Mar 19, 2009

Entrecard woes

I was holding off on saying much about the new Entrecard changes, but I am curious as to what others think about what is going on, so here's my soapbox :)

In case you hadn't yet heard, Entrecard is making some rather large changes to the way they do business...they are going to be "monetizing" the system, creating 2 major changes:

1. You would be able to "cash out" your entrecard credits if you like, for real money. No mention has been made yet as to what the exchange rate is going to be, or what limits will be put on it (minimums or maximums)

2. You will have to share ad space with THEIR paid advertisers. Meaning, instead of receiving ad requests just from other bloggers, you will also get them from companies that pay ENTRECARD to have ads placed.

There were two major complaints that have since been addressed with changes to the requirements:

They were going to require that all Entrecard widgets be placed "above the fold" - meaning when you get to a blog you shouldn't have to scroll down to find the widget. There was a HUGE response to this, as many blog designs make that impossible. THE GOOD NEWS: They have now changed this rule and now have a "one-page down" rule...I think it's better, but it will still mean that I have to change my own placement if I want to stay with Entrecard...I'm still holding off to see if things change again.

They were also going to charge an ad rejection fee (if you rejected one of the outside advertisers' ads you'd get docked some credits). This has since been removed - thank goodness. This was probably the part I had most issue with - I can choose what (if anything) to advertise on my blog with no penalties from every other ad network, why should I be penalized if I don't want ads from Entrecard's folks? I'm not making any money if someone clicks thru to their ads, Entrecard is. Glad they got this one fixed.

Overall, I'm not hugely impressed. I don't like being told where I "have" to put my widgets, especially for someone else's advertisers. I'm not told where to advertise by any other third party group (and I am the one getting paid if they get click thru's!) and I still feel that's a little demanding. But I DO like the idea of not having to scroll ALL THE WAY DOWN the page to find the drop widget...there are some blogs I spend more time looking for the widget than I do actually reading. I don't drop a lot because I DO take the time to read blogs instead of dropping and running, and by keeping the widgets higher I can read more and hunt less. I DO like the idea of being able to get cash for my unused credits, I just don't know if the tradeoff will be worth it.

I was sorry to hear that many of the awesome blogs I found via Entrecard would have to bow out just because of this - for ME, Entrecard has been a great way to connect...I like the advertising, but I like discovering new bloggers even more. I'm reserving judgement until I see what the final result is - I'm glad Entrecard listened to the complaints and made changes, but I'm still not crazy about where they're headed.

What do you think? Will you stay or leave?






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7 comments:

Nessa said...

I am on the fence about this myself. I have a "wait and see" type attitude.

Unknown said...

Please come read my post about this today.

Keely said...

I'm on the fence, too. I'm not sure I can keep it on the Un Mom with the new placement rules. I think they'll be surprised how many people choose to reject the ads (which will then make them unable to pay cash for ECs).

Felicia said...

These are my feeling exactly!!! I'm not sure what to do. I moved it to the top for now.. but it makes my design look bad. And if they just put some random ads on there.. i'm out!!

Thanks for grabbing our Spring Bash button btw! I miss seeing you around!

I am Harriet said...

Hi there.
I agree with your woes.

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Stop by to wish me luck.
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Have a great day!

Jenni said...

I am waiting to see what happens when the changes take effect. I don't love it...but I am willing to just wait and see.

Mar Matthias Darin said...

I'm not keen on anyone selling something on MY blog that doesn't go to the $140/month and $5000+ in debt I've incurred to keep my server running. I have paid advertising that goes just for that and nothing else.

Personally I think this will devalue EntreCard altogether. Traffic sharing through "Along for the Ride!" is looking better and better:

http://matthiaschronicles.tanaya.net/AFTR/

 
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