Coming Soon? Yes They Are I Swear - I Need Your Advice First!
OK, this is totally my bad, and I apologies. Recently, Mirjam, one of my faithful readers pointed out the fact that the *coming soon* boxes across the top have been there, well, for quite some time to say the least.
Between being super duper busy, then my 2 month accident disappearance, then being twice as busy with current and catch-up work……….
Aye Curumba, you get the idea.
What they are going to be is a new advertising option I thought up, and I think some are really gonna jump for it.
Some might even think I’m nuts for offering it as it will give massive exposure to the advertiser(s) in a prime location, taking visitors away from my blog.
Now, this is where your advice is needed. Big Time. On top of my reasons above (or maybe because of them), I haven’t even STARTED charging for adspace yet!
If YOU have an *Advertise* page, please advise me on:
What to include and/or what NOT to include (I tend to give to much info when I don’t have too).
If there is any particular order I should list things.
Anything else you can think of that would be helpful.
I will even allow you to include a link to your advertise page within your comment 
(but I want a kickback from proceeds you derive from it 
).
Notice the bolded include. I do not want JUST your page link as the comment, thank you. Besides, the more helpful the comment is could help others as well.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
That extra link may throw everyones comment into moderation or even my Akismet filter. No worries though and no need to double post.
No related posts.
Tags: Advertising, Akismet, Blog Advertising
Jaq @ Net Age Web Design
Kev
Latief@AnotherBlogger
sherry
September 30th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I would advise you to have a look at some of the big guys advertising page like john chow: http://www.johnchow.com/advertise/
I mean, it’s all a matter of saying why people should advertise on your blog, how much it cost and what spots are available!
Ben - frogstr.com´s last blog post..Google loves fast hosts
October 1st, 2008 at 9:35 am
Include everything you think that’s good to boast about. Do NOT flaunt your bad stats (for example, if you have a PR1 then there’s no need to say that).
I’d suggest that you place an introduction, that is, WHY advertise on your site. Then followed by your rates, then testimonials (if any). Check my advertise page if you want, it brought me a couple of advertisers in one month.
Lucas´s last blog post..Oops, You Just Killed Your Reputation!
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:23 am
Try to highlight the benefits of advertising with you first. Only then people will get the confidence in you and be reasonable in your pricing.
Tracy Benungski - Internet business make money online
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:54 am
Pagerank asides, I think as a private advertiser I’d like to have an idea of your traffic stats so you have it then flaunt it and while awaiting for any orders, fill in the spot with any affiliates banners.
Whatever you do, don’t ever leave it empty. It’s all about the value of perception.
Yan
Blog for Beginners´s last blog post..The Best 15 SEO Tools At Your Disposal
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I agree with what I see above, I’d want to know the kind of traffic that was coming through, but also one would hope they’d at least visit the blog to see what you were writing about.
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:53 pm
i agree with all the comments here. It is a good idea to see what the others are showing.
Brag about your strong points, get testimonials, if you have a way to calculate eCPM and average CPC and if they are good then brag about it .p (like i do from time to time) lol
Hugo Santos´s last blog post..Woopra Rules!
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Hi Dennis,
This is the first time I’ve visited your blog. (I followed the link from the comment you left on my site.)
My first impression was not good. All I saw was your header, a banner, some pages, and a lot of blank space that said “coming soon.”
Truthfully, I almost didn’t scroll down to see what was below the fold.
Now, you didn’t ask for my opinion about this, but I would not want to offer three large ad spaces above my content, even if it paid a lot. I think it will negatively impact your readership.
But, that’s just guessing. There’s no way to know without testing, and I really don’t know how to do A/B split testing on a WordPress blog. I guess it could be done by rotating traffic between two almost identical blogs, but I don’t think that would be the best way to go.
I can’t offer any advice on an “Advertise” page, but I agree with the thoughts about getting rid of that blank space as soon as you can. You can put up affiliate links, or offer a very attractive discount to your regular readers for a limited time just to get something in those spots.
You know what they say about nobody wanting to buy if nobody is buying, so you need to make it look like someone is already buying ads on your site. That would help to create a perception of value and scarcity.
I don’t know if any of that is helpful or not. I hope you have real success with selling your advertising spaces.
Act on your dream!
JD
John Dilbeck´s last blog post..Where is my bail out?
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Ben - just a little too intimidating, I’m not quite ready to sell the 125×125’s for $500 a pop LOL
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Lucas - Nice layout and I see what you mean. Good tips there. I like the testimonial idea as well, very cool.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Tracy - I like the concept, but I’m not really sure what those benefits are….”first” as apposed to what?
That may be a dumb question…
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Yan - absolutely right on not leaving it blank. I’ve had affiliates and freebies on the right hand side since the beginning.
As for those top spots, I only thought up the idea I have now a short time ago.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Mitch - I don’t see how one could pay for advertising sight unseen? Unless they just blanket the neighborhood (so to speak) for some reason.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Hugo - I still don’t ‘get” the whole thing with CPM & CPC and all that jazz. It’s something I really have to read up on.
If you or anyone else could email me some good resource links, I’d greatly appreciate it….please don’t fill up the comments with links though
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Hey John, thanks so much for dropping by. It is very helpful indeed, but I gotta say I am a smidge distressed here…
Is that really ALL you see? I see that and at least past the first paragraph of the first post. Lets say down to where it says “Subscribe By Reader” on the right hand side.
Plus I’ve never heard ANYTHING from anyone else…true many aren’t that “bold” but I sure wish they would be if this was the case.
My traffic just goes up, including return visitors.
Hmm, I think i know what my next opinion poll post is going to be!
Thanks again John and drop by anytime
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Dennis,
I get email all the time from people wanting to swap links with me, and it’s apparent that they have never been to my sites, otherwise they’d never bother me. That’s why I mentioned it.
And I have to side with John on one of the points he made, which I hadn’t thought about. On my screen, you see the ads and no content other than the title of your new post and the “subscribe” wording, depending on the size of the font someone is viewing (mine is moderate, as very small print doesn’t work as well with my eyes anymore), so I don’t see any of your content before the fold. If I didn’t know about your blog, I might be inclined to move on (well, if I were a newbie I would) because of the assault. Then again, maybe if you filled up the top with 125×125 ads, it would work a lot better.
Mitch´s last blog post..$100 Million Dollar Challenge
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:18 pm
If it was my blog I would offer the ad space in your column rather than taking up all the space at the top. Now that it’s empty people may scroll down to see what you have to offer but once you’ve filled them and if they don;t like what they see I’m afraid you may lose them.
Sire´s last blog post..Is Chitika Better Than Google Adense?
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Mitch - okie doke, now I see what you meant by “not reading”…yea I get that too come to think of it.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Sire - my 125’s are on the column and will remain there. The “boxes” will be a unique form of advertising, but it will not be “ads”
Due to Johns startling revelation though, I need to get something in those even before I’m ready for the advertising.
This is your secret advanced warning lol, be advised of an upcoming contest…..”most unique ideas to fill those boxes”…..so put your thinking caps on, and make sure your subscribed so you don’t miss it!
That’s one of the qualifiers for the contest anyway
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I did notice that, it’s just that, unless you are viewing in full screen mode, all you see is your logo and the boxes.
Sire´s last blog post..Is Chitika Better Than Google Adense?
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:10 am
At first look, those empty boxes do not create a good impression and even if u have planned something to fill them, i guess u r wasting lots of space right up there. The header of the page is what people see when they first land on your blog. Long story cut short. Either use the boxes well and make them attractive and useful enough to sustain traffic or simply remove them…lots of luck..
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Well removing them is certainly not an option, so this is why i am now holding a “best idea” contest!
Check out the latest post and feel free to throw an idea into the hat
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Hi Dennis,
I generally run about a dozen applications while I’m working and my browser window takes up maybe 75% of my screen, but it’s a smaller screen than most people are using these days.
I don’t even see the entire empty space, let alone the headline or any text when I see your site.
Now that I know more about you and what you are writing about, I’d be more inclined to overlook the empty space, but it was a bit off-putting upon first seeing it.
If I hadn’t been following a link from your comment on my blog, I’m sure I would have closed the tab and moved on.
All the best,
JD
John Dilbeck´s last blog post..Twitter Updates for 2008-10-02
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
JD - this is why you’re the inspiration for my latest post…check it out
October 7th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Don’t leave the “coming soon” boxes empty.Fill them with an affiliate offer or something (your hosting company must have an affiliate offer and by something I mean you could link to some of your posts).
Andrei Buiu´s last blog post..A post about RSS
October 7th, 2008 at 2:12 am
Hey Andrei - check out the contest:
http://www.directsaleswebmarketing.com/my-first-contest-time-to-put-your-thinking-caps-on/
October 7th, 2008 at 4:44 am
hey Dennis
looks like I am a bit late with my reaction, sorry for that, sometimes life gets in the way, well, guess you know all about it
Anyways, I made the comment because you have had that part of this blog empty for such a long time now, it is just a shame! I agree with most of the things said above, not sure if I would want to use such a big prominent area of my blog to advertise others, but that is a personal decision only you can make.
One thing though nobody has pointed out yet … I feel that even if you are still working on your ad page and trying to work out how to do it, you should consider putting up atleast some affiliate links of your own to fill up a space so prominent on your blog. This would not have to take long and atleast you would already be taking advantage of that space.
If putting up affiliate links of your own is not the path you want to take, maybe you should consider taking the “coming soon” area down for the moment being and only put it back on when you have worked out exactly what it is you want to go there. I gotta agree with John´s comment about almost not scrolling down on his first visit.
That is exactly what I thought the first time I visited your blog, and if it weren´t for seeing your comments on different blogs and them having spiked my interest, I would not have scrolled down either. Luckily you caught my interest outside your own blog, but just imagine all those people stumbling upon it without further reference, all they first see is an empty coming soon area first time they enter here!
cheers!!!
ps, thanks for the mention LOL, I might not be a daily visitor but I do remember to check back in every now and then
Mirjam´s last blog post..Challenging Yourself, Do You Do It?
October 7th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Hey Mirjam, better late then never!
Lucky most of my current traffic IS from blog commenting by me, lol. They go directly to the post in the URL or CommentLuv fields
It shall be taken care of shortly, have you seen my contest to fill ‘em?
http://www.directsaleswebmarketing.com/my-first-contest-time-to-put-your-thinking-caps-on/
Ironically my them designer saw it after it was posted and she told me how to temporarily delete them…I figured at that point though I couldn’t stop the contest.
Come to think of it though, I may remove them until after the contest.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:37 am
LOL it really isn´t that hard to temporarily delete them
and I do agree you might as well delete them until you have something to fill it up.
now that I think of it, why not put an image or some text there linked to the contest?
cheers :D:D
Mirjam´s last blog post..Challenging Yourself, Do You Do It?
October 8th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Yea I was quite annoyed with myself. i thought it would be some big complicated code thing until she emailed me telling me the ONE LINE of code to remove…
Aye curumba lol
That text ain’t a bad idea
October 12th, 2008 at 3:39 am
Think of people you know who might know people likely to buy advertising, easier to sell to an introduction than a cold lead in most cases.
David - Chicago Internet Marketing´s last blog post..Speaking Of Facebook - It Needs Change Management of Customer Service
October 12th, 2008 at 4:08 am
David - very good point in the “warm vs. cold” aspect, but I’m not sure it applies here.
What I mean is, I’m not sure if aggressively pursuing advertisers in that matter really works with blog ads of this nature…..am I missing something?