After this post a couple days ago I’ve thought about it and decided that I really should monetize my blog to its fullest; at that moment, there was only the six 125 x 125 ads, the one 468 x 60 ads and the links in the footer. The links in the footer, as well as the 468 x 60 I’ll be using for myself, so at the moment there are only six possible ad spots available for advertisers and paid reviews - a bit pitiful really.

I’ve recently added Scratchback to the sidebar, and my goal is to have it making $2 a day - it may not seem like much, but that’s more than the ad spots go for and Scratchback is lower down the page. Scratchback offers an affordable solution for advertising for those of you that don’t want to fork out for a full month - even if you get a solitary click it’s only costing you $1.00, far less than you would pay in Adwords for a ‘Make Money Online’ keyword. There is the chance you’ll get far, far more than that, especially when the service is new and people want to try it out :razz:

I do not want to irritate the hell out of my readers, as well… you guys are pretty cool, so I’m asking which of the below you guys wouldn’t mind most. Just leave me a comment and let me know what you think - also let me know if you’d be interested in purchasing one of those advertising slots. :)

Anyways, here’s a few of the options I’m considering:

Away From Post Advertising

Peel Away Ad

The Peel Away Ad is making more and more waves in the blogosphere; there is a spot available for it on TUK, and it presents advertisers with a large place where they will be the sole advertiser (at least for the beginning) and it will definitely generate curiousity for visitors - you see something flashing at the side of the page, you’re at least going to hover over it to see what it is, and when you do it depends how good the graphic of the advertiser looks to make you click through to their website.

Pros: depending on advertiser, looks good. Visitors will not have to hover if they don’t feel like it.

Cons: not many advertisers are purchasing - just look at the amount of blogs that have the standard Adtoll one up.

For an example of what they look like, check out Tyler Cruz’s blog. :)

What I would price it at, at least for the first month: $50.00 a month

Stripe Ad

The stripe ad is another thing that’s come about in recent weeks - it’s a thin stripe that contains a line of text that either stays at the top of the page or moves down depending on your choice. Advertisers do not need to provide an image as it is text only, and the bar can be removed by visitors through the X on the right should they choose.

Pros: Simple text link, easy for advertisers to supply.

Cons: Readers may get annoyed, as it’s like a popup, no matter how small. May not fit in with theme colours

For an example of what they look like, check out Winning The Web.

What I would price it at, at least for the first month: $10.00 a month, 5 in rotation

The above two cannot coexist, as there is a clash (if the peelaway is employed, you cannot close the Stripe Ad/makes it hard to hover.

234 x 60 box

This would go above the search box on the right; maybe slightly wider than mentioned above. An uncommon format, but in a prime advertising location - above the fold and higher than the current 468 x 60.

Pros: Decent location.

Cons: Uncommon format, few advertisers that would be willing to get something made.

What I would price it at, at least for the first month: $30.00 a month. Or $17.00 a month, two in rotation.

In Post Advertising

300 x 250 Ad box

This is a standard banner, but one that will appear in every post; as it’s a common banner size advertisers should have one ready/not find making one too difficult. This will appear in the RSS feed, unlike the above two options.

Pros: Appears in RSS feed, excellent for advertisers looking to reach a large base of targeted subscribers.

Cons: Readers could get p!ssed off at seeing the same ad over and over and over again, especially as I update 30 times a month :)

For an example of what they look like, check out John Cow.

What I would price it at, at least for the first month: $60.00 a month. Or $25 a month with three in rotation.

468 x 60 Ad box in post

This would go at the bottom of posts; again, viewable in the RSS feed. A common banner size so advertisers should not have a difficulty getting one made :)

Pros: appears in RSS feed, right above comments section.

Cons: See readers getting irritated above, way below the fold.

For an example of what it’d look like, check out Slyvisions, although his is not shown on the front page and only in posts.

What I would price it at, at least for the first month: $30.00 a month.

Other things that could be used:

Increase the price of paid reviews.

At the moment, they’re well affordable - cheaper than my standard rate for writing in fact. How well that would go amongst potential advertisers is uncertain, as paid reviews are a rarity on here anyways. :)

Start a weekly combined paid reviews post.

Have a weekly post where four advertisers chip in $15.00 each and a 100 - 200 word review is given to each of them in a single combined post; first come first serve. Generates some feedback and traffic (as well as exposure) without having to pay for a full review, however space is shared with three other advertisers.

Implement something like Text Link Ads

Have a paid blogroll of sorts through an advertising program like TLA. This should get some revenue, due to the blog being PR3 but runs the risk of a Google slap and irrelevant links.

What do you think? If you’d be interested in purchasing one of those, let me know too :)

Contest

This is going along pretty well… at the moment I have:

- More than 15,000 Entrecard credits

- More than $2,000 donated in sponsored prizes.

- More than 20 advertising slots, some on decent profile blogs.

- Six premium Wordpress themes

- Much, much more…

The prizes are pretty interesting, including some that are very unique, to say the list. With more than 50 advertisers, that means fifty or so reviews that I’ve got to write - ah well eh. I’m going to pull the plug on accepting advertising prizes soon, so if you want to contribute let me know now - this will produce a decent amount of links to your blog/site as well as exposure. :)

You will need to subscribe to the feed for the contest, so why not get a head start and do so now through an RSS reader or via email. ;)

I ended last month on a high note with regards to post quality I think - I’ll be bringing you just as much quality and talk about how to make money online / blog properly in March, 2008 :)

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