Back in 1998, I was a student and funding a fledgling Newgrounds out of pocket. As hosting and bandwidth costs spiraled above what I could afford, I found that putting banner ads on Newgrounds to generate ad revenue dug me out of a hole. If I hadn't have done that, Newgrounds probably wouldn't exist today.
In the decade since I started using ads, they have paid the salaries of a growing team, many rising from the ranks right here on NG. We've managed to build a real company, with an office and a vending machine!
While the staff continues to work towards making NG the best it can be, we owe a lot to the contributors who have continued to support NG over the years. It's time to take the next step!
Back in late 2007, PsychoGoldfish launched the NG Flash Ads system, allowing developers to run ads in their Flash, and get the same deal they would get if they were a website, working directly with our advertising sales rep.
With the Flash Ads system came an ambitious new payment process, allowing us to track and pay a growing pool of developers.
Starting today, we are using this system to track ad revenue on user, non-adult Flash and Audio pages. If you are interested in participating in this new rev-share program, simply visit your account options page - look for the "Revenue" box and follow the instructions to sign-up!
Don't act like you're rich now!
While some of you will make decent money with this system, don't expect to hit the jackpot and don't drop out of school. The ads are performance based, so sleazy methods of driving traffic to your page will not result in revenue and will likely result in the termination of your access to the system.
The best way to generate revenue will be through genuine interest in your work and hundreds of thousands of unique visitors to your pages.
Times are tough for everyone right now, but together we'll continue working towards positive goals and a brighter future! We're excited to see people succeed with this system and have been particularly inspired by artists who treat NG as more than just a means to an ends for publicity, but as a community, or more so, a family. You're all on the payroll now, so tell your friends and start taking more steps to promote your work here!
On our end, we'll be working to raise your revenue numbers. While PsychoGoldfish was working on the rev share system, Liljim has been overhauling and expanding our RSS feeds. Today we introduced feeds for new Flash and Audio by individual artists. If you check out HappyHarry's user page, you will see little orange RSS icons in the upper right corners of his "LATEST FLASH" and "LATEST AUDIO" boxes. If you had a HappyHarry RSS feed, you would have noticed he did voice work for a Wonchop movie after releasing Saturday Morning Watchmen.
Next up on the RSS front will be feeds for user news and user favorites. If you know someone on NG with similar tastes to yourself, you will be able to watch their favorites list and keep up-to-date with submissions that may otherwise fall off the radar!
In other news...
Inspired by the Castle Crashers Bento, Luis has organized an awesome make a Pink Castle Crasher out of food contest!
Check out Edmund's new Super Meat Boy Ad, which many have called the "best ad ever!" Also go visit the Super Meat Boy website.
