Monster Articles is a free publication. We make a modest amount of money to cover hosting and tools through two sources: advertising and affiliate links. This page explains both honestly. Transparency is the point of this whole project, and it would be strange to hide how the site pays for itself.
Google AdSense Advertising
This site displays advertisements through Google AdSense. These ads are served by Google based on a combination of factors — the content of the page, your browsing history (if you've consented to personalized advertising), and general interest categories. We do not control which specific ads appear, and we do not endorse any product or service advertised.
When you click an ad, Google pays us a small amount. This is how a significant portion of free content on the internet is funded, including this site. We appreciate every click, but we never encourage readers to click ads for any reason other than genuine interest.
You can learn more about how Google uses advertising data and how to opt out of personalized advertising at Google Ads Settings.
Amazon Associates Program
Monster Articles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
What this means in practice: in the "Further Reading from the Library" section at the bottom of each monster article, we recommend books and related items that pair with the entry. These links may be Amazon affiliate links. When you click one and purchase something on Amazon — whether it's the item we linked or anything else during that shopping session — Amazon pays us a small commission, typically 1–4% of the purchase price.
Three things to know about how we use affiliate links:
- They don't change your price. Whether you click through our link or type "amazon.com" directly into your browser, the price you pay is the same.
- They don't influence our recommendations. We recommend books, tools, and items that genuinely fit the monster being discussed. We do not recommend products based on commission rate, relationships with sellers, or paid placement. Any item we recommend is something we think is worth your attention.
- You can ignore them entirely and we won't know. The site makes money from affiliate links only when readers click them. If you'd rather not support the site this way, don't click — we'll still publish the next monster on Friday.
Sponsored Content
We do not currently accept sponsored content of any kind. If this changes in the future, any sponsored or paid editorial content will be clearly labeled as such and disclosed at the top of the relevant article. We will not retroactively edit existing content to add sponsorships.
Editorial Independence
The commercial arrangements described above do not influence editorial decisions. Specifically:
- We do not invent monsters, plotlines, or details to promote specific products
- We do not accept payment from publishers, authors, or retailers in exchange for recommendations
- We do not remove, edit, or soften articles at the request of advertisers or commercial partners
- We do not let Amazon, Google, or any other commercial relationship dictate what we write about or how we write about it
If we ever fail this standard — if a reader points out that we have been influenced by a commercial consideration in a way that compromises honesty — the failure will be documented on the relevant page, as with everything else on this site.
Why We Tell You All This
Monster Articles is a site whose central promise is transparency. Every entry discloses how it was made. Every field note lays out what the AI got wrong and what the curator cut. Hiding the commercial structure of the site would violate that promise — and also, honestly, would be illegal under Federal Trade Commission disclosure rules.
So: the ads are real, the affiliate links are real, and now you know. Thank you for being the kind of reader who cares enough to read a disclosure page.
Questions
If any of this is unclear, or if you spot what looks like an undisclosed commercial relationship, please write to us at hello@monsterarticles.info. We take these things seriously.