Declaring Your Independence From Ad Networks

Early wishes for a happy Fourth of July from the MonetizePros team! We'll be taking the rest of the week off to celebrate our country's independence, but first wanted to take the opportunity to share some insights on display ad monetization. Earlier this week we highlighted some of the largest display ad networks that can be used to generate revenue from your site's existing traffic base.Finding the right display ad network and optimizing the integration into your site has helped countless Web entrepreneurs become profitable and build sustainable businesses. But the real opportunity in display ad monetization exists when publishers are able to say goodbye to ad networks and establish relationships directly with relevant, premium advertisers.In honor of the Fourth, here are four tips for making the break away from ad networks and unlocking the potential of your display ad inventory.

Tip #1: Build That Media Kit!

If you want to sell ads directly, you're going to need a media kit that highlights your audience and conveys the opportunities advertisers will have to reach that audience. Put some time and effort into a quality media kit; this is your opportunity to show off to potential partners by highlighting what makes your site unique and your audience valuable.Putting together a media kit gives you a document you'll need for the sales process, but perhaps more importantly gets you thinking about the unique aspects of your site and audience and the advertisers whom you'll want to eventually target. We have some suggestions for getting quality data as inputs for your media kit, and later this month we'll be introducing the free MonetizePros Media Kit Generator and running a series of posts on how to create an effective media kit. (Sign up for our newsletter to get notified of the launch.)

Tip #2: Start Your Homework

A big part of building display advertising relationships is done long before the first phone call is logged or first email is sent. Before you can begin the outreach part of this process, you need to come up with a good, targeted list of advertisers who can and should be marketing their products or services on your site.This might sound like a simple step, but it's not always quite so straightforward. Most advertisers--the vast majority of them in most cases--won't derive significant value from appearing on your site. You'll be better off if you focus your efforts on companies who are uniquely positioned to benefit from getting their message across to your audience.If you're not sure how to go about building your "advertiser wish list," we have some tips to get you started.

Tip #3: Devote Some Time

As an entrepreneur trying to make your website successful, you're constantly being pulled in several different directions. You have an audience to build, content and tools to develop, bugs to fix, and relationships to manage. It's easy for ad sales efforts to slip through the cracks, especially because the payout from this initiative is not instant (whereas many of your other duties bear more immediate fruit).Set aside at least a half day each week--every Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon, for example--to dedicate exclusively to the tasks above. Turn off the phone, don't check your email, and make it clear to co-workers that you're off limits for the next few hours. Then put your head down and get to work making a media kit, prospecting for potential advertisers, and doing outreach and follow-ups.

Tip #4: Try Out Other Monetization Opportunities

Most publishers have their hearts set on running CPM and CPC campaigns on their sites, and spend the majority of their time pursuing these types of arrangements. But don't be afraid to think outside the box a bit and experiment with other arrangements. For example, brainstorm merchants in your industry with whom an affiliate marketing relationship might make sense. Or if you have a paid product available on your site, consider using display ad inventory to drive leads through that funnel.The optimal use of your display inventory may be something besides the traditional ad campaigns; keep an open mind and be willing to experiment with different types of implementations.

Bottom Line

If you're serious about building a display advertising business, you have a lot of work and a number of challenges ahead of you. But there's a very attractive reward at the end of the road if you're able to overcome those obstacles. Hopefully the suggestions above provide some guidance and structure along the way.