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How to Upsell by Creating an Ad-Free Membership for your website

Apr 28, 2023

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From Zero to Hero How Ad Hatred Can Boost Your

Recall the last time you browsed through a newspaper article, or worse, a favorite recipe from a website. Advertisements can be way exaggerated.

In some industries, though, publishers and creators need advertisements to help monetize their content - whether readers prefer them or not.

And most readers don't. This is why almost every website with recipes has a "Jump to Recipe" button. It's likely that those are among the most clicked links on the internet!

But there's an opportunity to make a profit in the disdainful cloud hanging over your ads. And that silver lining is selling up.

If you have a WordPress website that is built on an ad-based monetization strategy there's an amazing possibility to turn free visitors to paid subscribers.

And you can do it quickly, no matter how or where you display your ads.

Low Hanging Fruits for WordPress Websites

can create an ad-free experience that your customers will appreciate (and will pay) for.

You are able to easily block your ads from the view of paying members. Because it is so flexible that you are able to create custom ad experiences according to membership levels.

For example, a recipe blog could make the content on its website for free with ads everywhere. Some options for ad locations are:

  1. Sidebar Widgets
  2. Header Widgets
  3. Footer Widgets
  4. Blocks in-line
  5. Popups

In order to create value for paying members, the site owner may block certain or all of the ad spaces from paying members.

Convert visitors who are free to paid Members easily

For example, you can block pop-up and on-line advertisements for the members who are basic.

So, your basic members will still be able to see the sidebar and other advertisements located outside the content section. In addition, you could give them a pro upgrade in order to block ads.

The structure might look like this:

  • Free - Free visitors see all ads in headers, footers, sidebars along with the content and popups
  • Basic visitors only see advertisements in the footer, header and in the sidebar
  • Pro - Visitors see no ads

Ad Serving Methods for WordPress

Let's first review the most common methods for serving advertisements on a WordPress website - static insert as well as dynamic insert.

Static Insertion

This technique is ideal for those with just one picture or link you want to use in an advertisement. You can do it by adding your image and inserting a link using Block Editor.

 Dynamic Insertion

It is the most common approach and allows ads to be placed within specific areas. The theme or plugin typically decides when ads should show up. Often, a third party ad network, such as Google Adsense, will determine the ads that will be displayed.

If you're using dynamic or static ad insertion, the methods for hiding your ads to paid users are exactly the same.

How do you hide ads on behalf of Subscribers or Paid Members on WordPress

If you're searching for the best way to give your users a top-quality and ad-free experience, then it's best to begin by setting up .

It's the most reliable option for regulating the visibility of content in WordPress. I'll show you the way I'm referring to.

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Get paid to create your content.

How do you configure the system to provide the best possible experience with no ads

Installation is just as simple like installing any other plugin. Once installed the program guides you through all the steps to setup easily.

We've written many articles on this subject in the past, and now we've put together this handy video tutorial to get you up and running in a short time.

WATCH >> SETUP OVERVIEW

The best Ad Management plugin for WordPress

If you do not have a plugin or theme with ad management capabilities then you'll need to download an ad management plugin. Several free and premium plugins allow for dynamic ad placement. My favorite, and the one we use for , is AdSanity.

However, for the examples in this post I'm using the second favorite ad management plugin, Advanced Ads.

Utilizing Rules to remove ads for Members

Once you've the software installed and set up, it's time to create your ad-free policy. From the admin panel select Rules and create an entirely new rule. Use the partial rule type for this.

On my Sandbox website, I have two membership levels named Premium and Executive. My rule is set to manage content only for my Executive members. I intend to hide advertisements from those who join my Executive membership.

In the above image there are examples of shortcodes to either show or hide content based on this rule. Let's get started.

Using a Shortcode for Hiding Ads using a Shortcode to hide ads WordPress

The majority of the well-known Ad Management plugins allow you to display ads using a shortcode. For this instance, I'm making use of the paid plugin Advanced Ads..

This method works with our preferred software, AdSanity, and virtually every other ad management plugin.

Put your advertising shortcode in the place you want to serve advertisements. Wrap it around your Hide shortcode. Here's what it looks like with an ad inline between paragraphs in my fictitious blog.

The method is designed to hide the advertisement's contents from my Executive level members. Anyone not an Executive member will see the ad. For example, in my case, Premium members still get the advertisement.

Notice the ad on the sidebar, too? This is a widget section, I'll show you how to handle advertisements in widget areas later. However, first, I'll show what my Executive Members experience when they read the same article.

Utilizing Protected Blocks to block advertisements by hiding ads WordPress

After installing  it, you'll be able to see a new block item named Protected. This is a secured block. gives you granular control of almost any element of content in WordPress.

It is possible to add a secured block within a blog post, webpage, course lessons, or the form of a widget. The AdSanity plugin permits you to insert an ad or an entire group of ads in the widget.

In order to block ads within a widget, first create a block that is protected to the widget. This is the way to accomplish this with Divi.

The WordPress admin menu, navigate to Divi > Theme Customizer. Then select Widgets, and then Sidebar.

Once you have added the secured block, you can configure it to reference the rule you want to reference. Make sure you select an option that allows you to Hide content from members included within the rule.

The next step is dropping your ad or ad group to the blocked block. Make sure you save your configuration, and then test it!

The wrapping up process

You can see that makes content control a breeze. If you're using ads for monetizing your blog, you'll need . Imagine generating consistent, reliable revenue from paid users or subscribers.

It's a great way to upsell your loyal readers. And it doesn't require an enormous amount of effort. The hardest part could be deliberating on the amount to charge for a membership...

How much should you charge for ad-free membership

There aren't many paid subscribers to be worth the effort. Make a plan to determine how many repeat visitors you'd like to convert to paid memberships. Are you able to make just 20percent of your regular customers to sign up?

To see a fantastic example of this strategy that is being used, take a look at my personal favorite recipe blog, 40Aprons. And of course they're one of our favorite clients too.

START NOW & LISTEN >>> > > 40 Aprons CUSTOMER STORY

Do you have any concerns about the best way to increase sales by creating an advertisement-free version? Post them in the comments section!