You're right, it's just more gold. I thought it was exp as well, but I did some research. Still an important skill nonetheless.
@Arch: I really recommend reading this Ashe guide. As I mentioned before, most featured guides on Solomid are written by top ELO players, and usually have some pretty good explanations on skill order, item choices, rune/mastery setups, etc. I also support the idea of you branching out and trying other champions. Especially if you ever want to do ranked... you won't always get to pick Ashe.