[Mike_FWT]

What's the general concensus regarding the potential going rate a free website could charge for CPM-based advertising campaigns? I'm aware of FastClick and similar network rates, but what about the real CPM or CPC rates that one could feasibly charge for direct ad sales?

Thanks for your thoughts on this one...

[LP-Trel]

Free webhosting sites aren't exactly a hotbed of activity for paid advertisers as they don't see it as a good investment. Direct sales are hard because of this but, the key is to show your userbase is desireable to their particular needs. Its all about how good of a salesman you really are.

As for the general CPM value.. 60 cents to 1 dollar (US) unique is usually doable.

[Mike_FWT]

Originally Posted by LP-Trel

Free webhosting sites aren't exactly a hotbed of activity for paid advertisers as they don't see it as a good investment. Direct sales are hard because of this but, the key is to show your userbase is desireable to their particular needs. Its all about how good of a salesman you really are.

As for the general CPM value.. 60 cents to 1 dollar (US) unique is usually doable.

Hi LP-Trel (how's that post count race going these days? ),

I have to disagree with that amount... that sounds like less than we're getting from the mainstream ad-brokers, and that's AFTER they get their cut. It's got to be feasible to make more than that... especially considering what Adsense seems to be paying out.

RE: Freewebhosting sites not a good investment, I wonder if that's only because there's a poor reputation regarding how these sites are seen by the advertisers out there. I had to explain to each of our advertising brokers that our site wouldn't place ads on any uncontrolled content pages, but once that was taken care of, there were no problems.

I've seen some non-freehosting sites advertising upwards of $30 per CPM. Shouldn't we, as an industry segment, work to gain a higher CPM rate than pennies per thousand impressions?

[Xoopiter-Jeff]

I am very cautious about who gets approved and who doesn't so advertisiers actually get there moneys worth. I have had trouble selling banner space aswell but I hope it will pick up when I get more visitors.

Jeff

[LP-Trel]

Originally Posted by Mike_FWT

Hi LP-Trel (how's that post count race going these days? ),

I have to disagree with that amount... that sounds like less than we're getting from the mainstream ad-brokers, and that's AFTER they get their cut. It's got to be feasible to make more than that... especially considering what Adsense seems to be paying out.

RE: Freewebhosting sites not a good investment, I wonder if that's only because there's a poor reputation regarding how these sites are seen by the advertisers out there. I had to explain to each of our advertising brokers that our site wouldn't place ads on any uncontrolled content pages, but once that was taken care of, there were no problems.

I've seen some non-freehosting sites advertising upwards of $30 per CPM. Shouldn't we, as an industry segment, work to gain a higher CPM rate than pennies per thousand impressions?

You've got to realize I've been doing this for several years and I've gone through the whole gambit of advertisers. Here is the bottom line:

1) People who seek free webhosting aren't desireable to advertisers due to the following:
1a) They are usually under 18 and from poorer Asian nations such as China.
1b) They usually do not have credit cards.

2) What do you advertise on a free webhosting website to profit from poor under 18 year olds with no credit cards? This question is what pretty much kills us.

3) The industry as a whole is so tarnished and stained its hard to lift yourself out of the sterotype. I've established my brand over 4 years and still have barely made it out of the sterotype, it isn't as easy as it sounds.