One of the best things about the BlogWorld Expo was the focus of the panels and exhibitors on publishers’ needs, seeking to help bloggers turn their websites into full-blown businesses. While there were some personal bloggers there, most of the attendees were either making money directly with their blogs via advertising methods or promoting their businesses with blogs and earning income indirectly.
There were some really excellent companies there that I learned about for the first time, or finally got to know and understand better thanks to the conference. All of them are really excellent companies and if you are looking to make more money or adjust your blog monetization strategy, they are all worth a strong consideration depending on your niche.
Plus, all of these options are “Google compliant” and are viable alternatives to my beloved TextLinkAds. :’(
CrispAds
Although I had heard great things about CrispAds in the past, it wasn’t until very recently that I took better notice of this ad network. I believe that CPM (pay based on page views) is the way to go to monetize a blog once you have established traffic, and CrispAds offers just that.
What’s interesting is that sometimes they will put together custom campaigns for their advertisers and cherry-pick blogs best suited to the target market. When this happens, usually you can get a premium price for your advertising inventory. And I’m all about premium prices for you (and me!! 
).
Podango
Evidently Podango has been around for a while (early 2006), but since I’m not too active in the podcasting/video scene, this company was new to me. But I love the fact that different networks are rising to help small publishers gain access to large companies who want to tap social media in their ad campaigns, no matter what the medium.
Podango offers more than just advertising support for podcasters and vidcasters, including hosting, production tools, and distribution. One of their flagship shows is Mommycast, one I will be checking out pronto.
BloggerReps
Technically not a monetization source, BloggerReps is a PR firm that connects companies with bloggers to build buzz. They won’t pay you to post anything, but what they do offer is “access to exclusive interviews, sneak previews of your favorite TV shows, pre-released products for review, and more. [They] also arrange co-sponsored promotions and sweepstakes that will boost traffic to your site and elevate your profile as experts in your area of interest.”
So if you want a source of products for review either for yourself or to use as contest giveaways, BloggerReps is a great source to check out.
RealGirlsMedia
RealGirlsMedia is a new ad network that was borne out of DivineCaroline, a social site for women. Like BlogHer, they are a CPM ad network with a really impressive roster of clients including Home Depot and Ann Taylor. Unlike BlogHer, they are less restrictive on ad placement and exclusivity, plus they also have sponsor opportunities as well as email marketing options if you have a mailing list targeted to women.
For now, RealGirlsMedia is open on an invitation only basis. But they are one to watch closely, and if that changes I’ll be the first to let you know!
Ads-Click
For those of you hankering for an alternative to Google AdSense (especially now that they are paying less) Ads-Click looks like a compelling alternative. Not only are they a promising-looking contextual advertiser, but they have built-in optimization tools and far more flexibility over how the text ads appear, including tag clouds and RSS advertising. Plus they pay a generous and pretty unheard-of 80% of ad revenue to publishers.
Interestingly, they also have a “white label” solution in which you can start your own contextual ad network and run text ads on your own site as well as on a network that you create (I believe the ads are Google compliant, too). I can see the bigger blog networks dropping AdSense for this kind of alternative (and I hope they do!!!).
ClipSyndicate
ClipSyndicate is an interesting blend of monetization sources for both blogging publishers and video bloggers / content creators. ClipSyndicate has the advertisers and the publishing network. You run videos on your blog or website, and the video publishers and you get to split the ad revenue off of the views that the video receives.
Plus, if you are a video publisher, they will distribute your clips throughout their publisher network, gaining you exposure on top of it all. They have a wide variety of niches covered and I have to say it looks pretty compelling on all fronts. I’d love more info from any of you who might have tried it.
Photrade
Photrade is a site in which you can upload and share photos like Flickr, but also allows you to make money for views, clicks, links and the reproduction of your photographs. Technically it’s not a blog monetization program as much as it is a photo monetization program. Which is an exciting concept for freelance photographers who have relatively limited ways to make money from their photographs.
Two more I knew about already:
Kontera
Kontera isn’t one of my favorite programs, because I feel it is a little intrusive to the user experience. They find keywords on your pages and pop up an image bubble with an ad in it when you mouse over it.
But for websites that can get away with using them, I hear that they can be an extremely lucrative option. I’m starting to see some of the larger news media sites use this kind of advertising lately, so it’s finding some mainstream acceptance. I know John Chow makes a lot of money off of them, but then again, it’s John Chow, who makes a lot of money off of everything.
Chitika
Although I do like Chitika very much, I have not had nearly the success with it as some other blogs have. Best suited for product blogs, Chitika has emerged to become one of the largest blog monetization companies around, largely because they are the one of the only serious contenders in the cost per click space next to AdSense.
If you give them a shot (or are already a publisher for them), be sure to ask Ryan to lend you a hand if you need help customizing or optimizing your ad units. He’s a super-helpful guy!
Advertising and Google
For more on advertising without pissing off Google, James Morris let me know about a post he wrote yesterday that is a great read:
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