Selling blog advertising space the right way - Part 1

Since the weather is so nice out there today and I just got a new keyboard, I thought about writing some postings about blog advertising.

Before I even get started, some things you should know and always keep in mind:

1. If you are trying to monetize a personal blog, don’t expect a lot revenues unless your name is known all over the world.
2. Don’t try to monetize your blog while stuck at 100 visitors a month unless you are looking to sell your adspace for $2 a month.
3. Advertisers expect exposure, think about where the ads would fit best. They should get exposure, but don’t forget about your readers.

Of course there are some exceptions or additional informations you need to know about these points.

1. You’ll be able to do some money with your personal blog. You’ll just need more traffic to hit the same revenue compared to the amount of traffic needed on lets say a credit-related blog.
2. The main exception to the second point is about the amount of traffic you get. If you have a blog with a little traffic in a niche that has some high-paying advertisers, you could bank in pretty fast and nicely.
   Just take my personal blog as an example. On my personal blog, I get around 55k visitors a month. I do also own some niche blogs, most of them not even hitting more than 1k visitors a month. But yet they manage to earn more money than my personal blog. Keep in mind: It’s not about the traffic. It’s all about your niche.
3. But seriously, there’s no exception regarding the third and last point. Most sane people wouldn’t advertise on a blog if it doesn’t bring in any exposure or visitors.
   On the one side, the advertiser wants exposure, on the other side, your readers shouldn’t feel unconfortable with the advertising. You have to find a balance.
   I can tell you that most regular visitors would’nt love to see your blog covered with layer ads and spitting out a whole bunch of pop-ups. Keep it simple. For blogs, max. 3 125×125 advertising blocks should do the job pretty well.

Well, I guess these are the most common errors and misthoughts I see every day on blogs that are out there. This is not the last post regarding this subject. You’ll get to read 3-4 posts about this in the near future. Make sure to stay updated and chill, it’s summertime.