We would like to share some news with our readers: The Viking Herald is now officially ad-free. In other words, we are now a 100%-reader supported publication.
The decision
As you may know, we recently ran a little campaign to ask for more Patreon subscribers, with the hope that the revenue from Patreon can cover our basic costs. This way, we can (more or less) afford to turn off adverts from the site.
We were hoping to hit the target sometime later this year. However, the response has been so positive that even though we haven’t quite hit the magic number yet, we have taken the decision to remove all adverts from the site.
What does this mean?
First, there may be one or two technical glitches (though we hope not) in the next few weeks as we remove the ad infrastructure from the website. If you notice anything different, please let us know.
Second, we hope this change will provide a better experience for all our readers. In our experience, ads are pretty cumbersome and can really get in the way of the reading experience. In general, relying on adverts can also encourage websites to pursue clicks (though we have always tried to offer in-depth and accurate stories, not sensationalism).
A reader-funded model means we can focus solely on providing you with what we hope is the most reliable authentic Viking news site on the internet. We will do our very best to ensure that is the case!
Third, instead of ads, you might have to put up with more annoying messages directly from us from time to time. We will probably hassle people about paid Patreon subscriptions a bit too much (please feel free to ignore).
We might also want to tell you about some other things in the Viking and history communities (but max once a month).
A leap into the unknown
Finally, in financial terms I think it is fair to say that we are taking quite a leap into the dark. With this decision, we are foregoing all existing and future advertising revenues in the hope it will be the best thing for the long-term future of The Viking Herald.
In the short term, this will make life slightly tricky. And it means we will rely on you, our readers, more than ever. This support might be financial. Money is naturally a huge help. Initially, because it is helping us cover costs so we can survive the change. Later, because it could potentially provide a bit more income for our writers, which in turn helps them dedicate more time to writing stories about the Viking Age.
But it doesn’t have to be about money. Just as valuable – perhaps even more so – is the knowledge that you are out there, reading our articles and sharing stories about the Viking world. A positive comment on a social media post or an appreciative email about something we wrote is truly worth a lot to us all.
This is the kind of stuff that helps keep us going when, for example, it’s past midnight and we are putting the finishing touches to a story about a new archaeological discovery, an obscure historical figure or an analysis of complex Norse myth. The idea that someone, somewhere in the world, will enjoy reading about it.
The Viking crowd
Of course, I will still end this article by asking for yet more Danegeld – this is the internet in 2026 after all! :)
If you have not yet signed up to Patreon but you are interested in supporting the future of The Viking Herald and independent media in general, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVikingHerald?vanity=user
We have added a 75% discount (on the first month) as a mini celebration of our move away from ads. You can access this from June 3-10.
But more than that, I would like to once again say a really big thank you once to our paid Patreon subscribers, our free Patreon subscribers, our newsletter subscribers and all our regular and even irregular readers around the world for being a part of this little Viking-obsessed community.
And if you have any questions or suggestions or criticisms, please do write to us (email is best, [email protected] or [email protected]).
Best wishes and skål!
Jonathan B and The Viking Herald Team
Feel free to reach out to discuss potential stories that may be in the public interest. You can reach us via email at [email protected] with the understanding that the information you provide might be used in our reporting and stories.
