What is illegal advertising?

What are some of the better advertising models for a film blog to pursue?

• We've recently had contact from several folk wanting to advertise with us, which we have turned down. See this question: The site is one that covers arthouse/festival cinema in reviews/interviews/features and occasionally touches upon blockbuster-type stuff with features looking at say, influence and wider impact. We don't want to make money as such, but it might be nice to cover hosting costs, domain renewals etc. We also run print copies several times a year through advertising and this would allow us to do that more. To that end, what are some better models than that covered in the above question? I have asked anonymously, but I can send a link to the site in question privately if you think that may help.

• Answer:

  Based on a lower, high quality volume of traffic assumed for your site, the usual models are basically rich media and video advertising, sponsorships, and integrated advertising between online and your print publications. Advertisers are looking for multiple touchpoints to reach their audience, as should you. PC, mobile, TV, even print, it's all integrated in the visitor's experience - they just see at as different devices and obviously radically moving towards a mobile world driven by tablets and smartphones. Hard to give exact answers without the site, but the challenge with any advertiser is the crossover between editorial and advertorial. You can't tell the advertisers what to do and they can't tell you what to say - I've seen folks who aren't interested in money waste time on advertising because they want to pick who the advertisers are... Clearly the advertisers could be for the movies, indie and Netflix related kind of film promos - not likely the bigger studios, unless you build your audience and/or get the sort of respect for what you do. Blend ad sales with a few affiliate programs where/if appropriate, ie if you can create transcations - maybe iTunes and Netflix, for example. Was bit odd to see you sell advertising for a print journal, but were approached for advertising for online, and it sounds like it caught you a bit by surprise that someone would want that advertising. Advertising online integrated with your print publication - even better with a mobile app that can help your audience provide input to you, and provide access outside the PC, Print, and TV world - would be powerful, but costly. At minimum make sure your site is optimized for mobile. Since you really just want to pay hosting costs, you can sometimes approach your host and ask for a deal if you advertise for them on your site. Simple kind of barter that might be also be a good fit.