Frequently Asked Questions from Advertisers
To read the FAQ for Viewers, please click here.To read the FAQ for Publishers, please click here.Why advertising on blogs
What are Blogads good for?
If these things are so great, why don't I see any big companies buying Blogads?
Word of mouth? What do Blogads have to do with "word of mouth?"
But why don't most big companies "get" blogs?
So is this peer to peer?
Where else can I look for information about Blogads?
Sales Questions
We are an ad agency. We would like to brainstorm and talk about our campaign. Can you help?
I work for an ad agency. What are your net prices?
Why do Blogads run continuously for a set period?
What kind of clickthru can I expect?
Can my ad appear at the top of an advertiser's adstrip?
How can I ensure that my ad is prominently displayed on a page?
Ad formatting, specifications, ad submissions
I don't have a userid, how do I get one?
What are the technical specifications for ads?
Can I put links inside my ad text?
Can my ad be animated?
Can I add Flash to my ad?
Can I add HTML to my ad?
Why can't I see exactly what my ad will look like on the "preview" page?
How many days does a "one month" ad run?
When will my ad appear?
I can't upload my image. What gives?
It says that my ad text is over 300 characters. What am I doing wrong?
Questions about submitted ads
Can I revise an ad?
How do I revise my ad?
I've revised my ad but the new text isn't showing up yet on the blogs.
If next to an ad it says "Draft " what exactly does this mean?
It says ˝Deferred˝ next to my ad. What does this mean and what should I do?
I've bought an ad on multiple blogs. Can I see click counts for each?
My ad looks different on different blogs. Is there anything you can do about this?
What is the "replicate" check box? Does ticking it mean my ad will continue running seamlessly after the original one expires?.
On the blogad results detail page, why do I have lots of impressions one day and none the next?
I cannot see the Edit link on the Manage My Ads page.What is wrong?
Why advertising on blogsWhat are Blogads good for?Blogs are ideal for promoting books, gigs, candidates, software, EBay auctions, legal services -- goods and services that require a strong intellectual or emotional engagement with an audience. Most of all, Blogads are good for new products and services that require word of mouth to really catch fire.If these things are so great, why don't I see any big companies buying Blogads?Recognizing the Blogosphere's superior signal-to-noise ratio, some PR agencies _are_ starting to pitch ideas to bloggers. And Microsoft apparently has carved out a budget for communicating with bloggers. But these folks are the exception at present. Some sleepy ad executives turn up their noses at an ad that's cheaper than lunch.Word of mouth? What do Blogads have to do with "word of mouth?"Most purchases are made in a social context. Only 1 in 10,000 people buy something really new; most of us wait until two or three or ten friends or peers try something. (Were you the first person in the Western Hemisphere to get a tattoo?) So marketers are obsessed with "word of mouth." But you can't rely on demographic slicing to get good word of mouth... unless you've got thermonuclear ad budget. You've got to think in a new dimension, and advertise to groups of influential people who know each other, respect each other, talk to each other. Blogs make the networks of peers reachable. Now you don't have to hit 500,000 eyeballs to stir up some word of mouth... it's far better to talk to 500 people who know and respect each other, right?But why don't most big companies "get" blogs?First, despite the buzz, blogs aren't yet used much beyond certain circles of programmers and journalists. The medium has to be widely used for most big companies to get excited. Aunt Millie, Laura Bush and Homer Simpson have to blog. Second, blogs are defining new social and demographic cohorts -- for example "warbloggers" -- that are still too fuzzy for an ad agency to pitch to a big client. Only members of these groups are going to understand the value of their media. Finally, big companies need to spend big money... it is not worth GM's time to buy an ad for $30, $300 or even $3000. It will be years before you can buy $30,000 of advertising on a cohort of blogs. Finally, bloggers doesn't pay a commission to the ad agencies who lubricate the traditional advertising mechanism both offline and on.So is this peer to peer?Yep. For a while at least. While software, books, music and magazines are sold by big companies, obviously they are usually created by individuals or small groups. Blogads pricing and scale should mesh well with the individual creators' needs and wallets.Where else can I look for information about Blogads?Visit archives full of quips and quotes about Internet advertising trends.Sales QuestionsWe are an ad agency. We would like to brainstorm and talk about our campaign. Can you help?Please contact our sales expert Anthony Perry at (919) 338 8144 or get in touch with us via http://www.blogads.com/contact.I work for an ad agency. What are your net prices?The prices you see displayed on the blogs or on the blogads order page are net.Why do Blogads run continuously for a set period?You get more branding and the reader gets the ability to come back tomorrow and click the ad... rather than waiting 'til the ad gets regurgitated again from some mammoth database queue of ads.What kind of clickthru can I expect?Some advertisers get 5% clickthrus, some get 0.01% on the same blog. The key thing is to keep your ad fresh. You've got a great chance to really dig into the minds of a key network of decision makers, to drive word of mouth. Tweaking your ad every couple of days or completely revamping it is a great way to get into a dialogue with these people.Can my ad appear at the top of an advertiser's adstrip?Bloggers get to designate where ads appear. On some blogs, you can order on a premium or patron slot to ensure your position.How can I ensure that my ad is prominently displayed on a page?While click thrus on even the biggest adstrips are competitive with industry averages, advertisers who want prominent placements can order "premium" ads on some bigger blogs.These ads are generally priced at 2 to 4 times ads in standard slots and can be backlogged.Ad formatting, specifications, ad submissionsI don't have a userid, how do I get one?You create a userid when you first create an ad by filling in the "e-mail" and "password" fields.What are the technical specifications for ads?Your image can be up to 150 pixels wide by 200 pixels tall (jpeg or gif, max 16K) plus an optional 30 character title and 300 visible characters of text, which can include simple HTML tags like b, i, link and u. We discourage fast or infinitely looping animation, since these annoy readers and decrease your clickthrus. You will be able to edit your creative at any time during the campaign.Can I put links inside my ad text?Yes. This format is perfect magazines who want to posted links to different articles as well as to their subscription form. Likewise, a company pushing multiple services can link to each individual service. An added benefit: this format makes the ad look like an ad. Not for nothing these things are called blogads.Can my ad be animated?Yes, although some bloggers reject ads that loop infinitely. Best to stop your ad after three or four rotations. Also remember that although you may design your ad as a joke (a + b = c!?) the reader may see the punch line first and never see the set-up line.Can I add Flash to my ad?We are sorry but this is currently not possible.Can I add HTML to my ad?You can add bold and italics, but centering won't work. Adding a link in the ad text will disable our clickthru count; put the destination link into the designated field.Why can't I see exactly what my ad will look like on the "preview" page?Since ads could run on different adstrips with different formatting and widths (depending on the taste of the individual bloggers), we can't give you a true preview unfortunately.How many days does a "one month" ad run?31When will my ad appear?In most cases, bloggers approve ads immediately. Sometimes bloggers don't get our e-mail because of spam blockers. If your ad hasn't run in 24 hours drop us or the blogger a note.I am unable upload my image. What gives?Your image likely exceeds the 16 Kbyte limit, 150 pixel width or 200 pixel hight. Note also that images must be either jpeg or gif. If your ad fits all these requirements and you still have trouble uploading it, please drop us a note via http://www.blogads.com/contact and attach the image to your message.It says that my ad text is over 300 characters. What am I doing wrong?The blogad text limit is 300 visible characters including spaces and at most three s. If your text fits these criteria but you are still getting an error message, please drop us a note via http://www.blogads.com/contact and include youe ad text in the messageQuestions about submitted adsCan I revise an ad?Yes please. This will improve your clickthru. Please keep your new ad is in the spirit of the original, so the host blogger gets what s/he bargained for.How do I revise my ad?When logged in, click on the "edit" link in the "status" column beside your ad. If this link is not visible, check your firewall or antivirus software (Norton, etc). Turn "ad blocking" OFF, hit reload on your browser and the "edit" links should appear.I've revised my ad but the new text isn't showing up yet on the blogs.Sometimes it takes a few minutes before your revision appears on the blogs. If you think you have been waiting for too long now please get in touch via http://www.blogads.com/contact and we will investigate.If next to an ad it says "Draft " what exactly does this mean?Draft means you have not yet paid for the ad. Click the edit link in the row of the ad, and proceed to payment after the preview page.It says ˝Deferred˝ next to my ad. What does this mean and what should I do?This means that the blogger has put the ad on hold for some reason. This stops the clock from ticking, so your ad will still appear as long as it was purchased for. Feel free to send a polite note to the blogger to find out the specifics of the deferral or drop us a note via http://www.blogads.com/contact and we will try to help.I've bought an ad on multiple blogs. Can I see click counts for each?Click the impressions or clicks link and you'll find a page containing breakouts by blog and by ad version.My ad looks different on different blogs. Is there anything you can do about this?Most site designers try to serve 97% of the people 99% of the time. Bloggers want their sites to look nice, so if your ad looks bad, please drop them and us an e-mail.What is the "replicate" check box? Does ticking it mean my ad will continue running seamlessly after the original one expires?Replicate simply saves you the time of creating the ad from scratch. It does not automatically guarantee seamless continuity. (Someone may have jumped in the queue ahead of you.) Make sure you include the expiry date of your current date as the "Run after" date.On the blogad results detail page, why do I have lots of impressions one day and none the next?Because this information actually tracks ads by version, not by dayI cannot see the Edit link on the Manage My Ads page.What is wrong?If you are running Norton Security, or other similar software, make sure you either have Adblocking turned off or whitelist Blogads pages. Once you've done this, you will likely see the Edit link.

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