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Selling Ad Space On A Niche Web Site
Posted By: Inactive Member on 3/16/2004 2:00 PM (CST) 250 Points
I'm the Director of Marketing for a small organization that is nearly the only source of information on a particular topic. We have both professionals and consumers that use our site and make us the first stop when in the "investigation" phase of decision-making on investing in this product (it's a financial product - we're an independent and objective voice in this field). We sell limited and highly visible ad space and have a very high unique visitor per month number to back up our ad pricing structure. The question is: I know these large financial institutions pay the same amount on ONE magazine ad that we ask for a whole YEAR of ad space on our web site and yet it's like squeezing blood from an orange trying to get them to sign up! Is internet advertising still that scary to large companies. What do I do, how do I convince them that they should be advertising in a forum that - quite literally - gives them focused eyeballs that could potentially bring thousands of revenue dollars through their doors. Please help this now balding marketing director find her direction!

Posted by: Michele Accepted Answer
3/16/2004 2:32 PM (CST)
The key issue is the cost per eyeball. If you have decent, independantly audited, server stats that show a large volume of traffic, you should be able to get decent advertising or sponsorship revenue.

Secondly, is the quality of your audeince. Who reads your site, and do they matter to your potential advertisers? If you have decent user profiles, the sale will be easier.

Perhaps you should consider brining in a 'sales house'. www.accelerationmedia.com specialise in selling ad space for niched publications. They typically work on a commission bases.

Additionally, I'm sure you are aware that a move away from banner advertising to section sponsorship or even 'advertorial' is sometimes more effective. You can consider these options, provided they do not effect the integrity of your content.
 
Posted by: DavidatHaley Accepted Answer
3/16/2004 2:37 PM (CST)
Hi rpovio,

In some respects, we're in a similar situation in regard to an e-mail newsletter we produce. We serve a very specific niche market, and we have a great deal of high quality traffic that reads our newsletter. Yet our past attempts to get advertisers to pay rates that are 1/5 of print rates were fairly ineffective.

For the solution, first as yourself why is the perceived value so low? My guess is that it has little to do with your site specifically, and more to do with the general perception of web advertising. Many marketers see limited value in banner advertising, and with good reason--often it produces little or no results, despite the quality of the audience.

Also, the perception of web advertising is that it costs less than print, so that may be why people are not willing to pay more.

Another problem may be lack of scarcity. Do your advertisers have many other online advertising options besides you? The more choice they have, the lower the value of your site.

So what do you do?
1) Prove that ads on your site work. Get testimonials and case studies to document the ROI your site produced.
2) Find other ways to sell. In addition to ads on your site, how else could you sell your "eyeballs?" Could you have sponsorships, sell advertorials (which may be a bad idea since your are a respected source for objective information), or sell advertitising in e-newsletters?
3) Change your pricing model to a pay per click. If your site works for advertisers, this may allow you to generate more revenue per ad.
4) Help your prospects see how they can best use your site as part of their marketing communications mix. Give them ideas that will guarantee that their investment with you is successful.
5) Create more opportunities on your site for visitors to interact with sponsors / advertisers. Maybe a discussion forum, ask the expert panel or webinars.

I guess, the bottom line is put yourself in your advertisers shoes. You're a marketing professional...what value promosition would convince you to spend money with your site?

Hope these ideas help.

David
 
Posted by: Inactive Member Author Response
3/16/2004 3:08 PM (CST)
Great responses but you both brought up something else that I have been struggling with - what's the best software to measure web site stats - how do I find out who is using my website, how do I measure the ROI to prove that the site works. Our Internet Dev guy set up a home-cooked method of measuring web site unique visitors but that's all I get (except maybe some stats on where they are clicking). Either way, great comments from both of you...I need to 1) put myself in the shoes of the advertisers and 2) understand better who is visiting my web site...from their I should be better able to focus a sales and marketing strategy. Thank you again.l
 
Posted by: amandavega Member Response
3/16/2004 4:06 PM (CST)
For Web site general traffic, Webtrends is a good start. For advertising on your site (and on sites you place media) tools such as DoubleClicks DART or AtlasDMT's software are great tools. People also like Real Media's solution and Click Tracks.
 
Posted by: Inactive Member Author Response
3/16/2004 4:28 PM (CST)
Thanks amandavega, I'll check out Webtrends.
 
Posted by: mbarber Member Response
3/16/2004 5:35 PM (CST)
rPovio - it sounds to me like you have another challenge other than the one being addressed - if you offer independant advice, how long will your viewers think you do with some other company's paid advertisements crawling all over the page?

Just something to consider
 


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