Using ProjectWonderful.com for Advertising - FUN!

[GalleriaLinda]

Advertising! We all want it!

PW, as I abbreviate it, is an online advertising auction that is so automated behind the scenes that even those who are not online savvy can use it. It is a GREAT way to get into online advertising without much stress.

The main groups that use PW are online artists, handcrafters, designers, gamers, and online web comics. Because we are all on iCraft, we are crafters and artists that might like to advertise on another artist’s blog or web site (because people who love art and handmade are the audience).

I decided to try to make PW money before I spent money on my own product PW ads - this is possible!!

My PW advertising has been fully self supporting since the beginning - I have not spent a dime - because I started placing ads on my jewelry blog, GalleriaLindaShowcase January 1, 2009. In about 4 weeks, I had $6 in my account and $15 by the end of February. Then I wanted to graduate to paid advertising for my products. I was nervous!

Things I learned as an advertiser:

*It is easy to find places for your ad that have $0 cost and is a great way to try this without spending money. Your ad may show only off and on, depending upon the bids for those slots. The ad boxes fluctuate in bid pricing all day long

*Obtaining FREE ad space is allowed only for a two-day time so you will have to manually renew every two days if you wish.

*It IS possible to get free ad space on a site with significant traffic, but it will be only for a short while. Most free spots are on sites that have minimal traffic, but still is a great way to start and learn!

*If you are picky about where your ad is seen, you have control, although it takes time to do a keywords search and handpick those you want. If you are not so picky about where your ads are seen, you can do a campaign using search terms, and “let ‘er rip.”

Things I learned as a publisher:

*If you want to add the PW ad boxes on your own blog or web site, it is fun!

*Realize that is not a given that people will fill up your ad box, so only do a couple of slots at first. It depends upon your blog/web site promotion, traffic numbers, and dedication to make this work well for you.

*PW ad campaigns will automatically find your ad box if your box description fits the key words and fits the traffic criteria setup by the ad owners. Strong key words are essential when you set it up. Be sure to use the PW tag cloud as a key word resource.

*To get the most from your PW ad boxes, you should promote your page with the advertisements and update it frequently to bring up those traffic numbers. The more frequent you update, the more traffic you will have that may capture more ad campaigns automatically.

I encourage all of you to go to the site, read all about it and just jump in looking for the free ads to start!! You will get hooked!
http://www.projectwonderful.com

Be sure to make a super-duper shop or product graphic that is 125x125 pixels that will link to your shop. This is by far the most used ad size.

Perhaps some graphic artists can post here as a resource for those who cannot create their on 125x125 ad!

When you try it, post here - let us know your experience!! We will celebrate with you!

ADDITIONAL PW RESOURCES:

The details of my experiment with ProjectWonderful.com are in this article:
http://indieceo.blogspot.com/2009/03/project-wonderful-online-advertising.html

Ways to promote your web pages and blogs can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/7gf9zf

To get a good feel for the process, here is a great tutorial on using Project Wonderful posted by TimothyAdamDesigns:
http://tinyurl.com/6q9ba5

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Thank-you, Linda!

I'll save this reading for when I get my blog launched!  It's something I've wanted to learn about for a while.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Linda, I started using Project Wonderful 1 week ago.  I put an ad on your blog for Canadian traffic!
Thanks again for the advice.

[GalleriaLinda]

That is great, Fairy Cardmaker! Have fun with it. As you surf blogs you can find ad spots too.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

I have been using Project Wonderul since summer 2010.  I have been spending $5.00 per month and gotten between 60,000 and 120,000 hits (people who saw my ad) per month and about 60 clicks (people who clicked my ad) per month.  My cost per click is roughly 8 cents.

Sounds good.  Hasn't resulted in sales much though.  I have had a few sales (on Etsy) but I can't tell where they came from.  Also, I have JUST gotten a large custom order through iCraft, but I don't know how they found me either.  (No one answers my Paypal survey.)  I'm still happy to have increased exposure through Project Wonderful advertising.  Now, I just have to refine it to find the ad boxes that match my target market!

I applied to PW as a publisher to help mitigate the cost of my own ads.  They turned me down.  They said I don't have enough content.  Minimum content for a blog is 30 posts. I had 60 at the time.  I check every site in the "search for new advertising" results before I bid to advertise on Project Wonderful because I have gotten search results for sites that have not posted in SIX months and, in a couple cases, YEARS.

Any idea why I wouldn't qualify as a publisher?

Any one else have Project Wonderful experiences to share?  I'd love to hear how others are doing.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

I re-applied and now I got approved!  So excited!

http://fairycardmaker.blogspot.com/

[PillowThrowDecor]

Hey good news! Are you still having positive response?

Cheers
Christine

[Fairy Cardmaker]

What I've learned about PW:

• I have had no luck with campaigns but I've heard of others who do.
• US traffic is outbid WAY more often than Canadian traffic.
• There's a lot of other traffic (outside Europe, US and Canada) but I don't advertise on it much due to fear of the shipping costs to get to that market.
• I use manual bids and manage my cost per click around $0.08 per.  So, it's still worth it to me.
• I have to manually CHECK each site's sample before I bid because some sites have become inactive.  They still generate traffic because the content might still be good and helpful or of interest to people, but if there's no NEW stuff being added, then I don't want to spend money on it.  I'll only put ads there if it's free.
• The PW search is tough to navigate (to me anyways)

It's still a cheap way to generate traffic, in my opinion.  Plus, it's only as much work as you want it to be.  You can set some bids and walk away and come back week or month later.  I am still trying to figure out what blogs my target market is reading so I can bid on them.  I've been getting between 50-60 clicks per month from my ads (between my two shops) but not much in sales.

For argument's sake, let's say that I do have a desirable product and price and decent photos.  If clicks aren't becomming sales, then I'm not advertising to the right market.  (In truth, I'm still working on all of the forgoing though!)  So, I'm not giving up on Project Wonderful!