Because I’ve been on the BlogHer ad network for awhile, I’m frequently asked about it by bloggers thinking about ways to make money from their efforts.
BlogHer isn’t the only blog ad network out there, but it’s a popular one, especially among women who blog.
To date, being part of BlogHer hasn’t been been particularly lucrative for me. Last year, I made a whopping $100, barely enough to cover my website’s annual domain name and hosting fees. But ad revenue has picked up dramatically over the past two months and I’m on track to make more than double or even triple that in 2011 – though even that’s not as much as I could make writing a single 500-word magazine article. Some bloggers make more, some make less. It all boils down to how much traffic is coming into your site, and what the revenue sharing arrangement is with the ad network you sign up with.
If you’ve been thinking about joining an ad network and are considering applying to join BlogHer, here’s what to know:
1. Just because you want to join doesn’t mean you can. BlogHer’s publishing network – which is what they call the 2,500 or so blogs that carry their ads – is different from BlogHer.com, the company’s website, which the company says reaches 25 million women each month. BlogHer periodically accepts applications from bloggers interested in joining the ad network. Fill out BlogHer’s online application to put yourself in the running.
2. BlogHer ads get prime real estate on your blog. If and when BlogHer accepts you into their ad network, you can run their ads on your blog. However, you can’t just stick them any old place you’d like. When you join, you agree to adhere to a number of BlogHer policies and rules, one of them being that whatever BlogHer ad unit you choose to place on your blog will be located “above the fold,” in other words, high enough up on your blog’s front page that readers don’t have to scroll down to see it. There are other stipulations as well: that ads from other blog ad networks you belong to don’t get higher placement, that your blog hosting service allows advertising, that you’ll stick to their editorial guidelines regarding sponsored posts, etc.
3. You can opt out of ads that aren’t a good fit. One thing I like about BlogHer is the ability they give bloggers to opt out of running certain types of ads that might not be a good fit for their blog or that they find personally objectionable. For example, since I don’t run a parenting blog, I opt out of all ads for baby products. Vegetarian bloggers can opt out of ads showing meat or dairy products. Bloggers can also opt out of ads for political parties or religious groups.
4. Ad rates vary, therefore so will revenue from BlogHer ads on your blog. Like many other ad networks, BlogHer charges advertisers on a cost per thousand (CPM) basis. Those rates range anywhere from nothing for public service announcements to upwards of $9 or $10. BlogHer takes a cut of all ads and the balance goes to the blogger as a commission. How much money you make depends on how many of your readers look at a page on your blog featuring a specific ad and how many of them click on the ad. One ad on my blog had 14,000 impressions, i.e., 14,000 separate views, but received zero revenue because it was a public service announcement. On the other hand, another ad only had 1,200 page views but I made $5.30 because the CPM was $7.50.
5. You only get a check after reaching a certain level of ad income. BlogHer pays bloggers 45 days after the close of the month, but only if their share of ad revenue for that period is $25 or more. If it’s not, the company hold funds until the accrued value reaches that amount. Bloggers get paid by check or in their PayPal account. Bloggers can use an online revenue report tools to see the ad activity on their blog and what their commission they’ve earned to date for any specified time period.
6. Ads aren’t the only way you can make money. Once you become part of BlogHer’s ad network, you’re offered other money-making opportunities. The company periodically offers bloggers the chance to earn $20, $50 or $100 by reviewing a book or other product, or to enter sweepstakes drawings to win similar amounts or more. If the company’s editorial staff makes you a featured blogger for the week or decides to run one of your posts on their front page – which you give them permission to do when you join the network – it could increase traffic to your site, which in turn can increase your ad revenue. If they choose to syndicate one of your posts, which means it runs in full on BlogHer, it’s an extra $50 in your pocket.
7. It’s easy to keep track of what’s going on. The BlogHer team produces a weekly e-newsletter with updates on the network, ad campaigns and more.
8. BlogHer gives bloggers in and out of its ad network opportunities to get together in person. BlogHer’s annual conference got so popular, the company’s created a series of spin offs on specialty topics such as food, crafts and business and technology. Speaking of the annual conference, the 2011 powwow takes place Aug. 5-6 in San Diego; see details on the BlogHer ’11 conference page.
Read more on BlogHer and blog ad networks:
Lisa Stone on BlogHer: The women’s blog network comes into its own (WordCount) – My recap of Stone’s talk at the 2009 Online News Association conference.
AdNetwork’s List of Networks (AdNetwork.net) – This list of 458 online advertising networks includes networks that run ads on major websites, social networks, mobile phones and podcasts, as well as blogs. You’ll have to search the list to find the blog networks, but they’re there. Many of them only rep big-name websites or blogs, or work only in Africa, Asia, Europe or other parts of the world. A number cater to specific blog niches, such as men 18 to 35, sports, entertainment/gaming, etc. Plan on spending a good chunk of time combing through the list for matches.
List of online ad networks (eprofits) – A short list of ad networks, including CPM-based and affiliate programs.
If you’re on BlogHer or another blog ad network, what’s your experience been?
Related posts:
Click here for the RSS feed
I’m part of BlogHer Ads as well, and I appreciate such detailed analysis of the program. I was going to chime in and mention syndication fees, because I think that’s an even bigger value than advertising in a lot of cases. I also like being part of the community, though I don’t participate as much as some other BlogHer bloggers, since there are other communities more focused on my niche.
Thanks Susan. If you don’t mind me asking, has BlogHer syndicated many of your posts, and if so, did you approach them or vice versa? They’ve recently picked up several of my posts for the site, and I was the featured Career blogger last week but I have yet to crack the code on getting posts syndicated, so thanks for anything you can share.
Michelle
I’ve been the featured blogger a few times and syndicated (I believe) three posts. They approached me about the featured blogger spots, but I submitted links for syndication (I usually send a few links at once and they’d typically pick one or none from the list). Let me know if you need a contact for that!
Thanks Susan. This makes me think that I need to put it on my calendar to submit some links to the syndication editor on a regular basis. Off to do that now!
Michelle
Just discovered that BlogHer has an online form for submitting possible syndicated posts: http://www.blogher.com/what-syndication-blogher
Thanks, Susan, good to know.
M
Thanks so much, Michelle and Susan. I’ve been invited to join the BlogHer Publishing Network, and I appreciate the inside scoop. Will also check out the networks through your links, Michelle.
Thanks so much for posting this, Michelle. This isn’t even an option for me (yet?) because I haven’t been asked to join, but I have been curious about these ad networks. You’ve offered a great summary of what BlogHer is about and can offer.
Laura
Laura: You don’t need an invitation to join (the fact that BlogHer invited Jane is pretty unusual, I’d say, and shows how much they want her). If you’re interested, use the link I provided to fill out their online application. I know your blog is fairly news; I believe BlogHer has a stipulation that blogs must be at least 90 days old before they’ll accept it. But if there’s a waiting list, you might as well, by the time they accept it Math for Grownups will probably be past that milestone.
Michelle
Well, I was “invited” to join after I applied! ;-D I am still in the initial affiliate phase and have no idea if it will be a help or support to my blog at all. I’m still watching and waiting.
Aha! That explains a lot.
I’m glad you mentioned the affiliate program; that’s the training wheels version of the BlogHer ad network they’ve started offering to people who want onto the network when there’s a waiting list. Hopefully it’ll give you enough of a taste of what it’s like to make a decision whether or not to go for it.
Michelle
I stumbled upon your blog after doing a Google search about the ad network. I’ve been a part of it for about a month now and am still trying to figure out the ins and outs (like I wasn’t sure how they chose their articles for syndication) and recently discovered that various ads have different rates. I just monetized my blog less than a month ago so I’m still learning to factor in the different variables, so thanks for the detail on BlogHer!
I did get one opportunity to earn $20 by publicizing a giveaway they were doing…have you gotten many reviews? I’d love to review a book and am anxiously awaiting that chance!
Shannyn: Thanks for stopping by. Glad you like the site. To answer your questions:
Syndication: Sometimes BlogHer edtiors choose articles they like, but bloggers can also submit posts they like or think would work well for syndication through the site’s syndication editor; instructions for doing that are on the main BlogHer Publishing Network page, and in the enewsletter.
Giveaways and reviews: I choose not to participate in these because it doesn’t jive with the purpose or readership of my blog. I also avoid them for reasons of journalistic ethics; what if I review something and it’s awful? Will I still get the $20? What if I pan everything I review, would the company that’s paying BlogHer for the campaign push back? I’d rather not deal with it, and be able to write whatever I feel like writing.
Book reviews: I haven’t done these either, although I do write about books on my site a lot. I wouldn’t be as opposed to running book reviews as other reviews, so we’ll see what happens.
Michelle
I just joined and I am glad that I did, now that I’ve read this. This will be a nice stepping stone on my way to the “big time”, I hope. google Adsense did nothing for me AT ALL but I expect to have better success with blogher because it’s not about people clicking through the ads like with adsense. And I’m excited to possibly review some things!
[...] alot of her policies I'm starting to think she's a communist.
Powered by Yahoo! AnswersDonna asks…Can I use BlogHer and Google Adsense at the same time?I am new to blogging, and have si…iv>Can I use BlogHer and Google Adsense at the same time?I am new to blogging, and have signed up [...]
Thanks for this run-down. I just installed my code this morning, and so far I’m dismayed by what a poor match the ads are. Perhaps 90 minutes isn’t a fair trial?
The women who read my blog aren’t interested in Nordstrom or how to match their blush and lipstick. We are a rugged breed! We want to know how to take a shower in a quart of water! We need spartan organizational skills! We work on our own engines!
Does BlogHer’s advertising algorithm “learn” and begin to match content? Hey, give us ladies an eco-friendly degreaser and we have a winner!
Roxanne
I appreciate the helpful info. I’m interested in applying to the BlogHer ad network, but my blog is run by WordPress and the BlogHer ad network rules say they don’t accept blogs run on WordPress. That said, I see your site is run by WordPress and you were accepted! Please advise!
Hi Lisa:
Good question, and one that’s tripped up bloggers before. There are 2 types of WordPress blogs: blog that are hosted on the free WordPress.com platform, and blogs that use the WordPress software but are hosted elsewhere. For example, I pay an annual fee to host my blog on BlueHost.com, and then use WordPress software as a content management system. I started out on a free WordPress.com blog, but moved it to a self-hosted blog before joining BlogHer. I hope that answers your question.
Michelle
Thanks for this info
I stumbled upon this by googling in hopes of finding out how long it usually takes BlogHer to send you your ad code once they accept you. I applied and was accepted over a month ago. I returned all the paperwork by fax and never heard another word from them. I replied to their acceptance email a couple of weeks ago asking if there was more information they needed from me or if, perhaps, they never received my forms but i never got a reply. I’m feeling kind of rejected. do you think this is normal and I just need to be patient or should I re-apply?
thanks!
Rachel:
Based on my own experience and what I’ve heard from other bloggers, the time it takes to be accepted into what BlogHer calls its publishing network depends on how many bloggers they already have signed up and whether they need to fill vacancies left by people who’ve quit, or if they’re expanding the total pool, how many spots they open up. From what I can gather, that could be anywhere from days to weeks to months. When I applied I was accepted right away. Since then, I know that from time to time they’ve had moratoriums on accepting any new bloggers. If you’re not hearing back from them, keep emailing – they’re not a huge company so employees get busy, but I’ve found them to be fairly responsive.
Michelle
Rachel, I too recently went through all the things to get accepted and then waited for my code and waited…and waited! I found out that I had missed a step, and so I suggest you go back and make sure that you have filled out the forms for taxes and such. Then I faxed them in and waited a few more days and then wrote looking for help. Someone finally answered me and told me to try faxing again. I thought I did it properly, but I ended up scanning them instead and emailing them in. I got the code that same day.
Hi all, thank you so much for the post and your candor in the comment section. Today I was “invited” to join their publishing network and asked to apply for the ad network. I hope I don’t sound naive, but could it more lucrative for a blogger to seek their own advertising/advertisers?
You don’t sound naive at all. The answer is yes, it would be more lucrative for a blogger to seek their own advertisers, and I know lots of bloggers who do. Look at some of the Cities on the Cheap blogs, frugal-living websites that share information on coupons and other discounts in dozens of cities around the country. They’re all run by individuals and a number of those bloggers negotiate their own contracts with advertisers. I heard a pet blogger speak at the 2011 ASJA conference in New York last spring who’s teamed up with a handful of other pet bloggers to form an advertising collective that from what I recall has done very well.
However, all of that takes work, and dedication. How committed to your blog are you? Do you have hours a week, or a day, to devote to writing for it and also selling ads?
Blog networks like BlogHer work because they take a lot of the pain out of the process of finding willing advertisers. Of course, they take a big cut out of the profits for what they do.
Michelle
Thank you for this fabulous info…I was curious about their CPM and requirements, and this helps a lot. I didn’t realize PSA were automatically displayed without an optout option…I like to approve all ads and their cpm’s.
Penelope: Since this post first appeared, BlogHer has announced a deal with PubMatic to put remnant (backup) ads on pages in lieu of PSAs. They’ve also come out with a new main ad size. To find out more about the BlogHer Publishing Network, go to this page on their website.
Michelle
Thank you for the information. I am interested in eventually joining an ad network, but I clearly need to work on generating more traffic before I do.
[...] to do with their ad network). If you’re interested in learning more about BlogHer read this: Thinking of joining BlogHer ad network? Here’s what to know. Or solicit advertisers on your [...]
I’ve been in the BlogHer network for three months, and the ad fine-tuning seems to be satisfactory now.
I was told that I was a featured blog in the Life category, but then I got six hits from it for the entire week. Is that typical? It was a nice ego-boost, but not much of a hit-boost.
Overall, I’m finding this network to be a much better situation than something like AdSense, which would eventually pay out $100 to my heirs and beneficiaries. If they didn’t arbitrarily ban me post-mortum.
Roxanne
Did you get six hits on the post on BlogHer, or from people who saw the post on BlogHer and then clicked through to visit your site? I’m no BlogHer expert, but in my limited experience posts that appear on their network generally generate a lot of traffic. If you’re curious about what happened, circle back to the section editor who first contacted you and ask them about it.
Michelle
Hmm. There was no syndicated post, only a featured link on the “life” page, so I guess I saw hits from that link.
Good idea. I’ll check with her. Thanks.
Roxanne
I noticed in BlogHer’s ad criteria that they don’t permit “ad units from any provider to be included within post content, even below the fold”. I recently started using the Amazon affiliates program which lets you put text links to products in your blog. You get a small percentage of the sale if a reader buys after using your link. Have any idea if BlogHer allows this?
Yes, you can join Amazon and other affiliate programs if your blog is part of the BlogHer Publishing Network.
Great article, I currently run ad-sense on my blog, have you found the blogher network to be more lucrative than ad-sense?
Thanks,
~Jamie
I never used AdSense so I can’t compare – maybe another WordCount reader could weigh in on this?
Michelle
I would say that BlogHer is much more lucrative than AdSense. BlogHer doesn’t require your readers to click on anything, and frankly, when I read a blog with AdSense I ignore those ads anyway.
Then, there’s the $100 threshold for AdSense, which I would need sixteen years (seriously) to cross.
So, just to give you a ballpark number, BlogHer paid me $30 for four months of advertising. No fortune, but it was actual money in my PayPal account. Criteria are reasonable.
Google AdSense can block your account at any time for any activity they consider “inappropriate.” Which could be your friends clicking an ad five times to give you some jingle. Or you seeing an interesting ad and clicking yourself.
Roxanne
In 2011, WordCount earned approx. $200 in ad revenue from running BlogHer ads – peanuts compared to my monthly income, but income nonetheless. That amount covered all my hosting and domain expenses for the year, with money left over to help defray what I pay my web designer. Hopefully in 2012, it’ll make enough to cover those costs too.
Michelle R.
I only learned about this one this morning! I’m currently part of Izea Media, another network that does require above the fold ads, and I’m doing well with it so I’ll probably take a pass on BlogHer for now. But it’s really good to know this is out there in case I ever become unsatisfied with Izea.
Hey guys, I’m looking for advice… Anybody know which ad network pays more, Blogher or Izea? I just got my app approved through Blogher, but I am already doing sponsored posts through Izea, so maybe I should just join their ad network. Anybody experience to share?
Thanks,
Jamie