Mud Songs is not only a non-profit web site. It’s a going-in-the-hole web site. I’ve spent a fair bit of money over the years to keep it online. Let’s forget about the hundreds of hours of unpaid work I’ve put into writing and making videos and taking photos to create content for it. I do this for fun, not money. But now I need money to keep it going. Not a lot of money, but enough so that I can afford a better server, one that isn’t as slow as slush like my current server is half the time. I may even need money from time to time to pay people to do some computery things behind the scenes for me, people who know how to keep the engine humming, so to speak. Shelling out that cash from my own pocket just doesn’t cut it anymore. I’m a poor working slob with a full-time job that’s not about to make me rich any time soon. And I’m not to going ask for money. Putting ads on this blog doesn’t make much sense either. I don’t think anyone reads the actual blog anymore. But splashing a few ads through my YouTube videos could bring in a few dollars. Maybe.

So as of today, most of the beekeeping videos that appear on the Mud Songs YouTube channel will contain advertisements of some kind. I’m testing the waters here to see how it goes. If you see an ad that you don’t like, or you just don’t like the ads at all, tell me and I’ll do something about it. I have no problem turning the ads off completely if they’re annoying.

I’m personally annoyed by most advertisements online, but I rarely see them because I use an ad blocker. That’s why I’m not so concerned about putting ads in my videos. People who don’t like ads probably use an ad blocker already, so it won’t be an issue for them. And I assume people who don’t use ad blockers see the ads as just a part of doing business online. They’re used to it.

I’ve also had a few people tell me advertisements are already running along with my videos in subtle ways through YouTube’s main website. Which means Google (the owner of YouTube) is making money off my videos and I’m not. I don’t see anything wrong with me wanting a piece of that pie. Why not? They’re my videos after all.

Anyway, I sold my soul to Google so I can afford a better server and make some improvements to Mud Songs. I might not make a dime off the video advertisements. If that’s the case, I’ll have to think of something else. But for now, let me know if you have any problems with them. Thanks.

January 28th, 2016: Hold on to your hats because this is amazing. I’ve earned $39.53 from my YouTube videos since November 2015. Clap. Clap. Clap.

January 3rd, 2021: I don’t put advertisements on my videos anymore. I can’t remember when I stopped, but it was a while ago. The videos with advertisements seemed to bring in more viewers, but the vast majority weren’t really interested in beekeeping, so I pulled the plug on the ads. I have 15,000 subscribers but I’d say about three or four hundred actually watch my videos.