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Depends how you present it. The Ubuntu download page used to punch you in the face asking for donations. They also tried sliders, asking downloaders to choose how to spend the money they donated. These were super successful. People felt in control of how their money was spent. There was no way for them to check in on that, it was a trust process. But the net result was a lot of people donated a very significant amount of money.

Similarly I understand (from an interview with the developer) that the eBook software Calibre gets a significant number of donations from users via the giant donate button in the toolbar.

I do agree, having a "tip jar" option for donations is rarely as successful as the above methods though. Not diminishing your personal experience. Just saying it's possible to change the way things are done, and get more.



There's the thing though. The numbers above are for making money without annoying or guilt-tripping my readers.

If I didn't care about user experience, I could earn more from donations, but I could also earn much more from affiliate links.

As it is, I just list a few options when I happen to mention a products. There is a tip jar at the end of every guide, and in my email signature.




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