IZEA Media

There is a new blog display advertising network right now and it seems to be offering a better opportunity for blog publishers worldwide compared to existing affiliate programs. IZEAMedia has just announced its soft opening to complement their sponsored content network of over 600k publishers. Their goal is to help bloggers better monetize their blogs and connect them with as many brands as possible.

Becoming part of the IZEAMedia network could help increase blogger's chances for Sponsorship opportunities.

The only problem for now appears to be their strict requirement for inclusion. In order to participate in IZEAMedia the blog must:
  1. Have Google Analytics installed
  2. Have a minimum of 5,000 page views for the previous month
  3. Have at least 51 percent of their traffic coming from the US (according to Google Analytics)
Now, the first two conditions could easily be met if a blogger is conscious enough to promote their site actively and ensure that their regular readers get the most updated and applicable articles at least four times a week.

However, the last requirement is very discriminatory. A regular blogger would never try to limit his or her exposure to U.S. audience alone. In fact it might be more profitable for bloggers to cater to their home country first before increasing the readership base in the U.S. The third qualification could have been intentionally included to satisfy clients whose products are meant to serve the American consumers.

Once a blog can meet all three prerequisites, they can choose from 300×250, 160×600 or 728×90 pixels ad units. The ad unit must be visible "above the fold" on a screen resolution of 1024×768. At least one ad unit will carry IZEAMedia branding to help drive purchase.

IZEA has also volunteered to handle all accounting arrangements and provide the Publisher an online summary of the activity of their site within their SocialSpark account. Total monthly payment to the Publisher will be the greater of:
  1. The gross sales revenue generated by IZEA on the Publisher Site(s), minus Admin Overhead, multiplied by Publisher Revenue Split.

    -OR-

  2. The Buyout Guarantee if one exists.
Payments will be made on the fifteenth day of each month to the SocialSpark account for all campaigns that ended at least 45 days earlier regardless of whether the advertiser has paid IZEA. SocialSpark account balances can then be cashed out to PayPal.