Direct sales is hard and takes a lot longer than slapping some code on your site and waiting for the money to roll in. For instance, I just landed a sale the ot

Direct sales is hard and takes a lot longer than slapping some code on your site and waiting for the money to roll in. For instance, I just landed a sale the other day from a company that initially reached out over 6 months ago and I hadn't heard anything back since then. One of my favorite things about selling ads myself is that I can ensure that advertisements are relevant to my readers. Relevant ads make readers happier. The results of relevant ads makes advertisers happier. I get a good number of emails from ad networks boasting about their pool of advertisers and how I can make 1000% more money using their network. My first question is always, "What advertisers are relevant to my readers?" Crickets. If I were making a service around direct selling ads, I would tackle a specific content vertical and play the middle man between relevant advertisers in that field and websites looking for advertisers.