7 Ad Networks for Design Bloggers
Published in Make Money, MarketingIn recent years as the number of blogs and websites in the design/development industry has drastically increased, several ad networks have been established specifically with the purpose of serving this industry. Just like the number of blogs and websites in the industry increasing, new products and services are constantly coming out to target this audience, and the networks showcased in this post exist to bring advertisers and publishers together.
If you’re a blogger or a website owner in this niche you may be looking for a way to sell ads on your site. Here you’ll find 7 networks to consider. Many are invitation-only networks, but generally they do accept suggestions for new sites to be included in their network.
BuySellAds
BuySellAds is currently the most popular option for design blogs and other sites in the design/development niche. According to their website, over 2,900 sites are using BuySellAds. In order to place BSA ads on your site you will need to be approved for the program, but it is not invitation only. BSA provides publishers with a lot of flexibility in terms of ad sizes and even how the prices are determined (flat monthly rate vs. CPM).
BSA is unlike the other options on this list in that you are not limited to the number of ads that can be shown on your website. Of course, the number of ads will have an influence on how much you are able to charge advertisers, but you’ll be able to decide how many ads you want to use, what sizes, and where you want to place them. BSA’s commission is 25% of the ad revenue, so you will get 75% of whatever the advertisers are charged. BSA is also unlike other ad networks listed here in that advertisers will be buying and ad specifically for your site, rather than buying an ad that will be shown across the entire network.
The Vandelay Design Blog has been using BSA for over two years now and we have had nothing but positive experiences.
The Deck
The Deck has been around since 2006 and is a selective, invitation-only network. Only one ad impression is shown per page view, and The Deck is selective with the advertisers that are accepted. The ads that are served through The Deck are small 120 x 90 banners with room for 80 characters of text.
The reputation of The Deck makes it an appealing network for publishers who are able to get accepted to the program. Their website does not include a form to submit your site for approval, but they do recommend using a contact link/email to make a request.
Carbon
Carbon is a relatively new ad network that was started by Fuel Brand Inc. Carbon works by classifying publishers into “circles” that allow advertisers to target specific segments of the industry. Carbon’s circles include design, dev/code, photography, and art & culture.
Publishers who are using Carbon show only one ad per page, and ads are rotated throughout all sites within a a circle. Carbon is an invitation-only network, but from their site you can suggest your site for inclusion.
AdPacks.com
AdPacks.com is a division of BuySellAds. Unlike the standard ads through BSA, AdPacks.com is invitation-only and publishers show only one ad per page. Advertisers can purchase ads target sites that focus on design, usability/UX, or web development. If you think your blog or site would be a good fit for one of their AdPacks you can fill out their contact form to request inclusion.
Fusion Ads
Fusion Ads is an invitation-only network where publishers show only one ad per page. Advertisers can purchase ads for one month, a one week burst, or for one day. Ads are 130 x 100 and 80 characters of text.
InfluAds
InfluAds publishers also serve just one ad per page. The ads are either 120 x 90 or 154 x 70, both with 60 characters of text. Publishers decide which ad size they would prefer to show. InfluAds keeps a fee of 19.2%. InfluAds classifies publishers into the following communities: startups and entrepreneurs, work and productivity, design and UX, and web development.
You can request to join InfluAds through their site.
Yoggrt
Yoggrt is an ad network that is currently in beta. Publishers will receive 100% of profits during beta. The ads shown through Yoggrt are 160 x 90 with 80 characters of text. Yoggrt recently updated their site to say that they have temporarily closed the network to new publishers, but they plan to re-open in a few months.
What Ad Networks Have You Used?
If you have any experience with these ad networks (or others that are applicable to design blogs) please feel free to share in the comments section.
30 Responses
The Deck sounds intriguing. Just how does an invite-only Ad Network actually work?
Andy,
Most of the invite-only networks have a place on their site where you can email or fill out a form to suggest your site for inclusion. If the site is approved, they will provide you with the code that you’ll place on your site. They’ll sell the ad slots, so all you have to do is keep the traffic coming. I believe the payout policies are different depending on the network, but with most of them you’ll be paid according to how many impressions are shown on your site, or it may be some combination of impressions and clicks. The benefits are that they’ll sell the ads, so you don’t have to worry about having unused ad inventory, and most of them only accept quality advertisers, so your visitors should be seeing relevant ads for quality products/services.
I Will try ASAP
Thanks Vandelay Design
Sounds interesting. I will give this a try over the weekend. Thanks!
I was wondering is this using ads on your blog to create income work? Even if you get the traffic how do you get people to click on the adds?
Just to chime in my experiences: I was an early adopter of BuySellAds and used them for nearly two years on several of my sites. I only have good things to say about BSA and their team, they have some of the best customer support ever and are more than willing to help out with any problems you have. They actually listen to your ideas and suggestions too, which is hard to come by in a company sometimes.
As time has gone on having a clean website design and good user readability has taken precedence over how much many I make through ads, so I made the switch to the Yoggrt ad network about two months ago. I love only having to display one ad at a time and it’s really nice to have your ad space sold for you. Many times I found myself emailing companies trying to get them to buy ad space through BSA, and it’s nice not having to worry about it as much. I also feel like the advertisers are better suited to my readers than some of the ones I got through BSA. I’m very happy with my time at Yoggrt so far and highly recommend dropping them an email once they re-open for website submissions.
Thanks for sharing your experience Caleb.
purencool,
I wouldn’t say that you really need to do anything to get people to click on ads. Just focus on getting traffic and if the ads are relevant you’ll get some ads clicks. You can change the ad locations in order to encourage more clicks, or some bloggers mention their sponsors in a monthly “thank you” post, but that is not the case with everyone.
Tricky question – have you ever considered leaving BSA to keep all income yourself and instead just hire one person who would do the job for you?
I think this case still would be beneficial since then you can push up prices a bit and do not giveaway 25% of income..paying maybe 15% of it to hired gun, whom you trust..:)
I am thinking at least about this option a lot, it’s not so easy, but seriously a good option for established blogs. What do you think, Steven?
Nice post
I would add adtaily.com to the list – it’s quite new system (that started in Poland and now is avaible worldwide) and is very simple 
Whilst it is understandable that blog-advertising is probably the only revenue stream for the blogger, we need to keep in mind that overdoing it might backfire. I sometimes visit blogs that clearly shows me that the blogger is only in it for the money. The site would be surrounded by ads which reduces the importance of the article itself.
To me a blog is something that needs to transpire passion. In most cases, they’re there to tell a story, help visitors or just get whats on the bloggers mind – in other cases, they’re just a collection of adverts waiting for a click to generate revenue. In my opinion, that tarnishes the usefulness and effectiveness of blogs.
I will probably go with buysell ads if i start getting traffic.
Fresh,
You have very good points, and I agree with you, but the truth is that most blogs won’t be able to continue without some revenue, and very often that comes from advertising.
Hi Dainis,
I have not considered that, although it might work. Many advertisers prefer to do it through BSA since they are buying a lot of ads there, and I just find it to be easier with BSA. That’s just a personal opinion though.
Mateusz,
Adtaily does not target the design niche specifically. All of the networks listed here do.
Very interesting and informative article, thanks!
By the way, it took me a bit of digging to find the original source of this content. There seem to be a lot of parasitic ‘blogs’ out there that probably create articles automatically from RSS feeds. Some do credit you with a linkback, but many are passing it off as their own as a quick Google will demonstrate: http://www.google.com/search?q=Vandelay+Design+Blog+has+been+using+BSA+for+over+two+years
Anyway, just a heads up, I’m sure you’re aware of how many thieves infest the blogosphere! But maybe you should consider putting just a short synopsis in your RSS rather than the full article, or at least cut off after 100 words or so!
Hi Richard,
I’m aware that many sites are ripping off the content. The problem with using shortened feeds is that it only punishes the readers. I want to make the feed useful for subscribers so it will stay a full feed. Thanks for letting me know though.
Quick question… has anybody been on the opposite side of the coin and done advertising with BSA? If so how did it go?
We have been thinking of doing some Media Buys like this, but we have to be careful where we advertise and what control we have over the process.
If the interface allows for choosing sites like Federated Media, then that could be really cool.
I know someone is going to come in here and just tell me to Google it.. but I had to ask for asking sake.
Thanks in advance.
Wonderful List…!
….looks like i’ll be busy tryin? them out
Are there anyone of these that anyone favors more…?
isocket is another great way to sell ads. Their big plus is that it is all commission free, but they do charge a monthly fee. For established sites, this makes you a lot more money. Smaller sites just getting started may want to wait for the monthly fee to make sense.
https://www.isocket.com
@Max thanks for the love!
I’m the Founder of http://www.isocket.com – the 0% commission sales tool. We’re great for bloggers who are successfully attracting advertisers. You can save a ton of money compared to commissions, and you have a lot more control over your ad packages (CPM pricing, different units and packages, etc).
We exclusively power sites like TechCrunch, Lookbook.nu, Cheezburger, Tim Ferriss, etc.
Feel free to shoot me a note at hello (at) isocket dot com.
Ad Dynamo is another contextual advertising network – supporting all the popular IAB sizes for text and banner ads, Ad dynamo also offers a lot of flexibility to bloggers in terms of they can be paid. Choose from a direct deposit to your bank account, PayPal, or the newly launched Ad Dynamo debit card to receive your earnings each month.
Thanks for sharing these ad network.my site use buysellads but until today i haven’t sold an ad
Does anyone know how The Deck Network (or similar ad networks) distribute ad revenue amongst their publishers? Is it based on impressions? I wonder what the Deck takes as a fee? Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
@Raoul – they do it in a proportional basis by ad impressions. I.E. if you serve 5% of the ads on your site amongst their network, you get 5% of the money. Roughly.
Nice post
I would add adtaily.com to the list – it’s quite new system and is very simple 
Thanks! for the rich information.Apart from all the ad network,i guess BSA ad network’s good for me.
Thank you for this great write up, i was looking for a better ad system to use on my blog and this has really helped. I sent one a request and ill cross my fingers!
Thanks for sharing, for Designer Bloggers, these Ad Networks are perfect as they even save ad spaces and make site faster and effective.
Hi thanks for this information. Any ideas which ad network will pay the most CPM?