When I wrote my post on ad swapping back in April, several of you expressed interest in a follow up post after I’d tried out my new swap policy. I started my new routine at the beginning of May, so now that I have over a month under my belt I thought it was time to share what I’ve learned!
These were the changes that I implemented:
- 10 swap buttons at a time
- Rotate ads after one month
- Do sponsor spotlights on Saturdays
- Take down ad swap page to limit inquiries
- Only swap with blogs that I read or want to read
And here is my vlog where I’m talking about the good and the bad of my swap policy, as well as answering the questions I got on Facebook (thanks Emily and Lindsay!)
(I tried to keep it short and clearly failed. Also, could Youtube have taken a goofier still from the video? If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments!)
hey girl! first and foremost… your smile is so beautiful. i just love it. I adore how open you are with this topic. It can be touchy at times and you just answer all the questions so well! Great job. And yes… thank you for swapping with me in May :)
Aww, thanks Aunie- that made my day! It’s definitely something that can get kind of complicated, I’m hoping that being open about it will make things easier. And thank YOU for swapping with me! I meant to add in my vlog that one of the things I don’t like about this is that it sucks to only swap for a month with blogs that you love!
Thanks for such a candid response to my questions. I really enjoyed watching this from start to finish. I have been thinking a lot about Ad Swapping – and have even considered not doing it on my blog. I like promoting other blogs – but I find it clutters up my side bars and to be honest I don’t do any expect slap their button on my blog. I am thinking that there must be another way to promote the blogs I love. I think I’d rather do this in form of a post, guest post, etc. I think the blog would get more recognition there.
I feel the effort that some people, like your fine self, put into an ad swapping program is a lot of work. Especially if it’s a free program. It’s different if it’s paid – it’s still work – but you’re being paid.
Thanks for this VLOG. I am going to have to watch it again to take in all the advice.
Thanks Emily! I totally know what you mean. I think guest posts and features are way more effective than blog buttons, and I’ve seen several blogs that I like decide to do away with swapping altogether, and that option is becoming more and more appealing. It might happen for me naturally with this relaunch, we’ll see!
You’re such a natural in front of the camera, Kate! Great job! And thank you for answering my questions!
Thanks Lindsay, I was really glad you asked them! :)