SEM Tycoon

**eJM** · 10-23-2007, 07:38 AM

Real new here, but I have been involved in forums for a number of years. I have a niche site/forum that I now want to offer banner ads to a select group of merchants. I've never done this before and want to do it right. I also would like the ads to be targeted to my members so they don't think I am just filling space with advertisements that don't have anything to do with our special group of people.

I have a couple of merchants I would like to approach to begin with. One of my thoughts is to seek prizes for contests we run occasionally. For instance, there is a Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas that seems to be interested in trading promotional value for lodging and meals during our niche's largest convention in the US. I would not only write content that includes links, text and images about the hotel and the contest they are sponsoring, but I would also run a banner ad that rotates with others in the footer or header of the site pages.

What I don't know is the value to place on banner ads. I have moved to a new server recently and saw my uniques take a nose dive (unless the statistics I received from 1and1.com were inflated while I was there) and my page rank dropped off on the forum pages. There are over 900 members, with about 2/3rds of them professionals working in our niche and supporting each other. The rest are consumers and DIYers who are looking for help.

Sorry, didn't want this to be a book. I'm hoping to begin earning in earnest. Adsense is less than $100.00 per month, donations about the same and I know I can do a lot better. And it's not just me I want to profit from this, it's the members who participate and staff that volunteer their time and expertise. Contest prizes are a good start and will help my site grow, but I'd also like to bring in some bucks too. I was recently disabled and my income is now fixed and a paltry sum (military pension less than 1K mo).

Thanks for any guidance offered,

Jim

**eJM** · 10-25-2007, 10:05 PM

@Staff: This is disappointing. I joined here after seeing numerous recommendations for EarnersForum at other forums. I wasn't so much looking for a sure-fire solution as some guidance toward monetizing in my situation. I figured at the very least a staff member would point me to other topics or even offer encouragement that might prompt others to reply.

After only 24 views and no replies in over 2½ days, anyone would be discouraged. I really thought this topic would help many others and surely there are members here who have already been in similar circumstances.

I'll keep looking. Thanks.

Jim

**beachbumis** · 10-31-2007, 11:30 PM

This forum doesn't have volume, but there are some quality people here.

What you need to do is test. Sounds simple and it sounds like what you are doing. Join the networks, pick a merchant that matches your niche and place their banner on your site. If you make some $$ great, if not try another merchant.

When you find a merchant that works start looking for another one as a backup and to mix up your ads.

Michael

**cpvr** · 11-01-2007, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eJM

@Staff: This is disappointing. I joined here after seeing numerous recommendations for EarnersForum at other forums. I wasn't so much looking for a sure-fire solution as some guidance toward monetizing in my situation. I figured at the very least a staff member would point me to other topics or even offer encouragement that might prompt others to reply.

After only 24 views and no replies in over 2½ days, anyone would be discouraged. I really thought this topic would help many others and surely there are members here who have already been in similar circumstances.

I'll keep looking. Thanks.

Jim

The volume here is still small, there's not a whole lot of active members.