1. What sells better, web buttons (88 x 31) or text link ads? 2. If a site with approx the same uniques per day and pagerank was offering a banner spot in rotation with 4 others (5 in total) for $20 per month, how much would you charge for a static ad? 3. If you had a niche site with very little paid advertisers, how would you entice them to advertise on your site? Would you e-mail them offering ad placement? Just random questions I know, but it'll help me!
One thing you can try to get advertisers is to offer potential clients a free advertising period, maybe 2 weeks to a month. When starting out, you can also offer lower rates than your competitors (assuming they have the same size website as yours). To find clients, I recommend contacting websites related to yours that you see advertising on other websites. If you see a new online store related to your website category launch, email them and offer them a discounted month of free advertising because they are new.
Question #1: It vaies, test like crazy... Question #3: Have a distinctive link saying "advertising" on something like that; don't email them that amy be seen as spamming! Offer a free trial period if you feel that your site can deliver the goods.
1) Generally text works better than buttons but as Muffin Man suggests, test, test and test soem more. 2) Well theoretically you charge $100 but that is not how you show decide what to charge. How many visitors does the site get? (number of exposures), how responsive are visitors? (match to target market), what is the lifetime value of a customer? (how much is each lead worth to the advertiser). 3) Provide potential advertisers with concrete facts and figures, communicate via the offline world by mail and phone. You will stand out and look like a legit offering not just another site trying to scam a few extra bucks.