March 2011 advertising income

Amazon Associates: $200.58
InfluAds: $1,428.00

Total: $1,628.58 (£1,000.86 GBP)

Amazon Associates
I’ve already talked about the commission cheques I receive for helping designers look sharp.

InfluAds
After installation of the InfluAds code in the sidebar of my three blogs, a performance-based payment is received via PayPal upon each month of serving ads. If I see an advertiser that I don’t want to associate myself with, I have the option to block the banner from the within the publisher section of the InfluAds website (that hasn’t been necessary).

My agreement with InfluAds was that I’d receive $1,400 per month. But due to a better-than-predicted performance during March (i.e., higher traffic, more click-throughs) I was paid slightly more — an unexpected bonus that I offered to refund, thinking it was a mistake, but was told to keep it.

You’re probably wondering how much web traffic is needed. Here are my stats from March 01-31.

davidairey.com

logodesignlove.com

identitydesigned.com

Stats courtesy of Google Analytics.

What does that mean?
Perhaps the most important figure is the number of Pageviews (otherwise known as page impressions). This number indicates how many times the banner ad is loaded, or viewed, within the month.

davidairey.com = 502,788
logodesignlove.com = 545,496
identitydesigned.com = 100,561

So during the month of March my three main websites attracted a total of 1,148,845 Pageviews.

By dividing the Pageviews by the InfluAds payment we can see how much of a return was made for a range of web traffic stats.

1,148,845/$1,428 = 804

Meaning that for every 804 Pageviews generated, I earned $1.

Therefore, to earn $10 I needed to attract 8,040 monthly Pageviews.

$1 = 804 monthly Pageviews
$10 = 8,040
$100 = 80,400
$1,000 = 804,000
$10,000 = 8,040,000

To put it another way, and to give you a clearer picture of what you might be earning with InfluAds, for every 10,000 Pageviews received in March, I earned $12.44.

1,000 monthly Pageviews = $1.24
10,000 = $12.24
100,000 = $122.40
1,000,000 = $1,224.00
10,000,000 = $12,240.00

It’s probably not quite as straightforward — the number of clicks on each ad are also likely to be a factor — but it gives you something to relate to.

I’ve been told that InfluAds will be relaunching in May with a greater number of publisher/advertiser benefits. If you want to be kept updated you can subscribe to the InfluAds newsletter at the foot of the InfluAds homepage, or follow the service on Twitter.

Your online revenue streams

There’s a big online advertising pie to taste, but I’ve no idea how my ratio of income/stats compares to others. What ads are you featuring to make money online? Are there any types you’d avoid? I’d love to learn from your experience.

Painted dollar sign image via Thinkstock

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I’ve never been overly keen about showing ads alongside my blog content — either because I don’t want to dilute my portfolio, or because I don’t want to align myself with the raft of blogs where it’s hard to find content through the AdSense, banners, and pop-ups.

I think there’s a decent middle-ground, however, and for the past two months I’ve been testing a single ad spot across this blog, Logo Design Love, and Identity Designed.

You might’ve noticed the AdPacks addition to my blog’s sidebar. AdPacks is a service from BuySellAds (BSA), a kind of middle-person between the advertiser and the publisher, that takes the hassle out of earning a little extra income (well, I say it takes the hassle away, but site traffic is still needed).

—

Update: March 2011
I’ve stopped my AdPacks partnership and I’m now serving banners from InfluAds. You can see how much money I get in return for how many Pageviews I serve here: Online advertising earnings.

—

What attracted me to AdPacks was how the banner is fairly unobtrusive. Rather than having nine or ten ads shown one above the other, the ad spot contains around 10 advertisers inside a single window, rotated upon refresh. It’s a tried-and-tested method brought to prominence by the original invite-only service The Deck, followed not too long after by Fusion Ads. I sent emails to both those other providers, and although Fusion took the time to reply, there was no room at the inn for additional blog publishers. I also chatted with Carbon and the newly-launched InfluAds, but in the end opted for AdPacks due to BSA’s stronger footing in the market.

After we agreed on a monthly payment rate, I became one of the first publishers for the AdPacks banners. As such, I wasn’t entirely sure what advertisers would be shown. So I placed my trust in BSA, and having tested the service for two months, here’s who you’ll see featured.

AdPacks advertisers

• Wistia — video tracking and video analytics
• Shutterstock — stock photography
• Loop11 — usability testing
• SiteGrinder3 — Photoshop to HTML
• Wix — free website builder
• Fotolia — stock photography
• Tabs — interface icons
• Bigstock — stock photography
• Site5 — web hosting
• Superhug — website templates
• Traction — WordPress theme

I recently asked if there’d be changes to the advertiser line-up (for what it’s worth, BSA have been a great bunch to deal with), and was pleased to know that the current “design/development” advertiser grouping is to be split into “design” and “development,” with my three put in the former category. I’m hoping that’ll help tailor the ads so they’re particularly relevant to graphic designers.

What are your thoughts on blog advertising? At what point does it become detrimental to a website’s content? Do you know of any sites getting the balance right/wrong?

Neon open sign photo credit.

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Agency: TBWA Praha, Czech Republic

Agency: Publicis, Paris, France

Agency: Euro RSCG, Singapore

Agency: Publicis, Paris, France

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi

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Brickie
Client: Bob Smith
Company: Student

Anything and Everything
Client: eBay
Company: fuse8

Fucking Bitch
Client: Pedigree Labrador
Company: GDA Creative Marketing

Experienced Cleaner
Client: Persil
Company: fuse8

Psychic Wanted
Client: Hudson Fuggle
Company: Hudson Fuggle

Piano Tuition
Client: Salford Piano Tuition
Company: Air Creative

The 2010 results will be announced at this year’s awards ceremony (09 June 2010, London). Tickets for the event are on sale now. Visit the Chip Shop Awards website for more info, and to view the other awards categories on offer.

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The Chip Shop Awards 2010 is open for entry.

The Chip Shop Awards is about fostering and recognising creativity with no boundaries and no rules. It’s an international creative awards, open to anyone with great ideas.

Best Use of a Shop Window Postcard Space

Client: Playstation 3
Company: the if agency

Best Use of Plagiarism

Client: Metropolitan Police
Company: TCS Advertising

Best Public Awareness

Client: Durex
Company: Malcolm Crews Design

Best Viral

Client: Richard Holmes, Marketing Director, Specsavers
Company: Specsavers Optical Group

More Chip Shop Awards nominations in a blog post from back in 2008.

Can you do better? Enter the Awards here.

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Watch on YouTube if you can’t see ad above. The video, developed by French agency BDDP & Fils is being shown to the Pfizer’s European staff as part of the 10 year celebrations.

Via I Believe in Advertising.

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Just because something is new, doesn’t mean it’s better.

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Hewlett Packard set a design brief for the recent D&AD Student Awards, and one result in particular stands out.

Brief:
Present an idea which promotes HP Workstations ability to bring to life anything the creative mind can conceive.

Response:
Focusing on the synchronisation of a range of HP products, printers become an orchestra in an aesthetic symphony conducted by HP Workstations.

Filmed, edited and directed by Matt Robinson and Tom Wrigglesworth.

The two designers are recent graduates from the Design Communication degree course at Kingston University, London, and they’re currently looking for experience within the creative industry.

Good luck in your search, guys. Love the video.

HP – invent on Vimeo via Johnson Banks.

Music © Round Table Knights.

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After a tough judging session at Leo Burnett’s offices, The Drum has today announced the nominations for this year’s Chip Shop Awards, the only international advertising awards that encourages entrants to cheat by entering ads for clients they don’t have on their books.

The Chip Shop Awards include categories such as:

• Best Use of Bad Taste
• Best Use of Plagiarism
• Most Politically Incorrect
• Best Use of Shocking Copy
• Best Ad for a Client You Haven’t A Hope of Winning

Hitting out at today’s safe advertising, London ad-man Dave Trott, said:

“A lot of the fun has gone out of advertising. Here today what we have seen are a lot of ads that are a lot of fun, and actually many of them could have run without any problem. Sadly though… nobody wants to run fun ads any more.”

Best outdoor advertisement

D-FENCE
“Tough barbed wire.”

Best use of bad taste

Johnson’s Baby Lotion
“Babies so smooth, be careful you don’t drop them.”

McDonalds
“10% discount for OAPs every Wednesday.”

Best use of shocking copy

Playboy
“In this month’s issue: Is Afghanistan the right reason to pull US troops out of Iraq?”

Best use of a shop window postcard space

Salford Piano Tuition

Jo’s Ironing Service

Other top brands also in the running to scoop exclusive ‘Chip’ awards include Durex, Colgate, Specsavers, The Sun, Churchill Insurance, Marmite, Guinness, Staples, Woolworths, Jewson and Blu-Tac.

This year’s event takes place on June 10th at Fabric in London, and you can view all the nominations here on The Chip Shop Awards website.

I previously published a quick selection of last year’s winners too.

Good luck to all nominees!

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With so much falsehood in fashion advertising, just how much are we affecting the minds of the younger generation? Magazines, billboards and other print media push an unattainable fantasy world upon us. So when laws are being considered to have publications clearly label ‘Photoshopped’ images, personally, I’m all for that.

Image source

French public health officials want to combat eating disorders by having magazines say to what extent their photos have been retouched.

“These days, altered images are ubiquitous; the fairytale world threatens to engulf our own. The illusion is more complete, too — with digital technology it’s harder to see the smoothing. Stalin would have drooled at the possibilities.”
— MORE HERE IN DAVID BYRNE’S JOURNAL

The New York Times has featured a short video (less than 5 minutes long) explaining why magazines should be more transparent (video produced by Jesse Epstein of Wet Dreams and False Images).

I’ve previously mentioned the topic, with the twisted reality of fashion advertising, and it’s one I believe should be given a lot more attention.

Here’s a related video that clearly outlines the ‘Photoshop effect’.

Visit YouTube if you can’t see the embedded video above.

Further discussion on image retouching

• The Photoshop effect
  “…whenever one of my videos begins to do well on YouTube, the commentators berate me over my weight.”
• Women who say no to Photoshopping
  “Retouching. Photoshopping. It’s everywhere. Want to be considered beautiful? You must have no pores, no wrinkles, no moles, NO PERSONALITY.”
• Has photo retouching gone too far?
  “Remember Jessica Rabbit? I wanted her va va voom figure, long red hair and white skin as a girl, but I knew she was a cartoon. There was no illusion of reality. Is what we are seeing in print these days any more real than Jessica Rabbit?”
• Kim Kardashian Photoshop controversy
  “So what? I have a little cellulite… just because I am on the cover of a magazine doesn’t mean I’m perfect.”
• Striving for perfection is dangerous
  “If we are never exposed to the imperfections of celebrities, how can they possibly serve as healthy, responsible role models?”

Your thoughts

Should magazines disclose to what extent their images have been retouched, or should we carry on as we are?

I don’t agree with those who blame the media for every teenage girl with an eating disorder, but there should at least be some accountability for fueling the fire.

Some people want to ban retouching entirely, but any form of media censorship isn’t good in my opinion. I’d like to see a high profile fashion magazine publish an issue without any retouching at all. Now there’s a publicity generator, and it would go some way to dissolving the myth of fairytale beauty.

——

Update: 17 April 2009
French Elle has published a ‘no makeup’ issue — causing a stir.

——

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