Advertising in the blogosphere is becoming more and more prevalent in the advertising world. We are seeing more and more companies launching into campaigns involving blogs such as the recent purchase of ad space using Blogads on 400 published blogs by the Ford Motor Company. This is beginning to show more popularity among the media buyers at agencies.

Blogads was given a request for the proposal from Ford directly. I spoke to Henry Copeland of Blogads about the newest trend in blog advertising. When I asked him why this trend was changing and becoming more popular he remarked:

Marketeers are gradually waking up to the idea that blog readers aren’t just “cool and/or affluent” which are the kind of buckets that traditional publishers peddle. Blog readers are cool, affluent AND at the heart of the Internet bee hive. So a target company are those that have a unique proposition that resonates intellectually or some story to tell… commodity products/services need not apply.

We see bloggers becoming a new media and where people are going for their news. Some traditional media players are beginning to see the writing on the wall as outlets like the Washington Post has begun it’s program called Blogroll as reported by Jeff Burkett. This is allowing bloggers in certain niche markets to sell their advertising real estate through the Washington Post and they will of course be revenue sharing. This is not unlike Blogburst which was launched this year, although Blogburst has yet to announce its plan for paying bloggers.

Henry Copeland had some advice for those media buyers out there that are not on the blog bandwagon yet:

The best blog advertising goes beyond trying to sell stuff to blog readers, focusing more broadly on swaying this uniquely hyperlinked and influential swarm. Overt selling can be counter productive. And in this context, traditional ad units (banners, buttons) can also defeat your purpose — if your company’s messaging is cookiecutter and one way, then your company is probably that way too. To reach bloggers and their readers you want to employ the idiom of the blogs — multiple links, arresting images.

I myself have used the Blogads system on my personal blog as well as my business blogs, and I have been surprised by the types of ads I have seen, but there are a few companies that are cutting edge and are recognizing the power of blogs in their media campaigns. Copeland is seeing some companies focusing solely on blogs as their source for advertising, such as book publishers and those looking for a specific target area. Blog advertising is becoming the latest in online advertising and it appears that for now at least it is the new black.