ProBlogger: Partnering With Brands Theme Week: Advertising 101

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Partnering With Brands Theme Week: Advertising 101 Posted: 30 Jun 2014 07:05 PM PDT We kick off this week’s theme with Juanita Nessinger of Vertical Online Media – a total guru when it comes to all things advertising! You've started your blog, put in many long hours into nurturing it, growing it and building a following.  Congratulations!  Now you're thinking, "Is it possible to actually generate revenue from this?"   The answer is a resounding YES! Let’s talk. Choosing your ad unit sizes I like to share with friends that are new to advertising to familiarize themselves with IAB.net. This is the Interactive Advertising Bureau website and the standard for all web advertising.  Once there, your new best friend on this site is going to be the "Guidelines and Best Practices" dropdown menu.  This area shows you all of the standard ad units and their creative guidelines. I highly recommend utilizing the following ad sizes on your blog, as they are the most standard, and will benefit you in you the long run when starting to monetize your site: 728×90 (Leaderboard) 300×250 (Medium Rectangle) 160×600 (Wide Skyscraper) 300×100 (3:1 Rectangle) This unit is no longer as common, but is a very good size if you want to have multiple smaller partners on your site that you will sell yourself or put on a sales site such as BuySellAds. 728×90 Example: 300×250 Example: 160×600 Example: 300×100 Example: Deciding where to place your ads Now that you've decided what ad sizes you will utilize on your site, now you need to decide where you want place them on the page. As shown in the example above, the 728×90 performs best, and is most aesthetically pleasing, when situated at the top of the page, either centered over the content or flush left.   You can also utilize this Leaderboard unit in the middle or bottom of your blog posts. Do remember though, you don't want to overload your pages with ads, so I don't recommend having any more than two of any size ad on a page at a time…three if the ads are a smaller unit, such as the 300×100 unit. The 300×250 unit is a versatile unit and can be used on the right hand side of your page, or within your content, with the edit wrapped around the ad.   When making the decision on placement for the 300×250 unit, you should note that on average, this unit will perform best placed within the content.  This is a definite plus if you are monetizing on a Cost Per Click model (CPC).  Your readers will tend to click more often on ads when placed within the content.  Conversely, if your priority is the reader experience and not necessarily the revenue, it is recommended that you place these units on the right hand side of your page. Your 160×600 and 300×100 units always work very nicely on the right hand side of your page. Start Monetizing Your Ad Units Now that you've decided where your ad units will be placed on your page/s, it's time to decide HOW you're going to monetize the traffic to your blog. The most popular, and realistically, most simple way for you to start monetizing your Blog is to utilize Google AdSense.  AdSense is a very quick and simple way to get started making money from your blog.  It really is as easy as 1, 2, 3.  All you need is a Google login of some sort, you paste their code into your dedicated ad spaces, and provide them with a valid postal address so that you can get paid! It's really that simple!   Once you have this set-up, Google will place the highest-paying ads in your category on your site.  Depending on your blog's content matter, you can expect to receive anywhere from $.50 per click to upwards of $3.00 per click. Please know that there are also a multitude of advertising networks of whom would be very happy to work with you, but if you are just getting started, AdSense is truly going to be the easiest, and most reliable, for your needs. Additional Monetization Options If you have a highly-trafficked blog, or a highly-targeted niche blog, you may want to sell your ads directly, with the aid of an Advertising Marketplace such as BuySellAds or iSocket. If you don't want to be at the mercy of Google and want to sell your ads directly on a CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) and/or a Flat Fee basis, then an Ad Marketplace may be just the thing for you.   Utilizing a marketplace allows you to set the cost for your ad inventory as opposed to simply accepting what Google or an Ad Network is going to pay you for your inventory.  Please do note that Advertising Marketplaces do take a percentage of each sale made through their service. Regardless, in selling directly, you will want a backup for inventory that is not sold, so again, signing up for an AdSense account will only benefit you to back-fill any and all remaining inventory. Selling Directly Selling your ad inventory yourself isn't always as easy at it may seem. You will need to be very adept at articulating your audience, all of your site statistics, traffic, unique users, pageviews, etc., as well as any and all demographic information that you have on your audience.  Please look for the post coming later this week on The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Media Kit. Establishing relationships with larger brands, and their Ad Agencies, can be a very time-consuming venture and there is never a guarantee of being selected to be on their ad plan. Also, do note that you will usually be required to fill out a full RFP (Request for Proposal) from the ad agency.  These can be a little more than daunting if you are new to advertising, so you should take that into consideration before opting to sell your inventory yourself. Advertise Link on your Blog Regardless of how you decide to monetize your blog, once you start the process of monetizing your blog, you should have a link on your site that shares with potential partners their options for advertising on your site, how they can get a media kit, if you have one, and highlight your monthly traffic, unique users, and your best Top Line demographic information you have for your readers. If you do not have demographic information on your readers, putting together a basic Reader Survey through SurveyMonkey is free and easy! In Closing Congratulations on being ready to make the leap into making money from your blog!  If you have a decent-sized audience, and/or a highly targeted audience, there is no reason you can't start monetizing your traffic. Again, if you are just getting started, and the advertising arena is new to you, I highly recommend utilizing AdSense.  Start with just a few ad units on each page, you can always add units as your traffic grows and your audience becomes more accustomed to seeing ads on your Blog.  Don't be afraid…getting started is easier than you think!  I hope you've found this helpful and please know that I'm here to assist.  Please feel free to ask any additional questions within the comments section, or you can reach out directly by emailing me at Juanita@VerticalOnlineMedia.com.   Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger Partnering With Brands Theme Week: Advertising 101

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Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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How to Exploit World Cup for Profit Posted: 30 Jun 2014 06:30 AM PDT The World Cup is here.  Crazy soccer players, psychotic fans, and of course, BILLIONS of dollars to be made. If you’re an entrepreneur, THIS is the best time to tap into the minds of people for their sheep mentality…for what else? Business opportunity. The World Cup in all its glory of ticket sales, broadcast rights, advertising, merchandising, and of course, all that alcohol to get all them crazy fans nice and juiced, we’re talking BILLIONS of dollars. It’s like the GDP of a small 3rd world country sloshing around the world in a matter of weeks. But more than that.. there’s emotions flying around left and right. And of course, emotions = sales. Now, if you’re an entrepreneur, how on earth could you capitalize on this trend? Here are some interesting concepts I thought of. If you’re promoting dating, you can always try to influence the guy’s (or the girl’s) heart. Suppose there’s an upcoming US match against Russia. You could say something like “Be a patriot. Date an American girl.” If the US wins, “Patriotic American Girls Need Guys to Celebrate With. Click Here to Meet Them.” If Russia wins, “Russian Girls Are Fierce in Soccer and in Bed. Click Here to Meet a Russian Hottie”. You get the point. But that’s totally chump change. How can we get GOBS of money from this? Alright, before you tar & feather me about this, let me remind you…FIFA, like NBA, NFL, and the American Baseball League, is a BUSINESS. They’re not doing this to benefit their health – they do it to make money. How much money is involved in the World Cup? 1994 World Cup…. cost the U.S. $5.6 billion 2002 World Cup in Asia…. With the three million live spectators ticket sales were an astronomical 1.2 billion dollars. FIFA alone promised each country 110 million for hosting and all revenue from their ticket sales.[6] Also, each country expanded their 20 soccer facilities with an investment of 4.7 billion dollars to prepare for this global event. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa,… The projected total direct economic value for GDP is approximately $21.3 billion. Also, 159,000 new jobs are predicted… Of course, whenever there’s money to be made…there are people who are NOT making it (src). Over the course of the past few years, Brazilians have grown outraged at the government’s handling of the World Cup. Even in this soccer-obsessed country, people are deeply resentful of the government’s decision to spend as much as $14 billion on the Cup while millions of its citizens lack basic services—services the government promised to improve ahead of the Cup. On top of that, at least nine workers have been killed in accidents related to rushed World Cup construction projects; activists are alleging that more than 250,000 people faced eviction threats to accommodate Cup construction and preparations; and the presence of brand-new Cup buildings has raised rent in working-class neighborhoods, pricing longtime residents out. Wait…that’s the least of it. The British press have alleged that Qatari billionaire Mohamed bin Hammam paid off FIFA officials in order to secure their votes to bring the Cup to his country. Emails obtained by the Sunday Times suggest that Qatar and 2018 World Cup host Russia cooperated to help each other win bids, and that bin Hammam used his connections in business and government to bribe officials from Thailand to Germany. Hold on, it ain’t over. In 2010, the World Cup was held in South Africa and these claims were made: But there are implications for this year’s event, too. It proves that match-fixing—a persistent evil in soccer—is alive and well, and not even the World Cup is immune. Billions are wagered on the Cup worldwide—over $1.6 billion will be wagered in Great Britain alone—and there are powerful interests seeking to manipulate outcomes. Now, am I pointing fingers on FIFA? NO way. This shit happens in any kind of human group activity where politics and money are involved. I’m just pointing out what the people might not know. Granted, most of the US will never have the same level of impact that governments and billionaires have, but you can tap into the fever and tap into the dollars they are GLADLY willing to spend – legally and ethically. How? Connect with the fans Don’t just sit there. Participate. If you want the herd’s money, be part of the herd while the herd is moving. 1) Cheerleader to the end If you notice, the fans of countries who never make it the finals almost always stay and cheer for whoever’s the underdog. I remember watching the World Cup in Korea/Japan and a bunch of white dudes (I think they were South Americans) started cheering for Korea because their home country got eliminated. Hey, why the hell not? They paid for their hotel & plane ticket…might as well have fun and join the locals. 2) “Dress” for the Occasion Nothing says “I am one of you” more than a uniform. If you don’t do physical business but are on the internet, try skinning your pages to the patriotic colors of wherever your visitors are coming from. 3) Provide a platform for the community Why do restaurants advertise “come watch XYZ game for FREE”? Simple…statistically speaking, 1 in X will eventually buy beer. Just like starbucks, be a platform for communities to get together. Serve up some tea, coffee, booze, or some ADS.  4) If all else fails, invite hot girls from other countries Tap into the herd mentality. Herds spend a lot of money.   Looking for an SEO service that won’t get you banned?

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