(NB – that title’s so un-toppable it might mark the end of this blog entirely.)
Contextual ads as served by the Google and Yahoo! don’t work well for most blogs and don’t work at all for sex-sites (if you don’t believe me – so arrogant… – read my previous two posts).
AdBrite, and some other ad networks I care about less because I’m not currently using them, offer one important benefit over other contextual ad services in that they’ll sell ads for you.
Instead of waiting for your next post on squirting to pull an ad for a wet-and-dry Roomba, you gain the benefit of an advertising team. That team – twentysomething marketing grads who dream of a future life where they don’t sell ads to strangers on the phone and blue leads – use their computers to sell ads on your site for you. That means you get emails saying that company A want to pay you X per day for running an ad on your blog. All you have to do is approve it and that’s why I use AdBrite.
Their contextual ads aren’t much to write home about, but getting a check for a flat-rate ad deal is. Even making $2 a day puts you ahead of the vast majority of sites surviving via contextual ads alone.
The downside to networks like AdBrite is that advertisers, simple-minded folk that they are, tend to favor the largest sites they can find. Even though they might get better value by spreading their ads over a thousand tiny sites, they’d generally rather stick with a couple of large ones that are easy to justify. For small site that means the advertisers often don’t come knocking at all.
Currently there’s no adult specific ad network I’m aware of. AdBrite sell their technology under the AVN brand to adult sites but it’s still just AdBrite. Is there space for a sex-blog/site specific ad network? Sure. The technology’s simple, getting people to sell ads isn’t. AdBrite clearly don’t have strong ties with the adult industry, or aren’t very good at selling to porn companies. Their inventory for the jizz-bizz category isn’t very strong and that means advertisers can be extremely picky about whom they fund.
The best return is always having a direct relationship with the companies selling products as fewer middle-men means more profit for you. Until a site’s large enough to attract advertisers directly, or there’s an adult site specific ad network, my guess is that it will remain easier to make cash via affiliate programs than contextual ads.
You’ve got to be bored with ads by now right?
Popularity: 34% [?]
Nope. But I have sex on the brain and tingly feelings down below so a naughty entry would be appreciated. Maybe something about the joys of nipples.
AdBrite (along with AdEngage) is pretty much the only game in town for adult sites and I’d be willing to bet adult ads are their bread and butter. All the big ‘logs run AdBrite ads, including our beloved Fleshbot.
The thing is, porn companies don’t really have to bother with ads — they have established video store/cable distribution networks, they have syndication via online video shops, they get free publicity on porn news sites, and for those that do sell directly to the internet consumer, affiliate programs meet their promotion needs.
Though my affiliate income dwarfs my pay-per-click income, PPC does provide a nice boost. AdBrite manages to sell 60-80% of my inventory every month so I’m pretty satisfied with them.
I’ve been toying with the idea of trying AdBrite.
I had thought of trying Yahoo ads but didn’t realize they didn’t do adult sites.
My boyfriend does all the advertising stuff on my site, and we use Adbrite. I don’t know the details of what he’s doing, but I do know the money figures, and it’s not a lot. Plus, the ads are always the same “find a fuck buddy” type. Not sure they’re very good at all with moving beyond a very small niche in the adult world.
Got no clue what we’re doing with affiliates other than we’re running a banner for ForTheGirls, which I assume gets us something, but I haven’t seen anything yet.
I use adbrite aka avn to sell ads on My site as well as place ads on other sites. I actually like them compared to adengage. I didn’t get that many hits on My site from them. I don’t think a lot of people know about that site too much.
I use avn to promote My site and to promote several affiliates that I belong to. Your return is based on what site you decide to promote whatever affiliate you want. For example, My site is domination, fetish based, you wouldn’t put up an affiliate for milf’s or blondes with big tits getting rimmed. Yanno what I mean? Make sure you target your affiliates perfectly and not just place an ad wherever you see fit!