Forum Moderators: skibum
how much traffic (page views & unique visitors) should a site have before it can realistically sell it's own ad space?
how much traffic and real content do you try to have before you start with adsense and other affiliate programs?
In terms of selling ad space - rethink that. You may do better with AdSense and FastClick banners. If you really want to sell ad space, you should probably have a decent PR in the Google toolbar and have 100+ targetted visitors a day, at least. Selling text links from your high PR pages may be better than banners (more revenue, less space required).
You probably have better things to do with your time and hiring someone to do it is also very tricky since getting good sales people is hard and risky. The best seller will bring in 4 times the revenue of the average seller - and the best seller will remind you of it at least a dozen times a day - and the worst will be, well, nothing but trouble. And building an advertising system is a lot of trouble.
Why not outsource the problem to Google and other advertising networks?
concerning starting adsense and affiliate ads right away i am a bit hesitant because some may shy away if i am heavy with ads before my content can "carry" it. i suppose the ads can help fill some space though. what are your experiences with this timing issue?
Stick with Adsense and other banner advertisers. Once your numbers are REALLY huge (100/day is nothing; you'll need a whole lot more), then you can even think about advertising ad space.
the site i am doing is a guide/directory sort of site and so i will be listing businesses in it. what about charging for enhanced directory listings? i don't necessarily mean just for better placement although that is one i am considering. i mean enhancements like adding a logo, longer description, announcements, ads, coupons....
do these enhanced listings usually prove to be worth while in your experiences?
i'm in the early building stages so am really brainstorming ideas.
thanks for the feedback so far everyone. i still hope to hear more from others (or the same great people with replies)on how much traffic you think a site needs before adding advertising. so far it seems you don't think one needs to wait to build up the content before jumping in with showing ads.
thanks again!
Enhanced listings. A good idea, many have tried it, but does take some "selling" and moreover, positive response for the advertiser. If you sell it too early, before there's a lot of local traffic, the advertisers won't re-up with you in the next period - and moreover, in a small community they'll tell other people to avoid you. Local small biz people talk. So personally, I wouldn't get into that aspect until you had a mass of people.
I've looked into local sites many times. Problem is in our area, 'net usage is still pretty small. You'd have to do a LOT of print and direct mail advertising first on a consistent basis before you could get a mass of people onboard to make it all work. And I've never thought the payoff was worth the investment ($30k or more). For here, for now, local "Pennysaver" type weekly classified ad papers and local daily newspapers are still the best bet for local advertisers.
Five or ten years from now, it will likely be different. You have to consider the area demographics, too.
Good luck.
I think it can work but you may need it to gain credibility over years, not months, before you drop a waiver of your listing fee (and that's how I would do it - say they are getting something for free on a promotional basis that might otherwise cost them, say, $29.95).
