incrediBILL - 10:31 am on Apr 10, 2009 (gmt 0)

how do on earth you sell an adsense eCPM of $20+ to direct advertisers? I'm afraid most advertisers would find such CPM fees unacceptably high.

You don't, you sell 4 advertisers $5 CPM ads

I have a ton of direct advertisers and some have been recurring monthly advertisers for many years now, others pop in for a month or two. The trick with direct advertisers IMO is to be willing to be flexible on your ad rates and not just go "take it or leave it" - always find out what a potential client is willing to pay and tell him what you're willing to give him for that money.

If you're sending them good traffic and they get hooked on your lower rates than AdWords charges you can edge up the rates over time but don't get too greedy.