New Blog Creation Series: Adding Monetization

Welcome back! In our last conversation, we discussed various template tweaks, including SEO techniques, and general layout. This time, we’ll discuss implementing monetization on your new blog. Let’s get started.

When Should You Monetize?

There are several schools of thought on this subject. The general consensus seems to run like this: If you are already a successful blogger, and you’ll most likely have a decent amount of traffic coming in right off the bat, go ahead and set up at least some of your ads at the beginning. If you’re a new blogger, this is a new niche for you, or you don’t think you’ll have a decent amount of traffic almost immediately, then go ahead and sign up for and block out where you want your ad units to appear, but don’t actually insert them.

Choosing Types

What type of ad systems should you use? Good question. Take a good, long, hard look at the availible ad systems and decide which would best benefit your blog. In the case of MindSpeak, I chose AdSense, Amazon Associates, AdBrite, and BlogAds. Here’s why on each:

AdSense - AdSense has been a proven performer for me on my other blogs. The system display targetted ads, and is - essentially - a great fit for most blogs.

Amazon Associates - As a political blog, I will occasionally refer to various books and/or authors. With Amazon Associates, I am able to quickly and easy link to the items to which I refer. Each sale will earn me a small comission.

AdBrite - AdBrite is a new system for me. Doing mainly text links, I felt AdBrite would be a decent system to try on MindSpeak, as advertisers will bid specifically for my blog.

BlogAds - BlogAds is a proven performer across numerous blogs. A lot of political blogs utilize BlogAds, and - in fact - BlogAds started as an advertising network for political ads. As a member of the Texas Progressive Alliance (TEXAdS), I have to have BlogAds, as this is the system we use. Of course, I would have added it, anyway.

Did I consider other ad systems? Absolutely. Most weren’t a good fit, or else were AdSense clones, and hadn’t proven their performance as far as I am concerned. I still have other systems I can add in later on - if I feel the need - but I doubt I will ever do so, as the ad layouts are pretty much perfect, right now.

One thing you also want to consider is if your chosen systems allow a feature called “alternate URL”. Alternate URL allows you to display alternate ads in the case that your primary system does not have any ads to show. In the case of MindSpeak, I collapse the ad units (and display nothing) for AdSense, and I always have a couple of spare ads of my own for my BlogAds ad units. AdBrite will simply have the default text. (AdBrite allows you to display generic contextual ads and get paid by the click, when no ads have been purchased. Unfortunately, this conflicts with Google’s Terms of Service, so I am relegated to displaying an empty unit for AdBrite.)

Choosing Ad Units (size), and Placement

This is probably the simplest part of monetization, as there are proven performers in specific sizes. For instance, the Google Skyscraper and Wide Skyscraper are proven performers for the sidebar, the Medium Rectangle is a proven performer for ads that are inline with your content, and the 468×90 banner is a proven performer for horizontal placement. These are the ad unit sizes that I have used on MindSpeak (and my original blog, MindFyre).

The most important thing to remember when choosing ad size is to go with what looks good, without overriding the content. Once you decide where you’re going to place your ad units, you can more effectively choose the size. For this paragraph, we’re going to look at the most popular placements of Google AdSense (and other contextual ad services) and Chitika eMiniMalls. I’ll break it down in a list:

• *Across the top of the blog, between the header and the content (468×90 banner, or 768×90 leaderboard)
• Between blog entries (such as between the fifth and sixth entry on the page) (468×90 banner)
• *On the side bar (120×600 skyscraper, *160×600 wide skyscraper, 120×240 vertical banner)
• *Inline with the content (where the content wraps around the ad) (*350×250 Medium Rectangle, 250×250 Square, 120×240 vertical banner)
• Between entry text and comments (468×90 banner)
• Beside comments (120×240 vertical banner, small square, 250×250 Square)
• Above the footer/in the footer (468×90 banner, 768×90 leaderboard)

Obviously, you could not use every one of those locations. The locations with a * in front of them are ones that I have found to be proven performers. To be honest, the Medium Rectangle, inline with my content, out performs all of my other ad units, by far. Remember, though… Overloading your layout with advertisements is a sure way to make people disappear from your blog faster than you can blink. If all you care about are first time visitors, then load away. Just remember, though, that repeat visitors are your meat and gravy.

When it comes to units like BlogAds, you are limited only by the number of ads, and the size of the ad. In my case, one of my BlogAds units (the one at the top of the center column) is considered “premium” and I’ve limited it in both size and number of ads. It will run one ad, with standard image size, with five to six lines of text. This is primarily done for aesthetic reasons, although it also helps to implement a “premium” style of ad. For my other BlogAds unit, I am limited only by the number of ads I wish to accept. The goal is to never have your side bar ad units longer than three quarters (3/4) of your main page if you are using full entries. If you are using only excerpts on the main page, you can let your ads extend the full length of the main page.

Additionally, as you browse the site, you’ll notice that some entries appear and disappear, depending on the type of page you’re on. This is pretty good mojo when it comes to ad units. It keeps the pages from being overloaded with ads, and ensures the best type of ad is in the best place. Learn your blogging system’s template tags, and learn to place ads properly. It’ll take a bit of trial and error, but eventually you’ll figure out what works. Remember, though, what’s good for the goose, may not be good for the gander (what works for me, may not work for you).

Ad Unit Specifics (colorization, etc…)

There are three schools of thought when it comes to the colorization of ad units. These are:

• Ads that blend in with the layout
• Ads that stand out
• Ads that really stand out

Ads that blend in are set up to have the same color links and the same color text as the rest of your blog. This makes the ad appear to be a part of your blog, and normally results in a higher click through rate. Additionally, blended ads rarely have borders, and also have the same color background as your blog.

Ads that stand out often have different link colors, and usually have a border around them. In this case, the link colors are differing from the rest of your blog, but are using traditional link colorings. The borders are designed to mesh well with your blog’s layout. For instance, I might use a soft grey, or similar. The ads don’t look garish, but it is usually obvious that they are advertisements.

Ads that really stand out have much different (and usually the polar opposite) colorings from the link and text. Often, ads of this type will have highly visible borders, and will have a background color that is strikingly different from the rest of the blog. Occasionally, you’ll a blogger that must have painted carnivals for a living, and they’ll come up with some of the most garish color schemes for their ad units. Amazingly, these folks usually stand by their choices, swearing that they work better than blended ads. Personally, I’ve tried truly stand-out ad units before, and have found that they do not perform as well as blended ads. I guess it just depends on the blog.

Once you decide on your color scheme, you should try to duplicate it across most (if not all) of your ad units. It’s okay to have some that look a bit different than the rest… Just remember, in my experience, blended ads perform the best.

So What’s Next?

In this conversation, we discussed adding monetization to your blog, including placement, and choosing ad units. Ad usual, I’ve left you to think for yourself, quite a bit. A few people have asked me why I don’t go as in depth, or specific, as other bloggers. I’ve found that I’ve learned best when I had the basics layed out for me, and I’ve taken them and played around, myself. I could go in and give you a specific list of every ad unit, placement, and color scheme that has worked for me, as well as how I came to use them… But trust me, you’ll learn better - and have more success - if you think for yourself, and ad-play on your own blog.

Next time, we’ll discuss your initial entries, as well as populating those entries from another blog. Stay tuned!

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