Website advertising
Discussion
If you wanted to create a website which funded itself entirely through advertising, how would you go about getting the 'right' advertisers?
E.g. (and this is just to demonstrate the point) say I set up a website about cars. I would expect car insurers, manufacturers, parts suppliers etc to be interested in having banner ads on the site.
Are there marketing agencies which sort all that out for you and make sure that a constant stream of pertinent ads are supplied to the key locations on your site or is it better to approach relevant companies direct and suggest that their advertising on your site would be beneficial to them?
I need to get it right, because the idea I have is extremely bandwidth-hungry and will absolutely rely on the maximisation of advertising income.
E.g. (and this is just to demonstrate the point) say I set up a website about cars. I would expect car insurers, manufacturers, parts suppliers etc to be interested in having banner ads on the site.
Are there marketing agencies which sort all that out for you and make sure that a constant stream of pertinent ads are supplied to the key locations on your site or is it better to approach relevant companies direct and suggest that their advertising on your site would be beneficial to them?
I need to get it right, because the idea I have is extremely bandwidth-hungry and will absolutely rely on the maximisation of advertising income.
edb49 said:
Alternatively, buy your bandwidth very cheaply. 
If you shop around there are some very worthwhile deals to be had.
The whole is to make money though; it's a commercial idea, but I don't want to charge users. If you shop around there are some very worthwhile deals to be had.I dread to think what the bandwidth requirement would be; tens of thousands of Gb per month if the idea worked.
Here's what I'd do:
1. Set site up with no advertising to get the ball rolling
2. Get initial visitors visiting regularly (if the bandwidth costs are going to be high and you need some money coming in can you start with the idea but scaled down, then expand in future?)
3. Add some affiliate banners for "well known" brands, car insurance, iPhone etc (as long as they are relevant to your audience they may bring in some revenue, but they will also help future advertisers see what site placements are available etc).
4. After 6 months or so, create a mini media pack with number of visits, ad placements and costs, etc anything which might be useful if you wanted to buy ads on a website.
5. Contact online advertising managers/contacts at some companies you have earmarked and send them the above info. If they are interested then start making more money!
Its not always something that happens overnight, but if you work at it, it can work.
Good Luck!
1. Set site up with no advertising to get the ball rolling
2. Get initial visitors visiting regularly (if the bandwidth costs are going to be high and you need some money coming in can you start with the idea but scaled down, then expand in future?)
3. Add some affiliate banners for "well known" brands, car insurance, iPhone etc (as long as they are relevant to your audience they may bring in some revenue, but they will also help future advertisers see what site placements are available etc).
4. After 6 months or so, create a mini media pack with number of visits, ad placements and costs, etc anything which might be useful if you wanted to buy ads on a website.
5. Contact online advertising managers/contacts at some companies you have earmarked and send them the above info. If they are interested then start making more money!
Its not always something that happens overnight, but if you work at it, it can work.
Good Luck!
Funk said:
PetrolTed said:
YHM
Mr. Ted, I'd be interested to receive that PM as well chap, as I am in the same position as the OP, albeit a little farther down the road.If you're able to share, I'd be most grateful!
timskipper said:
indeed post it up Ted, it's an interesting subject.
Personally I've had a few sites self-financed by using Google Adsense so I'm all ears for alternatives.
Don't do it Ted. Or if you do, don't include the piccies Personally I've had a few sites self-financed by using Google Adsense so I'm all ears for alternatives.
RichF said:
Here's what I'd do:
1. Set site up with no advertising to get the ball rolling
2. Get initial visitors visiting regularly (if the bandwidth costs are going to be high and you need some money coming in can you start with the idea but scaled down, then expand in future?)
3. Add some affiliate banners for "well known" brands, car insurance, iPhone etc (as long as they are relevant to your audience they may bring in some revenue, but they will also help future advertisers see what site placements are available etc).
4. After 6 months or so, create a mini media pack with number of visits, ad placements and costs, etc anything which might be useful if you wanted to buy ads on a website.
5. Contact online advertising managers/contacts at some companies you have earmarked and send them the above info. If they are interested then start making more money!
Its not always something that happens overnight, but if you work at it, it can work.
Good Luck!
I think that sounds like a cunning and appropriate plan. The entire viability of the idea relies on advertising revenue but, as pointed out, you need to have something demonstrable for people to back.1. Set site up with no advertising to get the ball rolling
2. Get initial visitors visiting regularly (if the bandwidth costs are going to be high and you need some money coming in can you start with the idea but scaled down, then expand in future?)
3. Add some affiliate banners for "well known" brands, car insurance, iPhone etc (as long as they are relevant to your audience they may bring in some revenue, but they will also help future advertisers see what site placements are available etc).
4. After 6 months or so, create a mini media pack with number of visits, ad placements and costs, etc anything which might be useful if you wanted to buy ads on a website.
5. Contact online advertising managers/contacts at some companies you have earmarked and send them the above info. If they are interested then start making more money!
Its not always something that happens overnight, but if you work at it, it can work.
Good Luck!
None of it is rocket science, but it's as difficult as rocket science to make it work
My view (and it is only based on what happened with PH so others may have found easier routes!)...
You need traffic and credibility within your niche to sell advertising. That doesn't happen overnight so you need to accept that you'll be burning cash whilst you create that. In my case it took about two years.
You need to establish your brand within your niche to the point where you can ring up someone in the sector and they will know your site (or they're knocking on your door). Trying to convince someone to advertise on a website that they are not familiar with is pointless.
Even when they have heard of you, you've got to be one of their 'go-to' places for info in that sector if they are to appreciate the worth of your site. In the current climate you'll probably find that their budgets are tighter than ever and they are unlikely to just have a punt. You need to convince them that you are a better proposition than somewhere where they are already advertising. Buyers like what they know - particularly agency buyers - convincing them to step out of their comfort zone with their clients' monies is frustratingly difficult.
There's an important point here too. If they are dropping advertising from some other publication or website, then that will be their price point. They will have a perceived value of the advertising and return on that - you need to home in and match it. If they spend £200 a month in a magazine for a quarter page and get 6 sales a month from it, then they are unlikely to spend £400 with you. If they spend £200 with you, they'll want more than six sales.
The amount they are willing to spend will also depend on the products they're selling. One car sale a month might make £100 a month worthwhile. £100 a month to someone selling food mixers might require them to sell 20 - your ad is going to have to work harder.
There are challenges to be faced depending on the type of advertiser too. If they are web savvy then they might want to buy ads on a CPM basis (cost per thousand) and compare your rates with other sites. They will want decent reporting on displayed ads, click through rates etc.
If they are not web-heads then they will want to see their ads lots (tricky business when operating on a rotational basis as they won't understand how it works). They won't care what your CPM is or what the click through rate is. They will renew if the phone has rung sufficiently.
The upshot of this mixture of challenges is that - even when you have created a pool of potential advertisers - finding the right price to charge for the right format of advertising is incredibly difficult.
And you can't offload the challenge either. You will have to sell the advertising yourself initially as no agency is going to be interested until you are churning big numbers traffic wise.
When you are churning sufficient traffic then you may be able to get an agency to sell advertising on your behalf. I had mixed results with agencies. Some great successes, other times lots of frustration.
Re-reading this it sounds like I'm trying to discourage you! I don't mean to - pursue your dreams!
On the positive side, a lot more people are familiar and comfortable with advertising online now so some of these barriers should be lower than when I first encountered them about 10 years ago. However the web is also a bigger, more competitive place now too!
When I jacked my day job in all those years ago I naievely thought I'd just generate loads of traffic and make loads of money. It was 100 times more difficult than I ever imagined!
My next project isn't advertising supported! I can't face it
My view (and it is only based on what happened with PH so others may have found easier routes!)...
You need traffic and credibility within your niche to sell advertising. That doesn't happen overnight so you need to accept that you'll be burning cash whilst you create that. In my case it took about two years.
You need to establish your brand within your niche to the point where you can ring up someone in the sector and they will know your site (or they're knocking on your door). Trying to convince someone to advertise on a website that they are not familiar with is pointless.
Even when they have heard of you, you've got to be one of their 'go-to' places for info in that sector if they are to appreciate the worth of your site. In the current climate you'll probably find that their budgets are tighter than ever and they are unlikely to just have a punt. You need to convince them that you are a better proposition than somewhere where they are already advertising. Buyers like what they know - particularly agency buyers - convincing them to step out of their comfort zone with their clients' monies is frustratingly difficult.
There's an important point here too. If they are dropping advertising from some other publication or website, then that will be their price point. They will have a perceived value of the advertising and return on that - you need to home in and match it. If they spend £200 a month in a magazine for a quarter page and get 6 sales a month from it, then they are unlikely to spend £400 with you. If they spend £200 with you, they'll want more than six sales.
The amount they are willing to spend will also depend on the products they're selling. One car sale a month might make £100 a month worthwhile. £100 a month to someone selling food mixers might require them to sell 20 - your ad is going to have to work harder.
There are challenges to be faced depending on the type of advertiser too. If they are web savvy then they might want to buy ads on a CPM basis (cost per thousand) and compare your rates with other sites. They will want decent reporting on displayed ads, click through rates etc.
If they are not web-heads then they will want to see their ads lots (tricky business when operating on a rotational basis as they won't understand how it works). They won't care what your CPM is or what the click through rate is. They will renew if the phone has rung sufficiently.
The upshot of this mixture of challenges is that - even when you have created a pool of potential advertisers - finding the right price to charge for the right format of advertising is incredibly difficult.
And you can't offload the challenge either. You will have to sell the advertising yourself initially as no agency is going to be interested until you are churning big numbers traffic wise.
When you are churning sufficient traffic then you may be able to get an agency to sell advertising on your behalf. I had mixed results with agencies. Some great successes, other times lots of frustration.
Re-reading this it sounds like I'm trying to discourage you! I don't mean to - pursue your dreams!
On the positive side, a lot more people are familiar and comfortable with advertising online now so some of these barriers should be lower than when I first encountered them about 10 years ago. However the web is also a bigger, more competitive place now too!
When I jacked my day job in all those years ago I naievely thought I'd just generate loads of traffic and make loads of money. It was 100 times more difficult than I ever imagined!
My next project isn't advertising supported! I can't face it
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