First of all, how has Entrecard responded to users threatening to leave over the latest changes?
By adding a "cancel account" button to the dashboard!
(in the past you had to write directly to the admin to delete your account)
Aldon from Orient Lodge pointed out that the sponsored ad campaign may lead to some kind of bad publicity for the sponsors themselves when WE the members don't like the ad or the content of the advertiser's page!
But in the end we have to approve most of these ads (if we are allowed?) and with the paid option, it will be more likely that we are NOT ALLOWED to reject sponsored ads (we could opt out by paying).
In the past there have been already some blogs who reported some of these "non-blog" paid ads.
I remember one "ad with the teeth whitening" which was for one or two days nearly everywhere visible on the widgets.
By the way, i joined already Aldon's short 2 minute survey about
Which Blog Advertising Networks do you use?
Will there be enough sponsors who buy ads when they are only shown on every 7th pageview?
With the paid ads in April - July 2009, the ads have been shared with EC-paid ads to 50% of the time and the costs have been between 0,60 - 1,20 $ for 1.000 page impressions.
The new ads shall be shown only 15% of the time throughout the 24 hours. In this case the previous price seems to be too high, especially when a lot of members from the TOP 300 (blogs with more than 125 EntreCard-Visitors) would opt-out from the sponsored ad program.
In my opinion, these prices are too high for the new sponsored ads. They have to reduce it to 30 to 50 cents for 1.000 page impressions. I believe EntreCard wants now to cash in most of the money from their members.
Read my previous post "Why i don't pay the 50$ to EntreCard!!!" about this topic!
ENTRECARD PLAYS the card WITH YOUR FEARS that INAPPROPRIATE ADS WILL BE SHOWN!
Show them that WE are the members who have the power to accept their methods of earning money by pushing the EntreCard down if they really show such ads!
Will there be sponsors willing to pay money when they get -first of all- so less views and second when only 10% of the visitors can see their ad at the bottom of each blog?
What will happen to the ad prices in EntreCard?
I guess ad prices will drop like last time for some blogs in the TOP 100 (mine included) but shouldn't fall more than 50% as the sponsored ads are shown less frequently. This will benefit members who don't click so much, as they can afford in the future again more ads.
I believe it won't affect the amount of visitors, only the ad price will be slightly affected :)
What do you think will happen next week?