Mommy Blogging Monetization 101, Part 1

Monetizing your blog is something that seems to be on a lot of bloggers minds- all the time. The information is sought out, discussed,  and celebrated. Its also looked down upon and gossiped about. There can truly be a tirade of emotions when it comes to discussing money and mom bloggers.

When I sat down to write this article, I hesitated.

What?? You hesitated Trisha!?

I hesitated because no matter how much you try to put out information to assist people, there will always be someone that wants to tear down the entire process out of jealousy. I also didn’t want to give the impression that the only reason I blog is FOR money, because its not. However, instead of scrapping the idea, I approached my blogging community to ask them what they thought. With their support and interest, (and several pep talks-thanks stacie), this article is coming to life.

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Here is a huge revelation: I don’t just blog for fun. *gasp*

When I first started blogging, monetization was absolutely on my mind, although not the only thing on my mind. I think its clear when you see me smash eggs on my head I’m having a blast and not thinking about a conference call with a client. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a business side that serves my blog as well.

It seems that when you talk about money and mom blogging there seems to be two schools of thought that follow: The “uh, yes money please” people and the “I only blog because I love it and I don’t want ads” people.

I happen to be a “My bills need to be paid and I would rather do it talking to people all day instead of a 9-5, thank you very much” kind of person.

I am a serial entrepreneur.

Here comes the big fat Disclosure: This article is in no way attempting to pass on a get rich scheme, a false hope, or a way to skip all the rules to gain a secondary income. The income I make, which may seem like mom blogging wealth, is really poverty level in relation to an outside job. The hours far exceed the pay, you must be on top of it at all times, and it can be highly stressful. As anyone that owns their own business will tell you, making money, online or off, requires dedication, hard work, and excellence in self. Most people quit before they even start. Its the 1% that keep going that ultimately succeed.

That choice is yours.

In fact, most of you will quit reading before you even finish this series of articles, am I right?

Whether or not you start a blog with the purpose of income or not, as soon as you develop the idea you have to be really considerate of your layout. For a mom blogger, content really is key and loading your site with more ads than articles can leave your visitors with a bad taste in their mouth on returning. That’s good for no one.

Most web visitors are used to ads. They realize that sites cost money to run and therefore require money to pay back in. Because of this, ads are generally tolerable. We see them on nearly every site we visit, in our email boxes, and all over the search engines.  Nonetheless, finding non intrusive but interesting ways to incorporate them into your site will not only give the advertiser more luck, but create a flowing environment for your readers.

Take care on how your posts are laid out, the sidebar, header, and footer locations. All these are prime spots for ads or text links if adjusted the right way.

Here are the locations of ads on MomDots main blog.

Do not be afraid to change your layout to monetize if that is one of your goals. Getting stuck on a layout is like falling in love with your own house when its time to sell.

Sometimes you have to detach yourself for the greater good.

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When should you monetize your blog?

There are many people that believe monetizing at the beginning is best for your visitors. It already shows them that you have ads present and they are less likely to get turned off then if you don’t  and add in the future. I personally think it can go either way. The way I look at it every time I make any change on my site is that for every visitor that doesn’t like a change, someone else new comes along and is ok with it. My audience will find me. The biggest thing is once you decide to go for it, you will need to commit in order to see results.

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There are hundreds of ways to make an income online but unless you are running a mom blog as big as Perez (which btw, starts at $25,000 a week and up) chances are your income source will need to come from more than one source.

But Trisha, I don’t have big page views!

Every blogger has something to offer, regardless of their page views.

Mom bloggers are notorious for advertising, public relations, being a spokesperson..we are the voice of the consumer on the world wide web. Know your worth and stick to your worth. Sometimes that worth is an exchange, sometimes its advertising dollars, sometimes its sponsorship money. Whatever it is, it has to be a great fit for what you are trying to achieve.

Learn the word NO. Its OK to say NO.

NO, I will not do that for free. Practice with me. NO. You will not die if they say no back to you. Your blog will not shut down. Other companies will still talk to you. I swear.

1) Lets start with ad networks. This is my number one source of steady pay.

For momdot, I go about site monetization via ads. I don’t like to get too caught up in the ethical connotations of review/giveaway advertorial cash too often, therefore I tend to utilize those as ways to create CPM money via my ads, relationships with public relations, and giving back to my community.

It keeps other bloggers and the FTC off my ass.

There are two ways to sell banner ads on your site. You can sell directly to companies that inquire or you can be part of an ad network. Both have advantages, but I prefer CPM ad network programs.

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What is CPM?

CPM is the cost per thousand impressions (or page views) on your site.

Lets say someone has an ad on your page for $4 per CPM. That means for every 1000 page loads you have, you earn $4. If you have a large site with many page views, this could ad up to a subsidized income. Unfortunately most mom blogs cannot rely just on CPM as their entire income creation, therefore direct purchase is also a great thing.

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Mom blogs are known for reaching their audience in a very personal way. They have a voice that is heard by people whom are actually listening to their opinions. When frequent visitors that trust you sees an ad appear on your site for a company you believe in, it helps brand them as well. Because of this, I firmly believe that having large page views is not the only thing a company should rely on for advertising online.

A purchase is a purchase period.

I know many blogs that have less numbers than I have, but have the same impact on their audience.  Large or small, every reader is valuable to an advertiser. There will no doubt be resistance if you are a smaller blog, so its important to pay attention to your interaction with your readers and your entire social networking reach so you can adequately pass that on to an interested buyer.

I have tested out many ad networks myself. Its important to find an ad network that displays ads that fit your content, that fit your layout, and also have terms that you can agree with. While none of the ad networks momdot have worked with are competitive with each other and allow other ads on the pages, nearly all of them want the above the fold spot, therefore it limits the ads I can actually display.

Not everyone can be the top spot.

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What is above the fold?

Above the fold is generally defined as the top half of your site. Its an old newspaper reference that equates your site to folding a newspaper in half. When you fold it, the stuff on the top is above the fold, everything else is below the fold. Its my understanding that Above the Fold should be within the first 600 pixels of the webpage.

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The other problem I find is that ad networks often do not have ads to FILL your spots. You are either left with a blank spot or balancing it out back and forth. For me, its important to find an ad network that can support the page views I am offering and have an ad in place at all times without having to change. Some, but not all, ad networks offer filler areas where you can input other neworks. This means when they are not showing an ad on your site, it displays your other network. Its a pretty great solution to keep a spot full.

Here are two ad networks I have worked with this year, including impressions and earnings. These two different networks represent 30 day earnings in 2 recent months.

I belong to several networks that also offer me specific campaigns bought out for my site. For example, I was sent this last month from an ad network I am with:

Flight Date:  November 9^th – November 22^nd

Ad Units:  Box, Leader board, Wide Skyscraper

CPM:  $4.50 [Gross]

This was one I declined because of layout requirements.

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Where can I get an ad network?

Many ad networks have minimum page views, so you will need to find something suitable for your own site and the amount of views you are bringing in.

A few popular ad networks used by mom bloggers are:

• BlogHer Ads -lots of restrictions but has good rep for pay
• JuiceBoxJungle- has been rumored to slow sites down on load, but personally have not experienced this. They are really nice.
• Buzz Logic- Doesn’t always have an ad to display, but they are really nice.
• Glam- We had problems with their ads slowing down the loading time of the site.
• Real Girls Media- Picky. We were turned down..twice.
• Burst- I am actually on this network but don’t currently display the ads. They send out a lot of good offers though.
• Lifetime Moms- This is a newer network.Already has rep for good CPM. I cant get anyone to return my emails, so I will never know. I think you have to be invited. I apparently suck.
• Federated Media- Like fort knox to get into. But its fun to apply weekly to get on their nerves.

Ad Networks I know nothing about but other bloggers use:

• Better Homes and Gardens
• Martha Stewart
• Six Apart
• Natural Path
• 5 minute Video

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2) Direct Ad purchase

Another way to get involved with banner ads are direct purchase. I happen to believe direct purchase is an excellent way for companies, especially smaller and mom owned businesses, to get in front of a blog audience. While every blogger needs to decide what their media rate is,  I have charged as small as $50 and as large as $500  depending on size and location on my site. All rates are for 30 days and the companies are required to supply their own creatives.

How do you get direct ads?

Generally I get them from inquirers based on advertising information present on my site. If I am displaying ads, companies can see that I allow ads and know to contact me. Its a good idea to have some sort of text link on the top or the bottom that goes to a page that either has your media kit or additional information that you accept ads and where to contact you at. The link helps SEO your site properly as well if you do it right. (That’s another blog post entirely).

As a business, I have been pitched by bloggers to buy ads on their site or specials they may be running. Be careful if you pitch a company uninvited that the information you send them is highly professional. I have checked out bloggers that have pitched me (not realizing it is me) via my company,to be led to sites with broken links and disorganized pages. I am not looking down on the hard sell, but make the landing worth the visit.  This is probably only going to work well for mom based businesses instead of corporations.

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Taxes: YES. You are responsible for taxes so do not forget to put away some money in relation to your earnings. Ad networks will 1099 at you at the end of the year. Do not be caught off guard!

That’s my sum up for banner ads. Please remember that it took over a year and a half to gain a steady source of capitol from my blog. I had to put in quite a bit of my own money and time to go from red to black.

Ill be back to talk about affiliates, text link ads, and mom blog “extras” like advertorial and consultation fees in a future post. Look for those articles throughout the week.

Or later today if I feel adventurous.

And bored.

~Trisha