After 5+ years of blogging, I’m finally (finally, finally) making actual money selling ad space on my blog. Sometimes I make enough to cover my rent! It took me a looooooong time to figure out how to do this. I coordinate all the ads myself -I’m not part of an ad network, I don’t use Google ad words, and I’ve been known to turn down advertisers that I don’t think are good fit. If that sounds like something you’re into - read on! If not, I’ve heard good things about Passionfruit Ads.
Include your advertisers in an actual blog post
This is the biggest thing you can do to keep your advertisers happy, drive traffic to their blogs, and keep them coming back for more. 70% of my blog readership (7,000+ people!) read Yes and Yes through an RSS feed, which means they don’t even see the ads on my sidebar. It seems unethical to charge people for a space that most readers don’t see! So each sponsor that buys a 220×100 ad space is included in a monthly sponsor post. Each sponsor shares three photos, links to three of their favorite posts/products, and up to five social media profiles. These sponsor posts go up on Saturday (a ‘slow’ internet day) so readers are happy to see fresh reading material and my sponsors get lots of traffic. Win/win!
Mention them on Twitter
If you include your sponsors in a post, @mention them on Twitter and let them know! You’re giving them an opportunity to retweet the link (so their followers will visit your site), you’re showing them that you take their sponsorship seriously, and you’re introducing them to your Twitter followers (who might be different than your blog readers.)
If you don’t include sponsors in a blog post, you could tweet a link to one of their best posts and send them traffic that way.
Let them (or encourage them to!) change their ad images each month
Blog readers can get ‘ad blindness’, so switching up the ad images increases the likelihood that someone will click on their ad. It also keeps your sidebar looking so fresh and so clean, clean.
Remind them when their space is about to expire and offer them a price break if they renew
When my sponsors sign up, I set a Google reminder for when their ad will expire. A few days before it expires, I email them, thank them for their time on Yes and Yes and offer them a price break if they renew their ad space. Lots of people forget when their ad spaces run out and would be happy to re-up if we remind them about it!
Remind your readers each month that you’re taking new sponsors
At the end of each month, I remind my readers that I’m taking on new sponsors. I include my prices, traffic stats, testimonials and I usually include a funny or inspiring video at the top of the post so even if someone’s not interested in sponsorship, they’ll enjoy the blog post.
Offer different sizes and types of advertising
Different advertisers have different needs and you’ll get more advertisers if you can meet those needs.
I offer:
300×60 ad space
$35
not included in the sponsor post
300×100 ad space
$80
included in post with other sponsors
post tagging for SEO purposes
@mention on Twitter
160×160 freebie or discount ad in newsletter
300×300 ad space
$200
top of ad column
post tagging for SEO purposes
individual sponsored post
5 links in sponsored post
160×160 freebie or discount ad in newsletter
This way I can help out everyone from fledgling bloggers with a tiny budget to fashion labels who want to sell cute dresses to my readers.
Get testimonials from your satisfied advertisers
Every few months email your previous advertisers and ask them about their experience advertising on your site. How much traffic did they get? How many more Facebook fans? How many people signed up for their email list? Include those testimonials (along with headshots of the advertisers and links to their sites) on your sponsorship page.
When someone does you a favor and you can’t pay them, offer them ad space instead
Maybe you’re having a tough time finding sponsors. Or you want someone to guest post for you/photograph some stuff for you/fill out a long survey for you. Offer them ad space on your site! It’ll help fill out that sidebar and keep you from being one of those jerks who expects things for free.
Whew! Tell me about your experiences with blog advertising - as either an advertiser or ad space provider!
Nice ideas here. I offer a discount to advertisers who purchase multiple months.
I simply love your posts. All of them. This is such great information. I have two sponsors right now. I thought I needed to choose e-courses over ads so your post just opens my eyes completely. I’d love to be able to really use ads to cover my blog costs. Going to employ all of your tips here.
Yay! So glad you found this useful!
Can I just say that Sarah the way you do ads on Yes & Yes seems so authentic and fun that it is actually one of the few sites that I pay attention to them on? The last few months I’ve actually been really excited for the calendar to roll over so I could go and check out the new sponsors on your sidebar — without you even posting about it! I also love the round-ups you do where you include the best posts from each site. They look great, still are advertisements, and I find cool posts and blogs/sites that I wouldn’t have otherwise!
Rachelia! Thank you SO MUCH. That means so much to me!
This is a great post Sarah, thank you for sharing what has worked for you - it sounds like a great transparent and fun formula. Lots of things to think about and try
Yes&yes ads are designed wonderfully! I really enjoy being a sponsor when I can afford it. My question is: how do I start this process for my blog? How do you find that first batch of sponsors to start building those relationship? Offer free ad space for testimonials? Any other thoughts?
An idea:
I’d be happy to talk about free ad space possibilities for testimonials for bloggers who mention this comment! feedmedaily @ gmail
I totally agree with Rachelia and Julia. I love Yes and Yes, and it’s clear that you choose advertisers whose blogs share the fun and creativity of the content your readers enjoy. The round-up posts always seem lively and personal. As they stated, Yes and Yes is one of the only blogs where I make a point of looking at ads and then clicking through to find out more!
Thanks for sharing your tips on building relationships and promoting advertisers. It’s helpful to read a behind the scenes peek of such a well-run blog and business.
Sarah, this is super helpful!
I have been trying to work (a weensy bit) with ads in the last year and it has in many way felt like a big, giant internet mystery.
Thank you for being willing to share your thoughts/practices on this.
This is really an awesome help especially for those who are maintaining a blog for business.
Only just discovered your blog - it looks great and you have really useful tips to offer.
As I work to expand my blog, I’ll certainly be using these ideas - thanks for sharing!