Advertising In A Desktop Application

[TwistMyArm]

Hi all,

I have a desktop application that I'm thinking of releasing for free, but was hoping to do some in-application advertising as a way to recoup some costs. Basic question: does anyone know of any network that would allow me to do this?

If not, is there a market for a network like that?

 

[champ_rock]

well i think u can get sponsors for ur application at various forums who are sometimes willing to pay u monthly fees etc for that

also, i do not know of any ad network that allows that

 

[lee101]

I think maybe a custom solution would be best, like to set an image source to one on your server, which chooses from a list of your advertisers.

 

[TwistMyArm]

Unfortunately, that still leaves me in the position I'm trying to avoid (namely, not having to get sponsors / advertisers myself).

I'll have a think about it and see what I can come up with... it's just so tempting to package one of those dodgy toolbars with it and call it a day

 

[monaco]

LOL...I wouldn't use an app that required a toolbar to run under any circumstance.

 

[TwistMyArm]

For what it's worth monaco, neither would I and that's why I would never require the installation of the toolbar: it would deselectable on installation. It's also the reason I would prefer a small, unobtrusive embedded ad (but noone seems to be able to help there, either).

Unfortunately that still doesn't help me to work out the best way to make back some of the time I have spent on the program...

 

[monaco]

For what it's worth monaco, neither would I and that's why I would never require the installation of the toolbar: it would deselectable on installation.

Good It's nice to see a trend where developers actually respect their end-users

Unfortunately that still doesn't help me to work out the best way to make back some of the time I have spent on the program...

I offer my apps for free on my website, I license them as public domain, and I find that it generates enough traffic that my adsense revenue covers the cost of development.

 

[TwistMyArm]

monaco: to be honest, I'm very impressed that your AdSense revenue covers development costs. I must be doing something wrong

Having you say that, I'm starting to have faith in the possibility that I may be able to do it myself without the need of any advertising, so I appreciate you mentioning that it is possible.

Right now, I think I'm going to do two versions: one with basic functionality, the other with full functionality, 'upgradable' for $5 or something like that.

Anyway, once again, thanks for proving that it is possible to make back costs through AdSense... hopefully I will be able to say the same soon enough