Since 2016 I’ve been running and growing my fashion and lifestyle blog. In 2019 it grew large enough for me to quit my job, and it currently averages 600,000 page views per month.
Ever since its launch, it was monetised with Google Adsense (I also experimented with other ad networks like Media.net but nothing could ever come close to Adsense from an earnings standpoint.)
But a few months ago a friend of mine – who has 8 micro-niche blogs and a large football news website – recommended an ad optimisation network (called AXX Media) which increased his websites CPMs by over 150%.
I decided to give them a try, especially as my Adsense CPMs had dropped off considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joining AXX Media
Getting started was really easy. I browsed their website and filled in a brief form with my contact details and some basic info about my website, such as its URL, its traffic numbers and which countries most of its traffic was coming from.
The got back to me the next day and said they could help me find a better ad network (their only requirement is your site must have at least 10,000 pageviews per month.)
Using the information I provided about my website, they introduced me to a UK-based ad network and within a week I had agreed terms with this new network and their ads were running on my site.
How Do They Work?
Before sharing my results and ad performance with you, I want to explain what AXX Media is.
They are not an ad network. They are digital ad experts who have tested and worked with dozens of ad networks and Adsense alternatives, and they recommend ad networks to publishers depending on their site and where their readers are based (as some ad networks offer better CPMs for some types of traffic than others.)
They are completely free to use if you’re looking for a better ad network, but they offer other paid services, such as content creation and traffic growth consulting (I think their free service which I used is by far the most valuable though.)
My Results
For the first few days my CPM was slightly lower than what I was getting with Adsense. I asked them about this and they said it’s because their algorithm is still gathering data and optimising my ads to maximise CPMs and revenue.
At the end of the first month, my blog had generated $13,126 from around 566,000 pageviews. In other words, my site had a CPM of $23.19 (for comparison, it was averaging around $8-$10 with Adsense during the pandemic.)
Needless to say I was very satisfied with these results, and the CPM even increased to almost $25 for the second month.
My Long-Term Plan
As my blog is now generating such a high CPM, I’m focusing on growing it and maximising its traffic as much as possible.
So, for the first time, I’ve hired other writers to increase my blog’s content output as it is now viable for me to pay their wages and generate a profit from their articles (as the CPM is much higher than with Adsense.)
I am also considering launching another blog and using AXX Media to help me monetise it for the highest CPMs. I’m still trying to work out the details, but I like the idea of a personal finance blog.
