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How to Find Advertisers for Your Website: The Ultimate Guide

By Donny 126 Comments Reading Time: 7 minutes

Direct advertising sales is arguably the best method to monetize a website. Finding advertisers for your site and actually closing the deals, however, is not as straight forward. Over the past 6 months I had more than 10 high profile companies sponsoring Daily Blog Tips, and through out this article I will share what I have learned along the way.

howtifindadvertisers.gif

The Pros

  • More money: The first advantage of selling your own ads is the fact that you will cut the middlemen out, increasing your revenue potential. Suppose you sell text link ads on your sidebar through a certain company, and the text links sell for $50 monthly. Since you are using the company network to sell the ads, they will eat 50% of the price, and you will end up earning only $25 monthly for each text link. If someone is willing to pay $50 for a text link on your site, though, it means that they are getting $50 of value out of it. Why, then, should you share that with someone else?
  • Independence: Sure, large advertising networks have access to a wider pool of advertisers, and they have more credibility to close the deals. But if you have all the requirements in place (see the section below) and spend some time looking at the right places, I am sure that you will be able to sell your own ads just as efficiently as the larger networks.
  • Flexibility: The third advantage of selling direct advertising is that you will have much more control over where and how the ads will be displayed (i.e., you can avoid intrusive advertising). Google Adsense is nice, but unless you blend it with the content — annoying some of the readers — you will get terribly low click-through rates.
  • Credibility: Finally, having sponsors and direct advertisers on your blog might help your credibility. Even small and poorly crafted blogs can stick some Adsense units here and there. Having established companies that are willing to partnership with your site, on other hand, can signal that your content has quality and that the site is somewhat professional.

The Cons

  • Time consuming: While selling your own ads has many advantages, it is no panacea. The first drawback of this monetization option is the time that it will consume. This time will be spent optimizing your website for the ads, finding potential advertisers, negotiating with them, and handling the administrative matters (e.g., making payments, tracking statistics, delivering reports and so on).
  • Many requirements: Selling direct adverting is not as easy as making money from Google Adsense. As you can see from the section below, you will need to have a popular blog, a professional looking design, special software and the like.
  • Unstable: Unless you close deals for very long periods, which is unlikely, you will find your self looking for new advertisers or optimizing your website to attract new ones every other month. The opposite is true for most advertising networks, where you just need to plug some code and they will do the rest of the work. (If your site or blog is just a hobby, therefore, direct advertising might not be the best option)

What You Need to Have in Place

  • A popular website: Before landing direct advertising deals you will need to have a good amount of traffic on your site. There is no “magical” number here, but a good rule of thumb would be 1000 daily unique visitors. If you are below that mark you should focus on building traffic instead of looking for advertisers. Other factors like Google Pagerank, RSS subscribers and Alexa rank might also help. (Notice that small websites might also be able to sell direct advertising, but usually the time spent on that will not justify the results)
  • A clear focus: You might have the most popular site on the Internet (well, not as extreme as that, but you get the point), but unless your site also has a very clear niche and a defined audience, advertisers will not find it very attractive. This means that you should avoid rambling about 100 different topics on the website. Advertisers want to deliver a message to specific people, and the more specific the better.
  • A professional looking design: If you are planning to monetize your website through sponsors, you probably should invest some money into a professional looking design. Advertisers will be associating their product or service with your website, and not too many of them would be willing to get mixed with an ugly, MySpace looking site.
  • Give visibility to the sponsors: This point is connected to the previous one. Not all templates and themes will be suitable for selling direct advertising. Preferably you want to have an idea of what kind of advertising you will sell (e.g., 468×60 banners, 125×125 banners, text links) and design your website according to those objectives. Advertisers want visibility, so reserve a good spot for them.
  • Adserver software: In order to serve your ads, rotate banners and track statistics you will need to install an Adserver. If you are looking for a simple solution you should try WP-Ads. This WordPress plugin will serve ads for specific ad zones that you create. The only drawback is that it does not count clicks (only impressions). If you need a more sophisticated solution check OpenAds. You will need to spend some time learning how to use it, but it offers virtually all the features you will ever need.
  • “Advertise Here” page: It is very important to have an “Advertise Here” page. On this page you want to give some details about the website, like audience, traffic and any other factor that might be of the interest of potential advertisers. Secondly, make sure that you have some link to that page on the navigation bar and if possible close to the zone where the ads will be displayed. You can see a perfect example of such layout on Copyblogger.com.
  • Standard letter to approach advertisers: While some advertisers will contact you after reading your “Advertise Here” page, the rest of them will need to be directly approached by you. In that case, it is a good idea to create a standard letter to contact the advertisers. There is no “one size fits all” solution here, but you can follow some general guidelines:1. Introduce yourself and quickly explain what the email is about
    2. Explain why you decided to contact them and what they have to gain
    3. Give details about your site (traffic, subscribers, topic, audience)
    4. Give details about the advertising options (location on the site, max number of advertisers, monthly price)That is it, after that information the advertisers should be able to decide if they are interested or not. If they reply, then you will fix the details. Bear in mind that all the info I mentioned should be contained in 2 or 3 paragraphs. If you send an essay to potential advertisers they will just skip it altogether.
  • Accepting payments: You might have everything in place, but if you are not able to cash payments — or more importantly, if advertisers are not able to pay easily — you will end up losing deals. PayPal is the best option here. Notice, however, that a personal account will not suffice. You will need at least a premier account to be able to accept credit cards.

Where to Find the Advertisers

Once you have your direct advertising program established, you will start to receive inquiries from people. On the beginning, however, you will need to hunt advertisers down. Do not get discouraged if get turned down initially, provided you have all the aforementioned requirements, sooner or later you will find someone willing to take a shot on your site.

  • People linking to your site or articles: If a company is willing to link to your articles or to add your website under its “Links” or “Resources” section, it is also probably willing to discuss about advertising on your site. Keep track of those incoming links.
  • People leaving comments/e-mails: The same principle applies to people leaving comments on your blog or sending you e-mails. If among them you see an employee or the owner of a company that could be interested on your website, bingo! Contact him or her and get the conversation going.
  • AdWords advertisers: Through out your search for advertisers you will notice that most of the established companies are not aware of the benefits of online advertising. If a certain company is already spending money on Google AdWords, however, it is very likely that it would also be open to other forms of online advertising. Think about some keywords that are related to your topic and Google them. Check the sponsored links that will appear and contact them. (You can also check the advertisers that appear on the Adsense units of related websites)
  • Other advertising networks: While Google AdWords is by far the largest advertising network on the Internet, there are many others that could be useful. Check the companies that are spending money on AdBrite, Text-Link-Ads, BlogAds, SponsoredReviews and so on.
  • Banner advertisers on similar sites: Check out popular websites on your niche and see what companies are advertising there. Provided you offer them an interesting deal (i.e., a reasonable price for your size), I am pretty sure they will be interested.
  • Create a “Potential Sponsors” bookmark folder: This technique produced outstanding results for me. I have a bookmark folder on my browser called “Potential Sponsors.” Every time I come across a company or website that could be interested in sponsoring my website, I bookmark it. Currently I have over 100 bookmarked sites on that folder, and I have not approached half of them yet.

How Much to Charge

  • You need to provide value: It is all about value. A potential sponsor or advertiser will want to see some returns for the money he will be spending on your site, and this can be seen as visibility (impressions) and leads (clicks and possible sales). Make sure, therefore, that your advertising deals will deliver.
  • The numbers: Remember that there are some pretty cheap advertising options out there (e.g., Google AdWords), and you will need to be competitive. Provided you reserved a good spot for the sponsors (sidebar or header, preferably) you could start charging a $0,5 CPM (cost per 1000 impressions). If your blog is generating 100,000 monthly page views, therefore, a banner spot on your sidebar should cost around $50. Start low and build your way upwards. Popular blogs (e.g., TechCrunch) have a higher CPM, sometimes as high as $10, but you will need a huge credibility to arrive there.
  • Cross-check: You can easily check if you are charging a suitable rate by using Adsense units on the places where you will sell direct advertising. Analyze how much you would gain with Adsense, and adjust your rates accordingly. Secondly, you can also check similar sites that are already selling direct ads.
  • Be flexible regarding the terms: Flexibility is key. First of all make advertising agreements on a month-to-month basis. People don’t like to commit to something they are not completely sure about. If someone proposes you a longer deal, offer a discount in exchange.
  • Offer test periods: Unless you have a very popular website, you will find potential advertisers reluctant to spend real money. If you are confident that the deal will create value for both parties, however, you can use that on your favor. Offer a free test period whenever needed. Some of the times the advertiser will turn you down after it, but other times they will confirm the deal. Either way you have nothing to lose.
How to Find Advertisers for Your Website: The Ultimate Guide Photo

About Donny

I’m Donny. I can sum myself up with four simple ways. Online Entrepreneur. Author. Investor. World Traveler

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar of devinondevinon says

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    Thanks for the help. I think it is time I bear down and get some advertisers.

    Reply
  2. Avatar of fefosonfefoson says

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    Thanks for all the tips of how to secure advertisers to my site.

    Reply
  3. Avatar of Go IndiaonGo Indiaon says

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    Extremely Superb.

    Reply
  4. Avatar of IT BuzzonIT Buzzon says

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    Your article really helped in finding cool advertisers for my blog its really an awesome blog.

    Reply
  5. Avatar of HereFirstonHereFirston says

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    I still think is very hard to find some advertisers for your blog. I’ve tried your methods for some time, and it’s not working for you

    Reply
  6. Avatar of gabybaliongabybalion says

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    Got this link from ProBlogger.net, thank you so much for the tips,but since I don’t have the ability to do all these technical things,I’m not to do sure what to do now…

    Reply
  7. Avatar of Urgent CareonUrgent Careon says

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    Thanks for the great info. Ads are definitely the way to go!

    Reply
  8. Avatar of GartailoronGartailoron says

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    Hi,
    These are great tips. But what about the case of the websites that are launched new? Even if the website looks promising… … they will not have that many pageviews or hits immediately, say for atleast 6months we have to wait to get more hits… … and how to approach advertisers in that scenario?

    Reply
  9. Avatar of sianonsianon says

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    Great information here. We have just started our blog and any new info is great – thanks

    Reply
  10. Avatar of Joe StarronJoe Starron says

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    Nice information here. However, I have been successful in advertising without needing an incredible amount of traffic. I could show anyone how to do the same. Thanks.

    Reply
  11. Avatar of Student AthleteonStudent Athleteon says

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    Thanks for the great tip!

    Reply
  12. Avatar of Blog Income ReportonBlog Income Reporton says

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    Wow, pretty comprehensive post. I never knew about the WPAds plugin, might give it a try instead of adding all my adds manually.

    Reply
  13. Avatar of Work At Home BlogonWork At Home Blogon says

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    Unless your blog has lots of traffic, actively looking for advertisers is a good way to fill up your ad slots. I’ve found some success in a few forums.

    Reply
  14. Avatar of SethonSethon says

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    Still working on the traffic side of things. Looking to really get some big pageview #s before I spend all of the time soliciting advertisements.

    Reply
  15. Avatar of FenixonFenixon says

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    I’ve really been having trouble in this area, thanks for the help, great tips in this post!

    Reply
  16. Avatar of JosephonJosephon says

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    Its quiet very interesting if you come out like this to give the world knowledge of success please keep it up. The world needs you

    Reply
  17. Avatar of BioGeneticsonBioGeneticson says

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    Thanks for the great information. How many minimum google pagerank to follow these programs ??

    Reply
  18. Avatar of seema bhatiaonseema bhatiaon says

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    good information on advertisers thanks

    Reply
  19. Avatar of HollywoodDreamonHollywoodDreamon says

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    Awesome tips, thanks!

    Reply
  20. Avatar of Eddie GearonEddie Gearon says

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    Thanks you very much for this sharing this article. I got a lot out of it.

    Reply
  21. Avatar of Bang KritikusonBang Kritikuson says

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    Good article I want apply your guides soon

    Reply
  22. Avatar of Hire me as Full time link builderonHire me as Full time link builderon says

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    Thanks . It a complete guide to me .

    Reply
  23. Avatar of TomionTomion says

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    Nice Tips
    I’ll do it next time…

    Reply
  24. Avatar of gendutongenduton says

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    thanks for guide tips…… very useful listing and advice

    Reply
  25. Avatar of mymealworld.comonmymealworld.comon says

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    Excellent post

    Reply
  26. Avatar of Bang KritikusonBang Kritikuson says

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    Thanks for your information. I have a question, How many minimum google pagerank to follow these programs ??

    Reply
  27. Avatar of whatisJsononwhatisJsonon says

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    Good article

    Reply
  28. Avatar of manchitonmanchiton says

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    thanks.
    some of the links in your post are really useful
    sponsoredlinks is just one of them.
    adbrite is another.

    Reply
  29. Avatar of armandonarmandon says

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    great stuff here.

    Reply
  30. Avatar of Pradip DattaonPradip Dattaon says

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    Sir,

    Reply
  31. Avatar of LindaonLindaon says

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    There’s some good quality information here. Lots to think about. Thanks

    Reply
  32. Avatar of barbarosonbarbaroson says

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    Great article thank you for sharing with us.Finding advertisers for international website is more diffucult,using middle man advertising companies for international websites is not so profitable specially with CPM ads,and most of the time they do not send you payments in time.

    Reply
  33. Avatar of ChrisonChrison says

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    Very good and thorough list of considerations when trying to find advertisers for your website. I have yet to approach advertisers directly, opting instead to go through programs like Adsense, Kontera, CJ, and Clickbank as ways to earn money. I definitely like the idea of earning more of the actual revenue by doing it myself, so I will be doing some exploration into this in the near future–as soon as I build up a lot more traffic!

    Reply
  34. Avatar of axel gonaxel gon says

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    Good point A.J!
    Why wait for 45 days to get paid, when you could get your money in advance?

    Reply
  35. Avatar of GGonGGon says

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    fantastic tips

    Reply
  36. Avatar of LimoGrabberonLimoGrabberon says

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    Great Article.
    Thank you !!!!

    Reply
  37. Avatar of dm2ondm2on says

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    by reading your articles.. I get many improvement and idea…..I will make choice the best ways to promote my web by testing….thanks very useful

    Reply
  38. Avatar of Samuel DiamondonSamuel Diamondon says

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    Great post. But this doesn’t tell you how to find advertisers. Its a great way to tell someone how to gear up for advertising opportunities, but very shallow content on how to exactly find them.

    Reply
  39. Avatar of sachinonsachinon says

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    Great tips..thanks

    Reply
  40. Avatar of shaileshonshaileshon says

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    thanks for it ,it s great

    Reply
  41. Avatar of iskeleoniskeleon says

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    Hmm. Thank you for this good article.
    I will Translate it into my language.

    Reply
  42. Avatar of AlexonAlexon says

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    I liked your detailed article but the theme of your heading is not really answered. It would have been useful if you would have specified how to really find the advertisers practically.

    Reply
  43. Avatar of Article AlleyonArticle Alleyon says

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    Thats good solid advice, a way to jump start things is to populate your adspace with affliates, this gives the impression of a site that has already paying advertiser – no one likes to be the first one to pay.

    Reply
  44. Avatar of http://www.limoscan.comonhttp://www.limoscan.comon says

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    Thank you for this great article.

    Reply
  45. Avatar of Boris C.onBoris C.on says

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    I wonder if there is advertisers and publishers network where there are no side fees for finding advertisers and vise versa.

    Reply
  46. Avatar of whatisjson.comonwhatisjson.comon says

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    Thanks for this article.

    Reply
  47. Avatar of BenseonBenseon says

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    Great article. Thanks

    Reply
  48. Avatar of beijing medal tally resultsonbeijing medal tally resultson says

    at

    thanks for the information.

    Reply
  49. Avatar of Boris C.onBoris C.on says

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    This post is exactly what i was looking for. Great ideas that i didn’t think of. I am sure this post could be more extensive since this topic has a lot to cover.

    Reply
  50. Avatar of CeceliaonCeceliaon says

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    Thanks…after reading your article I think I’ll continue to worry about traffic and work on ads at a latter date. Love your blog!

    Reply
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