Joining an ad network and placing ads on your blog is an excellent way to earn passive income. Generally speaking, the more traffic you have, the more money you'll make with ads.
Ad networks will typically pay you based on Cost Per Thousand (CPM) or Pay-Per-Click (PPC). Cost Per Thousand means you will earn a certain amount of money for every 1,000 impressions (views) the ad receives. For example, if your Cost Per Thousand (CPM) is $4.00, that means you'll earn $4.00 for every 1,000 views the ad gets.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) means you will receive a certain amount of money whenever the ad is clicked on. For example, if your Pay-Per-Click rate (PPC) is $0.80, that means you'll earn $0.80 whenever the ad is clicked on.
Be careful not to click on your own ads, or to have friends and family click on your ads. This is grounds for being removed from an ad network.
Revenue Share
Ad networks can keep anywhere from 5-50% of your earnings. Before joining an ad network, you may want to find out what their revenue share is.
Should You Place Ads on Your Blog?
I’ve heard some bloggers say that ads are pointless if you aren't getting at least 100,000 page views per month. I have to disagree. If you plan on making money with your blog by using ads, I think the best time to start is now (regardless of your page views). Here are my reasons why:
- Your readers will be used to seeing ads on your blog. So you won't be surprising them with ads once you reach a certain number of page views.
- If you have a blog post that goes viral, trust me when I say, you’ll be glad you had your ads already in place.
- Even if you’re not making much from your ads, something is better than nothing. The money you are making can be used to pay for your hosting or a number of other blogging expenses.
If you feel nervous about putting ads on your blog because of what your readers may think, consider this. Ads are everywhere. I'm not saying that because everyone else has ads, you should too. What I'm saying is that we are all used to seeing ads. Whether we're watching TV, or browsing the internet, ads are all around us. I don't believe that you should worry about upsetting your audience, or losing your audience because you have ads on your blog.
Top 5 Ad Networks for Bloggers
Google Adsense is great for new bloggers because it's easy to join, and doesn't require a minimum number of page views.
- $100.00 minimum for payment
- Paid monthly around the 21st of the month.
- Paid via electronic funds transfer (EFT) and Check
2. Mediavine
This is the ad network I use, and I highly recommend them. They don't overload your site with ads, their ads don't slow down your site, and they have some of the best customer service I've ever received.
- Requires at least 30,000 monthly page views
- Net 75 payment – paid 75 days from the last day each month
- Paid via PayPal
3. AdThrive
- Requires at least 100,000 monthly page views
- Has a waitlist
- Pays monthly via direct deposit
4. Media.net
- Pays monthly via PayPal
- $100.00 minimum for payment
5. Monumetric (Formally The Blogger Network)
- 4 program levels based on your montly page views
- Payments made via ACH or PayPal
Tips For Applying to Ad Networks
Before applying to any ad network, you want to make sure your blog is attractive and a valuable resource.
Here are my recommendations:
- Have at least 15 well-written blog posts published, with at least 500 words per post.
- Make sure you have an “about, contact, and privacy policy page. Here are some helpful policy generators: Disclosure Policy Generator | Privacy Policy Generator.
- Install a premium WordPress theme.
Do you have a favorite ad network that isn't listed above?
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