Hello again; For a while now I have been exploring the possibility of adding some advertising to my website. I have been openly telling people for over a year now that I am accepting them on the site. On the previous version of the website I even included some free ads from friends and family hoping they would encourage people to want to buy the space. I wasn’t having any luck and had really put the whole idea out of my mind until just a few days ago. I was exploring the people you may know section on my linked in account and sending out invitations to other businesses that focus on the amusement industry including manufacturers and suppliers. As people accepted my connection requests, I sent out thank you notes. And it was from one of those many notes that this opportunity came about.
Eddie Abralde from Sippers By Design decided to visit my website. After taking a look around he responded to my thank you message by asking me if I would be interested in a business opportunity that would benefit both of us. I told him of course I wanted to hear more. He actually made me two offers. He asked about either placing a banner ad on my site or having me come on board as a distributor or both. I ran the idea past my immediate family and closest friends. I also did some research into whether or not I had the skills or could access the tools to do either. I finally decided that I could do the ads, but that being a distributor and listing their products on my site was above my abilities. I also thought that being a distributor might take me too far away from my primary goal which is helping people sell their new and used amusement, concessions, and confections equipment. I told Eddie about my decision. Since I had never done this before, and we had no way of knowing how much traffic if any would be generated for his company’s website; we agreed to a 30 day trial period.
So, I had decided to accept the banner ad, the next step was how to implement them.
Now, I use WordPress to run this site. So, I searched google to see what other people were using for their banners. The first one I tried was called max banner ads, and it worked perfectly. The only problem is it was designed for a blog, so the ads only showed up in the blog section of my site. I also tried WordPress ad rotate but I couldn’t get it configured. I was finally told about a plug in called quick AdSense which is what I’m using for the time being. When I first read about it, I thought the friend who recommended it wasn’t listening to my concerns, but she finally convinced me to give it a try. I don’t use AdSense and don’t want to. But it turns out that quick AdSense will let you drop your own ads code into its boxes.
So, after installing the plug in, I decided to create a test ad. I used my photo, email address, and some text. I posted it on the site, and it seamed to work well. I asked my friends on Facebook to check it out, and they thought it looked good. Next, I asked Eddie to send me the image, text, and link url he wanted in his ad. He told me that it would help them out and would save me time if we could use an image they already had on hand. I used their image and created the first official paid ad on the site.
Here it is.

Sippers By Design is your go to source for souvenir drinkware that is fun for everyone. We have over 200 unique designs, best of all it is all manufactured in the USA. Only 1 case minimum order. Price breaks are available for larger quantities. Customization is also available! We can put your logo on any one of our cups. Our cups are guaranteed to stand out from the rest.
I sent it to Eddie, and he approved it. He had a couple of minor suggestions, but he said it was fine. So, I used my networks on various social media sites to tell people about his ad. Last night I received an email from a concessionaire in Mississippi telling me they had visited the site and were ready to place an order; but they couldn’t find a price list on the website. I shared this concern with Eddie, and he sent them a message right away explaining that the site was under reconstruction and that until the improved site was ready; they had removed the price list from it. He included a document showing them the prices. I was impressed with his quick response to their worry. Then to show how much he appreciated my work, he shared the link to my homepage on his linked in account. I received a lot of new visitors to my site today because of it.
Well, I just have one more thing to say about this. Since it was naturally a big deal for me, I mentioned the first ad on the site as well as mentioning Sippers By Design by name and getting in a little bit about their product line during my appearance on this week’s episode of Brian the hammer Jackson’s radio show He said normally this wouldn’t be allowed, but since I am also a small sponsor of the show; I get to mention companies like this. This is the kind of effort that all my clients can expect when using my services. So, If you would like to place an ad on the site, or if you have items of equipment you want to sell, or if you just want to ask questions or discuss the amusement industry; then please call me or use the contact form on my site. And if you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment and or share it with your friends, family, and coworkers. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks and take care, Max