If you've wanted to sell ad spots on your blog but weren't sure where to start, stop worrying and check out Etology. Did I mention it's FREE?

It's quite commonplace these days to see blogs selling 125 x 125 pixel ad spaces in the sidebar. These ad spots can represent great value for advertisers looking to get the word out, as well as being a great source of additional revenue for bloggers. I'd been toying with the idea of selling ad spots here for a while, however the prospect always seemed a little to daunting for me. I didn't know how to manage the spots themselves, or the buying and selling process. It wasn't until I discovered Project Wonderful that I was able to start selling 125 x 125 banner spots. They handled all the hard work and it worked out fine.

Today I discovered a company that takes this concept one step further. Etology allow site owners sell their ad space directly to advertisers. Advertisers can place ads directly on sites. Etology serves text ads and banner ads in all types of standard ad units, including banners, skyscrapers and inline ads. They do all the work, all you need to do is add a couple of lines of code to your site where you'd like the ad units to appear.

Etology allows for the publisher to set their own price based on either a flat rate (daily, weekly and monthly), desired CPM or markup percentage. This allows for greater flexibility and for publishers to tailor their pricing based on what they think will work best in attracting potential advertisers. As you can see from the screenshot below, Etology offer a range of set up options as well as tracking statistics to help you identify what is working and what isn't.

Having started up with Etology early this morning, I can honestly say the whole process, sign up, to displaying an ad spot, took no more than five minutes. If you can cut and paste, you'll be able to get moving quickly. The biggest drama you'll have with Etology is figuring how much to charge for your ad spots!

Start selling your own ad spots now!

If you're looking for more information on setting your ad pricing, check out "Adspot Pricing For Blogs Exposed!". It's a great, well researched, article. Highly recommended.