You may well be laughing at me for writing such an odd title for this post and I don’t blame you. Bloggers are known for their ideas, writing skills, multi-media expertise, and often their wit, but most of us aren’t known for good looks, physical prowess, or heroic deeds.
A profession that requires you to spend a lot of time inside, sitting on your bum, and developing carpal tunnel syndrome doesn’t exactly pass most tests of coolness (although it does bear some resemblance to car racing when you look at it the right way…)
NASCAR driver are walking billboards and their cars are billboards on wheels. Look at your average stock car or driver’s uniform and you’ll see that there’s barely any space for color: cars and uniforms are covered in logos and company names of several different sizes.
Some of the logos are quite recognizable and show up very well on TV. But some of them… you’d need a telescope to see them from a short distance. They’re positively tiny compared to their larger neighbours. There’s virtually no chance that anyone’s ever going to see or recognize those logos, but they are there in spades.
I’m not writing this post to advocate selling every pixel of blank space on your blog for ads. What’s the value for sponsoring something when no one can see your ad? However, seeing those tiny ads made me thing about the bigger ads and about how NASCAR drivers make a lot of their money. I think there’s an opportunity for bloggers to monetize themselves in a different way than most do today: through bigger, longer term sponsorships.
Consider:
- You can place an ad on someone’s blog and it’s a simple business transaction that might have no lasting value.
- Or, you could be a sponsor of a blog and that entails something different. Sponsorship could be a longer term relationship and support for the sponsored.
There’s also another possibility, a reason why people buy tiny ads on racing uniforms and cars. You know what that is?
Bragging rights. Some people will take any opportunity to be associated with greatness. That’s where the small ads come in. And the really big ads, too.
Think about it. It could be good for the blogger and the advertiser. It might not be something that many bloggers have the pull to do, but who knows? Maybe it’s worth checking out?
Just make sure you wear your seatbelt. And a helmet. Because falling asleep at your keyboard can be hazardous to your health.
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