Earlier in the week I observed a conversation between two Internet marketing bloggers on Twitter which grabbed my attention.

The topic of conversation? Monetizing blogs by selling advertising directly to advertisers.

Their conclusion on the topic? It’s a dead and obsolete method of making money.

It was a fascinating conversation to observe. They gave some solid-sounding reasons for their conclusions, including:

1. There’s been a decrease in the budgets that companies are putting into marketing (due to the economy).
2. There’s much more money to be made in selling your own products and services.
3. Advertising, by its very nature, sends people away from your blog, to advertisers’ sites.
4. Online banner ads don’t convert and just distract people from what you are on about.
5. Selling ads directly to advertisers takes too much time and administration.

As I watched the conversation unfold I found myself agreeing with some of these points, however I also wondered if they might also be writing off an income stream that need not be mutually exclusive to other forms of income.

In my own experience of making money online, advertising has always been a part of my income mix. In the early days, it made up 95% of that mix (too much, to my mind), but even today it remains an important element for me. (Advertising made up around 24% of my income in December if you include direct ad sales and ad network income.)

Let me explain the reasons why I think it’s worthwhile to keep advertising in your mix.

The economy: rebounding more strongly for online advertising?

In talking to a number of bloggers who rely heavily upon advertising revenue, I would agree with the assessment that in many niches there seems to have been a contraction in the amounts companies are spending on their advertising. However I do know of bloggers who have seen an increase in spending in some niches.

Also, as we see the economy improve, I suspect we’ll see money return to advertising budgets—particularly in the online space. Companies are realizing the potential of online media to reach target audiences and get conversions. I suspect we’ll see online advertising bounce back bigger than it was before the Global Financial Crisis.

Your own products and services

I completely agree that bloggers should be looking at ways of developing their own products and services. I’ve written about how I’ve done this myself on numerous occasions over the couple of years, however I do think it’s possible to do this in conjunction with running advertisements on your blog.

In my own experience of blogging—particularly on Digital Photography School—I’ve found there’s a limit to how many of your own product/s you can promote on your blog.

While we sometimes talk about the “ad blindness” of readers to the advertising we run, I suspect the same can be said about blindness to your own products. If all you ever do is promote your own products, readers can switch off from those messages. Mixing things up with other people’s messages (whether they’re advertising or affiliate promotions) can actually keep things fresh (to some point).

Get creative with what you offer advertisers

I also think there’s a variety of other creative ways to weave advertising into what you do as a blogger—without just slapping banner ads everywhere. For example, a couple of things we’ve experimented with offering advertisers on dPS include:

• Sponsored competitions: here, an advertiser sponsors a competition on your blog. They provide a prize, you highlight their products, and you earn income for giving them that publicity
• Newsletter advertising: one of the surprises to me in the last year is that we’ve found advertisers willing to pay more for ads in our newsletters than for banner ads
• Sponsored content: by this I don’t mean that we sell space on our blog for companies to actually write their own content—or even for us to review their posts. Rather what we’re exploring with companies is to have them sponsor particular posts. For example, a company might sponsor a series of posts on a topic related to its industry. They’d have no influence on the actual content—they’d simply be mentioned in the intro to the post as the sponsor of that post.

The above options just scratch the surface of what can be offered to an advertiser—particularly as part of a bundle of sponsorship opportunities.

What I’ve found is that when an advertiser buys multiple points of presence on a blog, rather than just a CPM banner ad, they’re much more likely to get conversions, and renew as an ongoing advertiser.

Is advertising revenue still in your income mix?

I’d be interested to hear if ad revenue is a focus for you. Whether you’re using an ad network like AdSense, or you directly sell ads or sponsorships, do you focus upon it?

7 fixes for a smoky fireplace

Double-sided unit notorious for problems

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, March 23, 2011.

Inman News™

Flickr image courtesy of Atlanta Scott.

Q: My husband and I have been frustrated by a problem since we moved into our circa-1965 house two years ago. The double-sided fireplace spews so much smoke that it’s unusable.

Two chimney sweeps have told me it doesn’t need to be cleaned and that these types of fireplaces just never work properly. Their only suggestion was to install a wood-burning stove inside the fireplace. There’s no way we will do this.

The fireplace has two flues, which we’ve opened every time we’ve built a fire. Is there anything you can suggest to get this fireplace to draw?

A: A wood-burning stove inside a fireplace? That’s nuts. There are a number of things you can try that may fix your problem.

To begin with, it’s important that you understand a couple of basic laws of thermodynamics. First, hot air rises and cold air sinks. Second, fire requires combustion air. Simply put, to work properly a fireplace needs cooler air entering the firebox to replace the hot air, smoke and gases that leave via the chimney. The proper balance of cold and hot allows the fireplace to draw.

We can think of a number of reasons your fireplace smokes you out. You’ve dealt with the first couple by having a chimney sweep out and making sure the damper is open. Here are some other causes and possible cures:

• Wood should be dry and aged for at least one year. Hardwoods are best. They are denser and give off less smoke. Split the wood so that it burns efficiently. Avoid construction debris, as there’s no telling what chemicals it might contain. Even if it’s chemical free, Douglas fir and pine burn hot and fast and create creosote buildup in the chimney. If you burn pine or fir regularly, have a chimney sweep clean yearly.

• The rack where you place the wood should be placed directly under the damper. Raising the grate on bricks helps create more combustion air under the fire and gets the fire closer to the chimney opening.

• Two-sided fireplaces have inherent problems with draw. They’re hit with drafts from both sides. Installing glass doors can solve this problem by cutting off air from one side of the fireplace to start and containing the hot air once the fire gets going.

• Have an experienced mason check the height of the chimney. Extending the height of the chimney should improve the draw.

• If it is either cold and/or raining, the air inside the flue will probably be cold and heavy, blocking the smoke from venting. Every time you build a fire, prime the chimney by rolling up a newspaper and lighting it, then holding the lit end close to the open damper inside the firebox to warm up the air in the flue. This has the effect of coaxing the warm air to go in the right direction — outside, not into the house.

• Turn the heater off when you start a fire. Gas furnaces also need combustion air — the same air the fireplace needs. If the heater is on, there is competition for the same air. If the furnace wins, you get smoked out.

• Houses are built or retrofitted much tighter than they used to be. Air pressure inside the house can be different from outside. This can slow air drawn through the flue and limit combustion air, resulting in a smoky fire. When you light a fire, crack open a window or door until it gets going.

• Finally, consider hiring a mason to install an air pipe from the outside into the firebox.

Our advice is to do the cost-free stuff first, try the glass doors second and if you don’t get the desired result, consult with a good masonry contractor about general design and chimney height. We wish you many a cozy evening and, if you get a chance, let us know how things turn out.

       

      

    

   

      

   

  

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Snag a deal on Mexican real estate

Don't let crime keep you from buying beach getaway

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, March 23, 2011.

Inman News™

Jim Cramer, the bombastic, high-energy investment guru and host of the CNBC show "Mad Money," told his audience last summer that he recently purchased three properties in Mexico. Why, Jim?

"Mexico is a big country and not every province, every state is involved in the drug trade," said Cramer, a magna cum laude graduate from Harvard. "It has to be one of the nicest places I’ve ever been …

"It’s not such a bad idea to diversify away from stocks," he said. "I think that out-of-favor real estate in Mexico that’s easily accessible to Americans represents a great buy."

Given the winter weather in the Puget Sound, many grumbling residents are seeking consistent sun. Warm water would also fit. However, they are skittish to ask about Mexico, believing the entire country to be awash in blood, crime and drugs.

Adam McAbee, senior manager and second-home specialist for San Diego-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting, recently completed a five-month inspection of more than 180 actively selling projects representing approximately 17,000 units in the Puerto Vallarta/Manzanillo, Mazatlan and Los Cabos market areas.

Violence and crime are foremost topics in the U.S.; they were not mentioned as factors in the resorts — the struggling U.S. economy was, however.

"I can tell you that people I meet in the respective markets down there generally laugh and shake their heads, noting that the violence almost never reaches the tourist areas. The recent Acapulco issues aside …"

Crime figures seem to be easier to come by than home-sale numbers. Statistics on Mexican properties sold to U.S. citizens and other non-nationals are nearly impossible to obtain.

The National Association of Realtors has a sister organization within the country but neither compiles the number of properties sold to Americans. The country has no connected multiple listing associations or licensing requirement for salespersons. Hence, most sales activity has been anecdotal or gleaned from individual offices.

However, some credible research has begun to trickle in, including the John Burns study. The company gathered information on location, product type, home sizes, price points, absorption, buyer profile and amenities. One of its conclusions:

"… Mexico is too close, too beautiful and too affordable not to return to the "norm" of serving as a major tourist — and second-home-buying destination — in the coming years."

Here are a few other takeaways from the study regarding second-home buying in Mexico:

• The vast majority of visitors to the country are still Americans. The research indicates that they are coming back as buyers — just not in "full force" until things improve at home. In the meantime, since the number of American buyers has diminished and/or they are focused on obtaining a "steal," near-term projects need to also target Canadian and Mexican buyers to keep sales momentum alive.

• In Puerto Vallarta/Manzanillo: Most agents agree that the market is still slow, but 2010 was a definite improvement over 2009.

• In Cabo San Lucas: One project sold at a rate of approximately 6.5 units per month (combined across two product lines) in 2010 — driven heavily by a central location, distant views, good-quality amenities/lifestyle in place, and rock-bottom pricing.

"I was talking with another client about my work in Mexico," McAbee said. "I took a poll of the six people in the room. I asked who would go on vacation to Mexico right now. Half said they would go; half said no way.

"Even people within my company are the same way. Some are jealous I ‘get’ to go to Mexico; others are glad they are not the ones that ‘have’ to go. It tends to be a fairly polarizing question."

Jim Donahoe, a veteran salesperson with years of sales experience south of the border, recently returned to La Paz to lead residential sales at Linda Neil Properties. According to Donahoe, the "sweet spot" for sales is approximately $230,000 near the city’s waterfront with more Americans entering the market.

La Paz is not too big, not too small and not just a tourist place," Donahoe said. "There are places in gated communities for a lot less than $230,000, including one view condo building with all units for $159,000.

"Nobody asks about crime. They are only wondering if they have enough dollars yet to get here."

Next week: Expats speak out about crime south of the border.

Tom Kelly’s book "Cashing In on a Second Home in Central America: How to Buy, Rent and Profit in the World’s Bargain Zone" was written with Mitch Creekmore,  senior vice president of Stewart International, and Jeff Hornberger, the National Association of Realtors’ international market development manager. The book is available in retail stores, on Amazon.com and on tomkelly.com.

 

       

      

    

   

   

      

   

  

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Halstead Property has created a new top sales post and snagged a top Upper West Side manager at its sister firm Brown Harris Stevens to fill the post, the residential brokerage announced Wednesday morning.

Jim Gricar will join Halstead as general sales manager, effective April 4. Mr. Gricar, who will be based in Halstead’s new flagship office at 499 Park Ave., will also be in charge of recruiting talent and identifying strategic growth opportunities for the firm. For almost seven years, he was an executive vice president and director of West Side sales for Brown Harris Stevens, where he was credited for nearly doubling the size of the brokerage firm’s West Side office, located at 1926 Broadway.

“We needed another level of management because of our growth,” said Diane Ramirez, president of Halstead, adding that creating the new role was something in the works for some time. Mr. Gricar will report to Ms. Ramirez. “Timing is everything, and it was the right time for us and Jim. He is well-respected and will make a fantastic addition to the firm.”

“We wish Jim continued success and are happy he remains with Terra Holdings,” said Hall Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens, which, along with Halstead, falls under parent company Terra.

Brown Harris Stevens announced Wednesday that Kevin Kovesci was named sales manager of the Upper West Side office, replacing Mr. Gricar when he departs early next month. Mr. Kovesci is the firm’s TriBeCa and Village office manager, and Brown Harris is currently in the process of looking for his replacement.

Prior to joining Brown Harris Stevens, Mr. Gricar worked at the Corcoran Group for more than five years, holding roles such as managing director of that brokerage’s downtown Manhattan division and assistant manager in the East Side office. Most recently at Brown Harris Stevens, Mr. Gricar was also put in charge of Brown Harris Steven’s on-site marketing and sales as a managing director.

Halstead recently doubled its flagship office space and will move into its new 17,000-square-foot office at I.M. Pei-designed 499 Park Ave. office on April 4, according to Ms. Ramirez. The firm currently has roughly 900 agents in 19 offices in the tri-state area.