I just want to say that while I don't personally block ads, I have used Flashblock, and I might consider blocking ads. The reason for this is not that they are

I just want to say that while I don't personally block ads, I have used Flashblock, and I might consider blocking ads. The reason for this is not that they are "annoying" or get in the way of reading. For me, it's because I know that advertisements wear on you over time. They are whispers of culture and what you need to do to be happy and gain status. Because of how I feel about ads, I would consider paying for content. However, I think the real pain point here is that we have a hard time knowing whether the content we get is worth paying for, or whether we would have an easier time getting comparable content elsewhere for less. And, of course, how big is the market for people that say "I don't want to see ads because I want to save money on stuff I don't need... but I do want to spend money on certain content"? So the author is trying very hard to please his audience, but he's also trying very hard to appeal to them and make money. Well, no kidding, we do need to make money to do what we're doing. But you have to make it clear that you are focused on making things better for your audience. You're demonstrably providing clear value of some sort to them. In this case, somehow reviewing games in a way that you enable your audience to make better decisions about where to spend their hard-earned dollars. (I can't speak to the magic that makes one game review site better than another.) So ask your readers - have they used your content to make decisions? Have they saved money by not plopping down $59.99 on a game that they, individually, would not like? Do they agree with your reviews regularly? And is that because they try the same games that you review, and come to the same conclusions, or because they base all their conclusions on the reviews? If they are saving time and money and getting to do that which they value most (or a lot, at least, more than other things, in this case, playing particularly good video games), then you have clearly enriched their lives. They should let you know, and try to enrich your life, too. But I don't think that viewing ads enriches their lives or yours, or rather, it's a pretty indirect, watered down way to enrich your life.