PRACTICAL QUERY -- ADVERTISING ON BLOGS

I recently read a statement by a blogger that he had earned tens of thousands of dollars in by placing advertisements on his blog.  I am not sure if it was a tongue-on-cheek statement or not, but I have to say that statement made my ears perk up.

After all, while I regularly characterize myself as "privileged," my husband and I are paying off mongo educational debts and we need every spare penny for the house we are building next year.  And it seems to me that since I spend a chunk of time away from my family (i.e. husband and dog) horsing around on-line, I should make it pay for them by bringing in an income from it. 

Does anyone have a sense of how much income can actually be generated from advertising -- on a smallish or middling sized blog?  Is there a benefit to going with google ads versus blog ads versus some other option?  Or should one sign on to multiple options?  Are there perils and pitfalls to watch out for?  Please, well-informed blog readers, do advise!

Comments

[Barbara P]

Your blog is really awesome, but I think "tens of thousands of dollars" is rather unrealistic. Also, I don't know if you'd have the opportunity to approve the content of the ads. You might end up you don't like, ranging from annoying to offensive.

[The Happy Feminist]

That's what I figured -- and that's kind of what worries me.

[Erin]

Here's a good article on this topic: "Blogging For Dollars"

http://biz.yahoo.com/hbusn/060821/090106_8384325.html?.v=1

I found it a very interesting read!

[Shawn Anthony]

Hello! First time commentor but long time reader here! You can make a good bit of change from blog ads. It really depends on your subject/market, traffic stats and Google Page Rank (yours is a 5). It can be done and I would not be afraid to try it. Why not make some money?

An example: This site, last I heard (from a good source), was bringing in $7500.00 a month off of the ads in the top right corner. It can be done. Subject matter matters greatly.

At any rate, great blog! Keep up the great work.

[Shawn Anthony]

Sorry ... I forgot to leave the URL to the above referenced site: http://www.techcrunch.com/

[katie]

Another article that may help is Steve Pavlina's How to Make Money From Your Blog.

[Antigone]

Be careful about your content changing. When we become the product you produce, and not your audience, there can be problems.

PayPal's pretty okay, your audience is paying.

Take a look at Utopian Hell to see some advertising problems.

[Philocrites]

There are simple ways to add advertising to your site without a whole lot of work and without aggravating your loyal readers. My little blog makes a small but steady income from Google's AdSense program (enough to cover my hosting and domain registration fees), and I also have an Amazon Associates membership that generates some income whenever someone buys a book or other product I've linked to Amazon.

Your site has enough readers that you could probably also sign up for BlogAds or another by-approval ad service. These sites allow you to set rates and approve advertisers that want to reach your audience.

I'd say you're unlikely to make enough to live on, but I'm sure you'd make some real money.

[AJ]

You mean there are still people who don't use NoScript and Adblock?

Then again, they deserve what they get and if you get some money on the side, all the better :)

[Cassandra]

I remember (I don't have a blog but have always wanted one but never enough time, dedication, etc.) I glanced at Go Fug Yourself's "advertise with us!" page. They use BlogAds and get pretty heavy traffic, I think, and they charge $300 for a week, $550 for 2 weeks, and $1040 for a month for their regular ads (of which they usually have a couple, say two or three), and for Premium Ads (which, I gather, are more customizable, and also up top) $1000 for a week, $1850, $3450 for a month, and $9750 for 3 months. *rubs eyes* whoa that's more than I expected, and I think they've become more expensive as they've gotten more traffic.

They currently have 3 premium ads and 7 regular ads. Which means this month they are making *gets out calculator* $17,630. Whoa. That can't be right. Someone please correct my math and tell me what I did wrong.

[Ron O.]

Assuming everyone is paying the lowest rate, it comes to $17,030/month. I have enjoyed that site in the past, but the you're-not-feminine-enough bashing is starting to sour on me, so I've removed it from my bookmarks.

Back to the subject at hand. I dislike the proliferation of advertising into every sphere of life. It bothers me when I have to make an effort to ignore it. I also refuse to wear logos and often cut off the tags on my clothes. I would continue to read your blog, but I would enjoy it a little less if you had ads.

[L.]

Coming late to this to say... I have Google Adsense, from which I make just a few cents a day, or a couple bucks on a good day. But I pledge to donate all blog proceeds to charity, so I figure every little bit counts.

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

I have BlogAds on my medium-sized blog. I get about 3000 unique visitors per day.

Lately, I've been making about $200/month. Last fall, there were months when I made closer to $600 from BlogAds. I expect business to pick up again in the fall, what with the election and such.