Andy Coates Blog

Yesterday I installed a new plug-in I discovered which helps you sell and keep track of link ads on your Wordpress blog.
The plugin is aptly named WP Text Ads and is very simple to install and setup! Many bloggers use Text Link Ads to sell ads on their blogs but if you want full control over what ads are displayed and the pricing structure, this is the way foreword.

Here is a quote from the website:

WP Text Ads is a WordPress plugin that lets you sell text link ads directly to advertisers, so you get paid instantly and pay no commissions.

Upon visiting the WP Text Ads website you are given a full description of this plug-in and the pros and cons against more commercial competitors namely Text Link Ads & AdSense. There are 2 options you can either download the FREE VERSION which limits you to only 2 ad spaces or pay for a license which gives you unlimited ad spaces. Personally I don't think I have enough traffic to warrant paying the $127 it costs for a license, but when I eventually fill up the "2 free ad slots" I probably will upgrade!

Downloading is a simple case of saving the Zip file to your computer and uploading the files and folder to the plugin folder on your server, the body of the plugin comes in a folder (wptads1) which you must upload as a whole and there are 2 additional plug-ins called wpta_show_widget.php and wpta_sell_widget.php which allow you to display the ads on your sidebar. Once you have uploaded all of the files, it is a simple case of activating the plug-in and then navigating to the WP Text Ads menu. There is a quick step of clicking a button to create a table on your mySQL database which is all looked after by WP Text Ads and really easy to do.

Once in the WP Text Ads screen you are given several options, all which allow you to configure the pricing and duration options. Also WP Text Ads automates the whole advert selling process by including email templates, these auto-send messages letting the potential advertiser know if their advert request is still pending, been accepted, when it expires and payment reminders.

You must also enable the Display Ads and Sell Ads widgets which are easily added via >presentation>Sidebar Modules, which again are very customizable and integrate well with your theme.

I tested this out myself putting a request in to buy my own ad as you should be able to see in the sidebar under the Anchor Text "Get Traffic". When you click on the buy a text link ad you are given the options to fill in Your Anchor Text, url and select a package from the pre-configured pricing plan (all which you can tailor yourself!) below is a screen-shot of what the advertiser sees when requesting an advert.

Upon submission the potential buyer is sent an email telling them their advert is pending and you will get back to them shortly! This is the only downfall of the, you the publisher are not notified by email you must log into Wordpress Admin>Options>WPTextAds and manually check to see if an advert has been requested. I'm sure this email notification will be added in the next release as I bet I'm not the only person to spot this.

From here you can send an approval (or rejection) email via the WP Text Ads control panel which requests payment via paypal. Once you have been paid its just a couple of clicks and the advert is displayed for the requested number of days.

Summary
On the whole this is a great plugin for anyone who whats to sell links directly to advertisers, the ability to set your own pricing structure is an enormous bonus as you can develop it according to the traffic flow on your site. This plugin is really easy to install and free to download the cut down version. On the downside unlike Text Link Ads you don't have the advertising power to let potential advertisers know that you are there. Overall if you are a growing site advertisers will eventually find you and you will be able to offer them "probably" a much better advertising deal!

WP Text Ads Website