One of the things I have tried to do here that is counter to the advice that I give out to others is in regards to advertising. My placement of Google’s AdSense is pretty bad, and I am not using an alternate means to rake in the bucks, as I work towards selling advertising space directly rather than through the numerous systems that are out there.

Why Direct Advertising

When I started this blog, I really wanted to make sure that I was helping others, and making sure I focused on the content more than the advertising was key. You would think that doing direct advertising would take more time, but just like going through a program, it can become quite passive.

I am not actively looking for advertisers, contacting people, and whatnot. This means I will probably get less advertisers on this blog, but the ones that do contact me, are serious about being shown here.

Direct advertising gives me control over which ads I run, so you’ll never see something I don’t approve of, unless its an AdSense advertising block (which I’d love to replace as well).

Direct advertising allows me to set my own rate. I can make my advertising space cost as much or as little as I want and also allows me to make special deals. I have traded advertising space for graphic design services and for coding, and to me, that was worth more than a few dollars in my pocket.

Direct advertising means not having to have a percentage taken off by another company. When you outsource your advertisements to pretty much any company, they will want some of the money they are bringing in for you. The upswing of this is that their cut amounts to more money when they bring you more money for your advertising space, but had you done it on your own, you wouldn’t be giving upwards of half your advertising dollars away.

Conclusion

There are so many advantages and disadvantages to direct advertising, but in the end it is up to you to decide what is best for you.

Some people don’t like handing payments, dealing with subscriptions, or even just dealing with potential advertisers. Personally, I love connecting with new people.

If you sell advertising directly from your site, have you done well, or horribly? Let me know in the comments below. And if you are interested in purchasing advertising on eXtra for Every Publisher, please check out the advertising page, and then contact me.

Originally posted on March 8, 2010 @ 8:07 pm