The Dew is all volunteer, but we do have some expenses. If you’re shopping anyway, you can help out by shopping with some of these merchants and the Dew will get a small commission if you make a purchase – and it won’t cost you a dime more. Just click on one of the merchant logos on this page (or any of the ads on the Dew site) and you will be connected with the merchant’s web page or online catalog.
There’s no special code you need to enter and nothing special you’ll need to dew – it will happen automatically and invisibily. Once you click through to their site, the merchant will know to give the Dew credit (even if you don’t purchase immediately – we should get credit on any purchase you make on their site for 30-90 days depending upon our agreement with the merchant).
Each merchant was individually chosen for Dew readers based on preferences from our recent reader survey. Most are well known national brands. We have also included green and fair trade merchants. During the coming months, we hope to add many more Southern products.
Don’t be timid about clicking on an ad – no one makes money on the clicks and you won’t land on a porn site.
So, start dewing your shopping right here. Ask your friends and co-workers to dew so, too. And, please, give us your feedback and suggestions. If you have a bad experience with a merchant, we’ll remove them, forever. Thanks for everything you dew.
Full disclosure: here’s how we did in the Dew Shops for December: Impressions (ad views): 139,470; Ad Clicks: 698; Orders: 25; Sales: $383.90; Commissions (total revenue, all sources to the Dew): $29.88 (as of 12/30/09). Every little bit helps. Thank you for supporting the Dew.
I would happily make a donation to The Dew, especially if I could do so through PayPal. Is that possible?
Lindsie: Thank you. You have joined several others who have expressed the same willingness to give to keep the dew flowing. You can make a donation to LikeTheDew.com via Paypal (our account email at Paypal is [email protected] or you can copy and paste this link in your browser address line: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&[email protected]¤cy_code=&amount=&return=&item_name=I+want+to+make-a-donation-to-LikeTheDew.com) – please note: we are NOT (at least, not yet) a 501(c)(3). You inspired me. I have now added a link for donations in the footer of each site page.
Currently, we are attempting to offset some of our expenses by the affiliate ads (we apply and approve all ads) you find on this page and throughout the site that can earn us a commission on any purchase when a visitors clicks through from our site. Frankly, we have had few visitors complete transactions and the total revenue from these efforts is less than $50 – in spite of more 300,000 ad impressions and more than a thousand click-throughs. Prior to that, we had Google Ads on our site which payed us a small amount for each ad click – the revenues were also inconsequential and the ads they posted on our site were intolerable. We plan to continue with the affiliate effort for another couple of months with the hope our visitors will begin stopping here first and click through to do their shopping and revenues will pick up. We are also interested in traditional paid advertising, but we are in the proverbial chicken or egg conundrum: our site visits are not yet high enough to command the ad rates that make it worthwhile, but without some capital, we cannot afford to promote the site to build readership to make advertising more cost effective for advertisers.
All to say, Keith Graham and I are planning to keep the dew going the way it is for at least a few more months to see if visits pick up to make paid advertising a viable option or the affiliate ads begin generating adequate revenue. Come Spring, we will revisit the options and determine whether a user supported framework makes better sense. Love to hear your ideas.
Thanks, again – Lee
Can I suggest that you also make a P.O. Box or similar address available for people who prefer to send checks? Some of us want nothing to do with PayPal since they went to accounts and demanded an agreement that personal information could be shared.
The New Hampshire Chronicle, which promotes itself as the oldest paper, seems to have discovered that there are quite a few people willing to subscribe, as long as they don’t actually have to receive and dispose of the paper. I do think it requires a periodic ask.
There’s a reason for “ask and you shall receive.” If you don’t ask, you’re almost certain not to get.
So right. Thank you. Checks can be sent to LikeTheDew, 250 10th Street, #3417, Atlanta, GA 30309. First of next week, I’ll find offer some alternatives to PayPal.
Just tried Coffee for Less – better prices than big lots, exactly the brand I wanted and shipping was free.