Scraps Of Mind

Advertising on Blogs

Almost all craft blogs carry some sort of advertising, even if it’s just hosting banners and blinkies for friends.

A couple of weeks ago we started to explore the world of advertising on craft blogs, and we took a look at direct advertising methods and affiliate promotions.

In this article we’ll have a look at some other advertising options that you might like to consider for your scrapbooking and craft blogs.

Google Adwords

You are probably familiar with the Google ads that can be inserted into the text or the sidebar of your blog. And now they also offer graphic based ads.

The way they work is that every person who clicks on a Google Adwords link on your blog will generate a few cents of income for the blog owner. So in order to get some reasonable income you need to have a large number of clickers.

Google selects the ads based on the context of the words in your post. What this means is that, depending on what you have talked about in your post, the ads will try to match. So if you talked about a scrapbook layout of your son riding his new bike, there’s every chance you’ll find your readers presented with ads about bikes.

You can set your Google Adwords to appear in your side-bar, above or below your post or even in the middle of the post itself. Statistics have indicated that a higher percentage of visitors click on ads placed inside your post than in the side-bar.

I recommend that you monitor your statistics firstly to work out where the optimum ad placing for your blog is, and also to see if they are actually worthwhile at all. I tried Google Adwords on Scraps of Mind in early 2008 and the results were not exactly stellar. So I removed them. After all, if no one is clicking on them, they why give them valuable blog space?

And please don’t stick them all over your blog. As a reader I do find it annoying to keep having the post interrupted by a block of ads. And I’m sure I’m not alone.

Text Link Ads

Text link ads are not as popular as they once were. But many websites will pay for you to host their link on your blog.

There are a number of brokers who will find text link advertisers for you so you don’t have to go looking for them. All you need to do is sign up to a free account with the broker and add some code they provide you in a widget on your side bar. They will then populate the widget with text links as they find the advertisers.

You have the right of refusal if you don’t like the site that your blog is being linked to so you don’t need to worry about hosting porn links or anything like that.

I have previously hosted text link ads on Scraps of Mind from TLA and that generated a nice little income stream.

However there is a downside.

If you are at all interested in your Google page rank then this is not a good strategy. Google frowns on link buying and selling and will downgrade your page ranking accordingly.

This actually happened to me last year when Google smacked me down from Page Rank 4 to Page Rank 2. It’s OK to have links with the ‘no-follow’ tag but the brokers do not use that because it’s not what their customers want.

Advertising Networks

Read the rest of this entry »

To Advertise or not to Advertise

…That is the Question.

So how do you feel about advertising on blogs?

…and in particular on craft related blogs.

For many people this is a topic that can generate some strong feelings.

From a ‘purist’ point of view you might say that if you are writing about the topic that you love then there should be no need to contaminate it with commercialism. That advertising on blogs is crass and annoying.

And from another perspective you might feel that as a person who puts a lot of effort into creating and maintaining your blog for the pleasure of other people it is not unreasonable that you should be able to generate an income stream from it.

I can certainly see the validity of both points of view.

However, if you are reading this article you can see the advertisements in my side bar so you will know that I belong in the second camp.

So how much Advertising is too much?

I do feel though that many blogs don’t appear to give much thought to the advertising that they carry.

Frankly, I think that advertising can be of benefit to your readers, if handled properly. It can provide a useful service by offering them opportunities to view products and services of interest to them that they may never have had the opportunity to know about otherwise.

But there is definitely a line between providing a useful service and beating your readers over the head with the advertising stick.

Oh, and don’t forget, hosting blinkies and banners for friends is also advertising. Just because you don’t get any payment from them doesn’t mean they are not ads.

So with all that in mind, and because there are very few craft related blogs that do not carry advertising of some sort, even if it is for non-moneymaking purposes, I thought it would be good to take a look at the different types of advertising that is available and how you might integrate it into your blog.

Over the next couple of weeks we’ll look at some of the advertising options that you might like to consider if you are a blog owner.

Please remember that less is often more. Too much advertising on your blog will create ‘ad blindness’ in your readers and they will simply switch off and not look at any of your advertising options, much less click on them.

If you are going to have advertising on your blog I think you should be conscious of the need for balance. After all your readers come to your blog for it’s content, not for the ads. So make sure that your advertising doesn’t overshadow your content. It’s important to make their visit worthwhile

Direct Advertising

First and foremost let’s take a look at Direct Advertising.

This is where you have a direct business relationship with your advertisers rather than with a broker or an ad network (we’ll take a look at those next week). Financially it benefits both parties as you have cut out the middle-man. But it’s more difficult to establish.

The first thing you should do is let people know that you are happy to take ads on your blog. Let them know what sort of ads you will host and what the cost and arrangements are and make it easy for them to place an ad.

You can see what I mean by looking at my Advertise Page in the navigation bar at the top of the screen, where all the different packages that I offer on Scraps of Mind are set out as well as the terms of purchase. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment Spam

Have you noticed an increase in comment spam over the last couple of months?

And the comment spammers are getting cleverer too.

It used to be easy to spot comment spam. Usually it was made up of a lot of porn or medical related keywords and a bunch of links. That was good because it was easy for the spam filters like Akismet (on Wordpress blogs) to spot it and trash it.

But today’s comment spammers seem to be a lot more subtle.

I find a lot of comments that at first glance look almost genuine. But when you look a little closer you can recognise that they’re not.

What does this comment spam look like?

• Well first of all it is a ‘proper’ comment, not just a bunch of keywords.
• Also they don’t put links into the body of the comment so that your spam filter will smack them down.
• When you read the comment you realise that it is very generic and doesn’t relate to your post in any real way. Often they ask you a question that makes it pretty clear that they haven’t looked at your post.
• And if your check the URL that they supply with the comment, you’ll find that it leads to some site that sells product like cell phones or medical supplies or on-line dating (they were the three comment spammers in my mail this morning).
• Or else it’s a site that’s packed with advertising, in the expectation that you’ll click on something there if they can just get you to come to their site. They’re even harder to spot.

And by the way, don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with advertising on blogs or web sites. Apart from the income stream, at can actually provide a service for your readers if it’s not overdone. Heavens, you can see that I have advertising on Scraps of Mind and I don’t think that it’s off-putting for readers.

Is it any wonder that we have all that paranoid captcha software on our blogs to help moderate the comments. I have my Akismet set to have me moderate any comments from someone who has not commented on Scraps of Mind before. So the first time you comment I need to approve it. But every time after that you are recognised as a friend and your comment goes straight through.

I prefer to spend the time moderating that way than have my site flooded with meaningless comments from people who just want you to click on their link and visit their site.

It doesn’t always work and sometimes a disguised comment spammer will slip through the net, but I can’t become paranoid about this. It would take all the fun out of blogging. Even so, I refuse to let Scraps of Mind become a dumping ground for links for these people.

Have you experienced comment spammers?

What’s your techniques and tactics for dealing with them?

I suspect that there’s not much else that I can do. And this is just a sad side effect of Internet life.

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Super Celebration Blog Contest

Regular Scraps of Mind Reader, Myra is celebrating one year of blogging with a huge giveaway contest.

Now when I say that Mira has reached her one year blogging milestone I want to point out that she has really done it in style. Mira writes no fewer than SIX different blogs! Yep you read it right. Six blogs, including a scrapbooking blog called Scrappy Mommy. The woman is definitely a blogoholic!

So to celebrate her bloggoversary she wanted to do something big and special.

Check out these fabbo prizes.

1st PRIZE
$25 – c/o Random Thoughts
Customized Blog Layout (blogger platform) c/o My Web-Blog Designs
1 Swarovsky Bracelet c/o Yen’s Handmades [Click here to see the ITEM]
$20 + 2000 EC credits c/o Windmill on the Hill
$10 + 500 EC credits c/o My Life’s Journey to Success
$10 + 500 EC credits c/o Things I Did Not Know Before
$10 + 500 EC credits c/o Unique Ideas For Your Beach Weddings
2000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Night Clicks
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o NetFreeSource
3000 – EC credits c/o Random Thoughts
1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Dashing Beauty
1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Tales of a Pinay Single Mommy
1 Photo Pop Art Make-over c/o Sweety Tots

2nd PRIZE
$20 – c/o Mira’s Web Journal
2500 – EC credits c/o Mira’s Web Journal
2000 – EC credits c/o A Moment to Exhale
20GB Web Hosting c/o http://angelic-melody.net + 500EC credits
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o My Countryhome
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Live Love Pink
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Samantha’s Own
1 month 125×125 ad space c/o 1716 South
1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Garage Sale
1 Photo Pop Art Make-over c/o Sweety Tots

3rd PRIZE
$15 – c/o A Moment to Exhale
3000 – EC credits c/o Big Boys Have Toys Too
2000 – EC credits c/o A Taste of Both Worlds
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Kharlota dot Com
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o A Girl for All Status
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o A Fil-Am Journey
1 year text link ad c/o http://glamorous-heart.info
1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Symphony of Love
1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Sweepstakes Girl
1 Photo Pop Art Make-over c/o Sweet…Pretty…Naughty

4th PRIZE
$10 – c/o My Barefoot Journey
2000 – EC credits c/o Mommy’s Little Corner
2000 – EC credits c/o My Online Paradise
2000 – EC credits c/o Kinda Life of Mine
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Just About Anything
1 month text link ad Thomas Travel Tales
1 month text link ad Great Finds and Deals

5th PRIZE
2000 – EC credits c/o Wife of a Warrior
3000 – EC credits c/o Life’s Sweets and Spices
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Simply Irresistible
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o My Sweet Haven
1 month text link ad Work At Home Jobs
1 month text link ad Erlinda‘s Wandering Thoughts

6th PRIZE
2000 – EC credit c/o The Solitairy Love
1500 – EC credit c/o My Barefoot Journey
1000 – EC credits c/o My Kitchen Table
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Kalidadis
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Cooking is Fun
1 month text link ad CompTechGadgets.com
1 month text link ad Healthy Living and Lifestyle

7th PRIZE
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Simplement Belles
1000 – EC credits + 1 month 125×125 ad space c/o Moi et mon univers!
1000 – EC credit c/o Scrappy Mommy
1000 – EC credits c/o Dashing Smiles
1000 – EC credits c/o Everything Plus the Kitchen Sink
1000 – EC credits c/o One at a Time
1 month text link ad Thomas Web Links
1 month text link ad Bohol Paradise

8th PRIZE
1000 EC + 1 month 125×125 ad space from My Daily Sunset
1000 – EC credits c/o My Kitchen
1000 – EC credits c/o My Life and Family Journey
1000 – EC credits c/o My Whole New World
1000 – EC credits c/o Definitely Maybe
500 – EC credits c/o I Thought So
1 month text link ad Batuananons

9th PRIZE
1000 EC + 1 month 125×125 ad space from Lovely Pink
1000 – EC credits c/o Small Side Bits
1000 – EC credits c/o In His Steps
1000 – EC credits c/o Moments of My Life
1000 – EC credits c/o My Crossroads
1 month text link ad Filipino Online Community

10th PRIZE
1000 EC + 1 month 125×125 ad space from Hobby and Such by Carlota
1000 – EC credits c/o My Life’s Adventure
1000 – EC credits c/o Wonderful Things In Life
1000 – EC credits c/o The Joy of Life Forever
500 – EC credits c/o Life’s Journey
1 month text link ad from Nita’s Random Thoughts

11th PRIZE
1000 – EC credits c/o Medan Daily
1000 – EC credits c/o Wiehanne Lounge
1000 – EC credits c/o Simply WP
1000 – EC credits c/o Everything Under the Sun
1 month text link ad from Nita’s Corner

12th PRIZE
1500 – EC credits c/o A Moment to Exhale
1000 – EC credits c/o My Barefoot Journey
1000 – EC credits c/o EastCoastLife

You would have to agree that Mira and her generous band of co-sponsors have put together some magnificent prize packages. And if you don’t understand what all those EC thingys are, you can read about Entrecard here so you will understand just how useful they can be.

So do you want a piece of the action yourself?

Well all you need to do is visit Myra’s Random Thoughts blog and find out what you have to do. It’s super simple. So what are you waiting for?

Are You Driving Blog Commenters Away?

For bloggers everywhere comment spam is an ongoing problem. As a result, most blogs have some sort of security mechanism to try to filter most of the robot comment spam and general rubbish.

But is your security set up in a way that actually discourages genuine commenters?

Fortunately for bloggers using the Wordpress system, the Akismet security application that it comes with filters out the vast majority of comment spam (at least it does for me) without it clogging up my system.

But for a number of other blogging platforms the only control mechanism available seems to be those annoying CAPTCHAS where you have to enter a string of meaningless letters into a box before you can submit your comment.

Some of them aren’t too bad as they use words with some distortion applied to them rather than random letters. At least then you can read the word and type it in rather than have to keep flicking your eyes back and forth to the random letter string. And some of those letter strings are sooo long.

I find Typepad to be probably the most annoying of these systems. Just when you think you’ve submitted your comment and you wait for the page to refresh, it bumps you to another page where you need to enter the CAPTCHA info. I get caught by this all the time as I flit from tab to tab, not realizing that I haven’t actually completed my comment submission.

The most recent trend in comment submission controls seems to be a little drop down box where you identify which blogging platform you use before you can leave a comment. This is similar to the Blogger requirement where you identify if you are a Blogger user or not.

As someone who publishes on my own server I often find this frustrating. And frequently I am prevented from leaving a comment because the blog owner has not set up their system to allow owner-bloggers like me to leave a comment.

Now I know that pretty much everyone who writes a blog is excited when they get comments and they would want to encourage them. So I’m assuming that these bloggers don’t realise they are actually slamming the door in the face of potential commenters.

This could be you, and you don’t even realise it.

So perhaps you should take a look at your own blog security setup.

Are you inadvertently discouraging commenters?

Remember there are more people out in the blogosphere who use blogging systems other than the one you use. Why not let them into your blogging world too?

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