I know I don't want you to change the what your thinking, feeling guilty about, what your amused and annoyed at. I LOVE those. More photos of Chuck and baby are always welcome. Both are incredibly beautiful (and not only because she shares my bd, I swear it!!)

you should solicit small businesses to advertise on your site. say $20/month for a 125x125 pixel ad that links to their web site. gather up your site stats and send that info to some small buinesses - sure some may think that the profanity is not a good thing, but if you target the right businesses it would work. I mean, seriously, how many visitors do you get in a month, hell in a DAY even? and they would all be tempted to click those little links. more traffic for the businesses, meaning more potential customers, and money for dooce. :)

Hey Heather! I'm a big fan of your site, and would probably pay to read your hillariousness! :) Hmmmm...Just off the top of my head, I'm thinking Dooce.com t-shirt ;) Or better yet, how about founding partners - those that are seriously interested in your success, each put up $500 and then receive a small percent of your financial windfall, that is sure to come your/our way!

As indicated - that was off of the cuff, after a longass week, so please keep me posted on what you decide and other ideas that come your way!

All the best, write on!

Taira

All of those things you suggested are great! As far as making money, I don't know.... everyone seems to have a cafepress shop where they sell t-shirts and stuff. Perhaps stuffed animal versions of Chuck and Leta? Complete with little sound makers that bark or scream accordingly when squeezed?

Heather,

I've been reading you for months and haven't commented before. I totally support your ambition to make money off this site. You are an extremely talented writer.
I have been concerned with your depression and anxiety as I have experienced both myself (yes, enough for major meds as well. currently on Celexa and OK)
I digress. I admire your humor even while dealing with awful feelings. I would love to see more pics on the site and some of the
off the wall comments from readers. I think you have the talent to publish...submit a collection of your childrearing stories and your battle with pp depression...to the New Yorker no less...(minus profanity) :=)
Yes I know about editors but you WOULD make money.
Take care,
Rebecca in Denver

I really like this website. As a mother of an almost 6 month old (2/14/04)daughter, I can totally relate to your descriptions of how you want to put Leta's entire head in your mouth and other ways you want to eat her up. You are a very talented writer. You crack me the fuck up! I love reading your stories. I would like to see a picture a day and your feedback emails. Keep up the good work. I would miss you if you quit this!

I would love to see more of dooce.com... that would be cool. I like the addons that you have planned. The moneymaking idea I am not sure. Maybe banners from some of the sites that sort of go towards your beliefs? You know one of those... click here and you get 10 cents or whatever for each click. But those just never look classy! I will keep thinking!

Heather, sorry to post 2x, but I'd also buy a shirt that says "Cabbage Boobs-so what?"...lol.

Ever since I somehow fell into your tractor beam (says Mrs. Kennedy) I have been unable to resist the urge to just check to see if you've added a new "column" I have to say, "Go for it". I'll just have to come up with a way to explain to my husband my NEED to read this woman's blog. I consider you the goddess of blog and aspire to someday grow up (even though I am much older!) to be like you. I'll never have your graphics and sharp wit though.

Please do not get yourself into a situation where you must edit yourself to make someone else happy. We love you because of your pure unadulterated honesty and occasional cuss word. And Jon and Leta and Chuck and.....

How about some dooce shirts via CafePress? You could make a little money with that, and I'll pledge to buy a shirt - if you carry the women's babydoll T's with a dooce logo on the front. ;)

I know it's hard to balance all this motherhood and LIFE stuff and make money at the same time. Good luck.

Why not start an online community with message boards for lonley moms who are stuck at home with their kids all day (like me)? You could start a seperate blog for it with no profanity and then use Adwords to suck Google dry. There are a lot of young women out there who have webblogs, cabbage boobs *and* brains. I'm sure they would love to participate at cabbageboobs.com.

Good luck!

Personally, I'd like to see a permanent comments section. I can't say for sure why you haven't opted for this yet, but I think that the potential for open dialogue would give your site an extra edge.

A dooce t-shirt! Please! I want one!
I have no great ideas, just supporting whatever ch-ch-changes come around. I think the idea of a daily photograph is a dandy one, and I would pay MONEY to waste time on your site. I definitely want to read responses to the hate and love mail. Even if you make fun of us who send you love mail!

i am another one who would pay cash money to hear what you have to say and would buy a whole wardrobe if you went into the t-shirt business. if you do, be sure to include baby & child sizes. and dog gear!

Heather-

Really who needs a t-shirt.. I am all over the stuffed animal versions of Chuck and Leta. Try the pay for extras- love/hate emails, I am sure you can think up many witty bonus items for us all. Make money... oh and you really do rock by the way.

You get so much positive feedback on your photographs that I'm sure some people would be interested in buying them. You could consider selling prints ... I don't know if this is more aggravation than it's worth, but it's a thought. Good luck!

I can't believe I'm offering this up---charge us. Just a nominal fee($5/year?). Of course then you get into the "secure web site" thing, and I really don't know how much trouble that is.

I'm a creature of habit but the following would be cool with me (as if I count). Definitely Numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Hey...I agree with some of the others about Marketing. Shirts, mugs, keychains, mousepads...I would buy that stuff up. Sell it on eBay too and you could make a killing!
Hell, I'm cool just cuz I read you. If I were walking around with a dooce shirt, I would be 10x's cooler.

1). You could have readers register and pay a monthly fee. I know this is probably pretty hard to set up. If that's the case, perhaps you could use the PayPal option for Merchants. I am pretty sure you'll accomplish two things this way.

a). You're bound to have subscribers and in turn make money.

b). You'll probably get rid of the negative crap that comes your way because when people are forced to give up a full name and/or a VALID email, they're not as quick to call you a "Stupid Mother Fucker".

It's a thought.

2) If you don't like the idea of not having the Web site entirely public, perhaps you can leave comments on, but only allow paid members to comment maybe even read them.

3). You could add an area where people can start threads, leave comments about threads, and so on and make only that section a subscription base.

4). You might charge other writers/bloggers money to advertise they're personal sites on here--month to month?

Either way, I'm pretty sure people will sign up and pay to read your site.

You could try Blog Ads advertising. I don't know much about them, but I'm sure that people would love to advertise their blogs on your site - because you're awesome and you get a lot of traffic.

Or you could try the Amazon Associates thing. (bloggers link (either via text, images or actual advertisements) to Amazon products or pages. If people purchase after following these links they take a small comission from Amazon, either for cash or gift vouchers.)

I must say, I'm not a big fan of pay content on the web, but I doubt you're considering that option much. I think you're an incredibly talented writer. I know nothing about writing as a profession, but aren't there publications out there you could get a stay-at-home job with? I wouldn't mind visiting a commercial site with advertisements to read your articles, so I'd love to see you get published.

I'd love to see you writing for a major print or web publication and be compensated for your talents. Whatever you do, keep up the writing and don't lose your core fan base.

Since Google Ads are out, would BlogAds work for you? With the amount of traffic you get, I'm sure that advertisers would be interested.

I actually like that you only open up comments selectively. It's fun to read what your readers grew up calling their private parts, for example, but most of the time comments aren't particularly fascinating.

I also like the idea of selling T-shirts, etc. You DO have an incredible web presence, not to mention mentions off the web (I saw your site mentioned in the Indianapolis Star just 2 weeks ago in an article about blogging about your workplace....)

As far as charging for viewing content, I'm not so sure. I mean, I know I'm cheapskate and just don't want to lose you, but if you charged for any access at all I'm sure you'd lose a lot of readers (including aforementioned cheapskate), and they'd miss you. (Not that they wouldn't understand, mind you.) But maybe it would work to charge for certain "better" features. I also think you could probably get some this stuff sold in book form. Or what about a dooce.com calendar combining your photography with great quotes from the site? You could even do several calendars--the "work-theme" calendar for people to put up at work (with work-friendly photos and themes), a stay-at-home mom calendar, etc., to satisfy all your various readers (and by diversifying, sell more calendars!)

Good luck. And BTW, since comments ARE open, let me express my jealousy of your new delicate-strapped bras. Even non-pregnant and non-nursing, I have to wear the 6-lane highways. At the moment, I am pregnant, so it's more like 12-lane highways wrapped around enormous cement trucks.....

Hi Heather,
I thoroughly second the emotions of everyone else's posts! This website absolutely lights up my day and I would be really disappointed if dooce went away. As far as $$ making: dooce.com/cabbage boobs t-shirts I really think would be a huge seller. Also, why not self publish some writing? I guarantee you could sell volumes of your writing online and at alternative bookstores. I'm thinking of Ayun Halliday of "East Village Inky" fame...

PLEASE do not resort to working for The Man, censoring yourself, or giving "us" up. It's not about YOU anymore - it's about your loyal fans!!! =)

I have been wondering why there weren't DOOCE products available - I for one would buy several, and I would feel instant affinity for anyone I saw wearing a DOOCE shirt or sporting a DOOCE bumper sticker. I hereby reserve the right to the first officially sanctioned Idaho personalized license plate that says DOOCE. If you were to require special permission ($$$) to have said license plates (one in each state), and go after copyright infringers (nonpayers) with a vengeance, I would SO pay for that privilege.

Meantime, definitely consider Cafe Press, and please don't resort to the cluttered and "cheap" looking wee adds that people can click so you get 10c a link or whatever. You are so much better than that. You are QUALITY.

By the way I fixed the antivirus / no pictures issue about which I previously emailed you. All is well in my world now. Thanks for rockin' my world.

dooce.com greeting cards
You could put Congressman Chuckles on front. Who wouldn't be a sucker for that?

i will pay. i'll def. buy dooce swag. i've been reading for... well, years and will do my part for the leta armstrong college fund.

Though you're wearing the "Google dissed me" badge of honor, I'm actually pretty annoyed at my company. (And by "my" I of course mean that they pay my mortgage, not that I'm Larry or Sergey here.) Knowing a bit about the AdSense program, I wouldn't classify your site as having too much profanity and hell, it's NECESSARY. What would they like you to call your cabbage boobs - cabbage mammary organs? Anyway, that pisses me off.

Enough about my rant & rave - there ARE other sites that offer advertising programs - hate to say it, but I know Overture offers ContentMatch but am not 100% certain you can get on it the way you could with AdWords. However, there are a few others - I know Sarah Hatter uses some (though not sure who) and there's MarketBanker. Basically, w/your design skills, you should be able to incorporate some ads into the site w/o it looking commercialized.

In the meantime, I'm gonna go kick some Google AdSense ass. They don't know what they're missing.

Ha ha! It's amazing you'd even have to say "no nude pics"! People are idiots!

So...how about semi-clothed?

i think you should appeal to google and get the backing from your readers - a published online petition protesting google's policies. as a childless person i am only guessing here, but i'm thinking the words google doesn't like: poop/breasts/penile diseases, are fairly common in mama blogs (maybe not the last one, but still). i think we should all be greatly insulted that google has the "badsense" (terrible pun i know, but i couldn't resist) to try to censor mothers. certainly there are enough militant mamas and non-mamas here to write to google and raise a stink worse than leta's formula-fed diapers. once google comes around, start raking in the dought!

Ok, I'm sorry. I continue to tell friends, relatives, strangers, and yes, even that one lady at the grocery store buying cabbage (because I needed to know if it was going in her bra since she was pushing a baby in her grocery cart) to come to your site and bask in everything that is dooce.com. That was me. I caused you to go over your bandwith again. But don't think that I wasn't feeling guilty about it, because I was. I thought about emailing you to tell you that you should cancel Leta's college fund because this month's bill would be a whopper, but then I was afraid. Afraid that I would never make it to the People We Should Party With list. And who knows, I may go to Utah someday and need someone to party with. People who say words that Google Adsense would never allow and who wrap pasta around their dogs nose.

So in reading your post I started to think, "What would I do to contribute to the financial success of this site (besides sending you more bandwith)?" and I didn't know. But after reading some replies, I'm sure that I would buy snappy DOOCE.com gear if you were to sell something that I could wear. Then you see, I wouldn't have to tell strangers about your site, they would just see my T-Shirt or lunch bag and rush to buy their own.

Other things I might consider doing:

+ Pay for premium membership which I think should consist of the ability to comment and get your posts via email (also reducing your bandwith)

+ Send you things you need for Leta in the way of Amazon wishlist stuff (because every baby needs a copy of Kill Bill 2 on DVD)

+ Buying prints of your photographs because I want to fill my house with pictures of you and Jon and Leta, and Chuck and tell all my friends that we are sisters - see I even cut my hair like yours. Ok, not really... But you do have some photos of like, trees and mountains and stuff. Maybe you can put something inspiring under the photo like, "Ahhh the mountains... so much better when there isn't The Screaming"

+ And if I would ever get off of my own projects and onto developing for other people, I'd maybe, possibly, give a glimmer of a thought in the direction of putting a link to my website on here. See, rather than advertise my OWN website shamelessly, I'd wear my dooce.com t-shirt all over and people would come to your site, see my link, and Viola! I would get some action. (That's good marketing right there...)

I, for one, would love to see some of the techie stuff you mentioned - about how you run and design the site. I have great ideas for my blog, but am stuck in typepad. I think a premium subscription is a good idea - put the extras on there, but leave the regular posts free. I also like the small business ad idea. I'd advertise my small business and my husband's here. I love your blog, love it love it love it and hope you can find a way to make a living from it.

you should make money by compiling all your pregnancy and post-pregnancy baby-related blogs into a book.

I really don't know how to make money off your site, but I can say that I've used an awsome (and cheep) web hosting company called herwebhosting.com

I love your blog, and would like to be able to say I would pay to read it, but in truth I probably wouldn't - only because I'm lazy and cheep.

gosh. that's a lot of comments i didn't read.

MCFrontalot (frontalot.com) has a "valued sucker program." basically, he just asks for money from people who like what he does. and he gets it. enough to pay for his site. he sends some little gifty things to people who give a bunch, like over $25 or something.

he doesn't keep stuff from the public site to entice donations or anything like that. he just asks for money and gets it.

what could be more satisfying?

1. I'd buy a t-shirt.
2. I'd probably pay $5 for a year's subscription, or, you could hit me up for $2 a month and I wouldn't even feel it.
3. The Associates program has made me about .04 cents so far, but I'm sure you have triple my traffic.
4. You could team up with Loobylu and make chuck dolls.

I would continue to read dooce no matter what changes were made. Unless, of course, you lost your sense of humor. Since I don't see that happening, I'll just keep coming back to look into this reflection of myself: a mother, living in Utah, who spares nothing and no one when it comes to writing with humor and honesty. Okay, so maybe that last part isn't so much a reflection of me, but...

searchability: awesome. a forum or permanent comments: double awesome.

i would pay for cafepress swag and/or "premium" memberships with access to more pictures because you totally kick out the jams. however, that's a lot of hassle for a small return, which won't even be close to the equivalent of a salary. and print work--it's a bear.

i think the especially brilliant and full of potential big money idea is that posted above, about a web community for parents who don't suck. it would be a lot of work and investment, but the income stream and the creative/technical challenges would be crazy rewarding.

shoot, i mean you all remodeled that pretty kitchen, right? armstrongs are tuff!

Have you thought of other ad services? Because you have enough readers that you probably could make decent money if we all clicked on the ads. I know I'd be more than willing!

Here are my thoughts:
Paying to be able to read stories or visit your site is a bad idea. Adding annoying banners and ads is also a bad idea. Basically please don't do anything to annoy us regular people. As much as I love your site, I would very easily drop interest if you exploited everyone. Seems shirts and mugs and optional things are good. You're a smart girl. Hopefully you will look at your options and know what would annoy you if you visited a site...and stay away from adding it to yours! Much luck and I love your writing.

Heather, remember last year when I emailed you because I was working for a webhosting company that was talking about "sponsoring" bloggers' hosting costs in exchange for street cred? I ended up quitting that job, but I'm guessing that a high profile site like yours would garner you a free dedicated server somewhere. Then, any money you make from subscriptions, shwag, etc, would be money in your pocket.

Your site is da bomb! I have to agree with everyone, this is a very nice way to waste time. As for charging us poor pitiful dooce addicts money to read your stuff, that would be so cruel. I am up for a funny dooce baby-t or maybe a stuffed Chuck with spaghetti around his snout. I would totally buy something like that.

Cheers!

Someone up there mentioned selling dooce.com merchandise. I'm TOTALLY for that. I'd love a cool-looking Dooce shirt. =)
I know that www.secretagentjosephine.com makes her own shirts/designs. Ah hah. I'ts at cafe press. http://www.cafeshops.com/secret_agent_jo

So many people get turned off by monthly subscriptions that I would suggest going the advertising and mechandising route before doing that. If you do want to do shirts or whatever, you may want to look further than cafepress and go for something a little more unique. Cafepress has reached a saturation level IMHO.

P.P.S. Fellow commentators: PROTEST GOOGLE ADSENSE HERE: https://www.google.com/adsense/contact

Oooh who wouldn't want a fabby stuffed version of Leta that bleasts like a goat when you squeeze it's tummy? (Or look at it wrong) Can you say 'Christmas Gift'? Hmmm, idea's to make money, let's see:
1. Have people pay to read, even if it's only a $1 a person per month, you've got lots of readers :)
2. Fabby Dooce-A-Licious items would sell like mad I bet, cafepress could work.
3. Compiling entries into a book would be quite rad.
4. Maybe start a webzine kind of thing for stay@home moms.
5. Charge a small fee to have people advertise on dooce.com
6. T-Shirts w/ 'Vote Chuck' on them???
Good Luck Doll! Man, just look at all these people that would pay just to read about your daily life, what a confidance booster!

All the features you've suggested are wonderful, but all take even more of your valuable time.

Not to sound like an MBA dud (which, um... I am), but if you really want to plan this out AND make money AND stay at home AND support John, you need a business model that justifies all this time. You know, spreadsheets and strategy and all that boring stuff.

Incremental sales of coffee mugs are not your answer, and neither is direct-selling advertising to companies that may or may not want to endorse you (no offense to those who suggested those things, but I have a wife/mother-of-my-1-year-old-daughter at home as well, and her time is much more important than cold-calling companies for a 125x125 ad).

Of course, this assumes the primary payment you want is $ and not wishlist materials.

Because Google turned you down (and won't likely come around now that they'll be public soon), the BlogAds.com suggestion sounds like a good starting point. You could also try http://www.marketbanker.com/mb/, a la Gizmodo.com. The Amazon Associates program also sounds good, but again, this sounds pretty small over the long run b/c it's based on how many people buy AFTER clicking through your links.

If those are not up your alley, you may have to make the tough decision to see if you feel like a subscription would justify some of the lost readership you'll definitely experience. But the pricing strategy is a tough question, as those who have tried it have sometimes been burned.

Finally, there's one last thought -- get in with a network of new media types, like Weblogs, Inc. or Gawker. They reportedly do not pay all that well, but better than your current alternative.

Best of luck!

I would totally pay extra for the extras! :-)

i think there have been some great suggestions, and i'm neither very business- or web-minded (much less the two combined), so i've nothing to contribute along those lines. i can, however, fulfill my role as consumer. and in that capacity, i'd definitely pay to view this site, and i'd probably buy a t-shirt, too. as far as your stance on editors goes, i say stick to your guns. your writing is entertaining & heartwarming & hilarious just the way it is. are there any publishing bigwigs out there reading this? help our dooce! by the way, i love that your lovely husband is so supportive of your endeavor.

If you were to design and publish a book of all of your blog posts on CafePress, I would TOTALLY buy it! Dooce.com t-shirts would also be AWESOME! Please make t-shirts! And other dooce.com stuff! Then I could collect them all!!!!! :D

I love your site and hope you will continue!!!
I think you should register the name 'dooce', get a trademark or something. Check out doteasy.com, they have cheap hosting offers.

Well, now that you've been giving me the stuff for free for so long, I would definitely pay to keep the supply coming. I also would be interested in a Dooce T-shirt or coffee mug or other merchandise.
Publishing the hate mail and your responses is an excellent idea. I would love to see what the hell these idiots are sending to you. Publishing their email addresses would be lovely as well, so we Dooce fans can share the love...

You're not going to like my answer. At least not part of it. Here's the part you will like: I love reading your journal. You're really a great writer.

Here's the part you'll hate: Getting money out of me is damn near impossible. First, because I don't have a lot, and second because I never pay for the cow if I can get the milk for free.

I will tell you the things I would give money for though: There's a movie review site I adore www.screenit.com I share his taste in movies and I appreciate that he doesn't try to tell me what movies are appropriate for my kids. He just gives the lowdown on what conservative people would find objectionable and let's you decide if your kid can handle it. I've never given him any money though, because although I'd be happy to donate to the cause to get rid of the pop-ups and use the member features, I think the price he's wants is too high. I'd give him $5, which is more than I spend on newspapers these days. I think he wants $20. Too much. I sent him an email once saying he should arrange to sell relevant merchandise on his site, like videos, dvds, movie posters, t-shirts, etc., but it didn't appeal to him.

So basically, I'll buy things from someone's site if it's something I'd buy anyway. And I'll donate a token amount if I just really like the person. But that's about it.

I suggest you tie-in your website to another business. Like t-shirts for the non-conformists, i.e., I used to be a Mormon, then I grew up.

I probably shouldn't tell you this, but you can get around the "offensive content" guidelines from AdWords by getting approval for another website first (maybe your husband's?), and then adding Dooce to the account after approval.

It's a very simple backdoor, and Google doesn't appear to mind.

Heather, you crack me up, what with the lovely screaming Leta, the too adorable doggie and the attack of the diseased penile! I NEED my Dooce infusion of (in)sanity to spice up my otherwise painfully dull days--I can't do without your weird family, boob stuffed cabbages and fucking fucks. I only subscribe to Salon, but to keep you around, I'd shell out to you, too.

I don't let a single day go by without checking this site. Last week was pure hell since the internet was "dooceless" while you were on vacation. I have told all of my family, friends and coworkers about this site (oh and about TiVo) and they all love it. Please don't go! I would be willing to pay a subscription fee to read this site. Life without dooce would be life without TiVo. UGH! Oh, and I would pay double to read the hate emails that you get. :)

Very stoked to see your hate and love mail.

Go for it! Make some fat stacks of dough. I vote too for the dooce schwag ala Cafe Express. I think "Maternal Inferno" mugs & undies would sell like gangbusters.

You should also consider contracting out your mad graphix design skillz. You make some really excellent mastheads and I think you should shop your work around. Unless of course Mr. Dooce is doing those. Then he should consider contracting out those skills. Very nice work either way.

Best of luck!

A yearly fee sounds good to me. I would HAPPILY pay for a subscription to your site....in fact, sometimes I feel kinda guilty that I'm getting such goodness for free. REALLY!

Have you thought about selling some of your photography? I know a lot of it is personal and obviously you probably do not want to sell photos of the family but I have seen it done before and I for one would pay $25 for those shots of Chuck with the noodles wrapped around his nose! You are an amazing photographer as well as an amazing writer and I think there is potential for some revenue there.

PayPal seems like the best way to do it. If it became a subcription only site, you'd lose a ton of people. You could go for voluntary contributions or you could make the general site free, but the extras a subscriber part. I would pay more to read the love/hate/indifferent email part. Also, if you need a side job, you might look at this one. My best friend made $1000 her first week. I'm a skeptic too - but I saw her paystubs and signed up.

Cool swag would bring in a few farthings, and might also serve as advertising to drive more potential readers/swag buyers to the site.
A "Daily Dose of Dooce" e-mail might be worth something to me; I could more discreetly read an e-mail at work than I can your snazzy, but obviously un-work-related, website. ;-) Perhaps combine it with a batch of aforementioned "extras" on the site to woo the niggardly?

Modest Subscription? Yes.
A t-shirt? Oh, yes.
Greeting cards? Oh very yes.
And, you've opened my eyes about how pregancy can really be. I do second (third, eightyth, whatever) the 'what to expect' pregnacy book.
I wish you the best on your endeavors!

I think selling advertising space on your main page would be pretty easy to do. I'm sure your site stats would impress any small-to-medium sized business! Enough dooce fans could be persuaded to 'please click on a link!' to make it worth their while.

i'd pay a "premium user" fee to hear about your cabbage boobs! this site brings huge chuckles to my days.

do an rss feed for premium members or something

I would offer a premium edition for around $20 a year to read all the hate/funny/idiotic emails you must get. I wouldnt look at it as a "subcription" but more as helping w/ diaper money.

i agree with louisegyrl (no. 3) in regards to the advertising. I would love to buy a space on your site for my little purse-making business.

I woudn't mind advertising on the site will all the "fucks" or "motherfuckers" or even the occasional "cunts".

Afterall- the name of our purse line is "Douche Bags"! how fucking appropriate.

Take a look at www.oddtodd.com. He is laid off and yet manages to have his site up an drunning as a blog of sorts. If you write him, perhaps he can tell you what kind of things he does, besides selling stuff.

not much time to read through the comments from other readers, so sorry if someone has already come up with this. but i know i'd be first in line to get mugs, notepads, mousemat etc with a dooce masthead thingy on it. someone at work showed me some stuff she had made at cafepress.com and it looked
very swish.

also with the hate mail, can't you put it up so we can throw rotten vegetables at 'em?

Sounds great! I'd subscribe for a premium service, I'd buy the book ... hell, I might even get the t-shirt (if it didn't feel like a lifestyle choice!)
A column sounds great, but alot of your readers are overseas, so you'd lose a huge chunk of them ... and we'd lose Dooce.

Cafepress stuff sounds cool too.

I'm not keen on publishing wishlists as it appears greedy, rather than business-y.

http://daringfireball.net/
has membership and members extras ... any models there to follow? Members only rss feeds?

long time reader, first time commentor ...

i luv it the way it is! you're my daily joy that i desperately missed while you were on vacation.

i'd totally pay to see your stuff (the blog that is - sick perverts)

Howdy - love the cafepress idea... but I think your future is in writing. I myself am a writer and got my first "real" check for it last week. I have contacts in the publishing industry and if you like I can 'introduce' you to my agent or editor. Because your writing kicks the pants off mine. Email me if interested.

I love your site and love the improvement ideas you have! Definitely keep it up and keep blogging woman! I love your writing style and your open honest entries! You have a fantastic, nutty imagination and I enjoy reading the site and seeing pics of you and your family!

Ooh, ooh, want to read the love/hate mail you get!! I am so curious about the people that criticize you so sharply! Like, just close the window and stop reading - but they can't and then they just HAVE to write you. It's fascinating!

I am not experienced in the money-making aspect of a website. But I think the idea of t-shirts or hats, and stuffed versions of Chuck and Leta are FANTASTIC ideas! In my world, I am broker than broke, so if you charged $ for the ability to even view the website, I would sadly have to stop reading because I have no nickels to rub together, not even two! So I hope that is not your decision, but I would totally understand whatever revenue-generating action you have to take to make this not a money-pit.

Hang in there and we love you!

We love all things dooce. Your redesign will be great I'm sure. I know you asked for ideas about redesign, but I would like to throw in my $.02 about profit. I think you should have a subscriber's fee. Salon charges $35 a year, so you could charge say $8 a year. I would pay it, and we are unemployed! You might lose a few readers, but not many.

Also I think people would buy your stuff @ Cafepress.

PS I thought that picture of Chuck with his nose wrapped with spaghetti was so cute it's now my desktop wallpaper

I would totally pay to read your stuff. My girl is a week younger than yours, and your writing has kept me sane. Please keep it coming!

Have to shut down the computer now. I'm in Orlando, and my first hurricane is a-coming.

I didn't read all of the comments, so forgive if this is redundant or repetitive, but I recently read an Associated Press story that listed you in the top 100 blogs on the planet. Your provider should be paying YOU to keep your business, as should Movable Type. If you wanted to spend the time being your own advertizing exec. you could find plenty of advertizers. Your design skills could offer a complete package in which you designed the ad and put it on your blog.

As the father of a five-month old, I wish we could can and market that baby smell. Then DJBlurb could retire.

Just wanted to say, I would completely and totally pay for your site. Also a dooce.com t-shirt. :)

I'm afraid I don't have the constitution to read ALL of your comments ...

So many enjoy your website, why not open up added features for subscribers? Let freebies see the site as it is now, and let annual subscribers see all the new stuff you want to add.

It would be worth as much to me as my WSJ.com subscription or my Salon.com premium membership.

As I was driving today listening to my wife's Nora Jones cd I was thinking about all you're going through and the stress and concern Jon must have. I wish I could help him out with his search, but outside of the Buffalo area my influence in the web world is nil.

So, if you decide to charge me $50 to read more dooce, I'll gladly pay.

Just don't tell the guys on my rugby team.

pardon me if someone else has mentioned this already but I haven't read the other 158 comments so far :) so here goes: how about as a subscription service? maybe through paypal or such . . . $5 a month or $30 for a year . . . something like that . . . and you could sign up for a free trial month (but make them fill out five minutes worth of stuff to keep the weaselly lurkers more at bay. I'd pay a subscr