If you’re considering adding advertising to your craft blog to make some extra income, there are a TON of options out there. Private ads/sponsors, cost-per-click ads (such as Google Adsense), text link ads, and affiliate advertising are just some examples of the different ways you can generate some income from your blog. Craft blogs are a unique kind of website, and to make money from advertising, you really need to think about your audience before you take the jump to selling ad space. Apparently it’s a touchy subject because when I emailed my favorite bloggers a while back to ask them some questions about how they make their money, I received one nasty response and then NOTHING. Not a single positive response…but, moving on. Let’s get to the money!
Private Ads (aka “Sponsors”): In my opinion, this is the ideal kind of advertising on a craft blog. I say “ideal” and not “best” because it takes some time to work up the traffic on your blog to support this kind of advertising. You’ve probably seen ads on the sidebars of your favorite blogs, probably from stores where you have shopped before. It’s not a coincidence. The serious craft bloggers out there realize they can earn anywhere from $25-$200+ per ad each month from each advertiser (probably more, but they won’t tell me!)
For a company to want to pay for ad space on your blog, you’re obviously going to need some traffic. The best advice I can give is to make it really easy for stores to buy advertising space from you! Let them know you want to place ads by 1) making an ad placeholder in your sidebar (think: “your ad here”) that links to a contact form or email address; or 2) have a “Sponsors” link in your navigation menu that lists specifics, such as how many unique page views per month, who your readers are, and how much you charge. If you make it too hard to find this information, you better believe they will move on to another blog that is eager for ad money.
Pros:
- Steady stream of income. Fixed price means you will know exactly how much you will be making month-to-month from this type of ad.
- Your readers are probably at least familiar with the sponsors and that will make the ads blend in to your blog a little better.
- The buttons can be customized to match the color scheme of your blog. Often with these craft supply stores or fabric stores, they have a strong desire to look cute or modern, so their ads will be more aesthetically pleasing than ads from some other niches.
Cons:
- Fixed price ads can limit your profit potential. If you’re getting really good click-through rates using Adsense or another CPC ad, it might not make sense to limit yourself by using a fixed price model.
- It can be difficult to get the first paid sponsorships. You will have to prove that you have the traffic to make it cost-effective to advertise on your blog. It might make sense to offer a deal for the first month so that companies can see the benefits before investing too much money.
Cost-per-Click ads/Google Adsense: These are the ads you see in the middle of articles, on the sidebars, or pretty much anywhere on a website. You make money when a visitor clicks on the ad. Typically the ads are related (somewhat) to the topic on the current page, meaning they change with each page the reader visits.
If you do a search on how to “monetize your blog” you will be inundated with crackpots trying to sell you the *secret* to Google Adsense profits. I’ve subscribed to numerous blog experts’ mailing lists and read the sales pitches. I’ve tried putting Adsense on my own blogs and have yet to make a single dollar. My conclusion? The money you can earn on a craft blog using Adsense is minimal. Readers that visit craft blogs want to see the pictures, the tutorials, and the personality of the bloggers. They are smart. They’re not going to go from looking at your latest awesome scrapbook tutorial and then think “oh, you know what, I DO want to lose weight using this one secret to a flat stomach…let me click off of this page and check it out.”
Adsense might work in other niches, but I personally don’t think it works well with crafters.
Pros:
- Fairly easy to implement. Just sign up for an Adsense account with Google and then place the code on your blog.
- No traffic requirement. If you don’t have a large following yet, you can still have ads. This can be a two-fold benefit. As your blog grows, your readers won’t be shocked when they suddenly start seeing sponsors on the sidebar (a turn-off for some people who don’t know how much work it takes to blog.) Having these ads will also show private sponsors that you’re willing to sell your ad space, making you easier to approach.
Cons:
- Not a big income-generator on craft blogs.
Text Link Ads (Kontera): These are the least appealing ads, in my humble opinion. The ads are placed on the text in your article or post. This, to me, is really obnoxious. And I feel like it devalues your posts! Instead of focusing on your words, readers will be focusing on not clicking on the links accidentally. Yes, your might make more this way than through Adsense, but you will probably lose readers because they’re too annoyed to come back! If you make $10 from these ads in a month, is it worth annoying your audience?
Pros:
- Um…
Cons:
- Annoying
- Ugly
Affiliate Advertising: Where to begin?! First, I think this is an awesome way to make some money from your blog. If you aren’t familiar with affiliate advertising (aka “affiliate marketing”), it’s basically an agreement between someone selling a product and an advertiser (you). For every person that you refer to the product or company, you receive a commission. This agreement varies, but usually if the reader clicks on your affiliate link and purchases a product, you will receive a pre-determined amount of money. This is great because there are just so many opportunities available to you and you only promote items or products that you WANT to promote. Products you use and want to see your readers use. Want to learn more about affiliate marketing? I’m going to write a whole series of posts dedicated to this, so please come check back soon!
Pros:
- No earning cap. If 1,000 people buy a product that you recommend, you get 1,000 commissions.
- You can choose who you want to work with.
- It is really easy to set up. There are several ways to set up your link, which will all be covered in the Affiliate Marketing for Crafters series
Cons:
- Too many affiliate links might leave some people with a sour taste. Try and limit yourself to only the very best products that you know and love and you can’t go wrong!
Please leave a comment or question about advertising (or just to say hi). I would love to hear from you!
{ 11 comments }
