Adgitize to Raise Ad Prices in November
Posted by kexbrown on October 7, 2009
It is with great concern I make this annoucement. I know many of you will be sad, mad, upset and angry. But, to continue our growth and with expectations that in 2010 we will quadruple in size this is very necessary.
We are raising the standard Ad price to $24 a month starting on November 1, 2009. This is necessary as we continue to grow at Adgitize. We started the advertising company in November of 2008 and we have been running the operation as lean as possible so we can keep ad prices very reasonable for all bloggers. I understand this will potentially hurt many bloggers who are struggling with low income or no income in these troubling economically challenged times.
As many of you know I wear many hats at Adgitize. I will not be able to do as many tasks myself as I once was as we continue to grow exponentially. Over the last year I have farmed out some work as necessary, but last week it was brought to my attention that we need to bring people into our organization on a more permanent basis. Plus, I am constantly reminded that more growth means a need for more servers.
Publishers Will Earn More Each Day
It is not all bad as many publishers will earn more money each day. If you were producing enough points to earn the money necessary for an ad each month then nothing will change for you. You will still earn enough to pay for an ad. Many of you in this category will actually have more left over than you did before the change.
If you were scoring between 200 and 300 points each day then you will earn more than you are earning now. Less than 200 a points a day and you won’t see any change in your earnings.
Breakdown of Potential Earnings
Here is a breakdown based on what the earning numbers were for 9/28/2009 and what our expectations are after the price increase. This is not a guarantee that you will earn this amount as all earnings are a function of revenue, total points and points earned.
| Points | Old Daily Earnings | New Daily Earnings |
| Less Than 200 points a day | No Change | No Change |
| 200 points a day | 15 cents a day | 24 cents a day |
| 290 points a day | 22 cents a day | 35 cents a day |
| 300 points a day | 44 cents a day | 72 cents a day |
| 360 points a day | 53 cents a day | 86 cents a day |
| 430 Points a day | 63 cents a day | $1.03 a day |
| 500 Points a day | 74 cents a day | $1.20 a day |
As Little as a Penny a Click
I want to reiterate that what has occurred in the past is no guarantee of future earnings. If all our advertisers leave us because of this decision then there will be no payouts at all. It is still very much to your advantage to continue advertising and being a part of the Adgitize Community. For my 125 px By 125 px ads I am still receiving 50 to 70 clicks a day, which works out to as little as 1 cent per click for advertising with the new ad prices.
I would love to sugar coat this change and make you all be happy. But, change is scary and many times hard. I don’t blame you for being angry. Many of you will leave because of this decision and I respect your decision. You have to do what is right for you and your blog. This decision to raise prices has been difficult but I know long term it is the right decision for Adgitize and the Adgitize Community.
Thank You for Your Participation in Adgitize
Any new ads starting on or after November 1, 2009 will be priced at $24 a month. Any renewals with an expiration date after October 31st will be priced at $24 a month. Thank you all for being a part of Adgitize and working with us to make the best Advertiser / Publisher community on the web.
ian said,
wow. this is indeed a big news, ken. i’m sure you have all our best interest in mind =]
just some clarification-
so if i understand correctly, if renew my current ad which expires october 16th, you will already charge me $24? will my earnings per day be approximately close to the New Daily Earnings you projected starting day 1 of my renewed ad?
i’m just thinking aloud, would it be possible to pro-rate the cost of the said ad, say, of my month-long ad, the october 17-october 31 ad rate will still be at the $14 dollars/month cost then the nov 1 onwards will be pro-rated to $24 divided by the remaining days during my October renewal?
thanks for your continued great service ken. i somehow understand where you come from. i know you can/will do your utmost to, well, soften the blow of this development =]
kexbrown said,
If your ad expires on October 17th then you will still pay $14 for a one month ad. If your ad Expires on November 2nd you will pay $24. All ads with a renewal date in October will still only be $14. The new rates do not take effect until November 1st.
ian said,
thanks for the prompt reply, ken =]
for example, i renew my ad so that it runs for te next 31 days, from october 17 to november 17- will i already pay $24?
also, will there be changes to the cost of the 7-day and 10-day ad placements? =]
cornyman said,
Hello Ken,
it’s it very good from you to inform us that early about the upcoming price change!
We have the security to buy ads earlier or renew them if necessary in October (if possible).
You won’t face problems in case the membership grows faster in the next weeks and months because of your excellent work which you and your team are mastering each day!
I have some questions which are not yet mentioned in your post:
1. Will the Finder Fee increase from 5$ to a higher amount (around 1/3 like with the previous percentage).
2. How much will the 2nd, 3rd and 4th ad cost?
I think the calculation of the earnings is based as soon as every advertiser paid the 24$. This won’t be effective until 1st of December. So in the time between 1st November and 1st December there will be mixed earnings from the 14$ and the 24$ paid advertisers.
Is my conclusion correct?
kexbrown said,
@Ian – If your ad expires on Oct 17, you will pay $14 to renew your ad for 31 days. So, you won’t have to pay $24 until November 17th.
The 7 and 14 day ads will increase to $12 and $18.
kexbrown said,
@Cornyman – Your comment about the mixed earnings is absolutely correct. In November you will begin the month at the current earnings and then as more advertisers convert to the higher ad prices you will see your earnings ramp up to the projected higher earnings.
The 2nd ad will cost $23, 3rd ad $22 and 4th or more ads will be $21 each.
The Finders fee will increase to $8 per new advertiser. There will be no increase in the monthly referred advertiser bonus.
dickster1961 said,
I have two goals with my advertising on Adgitize;
1-to increase traffic
2-for my activities to generate enough cash to pay for the ads.
So long as both these continue to occur, and it sounds like it will, then it’s all good. Thanks for the advance notice.
One last question, is there a change in the paid preferred publisher rate?
kexbrown said,
@Dickster – Your goals will still be met by Adgitize. At this time we are not raising the paid preferred publisher rate.
JT Locke -- The Frugal Housewife said,
This is a quality site so the price increases don’t bother me. It has been effective in bringing traffic to my sites. The reality for me was that I was going to increase my advertising budget anyway. At least with Adgitize, I make most if not all of my advertising budget back each month.
More growth for Adgitize means increased numbers for my sites as well!!! Keep on growing Adgitize!!!
DogsDeserveFreedom said,
Wow. I have to say that when I read the first two paragraphs of this entry I was concerned.
However, as I read through the rest of your post I came to realize that it’s not so bad since the potential earnings go up as well. So long as I can continue to pay for my ads with my earnings then I’m happy!
Thanks for the continued great service!!
Chinaren said,
I will certainly continue to support Agitize. It’s a good product and you give good customer service, a winning combination!
Up in Arms | Grampy and You said,
[...] Adgitize to Raise Ad Prices in November [...]
Mara said,
No worries Ken, I am sure most of the Adgitize members understand the need to increase the ad prices. It won’t be too much for us too since having and being on Adgitize satisfies our blog’s needs (advertisement, traffic & earning all at the same time). Besides, it is not just the ad prices that will increase but our potential earnings too. In more ways than one, it is still a win-win situation.
I have always been contented and happy with your service and rest assured, that I will still support Adgitize.
Keep it up!
Linda said,
I was wondering how you were doing it with all of the growth you have been experiencing. Price increase is just part of doing business and I am ok with it. Thanks for all you do.
ian said,
thanks for answering our Q’s ken =] for the reasons the others have sufficiently cited, i’m staying put as well and will give the new pricing scheme a try =]
John @ Family, Fitness And Finances said,
I am new to Adgitize. That being said, I have seen a significant increase in traffic to my blog. It sounds like the price increase is necessary and the increased payouts will make up for the higher ad rate. It’s all good, keep up the great work!
fedhz said,
Wow! Advance Happy Anniversary. ^^
I love Adgitize. And this change means progressing, moving forward.. no worries.
Eli G said,
Ken, my wife and I will continue to be with the Adgitize as advertisers, AFTER November 1, 2009.
But I have a question: I have 1 running ad, to expire on November 3, 2009 (Business Sphere). My wife has running ad as well, to expire on November 8, 2009 (One World Realty).
The new ad rate will take effect November 1, 2009. So, if I and my wife will purchase additional ads (not ad renewal) on October 30, 2009, does it mean we will still be paying the old price of $14?
kexbrown said,
@Eli – Yes, you will be able to create a new ad before November 1st and only pay $14.
Mom said,
Wow! Questions get asked and answers get given – promptly…
What a novel concept.
Thanks for letting us know of the changes to come and answering the questions that have been asked.
–Shaunalynn
Mom's Cafe Home Cooking said,
I can totally understand the need for a price increase and really appreciate the notice of the price increase. I don’t like the idea that we might get nothing as far as a payout if a lot of adverts are pulled. So November is going to be a bumpy month as far as payouts. I’ve had two ads running with one of them here taking a loss despite participating daily as far as payback so will only renew one ad but that’s ok. At the moment I have 5 blogs so would love to put them all on Adgitize but simply can’t afford to do that.
I think there is not enough incentive for bloggers who have multiple blogs to pay for advertising those additional blogs. I can’t afford to spend $120 per month to get $20 back and it seems to me something I’ve noticed the last couple of days less traffic from Adgitize something I am a bit concerned about. Anyway, I will be renewing at least one ad.
kexbrown said,
@Mom’s Cafe – I didn’t mean to scare you about November earnings. I made the comment to make a point that earnings are dependent upon revenue generated from ads. There are enough ads, both renewals and new ads to fund some nice income in November for active publishers.
We will look into adding extra incentives for multiple ads, though it was never our intent to make this a revenue stream for advertisers. Advertisers advertise and publishers publish was our initial concept. We are delighted that many of our best advertisers are also our best publishers.
Adgitize to raise Advertisement Cost | My Frugal Ways said,
[...] (You can read my review here). I was taken by surprise when I read the latest post regarding Adgitize raising advertise cost from $14 to $24. However, the reason why I am taken by surprise is I actually thought they would do this much [...]
liezl said,
Uhm, thanks for the quick update… Hope I can still manage to break-even. ^_^
Ayurvedic-Tuchkas said,
It is understandable that every firm needs funds to manage its working and you too need them.Nice move to reciprocate it back to the customers.We are with you.Go ahead.
Mom's Cafe Home Cooking said,
Sorry this is deviating from the original post but I still can’t get the forums to work for me. Anyway here’s what I was wondering. Under the ‘reject ads’ section is there any way to make it so you don’t have to scroll so much? I’d also like to see where the ad doesn’t run until you approve it instead of letting it run until you reject it. Neither current set-up work so well for those who go away for a few days. Other than that I have no complaints.
Eric : BlogDemanila said,
I just arrived from being stranded in the Northern part of our country and the first thing that I did is login here at Adgitize. (i was offline for more than 2 weeks due to 2 storms that hit us). and here’s the “big storm news” from Ken.
Since most of the questions I have in mind where already answered, all I want to write here is – I’ll continue to support Adgitize as an advertsiser!
kexbrown said,
Eric – I am so happy you survived your storms. They looked like horrendous storms and created so much havoc and damage. I hope that your whole family is healthy and whole. Welcome back.
Thank all of you for your continued support, I really appreciate it and we will continue to do our best to serve you!
Contamination said,
I think this is great. It gives everyone a chance to beat the November price rise and put a paid ad or two into the system before then.
Stealth_mayhem said,
Today is my first day with Adgitize, and I am quite surprised to see the loyalty shown around here. When any of the other advertising sites mentioned a price increase a bunch of people were saying “I can’t afford it now…”, “This is so unfair”, and the like. This community seems like the right place for me. I understand that prices can increase due to increased resources needed to run the site. As I stated before, the price increase will not affect me, due to the fact that I am not advertising my blog as of yet. In summary, I am glad to be part of your community.
kexbrown said,
@Stealth – Welcome to Adgitize. Just because some people haven’t said it doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking those words. We have many mature bloggers here that understand business and understand blogging. It is a great group and I am proud to be associated with them.
Bruce said,
Well I guess I will be the first one to dissent on the post and will try to explain why.
I am strictly an advertiser here. All I do is run some ads every month and really don’t involve myself in the earning by clicking on ads or publishing etc.
As an advertiser I understand the nature of the traffic derived from adgitize. Members here are rewarded with points to visit the advertisers sites. The vast majority of any traffic derived from advertising here is only generated so a member can earn a point and in turn $$$. Thus the traffic is non-converting and very low quality. For someone only wanting a click to their blog that may be fine for them.
I still advertised and have been since the site first started. I understood why the traffic visited but continued using it. To this day I am not entirely sure why. Maybe because I always received stellar service at adgitize anytime I had a question and wanted to reward that. Maybe it was just simple to click the link in the email notifying me I needed to renew and renew it. I am not entirely sure why.
The increase represents about a 71% increase in cost which I took into consideration with the low traffic quality (members are essentially paid to visit) and other advertising avenues available.
Lets face it whether $14 or $24 it is not a lot of money either way but percentage wise that is about 71% and caused me to pause and reflect.
I asked myself why am I placing ads to get traffic from members paid to visit that will not convert and increases bounce rates? The price increase gave me a wake up call and I appreciate that.
I appreciate that past service and wish you all the best in the future, but for those of you earning while clicking there will be a few less ads to click on going forward.
kexbrown said,
@Bruce – Thank you very much for your candor and comments. You have been with Adgitize since the very beginning and I appreciate your buying an ad each month and keeping us going in the early days when we only had a handful of members. Thanks for sticking with us when we did things wrong.
You are right that the structure of Adgitize is best for bloggers looking for branding possibilities and traffic from many sources.
I think for businesses like yours Adgitize is also a wonderful opportunity to brand your product and business. Adgitize has many blogger members (4600 last count) and we give businesses opportunities to convert our members to their customers similar to advertising in a newspaper. They may not buy the first time they see your ad or visit your site, but down the road they just might find your opportunity at the moment they are looking for it.
Now what is the opportune price to pay to get that traffic? That is for you to decide based on your product, market and cost per customer. I am truly sorry to price you out of our market. I sincerely value your support this past year and hope that we can help you find value in our service in the future.
I wish you the best for the upcoming holidays and especially in 2010! More Power!
Kevin of Strength and Fitness Blog said,
It’s OK with me–under a dollar a day is still quite a deal.
Kirhat said,
Days after the increase was adopted, I still feel that Adgitize is giving us our money’s worth. Traffic is still moving upwards while earnings have increased relative to the cost. In fact, I earned almost the same as what I paid this November, which makes this change not as grim as some initially thought.
M Gravlee said,
We’re in the same boat with Bruce. I don’t have the time/desire to click hundreds of ads a day. We’re pure advertisers and this increase gets the cost per click over the penny threshold that click and run traffic is worth to us.
Today was the last renewal of our two ads. We’ve enjoyed the traffic the last few months and wish all of you well.