As my friends are possibly weary of me saying to them, my year has so far been one of great meetings about good ideas that don't seem to come to fruition any time quickly. Indeed, a couple of gigs I'd been relying on have shifted back by months.
So I'm left largely with this website and its wonderful readers. Which, given that I love writing here and find it easy and fulfilling, is only a problem in that it doesn't pay the bills very well.
So this seems a good time to remind you all that we have the capacity to serve advertising to a smart, desirable, highly-engaged audience with a few dollars to spend.
All the ad positions described here -- including the big banners -- are available and we have 100,000+ page impressions to spare each month (it'll be more if I'm in a position to write more, but let's start with that).
I'm thinking that half the listed ratecard price is a good starting point (nb: CPM means "cost per thousnd impressions"), but we're happy to negotiate flat-rate deals or put your business in a small-ads rotation for a low monthly price. The small ads you're seeing at the moment are essentially placeholders, so we have a lot of flexibility. The main thing I need is to not have to wait months for payment, which is a perennial problem in the world of digital agencies.
Also ... there's still a sponsorship opening for a food blog. I tested out the concept last year here, here and here and the response was excellent. Basically, food and storytelling make for a good combination and I have a bunch of other ideas lined up. Its good content to be alongside. Potential sponsors have expressed interest but it's frustrating trying to get them to commit. If this sounds like something for your business, even for a trial spell, get in touch and we can discuss a package including, if you want, ad impressions and even placements in other media and events (which we do quite well).
I've also been talking to a new (but familiar) blogger about joining us and I'd like to do something a little different in the disability area. Having mostly dispatched my debt to our wonderful developers, I have some scope for new things.
I'm very mindful of the fact that ordinary readers with nothing to advertise have been generous donors to us in the past, but for the time being I'd still like to wait and see if I can get my idea for a simple voluntary subscriptions platform off the ground. (This project, too, has been alternately promising and frustrating.) In the meantime, Giovanni Tiso is taking donations for his thoughtful, eloquent work, so you could flick him a little something.
So for the time being, if you think we could do some commerce together please do click on the little email icon below this post and get in touch. Renee Jones and I will respond and see what kind of mutal benefit we can work out.