Posts Tagged "direct ad sales"

BlogWorldExpo 08: Making Money Online with a Blog

Posted on Sep 29, 2008 in Conferences & Networking | 4 comments

This was also commonly referred to as the “Super Bloggers” panel.  The members consisted, in total, of:

Jeremy was late due to some quality Vegas partying, but once he did arrive he had some quality things to say.  They all did, really, but I especially enjoyed Darren & Brian’s takes as I had never heard them speak before and I’d heard John & Zac.

Bullet Point Review!

  • Jim asked what their number #1 money maker on their blog was:
    • John Chow: Switching from an ad network to direct advertising sales using the OIO Publisher Direct plugin.
    • Zac Johnson: Direct ad sales
    • Darren Rowse: Recommended affiliate products.
    • Brian Clark: Launching a membership site & selling WordPress themes.
  • Selling any old crap decreases content value; sell things you actually believe in.
  • Bloggers just want to write, not sell, so plugins are useful.
  • Write about something that’s interesting or else it’s not sustainable.
  • Revenue: 1. Direct Ad Sales 2. Affiliate Programs 3. AdSense.
  • BC: Selling things (information, membership, etc) instead of advertising makes more money.
  • A couple of years ago readers would complain about ads, but now they’re accepted as par for the course.
  • The amount of money to be made in “non-sexy” niches is ridiculous.
  • Start with what your readers want to buy, not what you want to sell.
  • Offer incentives to sign up for your newsletter – 3x the money to be made with subscriptions.
  • Newsletters vs. RSS – it’s way more beneficial to get people onto your email list.
  • Aweber – BlogBroadcast tools count is included in RSS subscribers & sends an automatic newsletter with your blog posts.
  • Many people still have no idea what RSS is, so offer delivery by email too.
  • Blogs don’t have to look monetized.
  • Sell yourself using consulting.

Points brought up during the Q&A

  • Wait until 100 or 1000 readers to bother displaying RSS numbers on the blog.
  • RSS subscriber count is powerful for branding and can be factored into ad prices.
  • JC: Rule of thumb when setting an ad price – what is the ECPM for that same spot on an ad network?  Double that.  Offer the ad to run for a month at a time or a quarter, depending on price.
  • Condense your header – big headers take up valuable space.
  • How much traffic do they see through search?  DR sees about 40% to ProBlogger and 60% to Digital Photography School.
  • Chitika is a good ad network with powerful blog widgets for contextual, relevant ads.
  • Write for your users, not Google.  Search traffic is just a bonus.
  • It’s a tricky line to keep your editorial integrity and still sell stuff, so don’t sell willy-nilly.
  • Build a business – get repeat customers, loyal readers.
  • What percentage of the time do they work?  A LOT – you have to bust your ass, this isn’t a get rich quick scheme.
  • Always look deeply at a product & only recommend valuable things.
    • Announce it
    • Talk about the product info, merchant or manufacturers information.
    • Share testimonials of readers.
    • Review your experience with it.
  • Credibility is key with sharing information.
  • Endorse, review products.
  • Sell advertising in newsletters, lots of merchants love that.
  • Establish yourself as an expert.
  • Remember that Teaching Sells!

This was a very informative panel, and a great way to kick off the sessions.  The room was packed, and I especially liked Jim’s approach to using Twitter to get questions for the audience.  With a tech set crowd like bloggers, it was highly effective and a great panel for sure.

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