Blog Monetization Strategies of the Top Blogs - Mashable.com

As a blog owner myself, one of my routines is to look into the monetization strategies of the top blogs. Of course, none of these strategies would work if the traffic to their site is not substantial enough. Assuming that you're a blog owner and the traffic going to your site is large enough (5 figures daily) to be monetized, you might be looking into increasing your revenue by learning from these successful ones.

Note 1. Act Like Big Media


Over the course of many years, I've discovered that these big blogs have actually ceased to be blogs and have practically become full blown media websites.

Everything that they do is geared towards making their blogs look like the websites of professional and bonafide media entities. They hire staffers, writers, freelance writers, editors and have pages dedicated to making it easier for people to find what they need and advertise. The only perceptible thing that I've managed to see regarding their designation as blogs is that they call their sites as blogs.

Today, we'll be looking into one of the foremost blog entities in the webosphere, Mashable.com. I can't recall exactly how I got to know Mashable.com, but somehow I did and am a constant reader because of their unique style. I don't recall clicking on any of their ads, since I am particularly averse to banner advertisements and view Google's text ads with a bit of nausea.

Mashable.com's Monetization Strategy

Mashable.com May 24, 2011
Ad Placement Front Page

Founded in 2005 by Pete Cashmore, this media giant has constantly redefined itself and is now one of the leading websites on the net.

With the advent of the social media revolution, Mashable has successfully integrated news oriented social media developments and various other web related matters into its topics.

The ads in the front page may appear to be the same at first glance, but the banner ad isn't actually Google Adsense. They're sponsored banner advertisements.

Front Page


1. Sponsored Banner Advertisements
2. Sponsored Sidebar Square 300x250
3. Google Adsense


Sponsored banner advertisements in front page

1. 970x66
2. 728x90

For pricing information, visit Mashable's advertisement page.

Google Adsense


Despite claims by many bloggers that Google's Adsense platform isn't a preferable advertisement anymore, Mashable.com prominently displays these ads both in their front pages and in their post pages.

In the post pages, Google's adsense replaces the 970x66 sponsored ads.

RSS Advertisements


Moreover, they also offer RSS feed advertisement slots

Mashable.com's info according to Hypestat.com

Data as of May 24, 2011

Other pertinent information according to hypestat.com:

Daily unique visits: 1,553,203
Daily page views: 3,308,322

*The numbers may actually be higher or lower

Classifieds


For $99, you could post your job offer on Mashable.com for 30 days. The links pointing to your site are tagged as rel="nofollow"

Mashable.com's Real Cash Cow

It would seem that their biggest income generator would be their online and event sponsorship events. By contacting their advertising department, you could have Mashable.com offer contests and giveaways, a mashable series (probably on your company profile) and the hosting of special promotional events.

Conclusion

Mashable.com leverages on its huge traffic base to generate revenue from multiple sources. Their articles and content are very interesting, engaging and most importantly relevant. Moreover, the number of features that their site gives to the user, number in the hundreds giving users the ability to view the news exactly how they want it.

How much money does Mashable.com make in a day?

Again, according to hypestat.com, it runs at $5,000+ a day - but that amount might have been only computed against adsense earnings only and based on the amount of traffic that Mashable.com makes.

With other revenue generation opportunities for it, the proper estimate would most likely span between $2,500 to $10,000 a day.

Not bad.