Saturday Sessions: It's All About The Button

Saturday Sessions is very late to the party today because she was having a little facelift. Looks better right? I've been wanting to put today's Saturday Session post together for a couple of months now, I just haven't gotten around to it. 

So you've got a blog and you want to grow, you now are ready to use your hard earned money to purchase advertising space on other blogs...

Don't Stretch it Out

This is your hard earned money. If you use the same size button for every blog you advertise on you might as well just take the cash out of your wallet and throw it in the garbage can.  You're wasting your money. For example, say you buy ad space and the pixel size is 300px wide by 100px tall. But the button you upload is 200px by 250px. This is what your ad will look like:

Would you click that? I wouldn't. Think about your blog as a business. What if Miller Light bought a billboard on the highway, and just said F it and used an ad image they had previously made for, let's say, a magazine ad. Would you consider this a waste of money if you saw this billboard on the highway?

Do Design a New Button for Each Ad You Purchase 

It takes a couple of minutes to make a button for your blog. You're going to be on someone's sidebar for 30 days, I think you can manage two minutes to make a new button that is the proper dimension. Or you can purchase a new button design from a designer if you want something more professional! 

Do Use a Picture

I'm sure I'll get many people that disagree with me, but I'm so much more likely to click a button that has a picture on it. And keep in mind, if you are a little bit more reserved and would prefer not to have your face plastered across your button, think outside the box. I just said a picture, I didn't say it had to be a picture of your face!

Here are a couple of buttons I've made that don't have my face on them, but still use an image.

Do Design A Button For The Blog You're Advertising On

This is my favorite tip to share with you. I've been testing this theory for a couple of months and it is really working. I design a new button for each blog I advertise on. I pick the image based on the blogger, the type of blog they write and what I think will attract their readers to click my button. 

For example:

1. If I've met the blogger, I will use a picture of the two of us. 

I realize this is not even remotely possible 97% of the time, but can you think of a better advertisement? Say you read Helene In Between regularly, and there on her sidebar sits an ad for a blog you've not heard of before, and the image is Helene and another girl. You're going to click to see who this girl is, right? If Helene is friend's with her, then this chick is probably someone you'll like too! I've met Helene and Sami, so when I advertise on their blogs, I use pics of the two of us! 

So if you're lucky enough to have met other bloggers, always use pictures you've taken with them as your button on their site! 

2. If you're advertising on a blog with a specific niche, use an image that relates to that niche. 

I advertised on Eat Yourself Skinny, and I used an image of me in the kitchen opening Champagne. This was a far better choice than an image of me eating ice cream (which is another button I have). 

When I advertised on I Wore Yoga Pants to Work, I knew Whitney and her readers like to party and have fun, like I do of course, so I used that button I posted above of me holding the Jack Daniels. When I advertise on fashion blogs, I try and use a picture of me that is a bit dressier, and of course, a bit glittered up! 

Advertising on travel blogs? Pick an image of you traveling. Advertising on weight loss blog, use a sportier image. If I bought space on my own blog I'd probably use a picture of me tailgating. You get the picture? pun intended.

The main thing to take away from this post is to put a few extra minutes and some added effort into designing your buttons. Once you design one button, the rest is easy. Just reuse that design concept and adjust your image / size according to the blog. 

As always, feel free to leave a comment asking any questions!