[toddynho]

We have plenty of sites at http://BuySellAds.com that earn a $5-$10 CPM from direct ad sales. In any tech related niche, $5-$10 is pretty darn good. It also depends how you define CPM. You won't find any single ad unit itself commanding a $5-$10 CPM, but in aggregate, based on what is ACTUALLY sold, they hit that $5-$10 CPM range. Networks love to throw CPM figures around, but what really matters is what is sold at a given CPM rate and for how many impressions. We like to look at CPM from an overall site earnings perspective. I.e. Your site has 1mm pageviews per month - what are we making for you off of those 1mm impressions in total (which includes what is unsold and naturally reduces the effective CPM for the site)?

Fill rate (i.e. sold vs. unsold) is something to think about. Let's say you can command a $15 CPM from some advertisers -- would you rather have a 30% fill rate at the $15 CPM or a 90% fill rate at the $7.50 cpm. If your site has 1mm pageviews per month then you're looking at $45,000 vs $75,000. I'd be perfectly happy with a $7.50 CPM in this scenario.