Three years ago, God took my gift of encouragement & helping others & my tiny knowledge of blogging & gave me the opportunity to use those gifts in a new way as an Ad Manager for a dear friend. I had ZERO experience but my friend took a chance & it has been so much fun!
In my everyday life, when the topic of “Do you work?” comes up & I tell them what I do, 95% are shocked that bloggers can earn money. To those of us in the blogging world it is commonplace & a topic of conversation but it can still generate some confusion.
Deciding whether or not to sell or buy advertising can be challenging. There are so many resources out there {I listed some below that are amazing!} & I think something new pops up every day in the blogging world. It is constantly changing and growing.
Just to clarify, I am talking about buying and selling Private Ads :: a relationship between a blogger {the Ad Seller} and someone with a cottage industry type business {the Ad Buyer} like an Etsy shop that makes handmade pillows who work together directly (or though an Ad Manager) to build a partnership. There’s a whole other world of Ad Networks & Affiliate Marketing that I’m not even going to try to jump into today.
Here are a few things that I have learned over the past three years from the perspective of an Ad Manager that may helpful as you venture into the business of buying and selling Private Ads:
To the Ad Seller {the one selling advertising}:
- Media kits are helpful but not necessary
- clearly communicate your expectations with your ad buyer
- consider offering an incentive for their ad purchase {a Facebook mention, Tweet, Pinterest pin, giveaway or a lovely combination of any or all}
- do not be afraid to say “no thanks” & try to refer them to someone else in their niche
To the Ad Buyer {the one buying advertising}:
- clearly communicate to the Ad Seller why you believe your product or website would be a good fit for their site
- an amazing pixel creative {a.k.a. your ad button} is necessary & ask yourself “What makes you click on an ad?” when you’re visiting other websites. Expect the Ad Seller to have certain opinions about the appearance of your ad button. They have put in a considerable amount of thought {& resources} in to the “look” of their website. If your ad button doesn’t fit their blog aesthetic, they may ask for a new one.
- offer discounts to the readers and/or consider making a landing page just for them
- do not take it personally when you are rejected; realize their honesty probably saved you some money
- be a responsible bill payer {Ad Managers hate to send payment reminders}
Being an Ad Manager has been an amazing journey for me & it really is about building a relationship with these incredible shop owners. Most start out as a partnership about working together to be a voice for their product but so many of the shop owners that I have had the privilege to work with have become some of my favorite places to shop!
Resources worth checking out:
Amy Lynn Andrews {everything she writes about is incredibly helpful}
How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul by Ruth Soukup
How They Blog
Blog Life e-Course by A Beautiful Mess
{darlene} says
June 4, 2014 at 2:33 pmgreat thoughts, caroline! pinned as well 😉 so I can look it over and refresh on these thoughts.
caroline teselle says
June 4, 2014 at 3:29 pmThank you Darlene!