Handling your own advertising or joining a large advertising network each has its pros and cons. Some large networks may not give you the time of day if you don’t have enough traffic to begin with. Here are some ways to sell advertising; you can mix and match methods to come up with your own solution.
If you prefer the hands-on approach, then you’ll probably want to sell your advertising spots directly to advertisers. Using one of the following programs will alleviate some of the stress that comes with selling directly:
Sell Ad Space Directly
If you prefer the hands-on approach, then you’ll probably want to sell your advertising spots directly to advertisers. Using one of the following programs will alleviate some of the stress that comes with selling directly:
Sell Ad Space Directly
- OpenX: OpenX is an open-source advertising server that is licensed under the GNU General Public License.
- OIO Publisher: A WordPress and standalone ad manager.
- Easy Ad-Manager: A standalone ad manger.
Remember, handling your own ad sales will net you the biggest slice of the profit, but it also requires the most work.
- Limit your offering.
No advertiser wants to see 10 different “Advertise Here” boxes on your website. Start small by offering one advertising slot, and then increase as you sell them. - Get the word out.
Use social network websites such as Twitter to spread the news that you have advertising spots available. You don’t want to spam your network, but an occasional reminder won’t hurt. - Partner with websites with similar interests.
If your traffic is too low to attract the kind of advertisers you’re interested in, why not partner with other websites that share your interest? Start your own mini-network, and then offer advertisers the opportunity to pay one price to advertise on multiple websites. - Start a promotion.
In the beginning, you may have to give away ad spots for nothing or next to nothing. So, offer a promotion to get advertisers in the door. If you’ve done your research and you deliver high-quality traffic, those advertisers will be much more willing to pay when the promotion runs out. Remember to track outbound traffic on these links because it contains valuable information that you can use when you contact your next advertiser.
SELLING THROUGH AD NETWORKS
Ad networks can put you in touch with many more advertisers, but they also take a chunk of your bottom line. Often this chunk will be negligible, considering the network will allow you to sell more ad space. Here are a few good networks to try:
Create your own auctions to sell your advertising space. Web page real estate, physical signs, video, audio, moving objects, and more.
Unless you live in a cave, you’ve probably already heard of BuySellAds.com. Though a relative newcomer to the advertising scene, BuySellAds.com has achieved great market penetration. One caveat is that it focuses on websites for designers and developers. So, if your website falls beyond this category, you may want to try elsewhere.
Project Wonderful is a great place to start your advertising campaign because its prerequisite to join is relatively low. The idea behind the website is to allow potential advertisers to bid on your ad spots. The more that advertisers want what you offer, the higher your daily advertising rate. While Project Wonderful promises to bring advertisers to you, you may find yourself sitting in the $0 per day budget range as you build traffic or until an advertiser decides to take a chance on you.
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