I've been into forums since I was 11, so when it comes to actually running a forum...i'm an expert at it... but what i'm not an expert at is advertising...though i'm working on becoming one...i'm already decent at it ... but...is advertising on forums any different that advertising on a regular site? I mean to people usually pay more or less on a forum that they would on another site... I'll be offering: -1-5 banners in the content of the homepage (haven't decided on this yet) -8-10 links in the footer -5-10 links on the right side column near all content -1 banner in the header -2 banner spots within the threads forum sponsorships (have a link under a specific forum on the forumhome page)...which says you are the sponsor of that forum category...this link will also show on all threads and post pages within that forum category -option to have text links put on only the homepage if you'd like... is that too much?...i'm just going by what would be too much for the forums...and with that it wouldn't be that intrusive at all... but i guess my real question is how would I go about pricing these ads?...the same as another site...or would stuff like activity of the forums and such be counted in as well?...(the forum site alone, ignoring user posts and stuff has on average 2500 uniques per month...and the forum isn't active...but i just bought the site...so it will soon become much more active ) also...the old owner didn't advertise the site other than in his sigs, and on one of his directory pages...no money was ever put into advertising...so hits will go up even more when i'm through ...
The cost of links mostly depends on PR... There are however other factors involved such as the number of outgoing links etc The cost of banners will depend on your traffic. You can expect to get around $1-3 per 1000 banner impressions. Because you said that you are experienced with running forums i assume you know that forum users don't like too many ads. Also "2500 uniques per month" is quite low. So i would just work on the traffic/PR and then auction one of the banner/link spots to see how much people would be willing to pay for it.
2500 is low?..i thought it was pretty good...lol...the site actually has about $300 per month income from ads...and all those links sold within 1 day...so i thought i'd be able to get a bit more than the current prices for the ad spots
In this case you might as well give it a try and sell some ads for a reasonable price or auction a few to see what people would pay for it. Whats the worse that could happen?
i'm going to next month probably ...also...it's a PR5 site...so that's another reason I was thinking that (i forgot to mention that)
people will pay for your link if they are cheap enough. try to check the price here in DP sellbuytrade section and set the similar price. another one is dont make too much sponsor links (total of 15 should be fine)
I was planning on allowing a sponsor link for all the forum categories (though at the moment there are less than 15...so it's good)...those those links will probably be the most expensive I offer for the simple fact that sponsoring a specific forum category should bring in some pretty targetted results
The only way that will not be too much is if you are giving an example of what is more then too much. Are you reading the google heatmap and thinking you need an ad in each hotzone? Even if a your forum was dead on to what I was looking for, I'd be soooo put off I'd not even bother reading the content, and I'd certainly not want to help ya out by doing any ad clicking. I'm offended by even the notion of so many ads! If you have an existing forum you can expect your member base to all leave...and likely remove any existing links from their home pages and blogs...though you'll likely grab up a bunch of new links as they blog about how horrible the place has become. Seriously, be mindful of the existing community or they will not be there...and keep in mind, forum members are not the greatest ad clickers, and are easily offended by anything that distracts them the threads. Be subtle, or at least unobtrusive in ad placement.
the ads are already there...and believe me...it doesn't look like too many on the forum... though i have decided to not do the -1-5 banners in the content of the homepage (haven't decided on this yet) and the -5-10 links on the right side column near all content will just be on the homepage as a 'sponsers or partners' section I've run forums for about 10 years now...so keeping the members in mind and being subtle and unobtrusive is my specialty...and believe me...they all are... i was asking if it's too much by the view of an advertiser (thanks for your input on that)... so this would be my revised list... -1 Header Banner (either monthly, or rotation my impressions) -5-10 partner links on homepage only in right side column -homepage might be a news site or blog type thing...so possible links within articles as well... -8-10 links in footer -2 banner spots (468*60) within threads does that sound more reasonable to an advertiser? (i'm new at the advertising thing...so don't kill me tooharshly)...that's why i'm asking ...
I haven't bought the site yet...so I don't want to post a link in a thread yet...but if you try to find a little more info about me...you may find a link ...hint hint...
If you are worried about them finding out through something awstats or analytics, then you can follow my advice here: Tip on linking to non-compliant sites (originally posted to hide DP from being blamed for reporting adsense violations). If you are worried about word of mouth getting back by someone here being a member there, then I can't really help Though I would not mind knowing the address so I can have a looksee myself.
I'm sure he won't mind me trying to get the site setup for more success...he hired me as an admin and now I'm buying the site the link is in my profile (though don't be too critical of the site...it's pretty nice right now, but still a lot of work to do...it'll be my first real full time project )
I don't really understand when I see this kind of "How much is too much advertising???" thing. Test. Develop some marketing material for the site that explains the value proposition of the forum to potential advertisers. Auction off some inventory & see what price the market offers. Avoid long-term commitments till you have an idea what the property can fetch. In terms of managing users, just be honest. It's not unreasonable to expect to generate a bit of revenue off your efforts. Monitor your site traffic & feedback forums as you add more advertising. If you see people whining / complaining or traffic starts to drop, you know you've gone too far & need to trim back.
I'm planning on doing that....as are I'm sure most people that ask these kinds of questions... you don't understand when you see this stuff?...it's simple...some people (like me) like to do their research BEFORE they actually start working on something...and what better way to do that research than ask people that know about it... is this my only way to research this topic?...no...i read threads, do searches on google and other sites, go to more than just this forum, and when i start next month on my project i'll be doing it a little at a time to see how it goes... It sounds like a good reason to me.... though i do appreciate the other input thank you