Money Money Money
Before I start, let me make something clear – I’m not here to tell you yes or no on this topic – I would like to know how others feel about the possibility of monetizing their real estate blogs.
Hey, it’s nice to think about passive income, especially when you’ve worked so hard to create an audience and to be consistent with posting and providing valuable information. I received a call this week from a dear friend and colleague in Miami who asked me how I feel about this subject. I’ll throw my thoughts out there so you guys can throw darts at me if you please.
Quality Matters
There are plenty of advertisers offering one line ads in certain places within blogs – the question is:
- how relevant are these links?
- Is ad relevance important?
- is the money they are offering worth prostituting your blog? ( I know, I know….I’m being a little tough here)
From a purist stand point and for those of us who have defined an audience and stay true to that no matter what, it may be important to consider the quality of that Ad. I personally would feel more comfortable if the ad was about a local business that reinforces the hyperlocal nature of my blog. Or even a big national chain that has something to do with real estate services.
Placement
To think of all the information we provide on our blogs and how this information impacts the way our readers experience our blogs is crucial. We have to face the fact that many of our clients don’t know about blogs and it can be overwhelming to visit a site that is packed with information and doesn’t provide a clear path. And to then pack it with ads may not be an easy task. The last thing we want to do is confuse our readers.
So do you dedicate a column to ads? Do you limit the amount? Or do you start adding them and just hope it works out……NOT.
Be Creative
I know many bloggers that are approaching local businesses with a clear and consise plan to advertise and help each other out. An example is how last year I started writing reviews for very particular restaurants and businesses where I had actually interacted with the owners and then asked them to include a miamism.com window cling at the front of their establishment. The idea was to provide reciprocal help and most of them agreed. In this case I did not monetize the blog, but created something to benefit both parties.
Have a plan
Bottom line is – Don’t just go crazy with ads without a plan and don’t leave any details out – think of quality, placement, color scheme, dollar amount and go for it. I’m still not quite ready to start monetizing, and was crossing my fingers waiting for the perfect sponsor to show up at my miamism door….but the truth is that I will have to develop a marketing plan specifically for ads on my blog to make sure I make the most out of it.
