A week ago we asked our readers to vote on how to take this blog to the next level.  Thanks to every one who voted in our poll.*  There were a number of helpful comments from our readers.  We could not respond to each e-mail, but we did read them all.   Stylized Facts went so far as to write a helpful post on the “Economics of supporting a blog.”

We included in our poll a number of options, in part, because we thought each of them could work in some form or fashion.   However, the voting was quite clear.  The majority (52%) of people voted for advertising as the best method keep Abnormal Returns moving forward.  A substantial portion (17%) of you wanted things to stay exactly the same.  Donations, a MSM tie-up and a premium service all lagged.

This topic is of interest not only to us, but to the wider world of blogs and journalism as well.  David Carr at NYTimes.com notes the challenges facing the print media and the few instances of where paying for content makes sense.  37signals picked up on this article and takes a closer look at how a publication like Cook’s Illustrated remains profitable is thriving both in print and online.

In light of these results we are going to further investigate self-hosting the site and taking on sponsors and/or advertisers.  Nothing is written in stone at this point.  We remain open to any (and all) proposals for this blog.  However if you are interested in sponsoring Abnormal Returns, have insights into the various ad networks, or have an expertise in blog design (specifically WordPress) or know some one who does, please feel free to contact us.

*Jacob from Virginia was the winner of a copy of Mohamed El-Erian’s book “When Markets Collide.”

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