How to find advertisers for your blog
One of the most secure and reliable source of income from your blog is the one that comes from your direct advertisers. And not the one that comes from AdSense, or TLA, or ReviewMe, or any other publisher program for that matter. Why?
Because, firstly, you never know when those programs will stop making money. For example, AdSense used to be a huge money maker before, now it’s a dying breed. Or you might have been making good money with Text-Link-Ads, ReviewMe and PayPerPost before, but no longer after the Google PR penalty.
Secondly, they usually take a huge chunk of your income. Most of the time 50% of your income is gone to them (if not more).
Thirdly, they clutter your blog. And if you do not integrate properly, they might make your blog look unprofessional. As a result, it will be difficult for you to get new readers for your blog. Because new readers are very very difficult to convince, and tons of ads won’t do any help.
So, making a living with publisher programs is a risky business. If you rely on them 100% at the moment, you should really start to diversify. Try to, slowly shift from publisher programs to your own advertisements. Because that’s the only secure and sustainable way to make money in the long run. It’s a difficult task to find advertisers for your blog, but it’s not an impossible task.
Provided that:
- your blog content is of good quality
- that your blog gets considerable daily traffic - at least 200 unique visitors
- not to mention it looks professional (it’s not difficult to customize free themes, so there is no excuse for having a bad design.)
Keep record of your previous advertisers
When you introduce a new advertising option on your blog (eg. 125×125 buttons), it’s always a good idea to start with your current and former advertisers first. Why go look for new advertisers when you already have the list of potential advertisers for your new ad option?
These people had already advertised on your site, that means, they had already gone through the decision making process, and they chose to advertise on your blog (among many other blogs). So, it’s a lot easier to get them advertise again, rather than getting new advertisers.
Give irresistible offers
When you contact your former advertisers, give them an irresistible offer! Offer that is simply difficult to say “no” to. It can be a free trial or a discounted rate which is far below the normal price.
While free trial will get your ad spots filled in no time, they also have the least conversion rates compared to paid ads. Because, with free stuff there is no commitment, so people take them for granted. Also, anybody would agree for a free advertisement, and that makes it difficult to know if the person is really interested or just taking a free ride.
In contrast, only the interested advertisers would pay. Normally people who pay for it (even if small amount), would follow their ad through (i.e will track the ad performance, click-through rates, sales conversion..etc). And this interest and effort of the advertiser will play a major role when deciding whether to continue advertising on your blog after the first month.
Contact advertisers on other blogs
Advertisers on other blogs that are in similar category as your blog are your potential advertisers too. If they are advertising on your competitors’ blogs, then it’s probable that they would want to advertise on your blog as well.
So, click on those ads and get to know their website. Once you know what they do and who to contact, send them an email. Again, your email should contain a great offer that they cannot resist. Also it’s important to include a link to your stats or provide a brief summary of your blog’s stats. Because these are new advertisers, who probably do not know about your blog.
Be flexible
When dealing with advertisers, be flexible. If they ask for a further discount, give them. If they want to advertise for longer period (3 months or more), give them more discount. If their ad is expiring today and they didn’t contact you, or worse yet they didn’t answer your emails, be patient and give them extra 24-48 hours. Little things like these can go a long way, so pay attention to them. These small details can turn one-time advertiser into a long-term sponsor. Being rigid and strict will only chase your sponsors away.
Tell your readers
Make announcement on your blog about the new advertisement option that you are introducing. Because your blog readers are your potential advertisers too. In fact, they have many advantages than other people who do not read your blog. For example, they know about you and your blog (its niche, traffic, readership..etc). And that alone makes a huge difference. Because to your readers, you don’t have to explain all about your blog and the daily traffic it gets. For them, you just have to make a good offer, that’s all.
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P.S How do you get advertisers to your blog?
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By xBrain on Dec 10, 2007
Like me Ades, always get the direct advertiser from the forum.
I sell text link ads, leaderboard ads and also blog review.
In a week, I can get review order 2 or 3 -> maybe because the price a bit low $25
Other than that, one good tactics to get advertiser is by searching in PPP, Sponsored Review, Review me for advertiser.
Go to the sites or blog then get the contact email..
Do not be shy, email them. 2 out of 10 will reply back.. :)
By jason Sc on Dec 10, 2007
good post - I always look at my competition for ideas
By James Mann on Dec 10, 2007
Over the past month or so I have been removing ads from my blogs, the ones that tend to clutter up my pages with links that only make me pennies.
In their place I have added WP Affiliate Pro plugin to my blogs and now I can add my own affiliate links to my pages without confusing my readers with way too many links.
I have found that my blogs are a lot cleaner looking and my income has increased instead of decreased.
By Ades on Dec 10, 2007
- xBrain, thanks! Those are helpful tips (especially the ppp part). Thanks for sharing with us.
- James, I am glad that de-cluttering is working for you. I personally think you are on the right track.
By Affiliate Confession on Dec 11, 2007
Thanks for the info on advertisers. I just started my blog and am already build readership but don’t want to subject them to Google. I’ve been wondering about private advertising and this helped.
By Affiliate Confession on Dec 11, 2007
It’s interesting to note that NONE of the major bloggers use Google Adsense any longer. Maybe it is a dying breed.
By s c tan on Dec 11, 2007
great blog!
By Ades on Dec 11, 2007
Affiliate Confession, that’s a right observation. Nowadays, major blogs are not using AdSense anymore, it’s also getting to mean that… Google AdSense = Amateur blogger.
By beginner blog tips on Dec 12, 2007
Ades: you’re right. Securing direct advertisers should be the ultimate goal bloggers set for themselves, not getting advertisers from 3rd parties.
Apart from doing everything you’ve listed there, I also offer to adapt banner sizes for clients who sometimes don’t have the right size banners. It can be quite a bit of work but it’s not often, so it’s ok.
I’d rather do that than turn away an advertiser because I don’t have the right space for the banner.
Thanks for the tips.
mbm
By Ades on Dec 13, 2007
bbt, you are right, one should be flexible enough to accommodate different banner size.
By Jayson on Feb 16, 2008
We’ve been looking into doing different things to monetize our blog. Thanks for all these tips. I have been hearing that adsense isn’t as profitable as it’s been…I’ll probably check out some other blogs to see what they’re doing.