Comments on: Advertising: Is there money in it for us? If so, where? http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/ Andrew looks at Blogging and Blog Life Fri, 16 May 2008 19:58:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: AndrewBoyd http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1470 AndrewBoyd Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:32:39 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1470 Hi Guera, thank you for your comment. I think that there are a few of us who feel the same way. I'm pretty sure that if enough people get annoyed about this then a solution will present itself - there is a market opportunity going begging :) Best regards, Andrew Hi Guera,

thank you for your comment.

I think that there are a few of us who feel the same way. I’m pretty sure that if enough people get annoyed about this then a solution will present itself - there is a market opportunity going begging :)
Best regards, Andrew

]]> By: Guera http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1469 Guera Fri, 18 Jan 2008 05:17:11 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1469 I agree that Adsense is a good way for people to get a start with a small blog, but the payment threshold means that it can be a long time before you actually see any money. I would ideally like to only have ads that I specifically choose for my site, but I imagine it would take a while to get to a point where I can organise ads directly. Everything is stacked in favour of the advertiser with small publishers having to jump through a lot of hoops to actually see any money in their pockets. As Lani said, why are we all prepared to offer our real estate for free? Ok, some real estate is worth more than others but there are pricing scales for that. I´m sure I´ve seen this written elsewhere (probably on the AB forum) - Every impression from Adsense or whoever is exposure for the advertiser, just like in a newspaper or magazine or on TV. Those media outlets are not required to prove sales in order to get paid. I am in the experimenting phase, but I have to say I don´t feel confident of making any real money from it, the odds are against me! I agree that Adsense is a good way for people to get a start with a small blog, but the payment threshold means that it can be a long time before you actually see any money. I would ideally like to only have ads that I specifically choose for my site, but I imagine it would take a while to get to a point where I can organise ads directly. Everything is stacked in favour of the advertiser with small publishers having to jump through a lot of hoops to actually see any money in their pockets. As Lani said, why are we all prepared to offer our real estate for free? Ok, some real estate is worth more than others but there are pricing scales for that. I´m sure I´ve seen this written elsewhere (probably on the AB forum) - Every impression from Adsense or whoever is exposure for the advertiser, just like in a newspaper or magazine or on TV. Those media outlets are not required to prove sales in order to get paid.

I am in the experimenting phase, but I have to say I don´t feel confident of making any real money from it, the odds are against me!

]]> By: AndrewBoyd http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1466 AndrewBoyd Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:15:52 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1466 Hi Lani, sorry it has taken me a few hours to get back to your comment :) I, like you, hate feeling like a chump. I too have this scary thought that I need to believe in the ads that I run - that they not only have to be inoffensive, but actually add something of real value to the site and to the reader. Best regards, Andrew Hi Lani,

sorry it has taken me a few hours to get back to your comment :)
I, like you, hate feeling like a chump.

I too have this scary thought that I need to believe in the ads that I run - that they not only have to be inoffensive, but actually add something of real value to the site and to the reader.

Best regards, Andrew

]]> By: AndrewBoyd http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1465 AndrewBoyd Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:12:48 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1465 Hi Stephen, thank you for your comment. I will respond to your email as soon as time allows - which may not be for a little while, sadly. I think that "fodder" is too strong a term. I become cynical at a multi-billion dollar corporation wanting to increase its market share. I agree that, in the longer term, satisfying readers is more important than a dollar here or there. Best regards, Andrew Hi Stephen,

thank you for your comment. I will respond to your email as soon as time allows - which may not be for a little while, sadly.

I think that “fodder” is too strong a term. I become cynical at a multi-billion dollar corporation wanting to increase its market share.

I agree that, in the longer term, satisfying readers is more important than a dollar here or there.

Best regards, Andrew

]]> By: Lani Giesen http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1464 Lani Giesen Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:10:32 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1464 I agree that it is some ways a leveller, not just for site owners but also for smaller advertisers but it is very strongly weighted in the advertisers favour. I should mention that monetisation is something I'm only beginning to look at and testing different services is definitely what I will be doing. In the end though, I think that if my monetisation is to be successful, I have to run my "business" the way I expect others to and create a space which is of value to the kinds of advertisers I would like on my site. Which essentially means creating a space which is of value to my readers. But I'm an idealist. :) I agree that it is some ways a leveller, not just for site owners but also for smaller advertisers but it is very strongly weighted in the advertisers favour.

I should mention that monetisation is something I’m only beginning to look at and testing different services is definitely what I will be doing. In the end though, I think that if my monetisation is to be successful, I have to run my “business” the way I expect others to and create a space which is of value to the kinds of advertisers I would like on my site. Which essentially means creating a space which is of value to my readers.

But I’m an idealist. :)

]]> By: @Stephen | Productivity in Context http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1463 @Stephen | Productivity in Context Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:54:34 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1463 I wouldn't say that we are fodder for the Google machine, per se, because until Adsense there was no alternative for the low-traffic blogger. It does seem to be a leveler, in a sense, in that anyone can get an account. If not for Google, there would be no way for a newbie to get any sort of chance at ad revenue. Now, of course, there are lots of ad widgets around, some better than others. The only thing that you can do is try them, see what works and what doesn't. See what your readers like and don't like. Real-life example: I tried Widgetbucks, but the badge and the widget were too animated. I received 7 emails from readers complaining about it. Now, that is about 1% of my subscribers, but I honestly care more about my readers than the ads. Besides, I make more money from selling the calendars that I have designed than from all of the ads put together. I wouldn’t say that we are fodder for the Google machine, per se, because until Adsense there was no alternative for the low-traffic blogger. It does seem to be a leveler, in a sense, in that anyone can get an account. If not for Google, there would be no way for a newbie to get any sort of chance at ad revenue.

Now, of course, there are lots of ad widgets around, some better than others. The only thing that you can do is try them, see what works and what doesn’t. See what your readers like and don’t like.

Real-life example: I tried Widgetbucks, but the badge and the widget were too animated. I received 7 emails from readers complaining about it. Now, that is about 1% of my subscribers, but I honestly care more about my readers than the ads. Besides, I make more money from selling the calendars that I have designed than from all of the ads put together.

]]> By: AndrewBoyd http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1462 AndrewBoyd Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:34:41 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1462 Hi Lani, thank you for your comment. I've looked at Stephen's site at <a href="http://hdbizblog.com/blog" rel="nofollow">Productivity in Context</a> and am thinking about how I can do some of the same things. Reading your comment, I think it is fair to say that we are basically fodder for the Google machine, generating content for them almost for free. You are right to be bolshie about it, we do look like chumps. A reasonable CPM rate through direct sales seems to be the fairest option, but like Stephen I will investigate options. Best regards, Andrew Hi Lani,

thank you for your comment. I’ve looked at Stephen’s site at Productivity in Context and am thinking about how I can do some of the same things.

Reading your comment, I think it is fair to say that we are basically fodder for the Google machine, generating content for them almost for free. You are right to be bolshie about it, we do look like chumps. A reasonable CPM rate through direct sales seems to be the fairest option, but like Stephen I will investigate options.

Best regards, Andrew

]]> By: Lani Giesen http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1461 Lani Giesen Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:29:30 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1461 CPC and CPA advertising is a very sweet deal. But not for the overwhelming majority of site owners. A website is real estate. Someone wants to use that property to benefit their business? They pay for the space. There is no onus on the property owner to ensure they profit from it. That is entirely dependant on the business running their business well. We wouldn't let someone park their lemonade stands on our front lawns, and the lawns of everyone on the street, and everyone on the block, and everyone in the the suburb for free. Why not? Because it devalues our real estate. I'm not opposed to this type of advertising but I do object to the grotesquely inequitable benefits and investing my time and space in a business that does not recompense me fairly. If businesses cannot target their own markets when they set their advertising budget, why should I do it for them? Just throwing something out there and hoping it will stick with a tiny percentage of people is a pretty poor marketing strategy. Unless, of course, there a millions of us working for them for free. Am I just being bolshie, or does this state of affairs make us all look like chumps? CPC and CPA advertising is a very sweet deal. But not for the overwhelming majority of site owners.

A website is real estate. Someone wants to use that property to benefit their business? They pay for the space. There is no onus on the property owner to ensure they profit from it. That is entirely dependant on the business running their business well.

We wouldn’t let someone park their lemonade stands on our front lawns, and the lawns of everyone on the street, and everyone on the block, and everyone in the the suburb for free. Why not? Because it devalues our real estate.

I’m not opposed to this type of advertising but I do object to the grotesquely inequitable benefits and investing my time and space in a business that does not recompense me fairly. If businesses cannot target their own markets when they set their advertising budget, why should I do it for them?

Just throwing something out there and hoping it will stick with a tiny percentage of people is a pretty poor marketing strategy. Unless, of course, there a millions of us working for them for free.

Am I just being bolshie, or does this state of affairs make us all look like chumps?

]]> By: AndrewBoyd http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1459 AndrewBoyd Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:09:12 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1459 Hi Stephen, thank you for your comment. Feedburner's ad program sounds like a good one - I just subscribed to your blog to look at it specifically, and the ads are subtle - they don't get in the way of reading your articles in Google reader, which was what has made me hesitate in the past. Your sidebar ad setup is good and worth emulating - lots of niche-specific affiliate ads there. From my amateur perspective it looks like you have things under control there :) Thanks once again for sharing what has worked for you. Best regards, Andrew Hi Stephen,

thank you for your comment.

Feedburner’s ad program sounds like a good one - I just subscribed to your blog to look at it specifically, and the ads are subtle - they don’t get in the way of reading your articles in Google reader, which was what has made me hesitate in the past.

Your sidebar ad setup is good and worth emulating - lots of niche-specific affiliate ads there.

From my amateur perspective it looks like you have things under control there :)
Thanks once again for sharing what has worked for you.

Best regards, Andrew

]]> By: @Stephen | Productivity in Context http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1458 @Stephen | Productivity in Context Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:00:35 +0000 http://facibus.com/onblogging/2008/01/16/advertising-is-there-money-in-it-for-us-if-so-where/#comment-1458 My biggest ad revenues come from Feedburner. As my subscriber count has risen to over 500, the revenues have gone up 100-200%. It's still small potatoes compared to Leo's 30,000 subscribers, but it's not nothin'. I have adsense too, fairly inconspicuously, and if my readership gets to where I am shooting for, it may turn into something. The best are the sidebar ads, where I have been exchanging services and products for ad space. I have a scratch/back widget, but no one has given it a shot. I am working on finding the right mix of products for my readership, and I'm not there yet. My biggest ad revenues come from Feedburner. As my subscriber count has risen to over 500, the revenues have gone up 100-200%. It’s still small potatoes compared to Leo’s 30,000 subscribers, but it’s not nothin’.

I have adsense too, fairly inconspicuously, and if my readership gets to where I am shooting for, it may turn into something.

The best are the sidebar ads, where I have been exchanging services and products for ad space. I have a scratch/back widget, but no one has given it a shot.

I am working on finding the right mix of products for my readership, and I’m not there yet.

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