When I redesigned this site I had a number of intentions, one of which was to introduce some advertising. I’ve toyed with it before in the shape of Google ads and a few trial runs of other systems, but I was never really happy with them. The redesign was aimed at solving those problems.

These other advertising methods presented me with two main problems:

Firstly, I could not control what was offered. This site is just a hobby for me, but nonetheless I do still want it to be useful and so I want advertising that everyone that reads the site might genuinely find interesting.

Secondly, I didn’t really feel that there was any value either way. I want the advertiser to feel they are getting enough time to explain themselves and Google ads just don’t do that.

The Offer

I imagine most people assumed the nice big space at the top would be for advertising, and so it is.

My intention is to offer the space (700px X 150px ) for an entire calendar month ( December 1st to December 31st) to the person that has met the conditions below, and offered me the highest rate by Midnight (UK Time) on the 20th November. This isn’t an auction, there will be no re-bids, just tell me what you think is fair, and if it proves to be the best offer then I will accept it (subject to a minimum of £10).

Conditions

The conditions are fairly straightforward:

First and foremost the product or service must offer a benefit to WordPress users or developers. It doesn’t have to be targeted at WordPress specifically, but something unconnected like gambling, or coffee isn’t going to do.

Secondly, note that the space must be taken up by a JPG or PNG image. I don’t want anything animated or intrusive in any way. I will however accept up to five alternative images to be shown randomly if you so wish.

Third, the images must conform to my opinion about what is decent and appropriate.

Fourth, nothing will go on the page until I have received the payment, via paypal, in full. If I don’t have payment by the 25th November then the next person in the list will be contacted to ensure they have enough time to put together any graphics they want.

Fifth, besides the adverts that appear on the Google Search option your advert will be the sole advertising on this website during that period. This will have no affect on the content of the blog.

Lastly, the decision I make is final. The payment is for the given space for the given time period. There are no other promises or guarantees.

How to take me up on this

If you want to take me up on this then you need to email me at andrew.rickmann@gmail.com

Your e-mail needs to contain details of the link that you want the advert to point to, a brief description of the product or service and if it is not obvious details of why you think it would be beneficial for WordPress users or developers, and the amount, in UK Pounds, that you are proposing to pay for the space.

If you have any questions about this then please ask them in the comments rather than by e-mail so the answers are available for everyone else.

This is the first time I have done this so I don’t know how much interest I will get, or what prices I will get. That also means that it if you have something to promote it is probably worth your while taking a guess on a price. You could be the only person who puts in an offer.

In the past few days I have read quite a few posts about the decline in advertising revenues as a result of the credit crunch. That put me in mind of all the great WordPress related blogs that I visit that have advertising so I decided to do a quick poll.

With Automattic’s acquisition of PollDaddy it seemed rude not to use it, so this seemed like an opportunity to give it a try, again. So here is the poll: