Banner ad links?

How much does a banner ad cost & what are the typical dimensions

[jandrews]

I received an email from someone who wants to advertise on one of my websites. He wants to place a 150 x 240 HTML banner on the homepage, and he has offered me $200 for the year. I know nothing about advertising rates, so I'm curious whether this is a good deal or bad deal.

My site (the one he wants to advertise on) is 8.5 months old, has PR 3 (should be PR 4 in a couple of months), and consistently receives 1200 unique visitors a month, all from organic search. Each month visitors are increasing, and the site is very targeted for this particular niche.

1. Is his offer good? Should I accept?
2. The banner ad seems pretty long (240 px long). I'd like to see if he would accept a 150 x 200 banner ad. What are the typical dimensions for a vertical banner ad?

Since I've never sold a banner ad before, I have no idea what's considered "normal." Total newbie in this area. What are your thoughts on his offer and the dimensions of the banner ad? Should I ask for a shorter banner ad?

[gkgk11]

Ha ha in my case I'd take whatever I could get..

Just my 2 cents...

[eljefe3]

Why not try a test month for say $20-$25 and then take it from there. If your traffic goes way up, then you can renegotiate.

[dickbaker]

I'll second eljefe3's suggestion.

Until you know how many clicks the banner ads are getting, you don't know if $200 is too much or too little.

I had an advertiser approach me to be on seventeen pages of my site. I suggested we do a month for free, and see how many clicks he got. After the month was finished, we decided that $600 was a fair price for a full year.

This year, he wants to be on 24 pages on the site, and will pay $1200.

The size of the banner is really up to you. The 150 pixel depth would bother me.

[gkgk11]

Actually never mind.... go with the other's ideas..

But keep in mind banners can make your site unappealing to visitors.

[ionchannels]

Forget clicks, go with impressions. Typical rates for private arrangements are between $5 and $50 per 1000 impressions (CPM). With CPM, you can give a firm price right away and you sell your traffic rather than the effectiveness of your client's banner. $15 CPM is a good starting point.