You’ve made a great decision to advertise some free space on your blog. Direct ad sales offer the benefit of a consistent stream of revenue and are a proven moneymaker, hence a large number of websites and blogs with large audiences use this opportunity to create an income flow.
It’s evident that as long as there is money to be made, people will grab it with both hands. It does have a catch though, simply because there is no standard formula that you can use for pricing your advertising space. Every website or blog is different, and pricing is largely dependent on your offering or services. We have, however, put together some aspects for you to consider when pricing your advertising space.
Site Metrics
There are 3 factors that affect your website metrics:
- Content – the content of your website is what attracts traffic and visitors, and this differs vastly from one site to another or between different industries. Content includes every bit of information on your site, from articles and pictures to games, music, forums and videos. Your aim is always to provide a smooth flow that’s relevant and attractive, and time must be dedicated to continuous improvement
- Traffic – more traffic translates to more potential advertisers interest, and it also increases your earnings if you already have advertisers on your site. Keep your eye on your number of monthly page views and visits, and dissect this information by relevance related to industry, location etc.
- Audience – having an excellent understanding of your audience based on age, sex and location among other categories, is key. An audience that shares similar interests offers the opportunity to find relevant advertisers with higher ad rates. If your audience appeals to advertisers who see benefit from it, they’re likely to pay more or offer longer display times.
Pricing Models
These are some of the more common methods used to charge for ads.
Cost per Action
This is a good option that gives advertisers control with high quality and returns. It’s simple to use with the advertiser being charged a standard rate whenever a visitor makes a transaction.
Cost per Click
The advertiser or publisher can set the price per click, and the advertiser is charged each time someone clicks on the ad. The publisher should invest in fraud prevention technology since this is a huge concern with this method.
Cost per mile
This is more common among larger publishers with the advertiser being charged per thousand impressions or miles. The only snag is that there is no consideration for clicks or conversions.
Flat rate
Smaller publishers prefer the flat rate option whereby an advertiser pays a fixed rate for a certain period of time. The benefits of it are that it is simple and predictable, and publishers would need to present their site metrics to potential advertisers. Rates are dependent based on these metrics as well as the size or duration of an ad and the length of a contract.
