Blog Changes

Since my 'birthday' post a few days ago, I've been pondering, (on my runs), about how I might be able to turn the hits I get here into something a little more spendable than a statistic. After reading the news that the New York Times "has decided to charge the most frequent users of its website for access" I think the time has come for me to consider a similar approach.

When you add up the numbers, over 1,000 posts is a lot of hours, and while (don't tell my boss), many are written while I'm on the clock at my other job, it still seems reasonable to expect some compensation for the hours put in.

Admittedly, not every post is going to improve your bottom line, but many will, and for some readers - Graeme 'The Football Analyst' springs to mind as a recent example - this blog has been the difference between success and failure. As Graeme wrote in a recent comment (I have admittedly paraphrased a little, but believe I have captured Graeme's thoughts rather succinctly, even if I do say so myself):

Been a while since I commented on here mate. I can honestly say though that I've read every one of your posts since your blog's inception and it's as a direct result of the wisdom imparted here on a frequent basis that I appear to have something that works quite well I think, and I can honestly say it is all thanks to Green All Over. If you ever start charging for this stuff, then I for one, will be only too happy to pay. 50p would be a bargain, and anything less you are just selling yourself short.

Hopefully those sentiments are shared by many of you, and the number of visits will remain constant even as I work out how best to charge. For now, I am looking at using the services of "charge-back" companies who, so they tell me, simply need an IP address, from which their 'data-mining' techniques are 'more often than not' able to link to the computer "owner's" associated PayPal account and make the deduction I deem to be fair. I'm not too sure that these companies necessarily follow the data protection laws in all countries from where I am visited, but since they work on a commission only basis, I have nothing to lose. OK, maybe a reader or two. I am thinking that 25p for each visit would be very reasonable, but please feel free to let me know if this seems a little high (or indeed, a little low) to you. I harp on a lot about value, and feel that 25p a visit is just that.

Along with deciding a fair fee, the other problem I have is that, while I have IP addresses for the past year or so, I am going to have to rely on your honesty to provide IP addresses (and number of visits) for the first two years or so of this blog's existence. If you're unsure, then I'll not complain if you would prefer to make a one-off payment, but please note your IP address to avoid being charged twice. Any debits to your accounts will be made by arthurdaley.co.uk and annotated as GREENALLOVER on your statements.