Buy Me a Coffee

Gino · 01-02-2008, 10:27 AM

Donations are a common way to get some extra money for your website to pay for hosting fees and such, but a standard donation button could be improved upon.

I have seen a lot of websites write "Buy me a coffee" and set the donation amount to like $3.00 or something around the price of a coffee.

I think this is a pretty nice way to soften up a donation button , but if it was me since, I'm crazy for design I'd have to do something like "Buy me a shot of Tequila".

Note: Design portfolios should not have any sort of advertisements. It should be nothing, but your work in my opinion and usually hosting costs are low enough that it doesn't matter anyways.

Agilius · 01-03-2008, 10:12 AM

Are you saying that the "Buy me a coup of coffee" is actually a Paypal Donate Button with a different image? I never thought of that but I think it could be a cool idea. I see a lot of people writing about how "Be me a..." is better and gets you more $$ than the "Donate" button.

Nice tip about the portfolios. That is really true.

Gino · 01-03-2008, 01:06 PM

Yes its just a donation button with a different image and text to make it more friendly. =)

herman · 01-03-2008, 01:28 PM

nice tips...

when i see google ads on portfolio sites, it usually turns me off.

spoongraphics · 01-08-2008, 06:45 AM

I also included this idea after seeing it on a couple of sites, which led me to try a little experimentation..

At first I used a set amount of $3.00 which didn't get any submissions, this was then changed to $1 which gained one submission (of which 40 cents was taken by Paypal haha).
So I recently changed the button to allow the user to select an amount which has resulted in a couple of kind donations of $3.00 and $5.00
These tests were pretty vague as I didn't take any notice of the time periods, but I think allowing the user to select an amount is the best option.

Another point to note is the code Paypal supplies is not valid, but this can be ammended by adding <fieldset> tags and following the hints from the W3C validation page.

Gino · 01-08-2008, 11:20 AM

Great tip I'm glad you did that test. I think I would have ended up leaving it blank as well because you never know when some one really generous could come along!

As far as other ways to make money go...

I actually took off all the google ads from my site to really clean it up. I just don't like losing visitors to google adsense and I think every single reader is extremely important and worth 50 times more then the few dollars I make from adsense in the long run.

I think adsense works great for certain sites and blogs, but right now I'm not gonna use it. I may add a donation button, but I'm not sure yet.

Cain · 02-14-2008, 07:58 PM

Another factor is your community. If they really appreciate your effort to bring them useful and usable information, they are more willing to give back.

That being said, make sure your site's content will make people want to give back.

Another factor is how much you need the money. If you are starting a site, and don't have much money to make a satisfactory site (like me =P), people feel more willing to give to help out. I personally haven't tried this out, but I might.

Two closing thoughts:

- "Buy Me a Coffee" sounds more voluntary, as "Donate" makes you sound needy

- Making profit is always a nice thing, but make sure if your users have given you money to benefit the site, you truly use the money to make the site the best it can be.

Cain

jinxjg21 · 02-16-2008, 08:25 AM

love the idea. I would take more notice.

nicktechyguy · 02-17-2008, 08:23 PM

I have one question about though. We got to think about everyone, and you have your simpliton's who don't quite understand the meaning of "buy me a coffee" They might look at the button and be a bit confused about it. Any ideas on that one?

Gino · 02-17-2008, 08:36 PM

Usually you write like donate via paypal or something in the area or they will click the link and it will go to paypal.

01-02-2008, 10:27 AM	#1
Gino Administrator/Founder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 923	Buy Me a Coffee Donations are a common way to get some extra money for your website to pay for hosting fees and such, but a standard donation button could be improved upon. I have seen a lot of websites write "Buy me a coffee" and set the donation amount to like $3.00 or something around the price of a coffee. I think this is a pretty nice way to soften up a donation button , but if it was me since, I'm crazy for design I'd have to do something like "Buy me a shot of Tequila". Note: Design portfolios should not have any sort of advertisements. It should be nothing, but your work in my opinion and usually hosting costs are low enough that it doesn't matter anyways. __________________ GRAPHIC DESIGN PORTFOLIO //GRAPHIC DESIGN BLOG // T SHIRT BLOG // FREE CLIPART

01-03-2008, 01:06 PM	#3
Gino Administrator/Founder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 923	Yes its just a donation button with a different image and text to make it more friendly. =) __________________ GRAPHIC DESIGN PORTFOLIO //GRAPHIC DESIGN BLOG // T SHIRT BLOG // FREE CLIPART

01-03-2008, 01:28 PM	#4
herman Designer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 75	nice tips... when i see google ads on portfolio sites, it usually turns me off. __________________ works.works.works

01-08-2008, 06:45 AM	#5
spoongraphics Designer Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: UK Posts: 39	I also included this idea after seeing it on a couple of sites, which led me to try a little experimentation.. At first I used a set amount of $3.00 which didn't get any submissions, this was then changed to $1 which gained one submission (of which 40 cents was taken by Paypal haha). So I recently changed the button to allow the user to select an amount which has resulted in a couple of kind donations of $3.00 and $5.00 These tests were pretty vague as I didn't take any notice of the time periods, but I think allowing the user to select an amount is the best option. Another point to note is the code Paypal supplies is not valid, but this can be ammended by adding <fieldset> tags and following the hints from the W3C validation page. __________________ Blog.SpoonGraphics - Design Tutorials, Graphic Design Articles and Free Vector Downloads

01-08-2008, 11:20 AM	#6
Gino Administrator/Founder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 923	Great tip I'm glad you did that test. I think I would have ended up leaving it blank as well because you never know when some one really generous could come along! As far as other ways to make money go... I actually took off all the google ads from my site to really clean it up. I just don't like losing visitors to google adsense and I think every single reader is extremely important and worth 50 times more then the few dollars I make from adsense in the long run. I think adsense works great for certain sites and blogs, but right now I'm not gonna use it. I may add a donation button, but I'm not sure yet. __________________ GRAPHIC DESIGN PORTFOLIO //GRAPHIC DESIGN BLOG // T SHIRT BLOG // FREE CLIPART


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01-03-2008, 10:12 AM	#2
Agilius Designer Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 78	Are you saying that the "Buy me a coup of coffee" is actually a Paypal Donate Button with a different image? I never thought of that but I think it could be a cool idea. I see a lot of people writing about how "Be me a..." is better and gets you more $$ than the "Donate" button. Nice tip about the portfolios. That is really true.

02-14-2008, 07:58 PM	#7
Cain Designer Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 49	Another factor is your community. If they really appreciate your effort to bring them useful and usable information, they are more willing to give back. That being said, make sure your site's content will make people want to give back. Another factor is how much you need the money. If you are starting a site, and don't have much money to make a satisfactory site (like me =P), people feel more willing to give to help out. I personally haven't tried this out, but I might. Two closing thoughts: - "Buy Me a Coffee" sounds more voluntary, as "Donate" makes you sound needy - Making profit is always a nice thing, but make sure if your users have given you money to benefit the site, you truly use the money to make the site the best it can be. Cain

02-16-2008, 08:25 AM	#8
jinxjg21 Intern Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 14	love the idea. I would take more notice. __________________ Online Business, Internet Franchise Franchise Business Opportunity

02-17-2008, 08:23 PM	#9
nicktechyguy Intern Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska Posts: 15	I have one question about though. We got to think about everyone, and you have your simpliton's who don't quite understand the meaning of "buy me a coffee" They might look at the button and be a bit confused about it. Any ideas on that one? __________________ TDO Studios - Graphics for Everyone

02-17-2008, 08:36 PM	#10
Gino Administrator/Founder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 923	Usually you write like donate via paypal or something in the area or they will click the link and it will go to paypal. __________________ GRAPHIC DESIGN PORTFOLIO //GRAPHIC DESIGN BLOG // T SHIRT BLOG // FREE CLIPART

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