Just my 2 cents - I help run a company that sell products to middle America (soccer moms, dads, kids etc) and the only advertising that has paid off for us has

Just my 2 cents - I help run a company that sell products to middle America (soccer moms, dads, kids etc) and the only advertising that has paid off for us has been timely relevant advertising (Google, Yahoo, etc). We tried Facebook, banner ads, etc with no luck. We also started our own affiliate program (every customer automatically becomes an affiliate) and trained our customers how to refer their friends and family to us. That has paid off better than buying ads space on blogs or news sites. There may be some types of ads that do very well as banners on general news sites (I'm thinking of those weight loss and bad breath ads) but it hasn't worked out for us at all. It all depends on your market, the people who visit the sites you advertise on as well the information contained in your actual ad.