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No Drops

This post is meant mainly for Entrecard members but I'm sure other web surfers can relate to what I'm saying. For those unfamiliar with Entrecard, this is a social networking site for bloggers that allows you to drop your 125x125 card (similar to a business card) to say hi, I visited your blog. Bloggers participating in Entrecard can be identified by the widget on their blog that has a yellow bar with a brown "E" with a "drop" or "get one" beside it and a guest blogger's card above (see side panel). In addition to dropping you can advertise your blog on other blogs with the credits earned from dropping. It's a fun way to promote your blog while visiting other blogs.

[rant]
I author five blogs, four of which are in the Entrecard system. I try to do regular drops on all the blogs with the lion's share of 300 going to my cooking blog and anywhere from 50 to 100 each going to my other blogs including this one on a daily basis. That means on any given day I visit 450 or more blogs. I do a lot of commenting as well subscribing to my favourite blogs. Over the past couple of months I have noticed a number of blogs using the advertising as pictured. There are a couple of things wrong with this. First and foremost it is against Entrecard's TOS and can get you site removed if someone complains. That means you lose your hard earned credits. Second and most important, I the reader do not feel I should have to jump through any hoops to read your blog. I'd really like to read your blog and comment but I just don't feel I should have to click an ad to do so. I personally do not bother reporting such blogs. Instead I simply will not click the ad nor will I visit your blog. What I will do is put your blog on my blacklist of blogs not to visit. Once it is on that list, that's it. Even if you remove the offending ad I would never know because I stopped visiting. Even if I click your url I won't see your blog because it is on the blacklist. Your blog simply won't load until I remove it from the blacklist. Now you can have the best content in the world and the cutest designed blog BUT you have lost a reader. You've lost traffic that is important when I realize I'm only one reader and not all that important to your success as a blogger but if I'm offended by having to click an ad before I can read your blog then you can be sure others are too. You've missed the point that readers ARE what you want. No blogger can afford losing readers.
[/rant]

Seriously, you need to ditch that "skip this ad" advertising! Change it for something where your blog is the first thing your readers see. There's all kinds of ad programs out there that are not an in your face click me first advertising. Your readers will thank you by reading your blog, commenting and subscribing to your blog. That's what you really want.

Garden Gnome
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