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Original: Simon Willison · 19/02/2026

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Summary

I’ve long been resistant to the idea of accepting sponsorship for my blog. I’ve long been resistant to the idea of accepting sponsorship for my blog. I value my credibility as an independent voice, and I don’t want to risk compromising that reputation.

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Key Insights

“I’ve long been resistant to the idea of accepting sponsorship for my blog.” — Simon discusses his initial resistance to blog sponsorship.
“I will not write content in exchange for sponsorship.” — He emphasizes maintaining editorial independence despite sponsorship.
“Accepting sponsorship in this way helps me maintain my independence while offsetting the opportunity cost of not taking a full-time job.” — Simon explains how sponsorship can support his work without compromising his values.

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Topics

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Full Article

# Experimenting with sponsorship for my blog and newsletter
Author: Simon Willison
Published: 2026-02-19
Source: https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/19/sponsorship/#atom-everything
I’ve long been resistant to the idea of accepting sponsorship for my blog. I value my credibility as an independent voice, and I don’t want to risk compromising that reputation. Then I learned about Troy Hunt’s approach to sponsorship, which he first wrote about in 2016. Troy runs with a simple text row in the page banner - no JavaScript, no cookies, unobtrusive while providing value to the sponsor. I can live with that! Accepting sponsorship in this way helps me maintain my independence while offsetting the opportunity cost of not taking a full-time job. To start with I’m selling sponsorship by the week. Sponsors get that unobtrusive banner across my blog and also their sponsored message at the top of my newsletter. Screenshot of my blog's homepage. Below the Simon Willison's Weblog heading and list of tags is a new blue page-wide banner reading I will not write content in exchange for sponsorship. I hope the sponsors I work with understand that my credibility as an independent voice is a key reason I have an audience, and compromising that trust would be bad for everyone. 
[Freeman & Forrest](https://www.freemanandforrest.com/) helped me set up and sell my first slots. Thanks also to [Theo Browne](https://t3.gg/) for helping me think through my approach.

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Key Takeaways

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Notable Quotes

I’ve long been resistant to the idea of accepting sponsorship for my blog.
Context: Simon discusses his initial resistance to blog sponsorship.
I will not write content in exchange for sponsorship.
Context: He emphasizes maintaining editorial independence despite sponsorship.
Accepting sponsorship in this way helps me maintain my independence while offsetting the opportunity cost of not taking a full-time job.
Context: Simon explains how sponsorship can support his work without compromising his values.
  • [[topics/blogging]]
  • [[topics/sponsorship]]
  • [[topics/independent-publishing]]

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Originally published at https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/19/sponsorship/#atom-everything.