Monetizing a blog is relatively easy, you just need a way of doing something that someone will pay you for. There are plenty of ways to do that through content posting, advertisements, or selling your products. However, most bloggers struggle to generate revenue purely from their blogs with only one method of monetization. It usually takes a few. One option that is often overlooked is banner ads. You can sell banner ad space on your blog to help generate revenue. In this article, we discuss how you can monetize your blog by selling banner ads.
Get Your Traffic Up First
The first step in your process is to raise your website traffic to a reasonable number before starting the sales process for your banner ads. If you don’t already have a lot of website traffic, in the thousands per month range, you are not likely to sell any banner ad space. Conversely, the more traffic you have, the higher you can set your prices. You want to be able to offer a banner ad customer a reliable and predictable amount of traffic during the time that they will advertise with you. That way, it is easy to see the value in it.
Create a Sales Funnel for Selling Banner Ads
Once you are ready to sell some ad space, begin by building a sales funnel for your banner ads. Start with a landing page on your website, as well as a blog post or press release that lets the world know that ad space is available. From here, it is the same process for any sale. Explain what you are offering and why it has value to viewers, provide monthly metrics as proof of that value, and have a way of either contacting you or purchasing ad space.
Develop a Contract and Stick to It
Before you agree to any kind of sale, have a contract developed specifically for this type of sale. Having the contract ready by the time you’ve attracted your first customer prevents any holdups in the process. The contract should specify:
- Who is making the purchase
- Where the ad space is
- What is included in the sale (how many ads, how long each ad is up, other perks, etc…)
- Payment terms
- Terms of service
There are potentially other things that you should cover in your contract, but that is mostly on a case by case basis. If you are new to contracts, it may be worth hiring a lawyer to review it or make one for you.
Monitor Results
Once you make a sale, get the banner ad up by the agreed time. Then, monitor the results. Keep track of your traffic and any relevant data related to performance while the ad is up. Not only will this help you ensure that you are providing value for your customers, but you can also use that information later to renegotiate a contract if you significantly increase traffic to your site.
Continue Selling
Depending on the terms of the sale and how much banner space you have, you may have the same banner up for a long time. Even if this is the case, you should continue to try to sell ad space. Create a waiting list where you collect contact information from prospective customers. Many Twitch banner ads are sold this way. When ad space becomes available or you create more banner space, you can quickly contact one of those customers and complete the sale. This will minimize downtime for your banner ad sales.
Offer to Create Banner Ads for Customers
If a customer approaches you about a banner ad, but doesn’t have one, use Ad2Cart to make one for them. Ad2Cart is a display ad creator that can help you make creative online banner ads quickly. Plus, those well-built ads can help your customers increase conversions with effective designs. Try Ad2Cart to see how easy making banner ads can be.
