BlogAds or AdSense or No Ads at All?

Selling adspace for your blog is not a light decision to make.

For both business and personal blogs, selling an ad changes the tone of your blog, and before you sign up or agree to a banner placement, seriously consider the message you are sending.

Business Blogs

If you have a business blog, the use of blog ads is almost assuredly a no-no. Yes, microbusinesses might benefit from $100 or even $500 a month - but chances are if your traffic is that good, your business is far more successful that an extra $6,000 a year.

With local search ads, the danger of competitors appearing on your blog will only grow. It's a simple calculation.

If you need the money from ads to blog, chances are your blog will be too small to bring in that money.

Paid ads are a little different story. Paid ads have the advantage of targeting, as in you get to choose what you're targeting to your readers. This works particularly well for community blogs and people who stick to one topic. Thus, if you were a retail store selling cartridge ink, a blog ad for cameras would make sense, bringing value to your customers without creating competition.

And that's what paid ads are for:

Paid Ads should be used When they Clearly Bring Value To Your Audience

Personal Blogging

When I first started blogging, making money was a no-no. That has changed, but there is still something different about blogs that have ads.

1) Ads take up valuable space: To make the best money, ads take up valuable space on your blog. Wouldn't you be better off using that space to build an audience?

2) Ads let people know that your blogging is for sale:
The bias of a blogger is a positive when it comes to establishing trust online. That's a positive in my view, because I don't know anyone who doesn't have some kind of bias, and I trust people who admit that right up front. Using ads on your side tells me the blogger has either a) made a conscious choice to make money with their writing, or b) hasn't put much thought at all into their blogging. Both of those situations affect my trust of any particular blog.

That may seem unfair, but I've seen too many people change when the money starts coming in. When a little comes in, they want more. When a lot comes in, they get nervous about losing it.

General Ad advice:

1) If you're going to run ads, check out Blog Ads. Henry Copeland is a blogger - go to the source for ideas and the best way to use ads on your blog
2) Control what goes on your blog. Adult content still has the highest click-through rate, but is that really want you want to be pitching? Even the ads with tee-shirts, or young girls selling hats can turn off your readership. Make sure you know what is going to appear on your blog before you authorize it.
3) Work out private deals to make more money. Speak to individuals to build private ads for more money. For small, targeted blogs, this is a way to maximize that space. Consider sponsorship if you feel strongly about the product.
4) Work towards ROI. Track statistics of your blog ads to see what made the most money for your advertisers. Selecting the right ads and pimping them yourself brings value to all three participants,: you, the advertiser, and the customer.
5) BE OPEN, HONEST, and NEVER LET SOMEONE CALL YOU A SHILL. Don't suck up to advertisers, and explain all of your relationships before writing about a product. You can destroy your credibility, and that of the advertiser if you don't fully disclose your relationship.

-Jim Durbin