It Pays to Listen to Those Selling Online Ads
“We’ve got to constantly be on the forefront, delivering what our advertisers need,” says Rob Nance, publisher of the newly minted Sift Media (formerly AccountingWEB). It’s interesting, that even for an advertising-based business model, cultivating relationships grabs the headlines. Donna Jefferson, publisher of Chesapeake Family, another ad-based model, shares similar thoughts. “We tell each advertiser their impressions and click-throughs, and they have been thrilled with their results,” she says. “It has taken some advertiser education, especially concerning what to put in a web ad and what to do with a landing page.”
Stephanie Eidelman, president and publisher of Kaulkin Media, takes that advertiser relationship to another level. “We have begun to have real success with ‘thought leadership’ types of activities as well, where we produce custom content for clients (these could be white papers, webinars or other creative types of content associations vs. just banner ads).”
Nance and Jefferson will be two of the speakers at the next SIPA-sponsored Webinar, titled “The Secrets of a Successful Ad-Sales Program: How to Increase Revenue by Going Beyond the Typical Subscription Model ,” Thursday Jan. 27, at 1 p.m. EST.
More and more information providers are turning to selling advertising. According to research firm eMarketer, online ad spending in the United States is expected to rise by almost 14% this year. So it makes perfect sense to enter the ad-sales game at this time—or if you’re already there, to want to sell more. Pricing models will be a main talking point on the 27th. The primary choice is between selling on a space/time basis vs. impressions, but there are many details within.
“…The element that isn’t taken into account with impressions is the reputation of the publication (who do you want to be associated with?) and the engagement of the readers,” says Eidelman. “Many claim to have big lists, lots of page views, etc., but all impressions are not alike.”
It will be very beneficial for those attending the 90-minute webinar to hear from Jefferson. She started Chesapeake Family from scratch and has built it into a multimedia company (the parent company is called Jefferson Communications) with a monthly publication, four annuals, three websites and multiple enewsletters and events. And best of all, she likes to be on the cutting edge.
“For the past two years we have been learning how to build and manage our own websites and integrate them with our print products and events,” says Jefferson, who sells by impressions. “Our print revenue has remained strong while online revenue has grown to add an additional 12-15%. Also, we have the freedom and capability to implement the programs we manage to dream up—and we have a very creative team.”
Her views are also summarized by the concepts that have helped her to succeed:
– Try to stay ahead of the curve while still being the best at what you currently do;
– Don’t be afraid to take a risk or make a mistake;
– Hire the best people you can afford;
– Be nice.
That last “concept” brings us full-circle back to the importance of building good relationships. In addition, both Jefferson and Nance talk about moving towards optimizing for mobile, with Nance mentioning specialized app views. So you can be sure that the latest trends will be covered next Thursday.
“We’ll keep working on our online and mobile presence but at the same time segment our print product offering specialized annual products,” Jefferson says.
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Register Now!
The Secrets of a Successful Ad-Sales Program:
How to Increase Revenue by Going
Beyond the Typical Subscription Model
Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011, 1-2:30 p.m. EST
Your Presenters:
Donna Jefferson, Publisher, Chesapeake Family
Rob Nance, Publisher, Sift Media
Wally Holdsworth, Publisher’s Rep, W. G. Holdsworth & Associates
And don’t forget that you can have everyone
on your team participate with you.
Sign up today and sell more ads tomorrow!
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