Here’s the big news I’ve been hinting at — Route 66 News is now equipped to take advertising from Route 66 businesses, authors, artists, or people who are plain enthusiastic about the Mother Road and/or this website.
Readers may have noticed subtle changes after Route 66 News migrated to a new host and became a WordPress.org site. The moves gives me more control over content, such as embedding more videos and other media.
Also, as a Google Adsense client, the new site allows me to run more of its ads on stories and pages.
As an Amazon Associate, I added a Shop page of books, DVDs, and music that I recommend for the budding roadie. I also advertised Route 66 guidebooks that are too important for the novice to be without.
But the big news is the advertising doesn’t have to come from just behemoth companies. On the right side of the page, you’ll see several types of animated ads. These are blank ads by Komoona, a relatively new advertising tool. These ad spots are devoted strictly to the Route 66 community.
Komoona allows you, the reader, to build your own ad and pay for it within minutes. If you have artwork on your computer, you can upload it and use it for the ad. If you don’t, several templates are available so you can build an ad with your own wording with varying colors. This video from Komoona shows what I’m talking about:
https://youtu.be/jcpTBrFg4m8
The ad sizes on the right side of the page are 125-by-125 pixels, 170-by-250 pixels, and 160-by-600 pixels. (The biggest ad is designed to stream other advertising for now, but you can buy that space and claim it as your own.) You can run an ad for as short as a week, or up to three months. Rates run as little as $6. You can’t see them all, but more than a dozen ad slots are available. One slots has already been bought by Laurel Kane at Afton Station.
The reason I’m doing this is partly because of the additional expenses incurred with the move to a hosted site. But another reason I’m accepting advertising is because of requests for it. Until now, I didn’t have the ability to accept ads from individuals or mom-and-pop businesses. Now, Komoona gives Route 66ers the opportunity to advertise on a website that averages well over 30,000 page views a month.
And don’t worry about adults-only or get-rich-quick advertising polluting that side of the page. I hold veto power over any ad that I deem inappropriate for the site.
So … if you have Route 66 products you’d like to sell, or if you’re a restaurant, motel, or business along the Mother Road that wants more visibility, or you’re simply a person who wants to support Route 66 News, you can buy an ad. It’s your space to use.
As usual, I’ll try to keep up with the news and events along the world’s most famous road. Thank you for reading and showing your support of this site.