Written on August 7th, 2008 at 06:08 am by Darren Rowse
Do you Run RSS Ads on Your Main Blog? [POLL]
It’s time for a new poll here on Problogger - this time the question is:
Do you Run RSS Ads on Your Main Blog?
RSS advertising has been around for a couple of years now and I see quite a few RSS ads appearing in my own RSS reading - but I’d be interested to know just how far it extends into the blogosphere - so lets see shall we?
Do You Run RSS Ads on Your Main Blog?
Looking forward to seeing the results of this poll.
Tags: RSS, RSS advertising
46 Responses to “Do you Run RSS Ads on Your Main Blog? [POLL]”
Alex the Freelance Twin
August 7th, 2008 7:06 am
I do, but I built a custom a custom RSS ad script. Every 10 articles, there will be a full page rss ad for my current sponsor. I might re-consider when AdSense for Feeds is open to everybody
Swastik
August 7th, 2008 7:19 am
Yea, I do run RSS ads on my main blog.
David at freeChristianresources
August 7th, 2008 7:56 am
I don’t. I made virtually no money from it, it had a terrible click through rate compared to my main website!
Technotip.org
August 7th, 2008 8:04 am
I am using Bidvertiser CPC ads in my blog. And it has Bidvertiser for feeds open for everyone. But I am still not using it on my main blog. Just because I want to build my RSS readers first( not with any black hat tricks! ). After that, I would consider using them. But CPM ads would be good. Or the combinatio of CPC and CPM ads(i.e., AdSense for Feed) would be best to use.
So I will surly wait until Adsense for feed is open for publisher. ANd I want to build my RSS reader base till then.
Justin Dupre
August 7th, 2008 8:18 am
I like to keep my RSS feeds clean as the layouts in all feed readers can be different. That can mess with banner ads and what not.
Keeping referral texts and links within the context works best. It allows me to monetize my feeds without losing beauty of natural text.
http://www.justindupre.com
LGR
August 7th, 2008 8:22 am
I don’t run any direct money making ads on my feed, but I do advertise my Twitter profile by displaying my latest Tweet. It is dynamic so it always displays my latest Tweet to my RSS subscribers.
Four20
August 7th, 2008 8:27 am
I have just over 1600 RSS subscribers on Installer Apps and I do not put Ads in my RSS Feed.
Maybe I should, but I how it is to see ads in my RSS feeds. I’d rather not lose the subscribers.
emdoozie
August 7th, 2008 8:29 am
I would vote, but since I am new to blogging ( two months in the game) I was wondering if you could write a post about RSS Ads, and their benefits. I’m sure as I grow my blog I will experiment with many monetization techniques, but I haven’t quite been exposed to RSS Ads to this point.
Thanks,
Darren
Rajaie AlKorani
August 7th, 2008 8:44 am
No, I still don’t have enough subscribers
Sue
August 7th, 2008 8:47 am
No.
Google Adsense doesn’t work for me, so there’s no point. Besides which, RSS advertising in your feed is prohibited at Blogburst. And I get some traffic from there (more post views though than click throughs), so I must behave. :)
Also I don’t use Feedblitz to deliver email subscriptions because of their ads placed in feeds (not to mention I get no benefit from them, let alone my readers).
I am not averse though, to putting a private advertisement in my feed’s footer. As always, it will be an advertiser that fits my blog’s subject. No ad-network type clutter for me. Comparing the costs and benefits would weigh in favor of a private ad.
Paul
August 7th, 2008 9:00 am
Interesting, back in 2006 the same ProBlogger poll returned 75% as “No”. Both RSS and monetisation have grown in popularity a lot since then, I wonder whether this poll will show a big change or if people are still disregarding RSS advertising.
FWIW, I voted No this time because I’m focussing more on content currently rather than monetisation (have done some monetisation though).
Ken Y-N
August 7th, 2008 9:02 am
I use Feedburner Ad Network, but there’s been no new ads for around two months.
I’ve well over 2000 subscribers, so I’m hoping I get into the Google AdSense for Feeds (or whatever they are calling it) soon. I’ve not actually seen any AdSense in feeds yet - have they actually started getting people into the beta?
netvalar
August 7th, 2008 9:03 am
I don’t use RSS ads. In fact as far as I am concerned any ad on my blog is there to help my readers. As I (now that I feel I have enough content and have learned how) put together E-Reports I add an affiliate page with useful ads but not of the same style as my blog.
Example I have banners for the Indie Bible. This ad earns me a decent commission yes but the book itself if used by any musician who purchases it can increase their music business at least 3 fold. Since this is what my blog is for this is the kind of ad I want to run.
I feel my subscribers rather RSS or E-Mail only want a quick view of the information I give out. For a fuller view they will head to the blog and this is where they will spend the time to decide if the book is for them. I do from time to time place affiliate links in my blog posts and these go to subscribers as is, and of course are relevant to the post and many of the readers.
Jeffry Pilcher
August 7th, 2008 9:16 am
What are you using to embed polls (such as this one) in the RSS feed itself?
FLG
August 7th, 2008 9:20 am
Nope. Not enough subscribers, plus I just don’t like them right now, at least the ones I’ve seen.
Cowy
August 7th, 2008 9:21 am
Nope. I only have 100+ feed readers, and I think it’s not a enough number :(
Darren Rowse
August 7th, 2008 9:46 am
Paul - yes that’s why I’m doing this - to compare the 2006 results to this one. So far there does seem to have been a bit of a shift.
Paul
August 7th, 2008 9:56 am
Yes so far there is a shift. If there is a big enough shift I look forward to your followup post on RSS advertising methods! :-)
Miss Britt
August 7th, 2008 10:32 am
My “main blog” is a personal blog - which has ads. But if I put it in the feeds? My readers would flip. out.
Aaron
August 7th, 2008 11:49 am
I don’t have enough subscribers to make it worth it!
And at the moment, while I’m establishing my blog - i’m trying to keep it Ad free!
Ari Koinuma
August 7th, 2008 11:53 am
I’d like to run ads in RSS, but so far I haven’t seen many options. Who offer ads for RSS?
ari
Paul
August 7th, 2008 11:55 am
To those saying their subscriber numbers are too low to use RSS ads, do you think even with low numbers it could be worth it since an RSS subscriber is usually a highly engaged reader (ie quality traffic)? Not to mention they are interested in the topic enough to subscribe to your feed so the CTR could be very good if the ads are properly targetted and of value to your readers?
Michael
August 7th, 2008 1:24 pm
I did for a while but since my blog has been syndicated with blog burst I took them out. I probably will be adding them again once I reach a large number of RSS subscribers.
Syed Balkhi
August 7th, 2008 1:40 pm
No I don’t run RSS Ads. I think thats like overboarding the advertising.
art
August 7th, 2008 1:44 pm
I don’t but I want to. I’ve download some plugins for RSS ads but never try yet. I need some review about all of these plugins
Bill
August 7th, 2008 2:05 pm
It seems to be the case if you have thousands of subscribers then okay but if you are still building then its not a good idea.
Its a matter of opinion weather it annoys people, i personally don’t mind them as i just don’t see them, Is it called Ad blindness?
I am of the latter,but i am always experimenting with different footer affiliate text links.
MaxHomeBits
Ms. Missive
August 7th, 2008 2:57 pm
Unless you’re a “big wig” like ProBlogger, then I say don’t bother. They’re gaudy and irritating.
It’s one thing to have ads directly on a site, but it’s another to have them “invade” your RSS reader….
j. noronha
August 7th, 2008 3:26 pm
Yes, but I have nearly 1000 subscribers only, so it does not make a big difference on income.
Peter Cooper
August 7th, 2008 4:49 pm
I answered “Yes” but I don’t think I’m doing what you’re expecting.
I sell “post footer” sponsorships for $XX a pop. These aren’t graphical at all - entirely text. It’s a max of about 250 characters, including a link or two. They’re clearly marked as “Post supported by” and are in italic. They work well and are popular, since they get to all of my subscribers rather than just the Web hits.
I agree with others above that graphical ads perform extremely poorly in the main (I was getting 0.0025% CTR from FeedBurner’s ads some months - on tens of thousands of impressions!! - no that’s not too many zeroes by accident!) but the “post supported by” concept makes me good money and the sponsors get visitors. Textual ads nearly always trump graphical.
ramiro marques
August 7th, 2008 8:20 pm
No, I dont.
Archit
August 7th, 2008 8:35 pm
Nopes.
I don’t have that many subscribers yet.
Alexander Langer
August 7th, 2008 10:05 pm
It’s not my ultimate goal to make money with my personal blog at any cost. I myself have subscribed to about 200 feeds and it’s already hard and time consuming enough to decide what to read and what not to read. If someone would make my decision process even harder by putting ads into his feed, thereby adding visual clutter, I’d strongly consider to cancel the subscription as my time is precious.
Pangeran
August 7th, 2008 10:07 pm
No, I don’t.
Not yet.
Paul
August 7th, 2008 10:13 pm
No, But I am VERY interested in putting datafeeds on my sites. Any help in this area would be appreciated.
No Debt Plan
August 7th, 2008 10:23 pm
I don’t primarily because I’ve heard they convert very poorly and become more of a nuisance to readers.
Zath
August 7th, 2008 10:36 pm
I’ve said I would offer RSS footer advertising on my advertising page, but it would have to be Textual now as I’m really not convinced anything other than a “Brought to you by..” message would have any real CTR given my blog is about tech and gaming.
I also use BlogBurst and like some of the linkbacks I get back from that system as I tend to use my RSS footer to publicise pages on Zath or other sites that I’m involved with - that’s probably worth more to me than any image ads would be.
Valerie
August 8th, 2008 1:18 am
My blog is pretty new so I don’t have any advertising right now but I am looking into monitizing it near the end of the year. What are the pros and cons of RSS ads and how do they compare to AdSense?
Stephanie
August 8th, 2008 5:16 am
Not so far. I’ve debated it, but I’d probably be thinking about something customized if I went that route.
Ajith Edassery
August 8th, 2008 5:23 am
I tried once with Bidveriser for feeds but did not get any clicks over a week and stopped it! However, I am convinced that feed footer can be used for affiliate banners etc rather than ads.
Elliot Wilson
August 8th, 2008 6:41 am
“What are you using to embed polls (such as this one) in the RSS feed itself?” - Jeffry Pilcher
I would also like to know the answer to this question…
Team Nirvana
August 8th, 2008 7:14 am
I would like to give it a try if I once come to know what it means in the true sense. Darren, please enlighten us on this.
I would be waiting for this.
Darren Rowse
August 8th, 2008 7:20 am
the poll is run by a wordpress plugin called democracy
Sarah
August 8th, 2008 11:11 am
Heck, the only reason I don’t put RSS ad is because I am trying to build traffic first.
JohnCow
August 8th, 2008 10:24 pm
I have not tried monetizing my rss feed and i am not sure i want to. This is one topic however that I really am not clear cut on but there is something about it I do not like but I can not even say for certain what it is without sounding like a hypocrite.
I guess i feel that you need to not overwhelm your readers with “buy now” in every aspect… I think you should use the rss feed to get the readers and then make the post (like you did here) call for them to get involved and be part of the community and have the marketing messages here.
Curious as to your thoughts Darren.
StartBreakingFree.com
August 9th, 2008 4:33 am
I would like to, but I have not figured out how yet!
This would make a great post.
I do have some text affiliate links in there now, but they are doing very poorly.
MJ Ray
August 9th, 2008 11:57 pm
Sorry if I voted twice - I clicked vote and the page simply reappeared without update. Does that plugin require cookies or something stupid like that?
I don’t run ads in my RSS feed because it appears on other sites (with my blessing) that don’t allow ads in the articles. I do have ads on my site.
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