5 Steps To Make Your Blog Attractive To Advertisers
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So, you’re serious about blogging for the money. You’ve signed up with one or more of my recommended companies and now you’re waiting for the opportunities to roll in… and waiting… and maybe waiting some more.
“Why does So-and-So make so much with them, but I don’t?” you may wonder. “What’s So-and-So’s secret???”
Well, let me tell you my secret but, be warned, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t dispense a little venom with my advice: if other people are making money with a company but you aren’t, there’s a distinct possibility that the problem is not with the company.
So let’s look at what it takes to attract interest from advertisers and the companies who represent them. This time, I’m calling in the experts to back me up with some tips of their own. Interestingly enough, you’ll find these very same tips also attract more readers.
Funny how it works that way.
1. Blog regularly.
Readers visit blogs where they know they can reliably find fresh content. Advertisers go where the readers are. It’s that simple, really.
Put yourself in an advertiser’s position and ask whether you’d really be interested in spending $100 or so for a link on a site where traffic spikes and wanes, largely because the site is sporadically updated? When readers know that a blog will only be updated every few days — if that — they don’t bother visiting daily.
Let me say that again: when readers know that a blog will only be updated every few days — if that — they don’t bother visiting daily. Advertisers know this. The companies who represent them know this, too. They also know that if your traffic spikes after an entry is posted, then dwindles to nothing for days while you ignore your blog, they aren’t going to get the benefit of regular exposure for their ad.
But don’t just take it from me.
Ron Wicker, Founder and President of LinkWorth, recently told me in an email discussion on this very topic:
“What we look for when building campaigns is sites/blogs that appear to have potential. PageRank is out and content plus readership is in.” (Emphasis mine)
In other words, if you want to make money blogging, you’ve actually got to blog, and you’ve got to do it regularly, providing content that is relevant to peoples’ lives, and not merely one half-hearted paid entry after another.
2. Blog because you enjoy blogging, not just because you enjoy money.
We’ve all seen those horrible blogs obviously designed for the sole purpose of padding the blogger’s wallet. You know the ones I’m talking about: where most entries obviously contain some kind of paid link and if there are intervening entries they’re half-heartedly written.
They’re the kind of sponsored blogs that are splogs, and those bloggers have doomed themselves to scrambling for piddly opportunities because they’re only in it for the money.
Ron agrees with me on this point, too (which makes for yet another reason I like the guy):
“The forced bloggers are too obvious because we see so many sites daily and the bloggers who write passionately not only attract readers, but they’ll also attract advertisers. If you’re forcing yourself to write something just to write something and don’t really have much passion in it, the general reader will notice.”
As the saying goes, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” That applies in blogging, too, folks.
3. Clean up your blog.
Again, put yourself in the place of an advertiser. As we all know, a certain search engine has come out and said that placing links on a site in order to obtain link juice is bad.
But let’s say you’ve got $100 to buy a sidebar link, would you spend it on a blog where the homepage is peppered with 100 or more outgoing links, with yours just being one of them, or would you advertise with the blog with 50 or less, where your link might actually be seen? (Of course, the same theory applies if, for instance, an advertiser actually was trying to buy links for other reasons.)
So ditch some of those unnecessary sidebar sections you have on your home page, the ones featuring quotes and Flickr photos, unnecessary stats and redundant lists. (Seriously, do you need to list the Top Commenters and excerpts from their comments and your most commented posts and your most popular posts and so on?)
While you’re at it, consider moving your blogroll off of your home page, perhaps to a “Blogroll” page of its own that’s linked from your sidebar or navbar. Not only will this help clean up the look of your site, but it will also help reduce PR leak from your home page.
Ditto for the badges and buttons that so many of you seem to think (wrongly) make your blog look important. As for the “Hire me!” and “A review on this blog costs $X” buttons… if you can’t make yourself completely abandon them, then move them to an “Advertise Here” page.
The cleaner your site looks, the more advertisers know their link(s) won’t get lost in the fray. Meanwhile, your readers won’t feel nearly as overwhelmed trying to find their way around on your page.
4. Get focused and stay focused.
I thought I’d already hammered enough about why it’s critical to focus your blog to improve traffic and profit. Then, earlier today, I received an email from someone asking what they should do when a site like LinkWorth asks them to provide “tags” describing their blog.
My initial reply explained that “tags” are keywords describing what your blog is about, and one quick way to find yours is to look at your blog categories. Then I visited her blog and there wasn’t a list of categories on the home page. How else are first-time readers supposed to figure out what your blog is about?
So I did a bit of looking around and saw that the handful of entries she had available on her home page had been filed under things like “Flimsy stuff” and “Girly girl matters” or something like that. No wonder that blogger was having trouble finding keywords to describe her site!
If you can’t figure out what your “tags” are then, I hate to say it, you’re playing ostrich with your blog focus. That’s only going to hurt your opportunities to make money with your blog.
Once again, look at the matter as an advertise would: if there’s $100 to spend advertising, it’s going to be spent on a site that clearly relates to your target market. So how do you, as a blogger, convince them to spend it with you? Focus your blog, and make certain that focus is obvious to anyone visiting your site!
But, again, you don’t have to take my word for it.
In an email earlier this evening, Matt Stoddart, Executive Vice President at LinkWorth, explained the importance of picking out good, strong tags to describe your blog:
Use the TAGS feature to describe your site in our inventory. We rolled this out awhile back and it helps immensely. When our account managers (or self-service advertisers) are searching for relevant sites to use, they typically search by keyword. So, if your tags aren’t in order you could easily get overlooked because all of the other sites that do have the proper tags listed will be seen well ahead of you.
That rationale applies to any company representing advertisers. Heck, it’s an essential of good blogging, too. If you want higher traffic (and therefore greater opportunities to earn income), you’ve got to decide what your blog is about and then help others understand what it’s about, too.
Yes, that may mean renaming your categories and listing them on the front page. Keep the number of categories reasonable, though, or you’ll just be cluttering up your page while also losing your blog’s focus.
5. Socialize. Network. Mingle.
Let’s face it: blogging is time-consuming. The only way to do it profitably while staying sane is to manage your time effectively. When it comes to socializing (i.e., commenting at other blogs), just about any time you spend is time well-spent. Socializing, networking and participating in the blogosphere helps get your name out there so other people can discover your site.
One of the biggest favors you can do for your traffic is to explore other, unfamiliar blogs in your subject area. (See, again we come back to the importance of knowing your blog focus!) Find out what other bloggers are writing. Leave comments at their site. Link back to their entries and don’t hesitate to drop them a polite email letting them know when you’ve written something they or their readers might also enjoy. But don’t beg for links, please.
While you’re at it, consider socializing on the blogs maintained by the companies from whom you’re seeking business, too. LinkWorth, Sponsored Reviews and Text Link Ads all run blogs with open comment sections. Those comments are read by people, folks. The same people who can help your blog become profitable. Participating in their comment section not only helps get your name in front of them but also — as I’ve found — can result in making some quality friends.
Speaking of which, Ron Wicker from LinkWorth has this to add about socializing:
I’d say the average blog will take a good 4-6 months of continuous “GOOD” posts and socializing. When I say “socializing”, I mean, participating in other blogs/forums/sites related to their topic with commenting regularly and including a link to their blog with their comment. Without the socializing, you’re probably not going to be found. But once the blog starts picking up steam, the advertising will start to come and it all begins to fall in place.
Matt Stoddart (the man who is one heartbeat away from Ron’s job), says much the same thing:
A little interaction never hurts! Our blog isn’t necessarily the greatest source of information but we do try to post somewhat regularly. Just as our relationship began after I posted a comment on your blog, we really get to know people here through their interaction with us, too.
In other words, you are the best form of advertising for your blog. So start whipping up some good content, clean up your design and clarify your blog’s focus. Then get out there and invest time in making yourself (and your blog) known to others.
I promise, your investment will pay off with higher traffic and more income, and then YOU will be the So-and-So other people are judging their income by.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 8:37 pm and is filed under Make Money Blogging. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Tagged in: blog advertising | blogging for the money | paid blogging | problogging
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Top Commenters
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Matt Hanson
I wonder who you might be referring to here.
I’ll have you know I get decent attention from other similar venues, so nana nana poo poo coochie coochie coo coo.
For whatever reason though Linkworth advertisers seem to FREAK the F*&# out when they come across my profile. Ah well, maybe it’s my niche. As in, I don’t have one.
As for tags, I found another good approach is to analyze the keywords that bring people to your site. I use HitTail to sift through 6 months of keyword analysis and try to understand what people are looking for. What are their hopes, their dreams, their keyphrases? For example, one of the keywords that draws the highest traffic is the name for an anonymous browser I use. From that I can glean that a significant portion of my audience are interested in online privacy, and in fact a few of my posts have revolved around that theme. In addition, I also visit th blogs of my loyal readers to see what their interests and passions are as well.
All in all, it’s a really great way to discover not only the makeup of your blog, but the makeup of your audience too.
Hah! Your comment landed in moderation for some reason. I’m guessing it was the coochie coo coo part.
Great thoughts on the keyword analysis, Linc!
Have I told you lately that you are the queen of paid blogging?!
Amanda’s last blog post..Scrunchy-Dress
Hah! I just envisioned myself slipping on a tiara every time I sit down at my laptop. Think it would look all right with the Cowboy and Indian flannel PJs that I’m wearing?
It would look fabulous! LOL
Amanda’s last blog post..Scrunchy-Dress
If I were one heartbeat away from Ron’s job LinkWorth would be in serious trouble!
Well then I’ll wish you both good health and long lives!
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An excellent, helpful, informative, well thought out post. Nicely done!
valmg’s last blog post..February contest!
Hey, where’d my comment go?? I wrote a long one too! :-O
What a world we live in when a coochie coo gets you moderated.
You know, that was really, really long. But it was actually very good. There are some key points about moving things to dedicated pages that needed to be emphasized and you did a good job.
Yeah, it was long, wasn’t it? I think I’m going to start breaking these things up into shorter series posts.
That depends on how far you break it up. I would hate to see 5 steps in 5 posts.
So would I. For the most part, breaking larger posts into smaller ones simply requires revamping the original topic into something narrower.
Next time I’ll do that.
Or…….
http://remstate.com/projects/in-series/
Kate , I thoroughly enjoyed this post, I may have found a new stop, good job
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