Every so often (a few times a year, perhaps) someone will write me a nasty email accusing me of being a greedy money-grubber because of who I allow—or who I don’t allow—to advertise on EmptyEasel.
So today I thought I’d just list out some answers to questions that anybody could possibly have about EE’s advertising policies. If you didn’t have these questions. . . well, feel free to skip today’s article. :)
Or, if you’re curious, please, read on!
1. No, I DON’T just review companies that advertise on EmptyEasel.
Yup, I’ve had people email me and accuse me of this—but the truth is, we’ve reviewed plenty lots TONS of companies that have never before advertised on EE, and will never advertise in the future.
Go ahead, check out EE’s archive of articles on various art websites and you’ll see that this is the case.
In addition, once a company advertises on EE, trust me, they’re NOT going to get reviewed; at least not by me. At that point, I would make sure the review came from a third-party so there’s no bias.
(Coincidentally, if you’d like to be that “third-party” writer, let me know! I’m always looking for writers.)
2. Yes, I do TURN DOWN companies who don’t fit EE’s readership.
Many businesses request the chance to advertise, but don’t have a suitable product or service that would fit with EmptyEasel’s subject matter. When that happens, I turn them away.
It seems inconceivable that anyone would have a problem with me doing this, but I thought I’d just put it out there so people know.
3. I also TURN DOWN companies with sub-par products or services.
This, perhaps, is the biggest problem that (a few) people have. They see that I’ve written what they consider an “unfavorable” review of a company, and they notice that—holy smokes—THAT company isn’t advertising on EE!
Well, there’s definitely a reason for that. . . two reasons, actually.
The first reason is that many times those companies choose not to support EmptyEasel with their advertising dollars. And who can blame them?
The second reason only comes up when a company does request to advertise, despite a review that some people would consider unfavorable.
When that happens, I really only have one answer I can give them. After all, if I’ve written a review that says, “Don’t use this product!” then why on earth would I allow them to advertise? So I have to say no.
After all, if I DID allow them to advertise despite my low opinion of their company, I’m pretty sure that actually WOULD make me a greedy money-grubber. Right?
4. Yes, I DEFINITELY allow “competitors” of Foliotwist to advertise.
As many of you already know, I started my own website service for artists (at Foliotwist.com) about a year and a half ago. And, if you’ve been reading EE for that long, you’ve probably also realized that some of my advertisers could be considered “competitors” of that business.
But you know what? I like it that way.
Allowing my “competitors” to advertise keeps me honest in how I present my own business, and it gives consumers the chance to see for themselves which service will be the best fit for them.
In my heart, I really don’t view those other businesses as competitors. We’re all doing what we can to help artists succeed—and as a group, we give artists lots of choices. If Foliotwist works for you, great! If either FASO or ArtSpan work better, that’s fine too.
And when I mention FASO or ArtSpan more than other portfolio website companies, it’s simply because these are the two which are most well-known to everyone. . . not just to me! So they make the best examples when I need to mention a company other than my own.
Of course, there are many more businesses like Imagekind and RedBubble which aren’t direct competitors to Foliotwist that I’d be happy to allow to advertise on EE, and have allowed in the past. And I often use them as examples as well.
5. Finally, NO, I’m not getting rich off of these ads. :)
Amazingly, it actually takes a lot of money to run EE. Not only that; but the more money that comes in, the more writers I hire. A few months back I even hired an editor to help out—and those don’t grow on trees, folks!
So to everyone who might be wondering, no, this isn’t my retirement plan or my secret island fund. ;) In some places in the world the amount I make from EE would be enough to live on, but definitely not here in the US.
I guess to wrap it all up, let me just remind everybody that EmptyEasel exists because of the ads.
I couldn’t afford to run EE without advertising, but at the same time, I try and make sure the ads are relevant, well-designed, and helpful to you. And as long as I’m in charge, I promise I’ll keep it that way.
OK, enough business talk. . . Go read something interesting!
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