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Blog Advertisement Checklist – When and Where to Promote

By on August 6, 2012

Many new website builders fail to make money from their websites because they do not know where and when to promote their affiliate links and banners. I have talked about sidebar etiquette previously, however this time I’m creating a blog advertisement checklist, so you do not overdo, or under do your advertising efforts.

As new bloggers you are told to build a website or blog, add great quality content to it, add some advertising and BANG, you will make money! This is almost never the case as every way you try to make money online definitely requires skill and experience also helps.  The more monetizations methods that you succeed with, the more money you can make.

In this article, my advertisement checklist includes paid banner ads, affiliate banners and links, and even Adsense and Amazon. Lets face it, you can apply this to what ever methods you choose to use.

Stick With Your Morals

It is really hard to stick with your morals when a big company comes and offers you a decent amount of money to place a banner in the best position on your website. This can be very tempting to someone who has worked hard and is waiting for some rewards from their website.

This will happen to most Webmasters, as others see opportunities and will want to place advertising on their sites.

I have a few tips that will help you decide if that advertising is right for you:

  • Have you thoroughly tried the product?
  • Would you happily buy that product yourself?
  • Does this product fit into your niche?
  • Could you make more money by selling something else in this position?
  • Does the product sales page it here to your morals?

Keep the Balance

To monetize a website, it needs to to done with complete balance. If your website is going to be overrun by advertising, then this will turn many website visitors away. Some Webmasters go overboard with banner advertising and affiliate links, when this is not necessarily bringing in more sales. Unfortunately Webmasters make the excuse that they have put a lot of work into their website and need to make money. I totally agree with this but I do not agree with upsetting the balance of your website.

A website with too much advertising can also attract less advertising inquiries, as it already seems like there is competition for the clicks on the website.

Subtle Links versus Dirty Great Big Banners

Banners still have their place in the website and moneymaking world but I prefer to add subtle affiliate links into my fantastic content.

Of course I do have banners on my websites, but most of the sales come from tiny little affiliate links, that are extremely hard to pick. I use the banners for decoration.

Another way I use banners is to have them there until a page is making sales from the affiliate links, then remove the banners to see if the sales increase. It is better to have less distractions and the main distraction you want is your best GOAL. I mention more about that below.

The biggest banner you can get is great in the real world, but on the internet your visitors are engaged in your content (hopefully) and this is why in content links work well. If you are just trying to get lucky by a visitor clicking a banner and not serving deeper goals then your blog is very shallow in monetization.

Which Type of Advertisement?

I’ve had companies offer me $1000 to put a banner on my website for a year. This sounds like great money at first, but when you divide this by 12 months, it is less than $100 a month. In this situation, sometimes the advertiser might know that his or her product will sell on your website. You should investigate their product and see if you can become an affiliate.

I have done this many times and have found that the initial offer from the advertiser is peanuts, compared to what you can make as an affiliate. For example, for each sale of their product you might get $30. If you can sell one or two of these a day, that is a far cry from $1000 a year to put a banner on your website.

Let’s look at 2 sales a week at $30 each. That equals $3120 instead of the thousand dollars offered.

Let’s now look at $30 a day. That’s 365 days in a year which equals $10,950 compared to the $1000 offered.

On my Tips4pc website it is not uncommon to find pages that will make sales like these. When you actually investigate Tips4pc you will see Adsense ads, which are on most pages, only until I find the perfect product for that exact page. Basically, Adsense is a wonderful income base until I fine tune the advertising.

If you are not in a position to sell enough to beat the advertisers offer, there is nothing wrong with starting out by accepting paid banner adverting. In fact in the end, when you do not really need money from your blog, accepting banner advertising can be a lazy way out. It can also pay big money, depending on how popular you and your website is.

Creating an Advertisement Page

If you have not found a product that you can sell, or even your own product, then the easiest way to attract advertising inquiries is to create an advertisement page. You can sell your website space easier if you let people know that it is available to rent.

On your advertisement page you should include details about your website:

  • Your website page rank and Alexa rank.
  • The amount of monthly traffic you receive.
  • Which kind of advertising you prefer.
  • The price of your advertising per month and the position.
  • Various price ranges and locations.

The more details that you can give on your advertising page, the less likely you will have people contacting new and wasting your time. They would already have seen your price, the locations of the ads available, and many other details before contacting you.

Just make sure you do not create an advertising page like mine as I no longer accept banner and text advertising. Why would I sell space on my site when it is so valuable to me.

You can stop accepting advertising when it no longer pays well compared to other ways or you can just raise the price of your space. Either way, it is all about using your space effectively to gain the most from your website.

Real Examples of Advertising That Have Made Money

You never see real examples of sales but I often share the gory details on this blog. I’m not really worried about people copying me, as my ideas are free to use and transform into your own.

These examples are just something that I do on a daily basis and I would love for you to see money roll in like I do.

I have written many tutorials about how to earn extra income by placing banners and affiliate links in the right place, but in these examples I am going to just point you to the post that made the money. That way you can figure out how I made the money from these articles.

Unfortunately I cannot share with you my absolute best money pages, as that would be giving away my keywords that are like gold to me. So in these cases you will have to work out your own ways to get targeted traffic.

A Simple Link to an Old Post

Recently I wrote an article about how George Brown from Google Sniper was giving away $5000 worth of products for free. I also linked to a previous review that I wrote about keys Google sniper product. Here are the results below. I made $177.00 from that article but two of the commissions are recurring. Not a bad start for an article that will stay on my blog for years.

advertising placement

Why did people buy this product?

Well they trust my opinion and I clearly stated that I trust George and his products. The other reason is that the products he gave away were very valuable and showed people that his stuff is worth buying. I wonder how many sales he got from giving away all of those products?

A Simple Affiliate Text Link

I have a computer tips website and we all know that there can be a lot of problems that can happen to a computer. So this leaves opportunity for my website to solve these problems.

Recently I published an article about a Windows XP boot problem. There is both Adsense and affiliate banners on this page, but a simple affiliate text link, is the winner in this case.

I cannot show you my sales from this link as the report is mixed with other URLs I do not wish to reveal.

Why did people buy from this text link?

They bought from this text link, because the banners looked too obvious, but are placed there for decoration. They also bought from this link because the product on the other side is the answer to their problems.

A Full Affiliate Website

Previously I wrote a detailed article about how I built a website from scratch, the usual way I do, using WordPress, then proceeded to earn $700 in the first month . It was a real life website case study I exposed to my readers and many people enjoyed the first hand look at how making money online can be achieved. This $700 was made from a mere 7 sales through mostly Hostgator. Imagine if I really tried hard and made 20 sales or more?

All I did is install one of Elegant themes fantastic WordPress themes, add related content with affiliate links and finally drove some traffic to that site. It just sounds so simple when you say it like that!

Obviously I can only show you small sales examples as I cannot give away my best selling products and pages to the public. I am sure these examples will help many people get an idea of how this all works. Just remember that these are small sales, but promoting this sales page or repeating the process is a good way to get even  more sales.

Make Your Advertising Make You Look Good

There is no doubt that if you do this advertising thing wrong on your website, it can easily make you look bad. People will think you are a newbie, non professional, who lacks knowledge and is desperate for sales. Ouch! If that offended you then maybe you are doing something wrong?

Anyway, to build a million dollar website, your advertising needs to be done right! Sell products that you really can stand behind because they are great, not because they have big commissions.

About Mitz

My name is Milica Pantic but everyone calls me Mitz. I am addicted to internet marketing and making money online. Who wouldn't want to live that life? I started out with one website as a hobby and now have over 20. Building websites and making money online is not that hard. You have to actually take action to make money...that is the biggest hurdle! :)

51 Comments

  1. wasim

    February 24, 2013 at 6:56 pm

    I make a little bit off of banner ads, but no where near as much as I have made from affiliate links. Affiliate income seems to be less steady for me though. The income I get from banner ads is pretty consistent even though it is low.
    wasim recently posted..Yes !! You can workout at home !!

    Reply

  2. Michael

    February 3, 2013 at 12:28 pm

    Today I’m having a hard time to get any advertisement that is same of what I have on my website. Going straight to the issue I still under Adsense partial review I heard that they are good in such ways that the tag their advertisement on things you have on your articles.
    Michael recently posted..Going Green By Recycling Electronic Waste

    Reply

  3. Jishnu

    January 17, 2013 at 5:55 am

    Great Info.Realy inspiring for starters.But i personaly feel first we should focus on building a great website and then think about monetizing it.

    Reply

  4. Prakash

    December 4, 2012 at 6:00 am

    Blog advertisement is a good option for making money from blog. Yes, creating a Killer advertise here page will help us.
    Thanks for sharing it.

    Reply

  5. Leny Turns

    October 23, 2012 at 11:22 am

    If your advertisement is not properly presented, your customer may not like it and would turn their back. SO it is necessary to make the advertisement simple yet presentable and will not eaten up by the design. Products show its offer. This is a helpful post!

    Reply

  6. Nina Corales

    September 25, 2012 at 2:00 pm

    I support your conviction on sticking with your morals. it is right to look for greener pasture but make sure still it is of good reputation, it has possibility of acceptance by the readers and to easily sell the write ups to most benefactors, the readers. I am looking forward to other information about the topic.
    Nina Corales recently posted..Subdivision

    Reply

  7. Elaine Salt

    September 14, 2012 at 4:51 am

    I agree that one should stick to their morals when placing or allowing ads in their blogs or websites. Endorse those products or companies that you have already tested and you personally recommend.

    Reply

  8. Remy Santos

    September 12, 2012 at 1:16 pm

    This are great resources on to efficiently use ads in your blogs for generating income without discouraging your readers from coming back to your page.
    Remy Santos recently posted..LIVESUN Temporary Lighting Applications Video

    Reply

  9. Mei Mayore

    September 8, 2012 at 4:00 am

    These are great tips on how to earn money from your blog without annoying your readers with advertisements in your page.

    Reply

  10. Nina Corales

    September 7, 2012 at 7:58 am

    Great post Mitz. It is through advertising, by which most blogger earn money. However, if advertisements are not properly presented in your blog, your readers might not comeback to you.

    Reply

  11. Dana Rock

    August 28, 2012 at 12:43 am

    Affiliate links are where all the real money is. I make a little bit off of banner ads, but no where near as much as I have made from affiliate links. Affiliate income seems to be less steady for me though. The income I get from banner ads is pretty consistent even though it is low.

    Reply

  12. shey

    August 24, 2012 at 2:54 am

    Good content really makes everyone find goldmine in blogging. that’s what I think, as a newbie like me and a reader as well quality matters most . Am I getting the point?
    shey recently posted..Putra FM 90.7 Malaysia Radio Online

    Reply

  13. Marvie

    August 22, 2012 at 2:51 pm

    Hi Mitz, …until now I have never ever tried affiliate links, I didn’t know that I can make much money with it. Since I started blogging I only earn tru Banner ads (adsense & direct ads) and intext ads (infolinks). Great post btw :)
    Marvie recently posted..How to Move a WordPress Site to a New Domain

    Reply

    • mitz

      August 23, 2012 at 3:47 am

      Affiliate links are the best, especially if you are selling a great product that people want anyway. :)

      Reply

  14. SEO Services

    August 22, 2012 at 9:41 am

    I also agree to your point that we should have minimum distraction on our website as distraction decrease chance of conversion which we want from our traffic and slowly it decrease nos of visitors who are coming on our website
    SEO Services recently posted..WEBSITE ANALYSIS BY EXTENSIVE SEO RESEARCH

    Reply

  15. david

    August 20, 2012 at 7:48 pm

    It’s not really the quantity of advertising that bothers me when visiting certain sites/ blogs but the way it’s displayed … pop ups, pop unders, scroll down banners and stuff that gets in my way when I actually try to read the content. Other then that I don’t really mind traditional banners and adsense.

    PS. Just remembered: I really and I mean REALLY hate infolinks:D

    Reply

    • Mitz

      August 20, 2012 at 9:07 pm

      I agree that I absolutely hate info links. These companies have contacted me to get me to use this method or sell it for them but I cannot! I hate it too much! That is the lowest form of advertising.

      Reply

  16. Mike Howg

    August 20, 2012 at 3:25 pm

    Nice article Mitz. I’m actually kind of surprised how well your full affiliate website did. You must have been able to drive a lot of traffic to that website for it make that much money for you so quickly.
    Mike Howg recently posted..Rent Referrals from NeoBux to Earn More Money

    Reply

    • Mitz

      August 20, 2012 at 9:10 pm

      Actually I did not drive a lot of traffic there..It was just the right traffic.. The site actually looks like it has no traffic at all but this does not matter in some cases.

      Reply

  17. Norbert

    August 20, 2012 at 12:09 pm

    Sorry..I meant buy through your links.

    By the way I left you a comment on comluv.com http://comluv.com/five-ways-to-build-passive-income-from-your-blog/ . Would appreciate your expert opinion
    Norbert recently posted..Improve Your SEO through Google Webmaster Tools

    Reply

  18. Norbert

    August 20, 2012 at 11:58 am

    Hello Mitz,

    I just bookmarked this page as I will be referring to it from time to time.
    I admire how you keep your blog simple and clean. It’s my guess that the reason you’re achieving so much success is because you focus on providing value rather than pushing through with your sales.
    Your content is intuitive besides being valuable and I would naturally smile while by through your links.
    Thanks for the great write up!
    Norbert recently posted..Improve Your SEO through Google Webmaster Tools

    Reply

    • mitz

      August 20, 2012 at 12:51 pm

      Thanks Norbet for dropping by. I am glad you find my content useful. I just love blogging and I love analysing the process. :)

      Reply

  19. Nick

    August 19, 2012 at 5:55 am

    I truly believe that before anyone wants to monetize their websites, they should have a considerable amount of traffic going to it first. I think its best to build a base of people who are daily visitors who always come to the site and then monetize this way you know they will come back. Thanks.
    Nick recently posted..Top 5 best Tools to Record Skype Calls – Skype Recording

    Reply

  20. Shalu Sharma

    August 12, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    I think you are right about morals. Its best to stick to them and not become greedy. I am glad that you mentioned about someone offering your 1000 dollars a year for advertising, it does seem a lot but its not really if you take it monthly. I have not yet offered my site for advertising but that is something in the future. Thanks for these check list.
    Shalu Sharma recently posted..Visiting places in Hyderabad

    Reply

  21. Andrei

    August 12, 2012 at 12:51 pm

    Hy Mitz. I don’t get a thing, what’s better for a bigger revenue, a website or a blog? because i read a lot of articles where was saying about a website have a better potential unlike a blog.
    Andrei recently posted..Natural plants with antibiotic properties

    Reply

    • Mitz

      August 12, 2012 at 10:01 pm

      A website and a blog are pretty much the same thing now… A website used to be something that was not updated as often and blogs had fresh posts which the search engines liked. Therefore people started using blogging platforms for their websites.

      Reply

  22. mohit rajwani

    August 11, 2012 at 11:37 am

    youa re right we should be knowing how and where to advertise..thankss a lot for sharing it with us..
    mohit rajwani recently posted..Tips on Maintaining your Computers Performance

    Reply

  23. Glen

    August 11, 2012 at 6:48 am

    That’s very true. When you become an affiliate instead of having your website welcoming advertisers, you will most likely earn more than what the advertisers are offering you. I have yet to conquer the value of working with affiliates and little by little I am definitely seeing results that make me satisfied.

    Reply

    • Mentor Palokaj

      August 18, 2012 at 10:56 am

      Plus you can decide what specific products you want to link too. Static advertising is quite annoying to both bloggers and readers since it is out of context…
      Mentor Palokaj recently posted..Speed Reading

      Reply

  24. Martin

    August 10, 2012 at 10:16 am

    People do not like pushy advertisements. They are getting more and more meticulous in terms of reading things over the internet. They can sense if it’s just the marketer talking which I guess is a good thing. This is a challenge for all of us to step up our games and do better in spreading our advocacy. Great job again Mitz!
    Martin recently posted..wdbaau0010hbk-nesn Sale

    Reply

  25. Nick

    August 9, 2012 at 6:28 pm

    I truly believe that before anyone wants to monetize their websites, they should have a considerable amount of traffic going to it first. I think its best to build a base of people who are daily visitors who always come to the site and then monetize this way you know they will come back.

    Reply

  26. vishvast

    August 9, 2012 at 4:54 am

    hello mitz
    i think should find the right balance between being ethical, trying to help, advertising and making money. People will only go for something if they feel that there was a genuine intention to help.
    vishvast recently posted..Best Timeline Cover Pictures For Your Profile

    Reply

  27. Reese

    August 8, 2012 at 11:08 am

    People are a lot smarter today. Also people tend to balk when they sense someone is only eager to make money off from them. We should find the right balance between being ethical, trying to help, advertising and making money. People will only go for something if they feel that there was a genuine intention to help.
    Reese recently posted..Best Paying Careers Without a Degree

    Reply

  28. Pavel

    August 7, 2012 at 9:44 pm

    There needs to be a balance between your morals and making money because if you follow either one to the extreme you will likely fail. Having strong convictions is great but there comes a time when you might have to slightly compromise your beliefs in order to make money. I’m not saying you should discard morals all together but rather keep an open mind. I like your tips on keeping your morals and I think following those will set you on the right path but also keep in mind that each individual situation is different and what works for some might not work for others. Thanks again for sharing your wisdom Mitz

    Reply

  29. Mariella Lombardi

    August 7, 2012 at 7:00 pm

    Hi Mitz,

    I loved the ‘stick to your morals’ part, so many fail to mention this. Products are just like people, don’t recommend them if you don’t know them. The thing is how do we recognize a blogger that knows what he is talking about from one that doesn’t?
    Mariella Lombardi recently posted..Amazing Exercises for Senior Health & Fitness – You’re NEVER “Too Old” to Experience the Benefits of Exercise

    Reply

  30. MarkBlog3

    August 7, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    I great article I must say and very well informative. Advertising is very well used in blog’s in sales and gives organic traffic to your website.Thanks to Mitz.

    A Gentle, Effective way of Chiropractic Treatment For All Ages Seattle chiropractic
    MarkBlog3 recently posted..A Visit to a Chiropractic Office

    Reply

  31. Bart

    August 7, 2012 at 11:24 am

    I think when you have good content you will have good traffic and earn money.

    Reply

    • Mitz

      August 8, 2012 at 12:12 am

      If only it was that easy!! :) There is a lot of testing and tweaking involved.

      Reply

  32. Jasmine

    August 7, 2012 at 8:39 am

    Mitz, what a great article again.

    You are right, some advertisers can offer a good amount of hard cold cash for prime advertising spots, these offers are difficult to say no to. I have received such offers from time to time but have all nicely turned them down, because I believe too much advertising will really drive visitors away.
    Jasmine recently posted..GreenGeeks CEO Interview (dofollow)

    Reply

    • Mitz

      August 8, 2012 at 12:14 am

      Yes I agree Jasmine..Too much advertising is not good for your visitor experience and that is who we are trying to please! :)

      Reply

  33. Bhushan

    August 7, 2012 at 7:08 am

    Hey Mitz!
    What a wonderfully post.explanation is very good.In a blog Promotion this is necessary to derive a link and should make a balance rather then a banner. Advertisement should be in proper manner and you should also share your experiences. you can make this very attractive by your experience and advertisement.
    Bhushan
    Bhushan recently posted..Inventory Management Software India (dofollow)

    Reply

  34. Owen

    August 7, 2012 at 1:48 am

    Great post, Mitz. I have often looked at your site and never saw many banners and wondered how you monetise your site. Now I know why. I have to keep this in mind for future reference. All I’m trying to do now is increase my opt-ins.
    Owen recently posted..Business Startup Ideas: Here are Two Great Ideas from David Mercer

    Reply

    • Mitz

      August 7, 2012 at 4:28 am

      Yes I do not push sales but discretely offer some links. It works well, especially if I get the right people to read the articles. Banners is sidebars do not make much money, some in content are ok, but my tiny links in content are the best. :)
      Mitz recently posted..Two Years Blogging and No Real Income! 8 Reasons Why (dofollow)

      Reply

  35. Rob

    August 6, 2012 at 8:00 pm

    Hey Mitz,

    This is a great post which I’m sure I’ll be coming back to to use as a reference.

    The bit about “which type of advertisement” was particularly enlightening. As a newbie I’ll be keeping an eye out for that!
    Rob recently posted..Psychological Link Building: An Art Or A Science?

    Reply

    • Mitz

      August 7, 2012 at 4:30 am

      Yes never settle on one type of advertisement as each page requires its own ways. Some pages are just no good to sell anything and others are gold mines. You have to learn to work this out and put the right advertising on there.
      Mitz recently posted..Successful WordPress Website Checklist (dofollow)

      Reply

  36. JamesW

    August 6, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    Very good post Mitz, advertising can be so helpful for bloggers, but sometimes many people want’s us to sell our souls to the devil for peanuts. That is what is destroying the blogging world peace by peace, if you think that your blog is worth more, look more for the ad, that way the advertiser knows that his ad will be promoted on blog that is worth fighting for.
    thanks for sharing
    JamesW recently posted..Wanna be a Laptop Entrepreneur? Here is the Trick

    Reply

  37. Aditya

    August 6, 2012 at 9:20 am

    Hi Mitz,
    How elegantly you have described this post.And i agree with you about the fact that one has to stick to his moral as it is the only thing one brings in the market when he is new to it.everybody is here to make money and if someone offers them a good amount they easily agree to advertise their product on their blog,its good to do that but only if the product suits your niches and provide services that they have promised to.
    Aditya recently posted..Mobile Recharge Software with API Integration (dofollow)

    Reply

  38. shalllog

    August 6, 2012 at 7:53 am

    this is a great guide and over look at all sales via ones blog or website. i found so many little points i have to check back about my own blog. its so true how one needs to get into detail in order to see and truly understand how much money from each sale.

    good one

    Reply

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