I have to give a bit hat tip to my friend JackieJovi for introducing me to my favorite new ad management tool: Passion Fruit Ads.
(BTW, this is *not* a sponsored post — remember, I disclose those — and as a reward for reading, if you get to the bottom of the post you’ll see how you can list a FREE AD on my site!)
I am in and use several ad networks both here and on my baby blog:
- Glam/Bliss
- Lijit
- Google Ads
- Affiliate networks including Amazon.com
In addition, I post several buttons on my site to disclose my affiliations (FitFluential, Clever Girls Collective, etc.).
I have tried almost all management tools and the standout is Passion Fruit Ads.
A quick primer: because of my ad network, Glam gets above-the-fold, first-call ads. Fine with me. But for the rest of the site (1000 px below the top) and for any unsold inventory, I can fill in the gaps. And because there’s quite a bit more money to be made on direct ad sales (with an accompanying demand of extra time on the seller’s part), I choose to fill some of those spots that way.
Here’s the process:
- Sign up for a Passion Fruit account
- Register your blogs/websites
- Create the public profile (new!) that potential buyers will see (mine: https://app.passionfruitads.com/sites/healthy-living-in-a-hectic-world)
- Create your ad opportunities (the most common sizes are: 300×250, 160×600, 728×90, 125×125 but you’ll want to post whatever your theme supports)
- Install the ad code
- Spread the word!
I have run several ad campaigns through Passion Fruit and am really, really impressed.
- The client/advertiser has the option to upload the ad and copy itself, which is wonderful. If they can’t or don’t want to, you can do the work (and charge more, depending on the contract you have!).
- You completely control the ad, and have to approve it before it goes live.
- Once you install the code (via text/HTML widget) it automatically updates and runs the ads.
- You can control how long the ad runs and whether it is static or rotates with other ads.
- It’s a reasonable and flat fee to run the ads.
SO — you want to try it out? I’m offering free 125×125 ads for 30 days at a time to my fellow bloggers.
To upload your graphic and URL, head to http://katywidrick.com/sponsor-opportunities/ and click on the “swap” spot. Use the promo code “swap” and you’ll get it for free. I reserve the right to reject ads for non-blog websites. These ads will rotate. If you have trouble or questions, let me know!
About Katy
hmmmm
perhaps I rethink rolling ad-free?
When I read this, I realized I don’t have a graphic to upload. How would I go about getting one of those? Do you have some examples?
Sonja,
You just need to make a 125×125 graphic — if you have a program like Photoshop, you can make one. Or you can also use a free tool like PicMonkey to make it. Take a look on the sidebar for examples of how other bloggers are creating graphics. Good luck!
You are in my brain!
I just added PassionFruit Ads last month and am writing up a post RIGHT NOW on them. I love the system! It’s so insanely easy to use.
Super interesting, thank you for sharing! I am still wrapping my head around all this blog business…so much to learn
THANK YOU! Just signed up. SO helpful.
DEFINITELY just signed up… Ha Ha!
Thanks for your advice. I am a sucker for these things! I am just going to test it out… If I don’t really have any takers, down it comes – but it’s worth a shot right?
Awesome! Just signed up. What a great idea!
Just giving it a try to see what I think. Thanks!
Just set up an account and did the swap! Thanks for always sharing such great info.
Thanks so much for sharing this! I had looked into Passionfruit ads before, but at that point it was required that you post the link on your site as well. I don’t yet have a sponsor page on my site. Is there still a way to use them? Or do I need to set up that page? Thanks, Katy!
ditto that question! where do you have your’s posted on your site? I didn’t see a sponsor page – so can you still use it without, i.e. can companies search for you within PassionFruit?
thanks!
I do have a page with the sponsor info posted (I just didn’t put it into my navigation bar until last night):
http://katywidrick.com/sponsor-opportunities/
You can also put a graphic in your sidebar directing people to the page on Passion Fruit. OR you can just send the link on Passion Fruit to people directly and have them sign up there.
Long answer to your question. Short answer: yes you can.
Hey! You don’t have to post the Sponsor page. Lots of people use us and hide the prices and ad shop until sponsors email them. Perfectly fine by us!
Thanks Katy for the information and for the opportunity.
I’m in. Thanks so much!
Thanks, Katy! Interesting to learn about this side of blogging that I have not ventured into yet — but I did sign up!
Turns out I already had an account. Some day I’ll figure out how to get the ads on our site too! For now, thank you for the kind offer and I hope I did everything correctly. If a graphic is different than a picture, I’ll redo w/ our 4th grade logo.