I was going to click on an ad just now to help, but my company’s internet filter has them all blocked. Seriously, the Pentagon should have our filter because I can’t access Townhall at all.

  • patsydecline

    The redesign is the issue. The layout was changed to emphasize a small group of front pagers….and it isn’t working.

    The redesign changed Red State from a conservative community forum to a conservative billboard. And that’s a damn shame.

  • streiff

    all stats, of every kind, are higher since the redesign. Sorry you’re feeling all mopey but what you are saying isn’t provable by any metric.

  • kowalski

    I would pay a subscription to Redstate, and I’ve said that for several years. $10 a year? $20 a year? Even $50 a year? You say it, I’ll write the check. The value that Redstate provides is worth more than $50 a year to savvy readers. All the savvy ones have known that for a long time, and the rest of you people are commies. I mean that. You wanna live in the commie dominated bloc of slave states, go ahead, bro.

    It’s a big decision to go forward with it, though – and I understand that – and as a result I have to occasionally look at “Come party WOOZ world style” ads like I’m doing right now as I type this post. Yay! WOOZ World!

    Since you’re not ready to go into the subscription thing, please at least do me one favor: don’t run any ads that have automatically playing background soundtracks. I absolutely loathe Brietbart’s decision to run incessant autoplay ads. It’s not just tabloid, it’s BENEATH tabloid and it makes people want to wring necks. Please don’t do that.

    If it gets to the point financially where you have to consider doing that, make this into a subscription site and contact me so we can do some fundraising mailings. Mine work.

    By the way I fail to see why any advertiser would object to Redstate on ideological grounds, paticularly if WOOZ World is OK with the place. The others seem to have very little trust in their viewers.

  • kowalski

    By the way, the next ad after WOOZ world was a personalized “My M&Ms” ad. which I absolutely adore and I want to give to some people this holiday season. So not only do they have a clickthrough, they’ll have an order.

  • PowerToThePeople

    Far be it from me to give that site time on this blog, but KOS is one site that does that. There are others.

  • PowerToThePeople

    You are a dim bulb huh?

  • CarolT

    streiff-I pay $20/year for The Transom newsletter. I think you should charge $20 – $25 year and it would remove trolls and you moderators would’t have to spend so much time banning people. Carol

  • PowerToThePeople

    Today is my give advice for free day, here is your helping.

    Crack is bad, kills brain cells. Do not lose many more to the crack as you can not afford it.

  • Tbone

    Put up Moe’s picture for a few days. They’ll be glad to get your chubby little grin back.

  • http://www4.webng.com/rickbull/lostlucky/ rickbull

    Erick, just out of curiosity, since we Republicans and Conservatives are stereotyped as the party of old, white men, where are the ads for Cialis▬?

  • Finrod

    What about diaries and comments to diaries, streiff? I’d be shocked if both weren’t lower since they’ve been banished to one box with a scrollbar.

  • Bill S

    #waronwomen

  • Finrod

    I love the calendar idea, kowalski. It’s one of the best ideas I’ve seen here in a long time.

  • oldmom2

    Why don’t I see any ads? All I see on the right side is a Watch Now; Redstate TV box.

  • leftylurker

    Power!!! Long time no see; welcome back!! Want to settle our bet from the election?

  • Bill S

    I believe in banning retread lefttrolls. Like you.

  • Bill S

    We have site-wide stats. The hit rate didn’t even blip when the change occurred. Numbers during the election were above what they were 4 years ago at the same period before the election.

  • vangoghssister

    LOL!!! I sure do miss Mr. Kitty.

  • PowerToThePeople

    Good to see you as well. Tried to respond to the comments on that article but either it is closed or there is a time limit now on responding to old threads. Left for Naples hours after voting and did not get back to the states until the 29th. That being said.

    The hundred was paid to the USO within an hour of seeing it was over and I and my wife added an additional amount simply because the group does good work. But as to sending you an email, no offense meant, but I value my privacy and my email address contains either my real name or my company name and I will not be releasing that over a hundred dollars especially since that was never discussed. My word it was paid will have to be enough and if it is not, guess we can not do that type of thing in the future. Your word would have been good enough for me had you lost, hope the same applies to me.

    Either way, you called it right even when I thought you were way out in left field.

  • CarolT

    Billl S- I started here in summer of 2008, after the pictures of John Kerry with young girls in Nantucket with odd straws (I’m sure you know which pictures I mean), there was a waiting period then. I am still registered from summer of 2008 from same name, email address. I could swear I read waiting period is over. I think Thomas Crown (cant’ remember last of his screen name) answered that shortly after website changed.

    Am I correct that there is no 24 or 48 hour waiting period? That may be some of incased traffic. I don’t see numbers and it’s none of my business.

    I would be willing to pay per reply below. Thank you, Carol

  • Melody Warbington

    Not trying to push another site, but acat scratched out a pretty good article if you care to read it. http://inkredulousbasterds.com/2012/11/intersections/

  • davesinsanantonio

    Another thing to put on the back cover, or inside the front one, is how to join the Party as a precinct chair–especially a state by state list of where to go to do it.

  • Christine

    Interesting. My whole interaction with RedState has changed since the redesign. I hit the front page, scan it, scan the comments and then usually leave. I used to check in with RS multiple times per day, now it’s once a day, maybe twice.

    I hit articles way less frequently, because I was usually triggered by specific comments and I can’t get to them directly anymore. Since the Morning Briefing isn’t posted as an article (I know it’s on the sidebar) there are no more open threads. I wanted to ask a question of the RS community the other day and couldn’t find anywhere to pose it, so I just left.

    So, knowing that and hearing that all the numbers are up – makes me the minority, which explains why RS was not redesigned with me in mind. Food for thought.

  • leftylurker

    Awesome! Thank you! Your word is good enough for me.

  • fridaynightecon

    I, for one, am glad you’re making some money off this site. You work, you get simoleons. Pretty simple.

  • ihateliberals

    I think all cats are ugly but that is neither here nor there. i would say that people that complain about ads on a free site just don’t get the concept of the Free market place. So many people are screaming for Tax code reform and I don’t think they actually know what that could mean. If certain loopholes are closed then Advertizing wuld not have any tax advantages. without these tax advantages people wont advertize as much or in as many places. Commercial Radio, TV and even RS might have to charge viewers directly or maybe just shut down. I don’t’ like ads anymore than anyone else but they do keep our RS and TV etc free to us. If I were looking for a specific product and i knew that an advertiser was on RS or some other Conservative site i would most likely chose them because of their support to conservatism. yes ads are annoying but consider the alternative.

  • surfcat50

    Since I like facts backing up opinions and get more of that here, I’ll try to click on any ads that remotely interest me (even if it doesn’t at that particular time) but since I’m busy today, I think I’ll just click on the “contribution” button. Thanks, RedState and commenters.

  • streiff

    Because nothing says hot sex like sitting alone, naked, in a bathtub in the woods while being warned of the dangers of a 4-hour erection

  • dfeely

    I think this cat is cute. try again.

  • http://boldcolor.blogspot.com/ Paula Bolyard

    Nothing says PERV like a creepy old man alone, naked, in a bathtub in the woods….

  • kevdev

    It’s not so much the regular ads, it’s that dumbass, offensive, in-your-face, piece of crap POP-UP of your face that detracts from reading your web page. Those are the most obnoxious, irritating, overbearing things a website creator can do to his site – unless they LIKE pissing off their readers.

  • http://boldcolor.blogspot.com/ Paula Bolyard

    Thanks for the laugh, streiff…cleaning the coffee splats off my monitor… :)

  • westcoastpatriette

    So leave.

  • sliverlining

    Erick,
    Thank you for your most measured approach to outlining a simple relationship between writer/reader and the “free” publication thereof. If this were a few years ago in certain chat rooms where I learned how truly vulgar and obtuse anonymous people can act, this post, too, would be equally vile and momentarily funny. Of course it wouldn’t really say anything or instruct in any way but new combinations of swearing and insults can be funny. Suffice it to say there wasn’t reason to read more than a few “sentences” and most of the chatter was understood; time to move on.
    Again, thank you for the non-Chatterbox approach in your column. Being polite is a brutal job sometimes. Thankless.
    I loved reading Letters to the Editor with William F. Buckley Jr. responding with a calm politeness that could behead a granite statue. Even my buddy the communist (as he came to be known) liked Buckley. Of all the wrong things my buddy was, even he could muster the reluctant praise for the man. I miss that kind of discourse.
    Meanwhile, you are left explaining how a website pays its bills or defending against some out-of-context repetitive churl wananbe.

    Give me a brick and I’ll teach that head.

    Cordially,
    SL

  • docnick

    Eric, look at the comments, it is as if many conservatives don’t understand anything about business or running a business. They are much like people on social programs who don’t know who’s money they get each month.

    Great idea about super PAC. Sign me up…. I didn’t have any luck with this idea in MS over the last few years…. BUT we need to do it.

  • http://www4.webng.com/rickbull/lostlucky/ rickbull

    Make love, not war.

  • vandalii

    Maybe Boehner can sneak a little stimulus package in for RS to eliminate the need for ads…wait, did I just say that? ;-)