I wanted to reach out to you after a long silence about WPNI’s Blogroll Program. This program has long been a labor of love for me and has exceeded my initial expectations, largely because of all of you.

As of now, we will no longer be accepting applications for Blogroll, in effect shutting it down. For those of you who are current members of the program, we will continue to support you with advertising on your site and promotion on the washingtonpost.com homepage. If you have applied already and not heard back from me, please know it was only because I wanted to make a final decision before responding.

WPNI is sincerely committed to partnering with bloggers in new and experimental ways, and this program was the start of our exploration into how to best work with partners like you. We will not abandon that line of thinking, and I hope we can work together in the future.

The Blogroll Program has been a great learning experience for me and the rest of us at WPNI. We have made a lot of friends in the blogosphere and we feel good about what we were able to build together.

One thing that makes the WPNI Blogroll unique is our desire to drive traffic to our members. Up until now, the main tool for doing this has been a promotion spot on the homepage of washingtonpost.com. If you have not noticed, the homepage was recently redesigned and this box moved from the right over to the left.

I am really excited about a new tool for driving traffic to our members; an RSS widget that can be placed in the sidebar of members blogs. The widgets come divided out by category, so a travel blog can install a widget that only promotes the other travel blog members and so on.

Here are links to each category's widget configurator.

In the configurator, you are first presented with 3 choices.

The first one is a widget that scrolls the post titles through the widget and comes in four standard colors. Here is an example.

The second option functions the same way the first one does, but gives you complete control over the background color, text color and fonts. Plus, you can even add a background image if you would like.

The third option is a more subtle animation that rotates both the title and the first bits of content (including photos) into the widget. Here is an example:

I encourage all members to display the appropriate widget on their sites. If you install it now you will be encouraging others to do the same. If you wait around for others to go first, then this will never get off the ground.

Leave a comment if you have any questions or concerns.

Also, all of the press about the Lufthansa buy has created another flurry of applications. This is becoming one big snowball!!!

Punny Money
My Money Blog
Young Money Blog
Ranjan's Web
A Penny Saved
Hotel Chatter
Jaunted
Gadgetell
Technosight

We have a couple other contracts that will start soon as well...be on the look out.

I also want to mention our newest members:
Digital Inspiration
Texas Startup Blog
Travel Happy
Zatz Not Funny
Eric Frenchman
The Practice of Leadership
No Credit Needed
Mr. Wave Theory
Digital Alchemy
This Non-American Life
Ad Centered
Rotor Blog
NanoTech Law
Budget Globetrotting
Profitable Signals
Showintale - The Journeys
Single Mom and Money
Practical Blogging
More Than Points
Geeky Traveller

We are also working on a widget idea that we will be releasing soon. We think it will help create more traffic for the members. Stay tuned!!

We think it would be a great idea to create Blogroll T-Shirts and give them out to the early members of the program. More importantly, I think that YOU should have a hand in designing them. (Thanks to Amanda S. for her design above)

One of the earliest advertisers in the Blogroll is Custom Ink and they are the perfect platform for doing this. They have helped tens of thousands of small businesses simplify the design and ordering of their business T-Shirts and their "Lab" will make it easy for anyone to submit a design...photoshop not required!!

So, I uploaded the blogroll logo into their system to get things started, but don't let that limit your creativity.

Click here to start your own design.

Once you've designed something, the site lets you email it to others. Send it to (blogroll at WPNI dot com) to submit it to us. We will choose the best design and give the winning designer a few of the shirts, even if they are not a member of the Blogroll program.

Custom Ink does not have a social sharing function in their site, so if you have completed a design that you want to share with others, post it on Flickr using the tag blogrolldesign. We put a few up there already, so go check them out.

I am excited (and a little bit scared) to see what you will come up with.

red ferret journal
branding strategy insider
slacker manager
whats next blog
one guys investments
thrilling heroics
great green goods
great green travel
great green gadgets
nature geezer
sramana mitra
service untitled

We accepted only about 10% of the total blogs that we have reviewed so far, so we obviously think very highly of these.

Also, there are 20 or so other blogs in "limbo" right now. Blogs that we have accepted, but for various reasons have not installed the ad tags on their blog yet. Stay tuned for many more to come.

1. What is the Revenue Share I get from the Blogroll? Members get 60% of the gross advertising revenue served on their site.

2. Do I have control over the pricing for the ads on my blog? Yes, you have 100% control over the minimum price of your Blogroll ads. To accomplish this, you will need to go in and set up a "default" or "house" ad for your blog. Your default ad can be another ad engine like Google / Yahoo and you enter into our system the effective CPM that this ad engine is currently earning you. By setting this up you are telling the system, "Serve my default ad provider on my blog unless the Blogroll has an ad that earns me more than my default provider does." Once this is set up, you have effectively set a minimum price for your blogroll ads. For detailed instructions on how to set up your default ad, see the Installation Manual.

3. Does the Blogroll take a revenue share from the default ads I serve through the Blogroll system? No, you keep 100% of the revenue that serves through our system from other ad engines. We will only take our share from incremental revenue that the Blogroll has created for you via our sales reps or the Blogroll Storefront.

4. What controls do I have over the ads that show up on my blog? You have 100% control over the ads that show up on your blog. No ad will appear until you have reviewed and approved it.

5. What Ad Sizes can I use? All Blogroll members should have at least one of these ad sizes installed. 160x600, 728x90, 300x250. A 120x600 can be used as a last resort if none of the other 3 fit in your template. Members are free to install any additional sizes that suit their fancy. The system supports text links and just about any ad size you can dream up.

6. When will the Blogroll Storefront be up and running? We are in the process of rolling out a self-service storefront where advertisers will be able to browse through all of our members sites and easily buy advertising there with PayPal or a Credit Card. This should be up and running early 2007.

7. What kind of traffic can I expect to get from my blog showing up on the washingtonpost.com homepage and in the Blogroll Directory? While we can't promise anyone a specific amount of traffic, I can give you a more detailed breakdown of how we will promote members, now and in the future.

The #'s work out like this: On average, the WP homepage gets 2.5M pv's per day. (side note: 80% of this audience comes from outside of the DC area!) Lets say that we have 300 blogroll members and we randomly display 6 blogs every time the page loads. This would equate to every blog showing up on 2% of the pv's (6/300). This means that every blog would show up on 50,000 pv's per day (2.5M x 2%). We are no where near 300 members today, so current members are being displayed much more than that. We hope that this promo generates a fair amount of new readers for our member blogs.

In addition to the homepage promotion and the directory, we plan a few other methods to help promote our members to new readers.
--A Badge for members to put on their blogs that will link to the directory.
--We hope to expand the promotion beyond just the homepage of WP. Example: Promote business blogs in a special widget that runs in the business section. Tech in the Tech section, etc.
--Enhance the directory to make it much better.
--Its a no brainer to do something with RSS and OPML.
--Special projects. If you have no seen BizBox on Slate , you should check it out. It gives you an example of what I mean by a "special project." There are many cool versions of this that we are dreaming up here at the office. More to come....

8. If I set up an account with ADiFY directly I get a larger rev share than the 60% the Blogroll offers me. What do I get for this extra percentage? The ADiFY system is a technology platform for bloggers to manage their ad inventory. By joining the Blogroll, members get the ADiFY system plus an additional layer of benefits that make the program extremely unique and powerful. These additional benefits include the promotion and exposure to new readers as described in #7 above, as well as a relationship with WPNI's 30+ salespeople who will be representing your blog to quality advertisers around the globe.

It has been a few months since we first announced our intention to start a new kind of advertising network. I know that we have been rather silent since then and am really excited that we are launching this blog.

First of all, thanks to all of the blogs that said great things about our idea. The buzz you generated prompted over 1,200 other bloggers to apply for the program to date. We are stunned by the response and are now focused on living up to the expectations expressed.

The initial idea for the program had two main benefits for bloggers:

1. Monetization - Help bloggers better monetize their blogs by having our large team of online ad reps sell their ad space and then share that revenue.
2. Readership - Provide exposure to the members by promoting them on a rotational basis on the homepage of washingtonpost.com.

As we were building this out, we discovered a few more benefits that I want to highlight now.

1. Optimization of existing ad space - Members will not need to add new space on their blogs to accept our ads. The technology that is powering the program will help members get more out of the ad space that currently exists on their blog.

Here is an example: Lets say that your blog has a 160x600 ad space running Adsense and it earns you an average effective CPM of $1.50. You will tell the Blogroll system that $1.50 is your threshold for this space and therefore we will only serve our ads in that space if it earns you more than that. Otherwise, your Adsense serves as normal. There is no risk on the part of the member.

There is technology out there already that allows you to do this, but our system will make this much more simple and easy to manage. Members will also have the ability to approve or reject all ads before they go live on their blog. No worries of irrelevent or inappropriate advertisers showing up...members have full control over what displays on their blogs.

It is also important to note that the system will support rich media in addition to standard image and text ads.

2. Blogroll Member Directory - We are building out a directory of members that will be linked from the washingtonpost.com homepage. It will display all members and organize them by their topics.

3. Self Service Storefront - In addition to our reps selling ad space, members will also have a self service storefront for the sale of any or all of their ads. This storefront will accept credit card, PayPal and other forms of payment. Buyers will be able to buy ads on your blog directly or can buy across an entire category of blogs. Again, members will have full control to approve or reject each ad before it runs.

If you are a blogger and would like to apply for the program, please do so here.

WPNI is a well known brand in the advertising/publishing communities, but I think it would be good to say a little bit about us here for those who may be unfamiliar.

Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI) is the online subsidiary of The Washington Post Company and publisher of washingtonpost.com, Newsweek.com, Slate and Budget Travel Online. We’re the ones behind the curtain, creating truly interactive platforms that offer world-class reporting, award-winning content and unbeatable user experiences.

In short, we’re just the sort of people who can connect you with top-level advertisers and hungry readers alike. Our experienced team of more than 30 sales reps has the background, contacts and expertise to help brands get their message in front of the influential and engaged audiences that read our member blogs.

The Blogroll is a unique service for bloggers created by the advertising team at Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI). Blogs partnered with WPNI are given a rotating spot on the washingtonpost.com homepage, and are given the opportunity to accept ads from WPNI advertisers. Partner blogs will also be a fixture in our regularly updated Blogroll Directory, which lists all members based on their category.

BENEFITS

For Bloggers:

Increased Revenue - Our online ad reps, who have strong relationships with agencies and clients around the world, will sell the Blogroll members’ ad inventory as an extension of ads sold across WPNI. This relationship is completely open and transparent—bloggers can keep their existing ad relationships and will display ads that WPNI sells only if they earn the member more revenue. You can find more about this benefit under "Optimization of existing ad space" in this post.

Exposure to New Readers - All Blogroll members get rotated into a promotional space on the homepage of washingtonpost.com, with the potential to be seen by the millions of visitors who visit washingtonpost.com. As the program grows, additional promo space may be created in other places and potentially across other WPNI sites, Newsweek.com, Slate.com and BudgetTravelOnline.com.

For Advertisers:

Blogroll is an efficient method for advertisers to reach the blogospheres' affluent, educated, young, hip and tech savvy audience. WPNI has made it easy for advertisers to buy IAB standard ad units on individual blogs or across valuable categories of blogs like Travel, Technology, Business, Health, Auto and Politics. While there are many options for advertisers to work with blogs today, the Blogroll strives to be the most scalable and efficient method. Combine this with our experienced, professional advertising team and you have an unbeatable solution.

For Readers:

The Blogroll Directory and the Blogroll Index on washingtonpost.com's homepage are both useful resources for people to discover quality blogs that they may not have found otherwise.

If you are a blogger and would like to apply to join, please do so here.