Why I May Run Ads in My Twitter Stream

Monday, October 19th, 2009 by Andy Beal

Why I May Run Ads in My Twitter Stream

It’s been interesting to see more and more bloggers moving their thoughts to Twitter. I’ve certainly found myself blogging less, and instead using Twitter to share my thoughts, links, and news.

The downside to that approach is that complete inability to directly monetize that content on Twitter. With Marketing Pilgrim, I can place ads around our posts–and even in our RSS feeds–which helps offset the amount of time and money that goes into bringing Marketing Pilgrim updates to you multiple times a day. When I forsake the blog for Twitter, I’m giving up anywhere from a Big Mac to a filet minion–in terms of lost ad revenue.

Of course, there are plenty of ways to “monetize” Twitter, but I’m starting to consider whether I should look at my Twitter stream the same way I look at Marketing Pilgrim. Then along comes a press release for a new Twitter ad network called Ad.ly.

Ad.ly enables Twitter publishers to make money from the content they produce on Twitter by automatically sending one Tweet every other day from advertisers that they approve. In order to ensure authenticity, every Ad.ly Tweet is explicitly approved by the Twitter publisher. The publishers are able to set the price they want advertisers to pay and can optionally donate part or all their earning to charity. Each advertiser that signs up for the Ad.ly service will be screened prior to making any offers in order to ensure that only the highest quality of brands and services are using the platform. Unlike other similar advertising platforms, Ad.ly aims to set a standard for in-stream Twitter advertising.

For the first time, I’m intrigued by Twitter ads. Enough that I signed up for an account. No ads running yet, but I did grab an account. What intrigues me is the way Ad.ly is set up.

I decide how much to charge for each ad campaign.

Ad.ly profiles me to ensure the submitted ads are targeted to my audience.

I decide which individual ads are approved to publish to my Twitter stream.

Ad.ly inserts just 1 tweet in my feed every other day for 7 days.

All ads are clearly labeled as such. Here’s an example:

If I’m going to test advertising in my Twitter stream, Ad.ly has pretty much all that I’d ask of platform.

Right now, I’ve set my weekly price at $1,000–hey, if I’m going to do this, it had better be worth it!–so I don’t expect a land rush of advertisers, looking to place ads. Heck, I may not ever approve an ad that I feel comfortable with.

I guess my next question is: what do you think of ads in Twitter streams? More specifically, would you unfollow me, because of ads like this?

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17 comments on “Why I May Run Ads in My Twitter Stream”

Ron Says:

October 19th, 2009 at 11:41 am

It would depend.. I’m following you because I felt your tweets add value to my work-flow. If suddenly I’m getting flooded with too many commercials then I’d unfollow you. However, if your real tweets had enough value to outweigh the commercials then I’d still follow you. And that’s pretty much like watching sports on TV. I’ll put up with endless Coors and Bud Light commercials because the game has enough value to keep me glued
Ron´s last blog ..Review of the sears.com home page
Saif (Assetize) Says:

October 19th, 2009 at 12:08 pm

Hey Andy,

You produce some great content so good to to see you on-board. I think you’re a trailblazer in the way you’re thinking about it in looking at your Twitter stream “the same way I look at Marketing Pilgrim.”

We’ve found many of our advertisers to be the same as those using tools like AdSense, and suspect that as time progresses, people will be monetizing their micro-blogs in the same way that they monetize their blogs and websites. Keep up the good work.

Disclaimer: I work for Assetize, a similar but more-passive ad network to Ad.ly
Elmer Boutin Says:

October 19th, 2009 at 12:24 pm

You create good content and your tweets are interesting, so I doubt I’d unfollow you just for running an ad in your Twitter stream every so often.

On the other hand – I have made it a habit to unfollow any stream I feel is too spammish. One criteria I have to determine spam is if I see a “Secret to White Teeth” tweet in someone’s stream. I will almost always automatically unfollow anyone who tweets about that. I had an organization follow me this morning who I decided not to follow back because the first tweet on their Twitter page was a “White Teeth” one. I just happened to see that particular account on the list of Ad.ly advertisers when I checked out their site after reading your post here.

While it’s true they could be a part of another Twitter ad scheme, I wonder if I will need to reevaluate my criteria for Twitter spam if this type of monetizing catches on.
Elmer Boutin´s last blog ..Communication is Key – The Funnel Effect

Andy Beal Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I’ll make a note not to tweet about teeth whitening!
Michael Martinez Says:

October 19th, 2009 at 1:18 pm

I find I am blogging more. Twitter is not very interesting in terms of finding useful, informative content. It’s useful for finding connections. It’s useful for finding hot topics. It’s useful for finding links to self-promotional schmuck sites, too. Occasionally I find some real gems in the links, but mostly it’s self-promotional schmuck heaven.

That probably has more to do with the hash tags I search on than anything else. I’m really not interested in who is brushing their teeth at the moment.
Michael Martinez´s last blog ..Signs you have a quality Web site
Chris C Says:

October 19th, 2009 at 2:16 pm

I think it would depend on ad content and frequency. Irrelevant or far too frequent ads will make up my mind to drop anybody. But if they are chosen well, and not running every other tweet, then in my opinion, you’ll be ok.
Marketing Pilgrim Baffled and Surprised by Twitter Marketing « The SiliconANGLE Says:

October 19th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

[...] it appears he’s discovered Ad.ly, a new entrant into the twitterstream monetization space. He thinks that this is the one he’s finally going to try, and lists the reasons why: I decide how much to charge for each ad campaign. Ad.ly profiles me to [...]
Jan Schulz-Hofen Says:

October 20th, 2009 at 2:43 am

Hi Andy,

it’s great to see that you’re considering Twitter advertising.

We’ve had a little bit of a rough time launching Magpie as the first of these networks a year ago. But I guess more and more people reach the point where they value Twitter and micro-blogging in general as a new channel, using it regularly to provide great content to their followers, and –of course– would like to be rewarded for that and monetize their stream.

I won’t be asking you to try Magpie as well, you will decide what’s best for you. I’m just delighted that more and more people reconsider our model.

Thanks,

Jan

Disclosure: I am a partner and CEO at Magpie.
With Fresh Funding And A Hollywood PR Firm, Will Ad.ly Define Twitter Advertising? Says:

October 20th, 2009 at 5:11 am

[...] Twitter advertising? Impossible to say without seeing some numbers, but it appears to be striking a chord or [...]
Techno Information » Blog Archive » With Fresh Funding And A Hollywood PR Firm, Will Ad.ly Define Twitter Advertising? Says:

October 20th, 2009 at 5:42 am

[...] Twitter advertising? Impossible to say without seeing some numbers, but it appears to be striking a chord or [...]
With Fresh Funding And A Hollywood PR Firm, Will Ad.ly Define Twitter Advertising? | Twitter News - Twimmer.com Says:

October 20th, 2009 at 7:04 am

[...] Twitter advertising? Impossible to say without seeing some numbers, but it appears to be striking a chord or two.Not that Ad.ly is the only one trying to capitalize on Twitter’s growth and [...]
With Fresh Funding And A Hollywood PR Firm, Will Ad.ly Define Twitter Advertising? » I-Tech Says:

October 20th, 2009 at 9:39 am

[...] Twitter advertising? Impossible to say without seeing some numbers, but it appears to be striking a chord or [...]
With Fresh Funding And A Hollywood PR Firm, Will Ad.ly Define Twitter Advertising? | Tech stuff center Says:

October 20th, 2009 at 12:02 pm

[...] Twitter advertising? Impossible to say without seeing some numbers, but it appears to be striking a chord or [...]
Why I May Run Ads in My Twitter Stream | Complete Twitter Says:

October 20th, 2009 at 3:23 pm

[...] posted here: Why I May Run Ads in My Twitter Stream Tweet This Or Share Through Other Social [...]
zuls Says:

October 20th, 2009 at 9:34 pm

Wow this is really good news, another player in twitter advertising, I have been making some money through Magpie.. I should try this out!
zuls´s last blog ..10 Ipod Shuffles at Ad Excel I’m Different Contest
Terry Says:

October 24th, 2009 at 3:12 pm

Very happy with the results, let me know what you think!
Adsense | Why I May Run Ads in My Twitter Stream - Marketing Pilgrim Says:

October 26th, 2009 at 10:26 am

[...] Why I May Run Ads in My Twitter Stream – Marketing PilgrimIt’s been interesting to see more and more bloggers moving their thoughts to Twitter. I’ve certainly found myself blogging less, and instead using Twitter to share my thoughts, links, and news . The downside to that approach is that complete [...]

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