Site news: The StLJN Emporium is now open for business

Those regular readers who are especially observant and/or bandwidth-challenged have undoubtedly noticed that over the past week I've finally added some advertising to the site. Specifically, the sidebar is now displaying some context-sensitive text ads provided by that big Internet company whose name rhymes with the brass instrument used to play "Taps" and "Reveille," as well as affiliate links from some music-related companies like Amazon, Sheet Music Plus, Zzounds and eMusic. I'm still tweaking the number and appearance of the ads so as to achieve the best look possible while also keeping the site's load time reasonable, so if things seem to run a little slowly or look funny for a day or two, that's probably why.

I have also added an Amazon store, dubbed the St. Louis Jazz Notes Emporium, selling CDs and music-related DVDs and books. My hope is that the Emporium will provide yet another way to call attention to the work of St. Louis jazz artists, as well as perhaps generating a few bucks in commission revenues for yr. humble editor. The store has section specfically devoted to items by and/or about St. Louis jazz musicians, as well some general jazz offerings auto-selected by Amazon, and also lets you search for and order pretty much anything else that Amazon sells. I'll also be adding some additional pages and/or special sections to the Emporium over time, but it is up, running and open for business now.

If you find St. Louis Jazz Notes to be useful, informative and/or entertaining, buying something through the Emporium or one of the other affiliate links is an easy way to show your appreciation and help support the continued existence of this site. These are all reputable companies that have been around for a while, and clicking through one of the affiliate links on StLJN to make a purchase you had alrady planned doesn't cost you a penny more than if you went directly to the merchant.

Given that I've been blogging for almost 20 months without earning a dime from this site, I hope it is clear that I'm not doing this just for the money. However, it does take a considerable amount of time and effort to keep fresh news and content coming. Given StLJN's modest (though steady) traffic, I don't expect the store or the ads to produce a lot of revenue, but as someone who gets 100% of his income from freelance work, I'm not really in a position to leave any potential amount of money lying untouched on the table, either.

So, head on over to the St. Louis Jazz Notes Emporium and have a look around, or check out the offerings from Sheet Music Plus, Zzounds and eMusic.You can buy a Christmas present for a fellow jazz lover; compile a few items and links for your own holiday wish list; or even just go ahead and buy something for yourself. It's a win-win situation - you can get some cool stuff, and at the same time help keep StLJN going strong into 2007 and beyond.