How long to wait for Adbrite?

[dickbaker]

One of my sites can't have Google Adsense ads on it because it deals with a prohibited topic: guns.

CJ has a couple of gun-related advertisers, but the CTR and the EPC are pretty abysmal.

So, I thought I'd give Adbrite a go. Now that I have the code on my pages, I can see that I'll have to wait until an advertiser signs on. It's obviously not like Adsense, where ads show up in less than an hour.

This particular site of mine is in a low-paying niche. If you've had experience with Adbrite, how long have you waited for ads to show on your site? What would you consider to be a reasonable length of time?

If Adbrite doesn't work out, I have a fallback idea for the CJ advertiser.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[koncept]

Rather than wait for an advertiser to sign on, check the box that allows network ads to appear on your site. If you wait for an advertiser to sign on individually, you might wait forever.

[dickbaker]

Thanks for the advice, koncept.

I had checked the network ads for Adbrite, but the only ads I saw where the "your ad here" links to Adbrite.

I decided to go back to the CJ advertiser I had, but change strategy a bit. The advertiser pays $1 for every person that registers on their auction site. But the banner link wasn't to any page explaining the benefits of registration. It just went to the site's home page.

So, I have the banners direct to a page on my site that explains the benefits of registering, shows a photo of the advertiser's home page with the "Register--It's Free" link circled in red, and then a link to the advertiser's home page using the CJ URL.

I'll try this for a while and see what happens.

It's a shame that Adsense won't allow me to participate in their program. But, it's their ballgame and they make the rules.

[Skeptic]

You could always try some "magazine" affiliate ads.

Chitika might be an option also (PPC). You get to pick your products displayed by keyword. But I doubt they have "guns" in ad inventory. Try to think "sideways" as to what related products your audience may be interested in.

[dickbaker]

Thanks for the advice, Skeptic. I'll check out Chitika.

But 99% of my visitors find my site while searching for various brands or models of guns, or searching for gun stores in their area.

It's a very narrow niche. While a few of the stores on my site mention archery or fishing or camping, the visitors to my site are focused on guns.

I've finally reached the conclusion that I just won't be able to make decent money from affiliate advertising in the gun niche. There are very few affiliate advertisers, and they're cheap. The reason they're cheap is that profit margins in the gun industry are probably the lowest of any industry I know of. A retailer is lucky to mark up a new rifle or shotgun 10% over his cost.

That's why I've started a new website that's focused on one very profitable niche in the financial area. As the notorious bank robber Willy Sutton said, when asked why he robbed banks, " because that's where the money is."