# Better for Board - Pay or Ads?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-for-board-pay-or-ads/496332>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [May 13, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-for-board-pay-or-ads/496332 "2009-05-13T20:10:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-for-board-pay-or-ads/496332/1 "2009-05-13T20:10:02Z")

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I just renewed my membership, paying the extra-special Charter Member price that has been in effect ever since the Board went P-2-P. That’s cool. I think it’s money well spent.

But I’m wondering, from the perspective of the Board’s short- and long-term financial viability, would it be better if I let my membership lapse, to continue to log on as a guest, exposing myself to the ads and making myself a part of the vibrant circulation base that makes this place a must buy for all enlightened advertisers?

Or is my cash-on-the-table $7.48 (paid in advance) a better revenue generator than whatever number of click-throughs I might reasonably take in a year’s time?

Informed answers welcome, as well as half-baked opinions.

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**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-for-board-pay-or-ads/496332/2 "2009-05-13T20:45:26Z")

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On 1/1:

> [@Which is more profitable: ads or fees?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-profitable-ads-or-fees/479478/2):
>
> In theory we want the rates to be such that the guest/membership choice is revenue-neutral. In practice it depends on the ad mix, which varies from week to week. At the moment, to be frank, we probably make more money on fees. (To clarify, we don’t charge advertisers per click, but per impression.) We’re starting to get some ad buys at better rates and hope to be at the revenue-neutral point soon.

I have no idea if that’s changed in the intervening months.

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-for-board-pay-or-ads/496332/3 "2009-05-14T16:10:06Z")

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The economy tanked and Ad revenues tanked even more. For now your membership probably does the Dope more good. I plan to renew my full price one shortly unless I here otherwise.

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**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-for-board-pay-or-ads/496332/4 "2009-05-14T18:54:16Z")

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the current adverts that I see are tardtacular in the extreme, pretty much all of them are about how Google will pay you $173/hour (hmm…)

Same adverts also claim that it’s a $5000/month home job. So either the target audience are terrible at maths or extraordinarily lazy too 😃