Anyone have any new experiences or insights to share about archive advertising, traffic and returns? Any practical guidance would be appreciated.
That's a very large topic. Do you have any more specific questions?
Skins made by Kali are no longer supported!
That's a very large topic. Do you have any more specific questions?
Well, I'm really just at the beginning of thinking about this topic, if you know what I mean. I was wondering if it was the best route to just use google adsense for projects or whether there were other ad aggregators that were ultimately better for sites that don't have a ton of traffic. I was wondering if it was even worth the time to try to recoup some archive costs through advertising, or whether it would just be extra work to figure out how to integrate it in an non-intrusive manner for pennies in return.
I was also wondering if there was anything new going on that made the use of ad revenue more or less feasible these days for fan-based projects. The other topic posted on this issue quoted something approximating $1.50 per ad per day per 500 page views, which would be about $45 a month. That would be reasonably worth it, depending.
Basically, I was just wondering if anyone has successfully integrated ads into an archive, other than ff.net, and what the income stream looks like.
We have incorporated ads and we make more than enough to cover the hosting for our private server ($300), contests, several other non-ad sites, and paid mod work. However, we have 1-2 million pageviews a month.
About the time we were reaching the $100 mark, we had around 5,000 members, but I can't tell you the page views because I don't have that info anymore.
We use strictly AdSense. AdSense now allows you to show other ad networks within their ad boxes. We usually run a full banner, a skyscraper and either a half banner or another full banner. However, we are currently experimenting with the rectangular formats (250x250, etc.)
We used to use Project Wonderful, but they were brining in around $2 a day where Adsense can bring in $5-10 per ad.
Skins made by Kali are no longer supported!
We have incorporated ads and we make more than enough to cover the hosting for our private server ($300), contests, several other non-ad sites, and paid mod work. However, we have 1-2 million pageviews a month.
About the time we were reaching the $100 mark, we had around 5,000 members, but I can't tell you the page views because I don't have that info anymore.
We use strictly AdSense. AdSense now allows you to show other ad networks within their ad boxes. We usually run a full banner, a skyscraper and either a half banner or another full banner. However, we are currently experimenting with the rectangular formats (250x250, etc.)
We used to use Project Wonderful, but they were brining in around $2 a day where Adsense can bring in $5-10 per ad.
Aha, this is great to know. Could I take a look at your main ad site so I can see the implementation?
The Bieber site has just hit the point where it's paying for it's own server with 50-75k visits and 1million+ pages served for August. Hopefully it will soon cover the near full-time staff that a user base growing like that requires. The JoBro site makes more money, but it also consumes it's ad revenue in the cost of running it.
On top of all that, don't forget the sticky issues of turning a profit on a fanfiction archive. We actually strive NOT to have any money left over at the end of the month, so we'll purchase coding servies or software or contest prizes or whatever in order to make sure all the ad money is being rolled back into the site.
Skins made by Kali are no longer supported!
The Bieber site has just hit the point where it's paying for it's own server with 50-75k visits and 1million+ pages served for August. Hopefully it will soon cover the near full-time staff that a user base growing like that requires. The JoBro site makes more money, but it also consumes it's ad revenue in the cost of running it.
On top of all that, don't forget the sticky issues of turning a profit on a fanfiction archive. We actually strive NOT to have any money left over at the end of the month, so we'll purchase coding servies or software or contest prizes or whatever in order to make sure all the ad money is being rolled back into the site.
Whoa! The JoBro site has over 32,000 members! That's...a lot. lol I see the Bieber site is much more in my realm, but I don't get anything like that level of traffic. It seems I would either have to invest some time in order to get the traffic up or save the ad issue for something with a better potential. Neither of your archives include slash?
I don't think there is really any way to make profit on speciality fandom projects without doing something like ff.net. I'd be happy to just recoup some expenses. But I would say if no one has sued ff.net in all this time, I wouldn't worry too much about TPTB going after any archive -- or at least that's what I think these days. Man, I would love to cover some expenses and have some money for contest prizes.
On another note, I like the way you have your ad modules integrated into your skins. I might try to hire you through your website (when I have some extra money) to see if you can modify my skin for me...
