Productive Online Advertising 321

Considerations When Purchasing Your Banner Ad
Before you sign on the dotted line to purchase banner advertising, there
are a few things you should consider:
• How closely aligned is the target market of the site you want to
advertise on to yours?
• How many sites are there like the one you are considering advertising
on? Are there other sites you could use to reach the
same audience?
• What banner sizes are allowed? Generally, the larger the banner,
the more it costs.
• How many ads are on each page? The more ads on a page, the
lower the click-through rate for any particular ad on that page.
Generally, the more ads on a page, the lower the price per ad.
• What banner rotation system is being used? Is there a comprehensive
program that automatically profiles the visitors and provides
the best banner? The more targeted the audience, the more
expensive the ad; these profiling systems can provide ads to a
very targeted audience.
• What are the site’s competitors charging?
• Does the site have a sliding-scale ad rate?
Make Sure Visitors Can See Your Banner
A major thing that is often overlooked is the fact that some people still
surf the Internet with their graphics turned off. Not a big deal, right?
What if you purchased a banner ad? They are not going to see it, so
how could they click through? An easy way to make sure that the viewer
still knows that your banner is there is to attach an Alt tag to your
banner. An Alt tag is a small piece of HTML code that is added to a
Web site. It tells the browser what is supposed to be displayed if the
graphic cannot be viewed. It is here that you should develop a clever tag
line that still entices the viewer to click through to your Web site. Re-
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
322 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
member that it is important to include an Alt tag on all of the graphics
on your Web site.
Making It Easy with Online Advertising Networks
If your objective is to reach a large number of users through a wide
variety of sites, Internet ad networks could be right for you. Ad networks
manage the banner advertising real estate on a wide range of
different Web sites that people look at every day. If you are going to join
an ad network, you are known as an advertiser. You supply your banners
to the ad network and determine how you want it to promote you.
ValueClick (http://www.valueclick.com) is an example of a popular ad
network (see Figure 20.7). ValueClick has 6,000 Web sites in its network
and is emerging as an ad network leader. It can target a specific
industry of your choice or advertise your banner to a mass audience.
For a more targeted audience, your CPM would be higher. Even though
you have to pay a little more initially, it saves you in the long run.
The benefit of joining an ad network is that the network not only
targets your audience, it also provides you with real-time reports that
Figure 20.7. ValueClick is a large ad network offering advertisers the opportunity
to target their audience using ValueClick’s network.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Productive Online Advertising 323
indicate the success of your banner ads. This allows you to evaluate the
success of your current banner ad campaign and offers you the chance
to change your marketing strategy if you are not happy with your results.
Maybe you want to take a different approach, or maybe a different
banner design might work better for you. Whatever it might be, the
data that the ad network can provide you with is beneficial to determining
the strength of your banner ad campaign.
You can also join an ad network as a publisher. Publishers are the
Web sites that banners are placed on. If you have a Web site and would
like to make some additional online revenue from your site, you can
join an ad network, which will place banner ads on your site and pay
you for the usage of this space. Very similar to an affiliate program, or
banner exchange, by joining an ad network you can dramatically increase
your online revenue. A detailed list of ad networks is listed in the
Internet Resources section at the end of this chapter.
Bartering for Mutual Benefits with Banner Trading
Using this technique requires you to barter with other Web sites to trade
banners with their sites. If you are browsing the Internet and find a site
that you think appeals to your target market, then ask for a trade. Send
the Web master an e-mail outlining your proposition. Include the reason
you think it would be mutually beneficial, a description of your site,
where you would place that site’s banner on your site, and where you
think your banner might go on its site.
When you make arrangements like this, be sure to monitor the results.
If the other site has low traffic, then more visitors could be leaving
your site through its banner than are being attracted. Also, check the
other site regularly to make sure that your banners are still being displayed
for the duration agreed upon.
Tips for Succeeding with Classified Ads
Classified ads are also displayed on various Web sites. Some sites offer
to display classified ads for free; others charge a small fee. Here are
some tips for creating effective classified ads:
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
324 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
• Headlines. The headline of your ad is very important. The subject
line determines how many people read the rest of your ad. Look
at the subject lines of other ads and see what attracts your eye.
• Entice. Use your classified ad to get people to request more information,
not to make immediate reservations. You can then
send them a personalized letter outlining all of the information
and make a great pitch to attract an order.
• Be Friendly. Your classified ad shouldn’t be formal and businesslike.
Make your ad light and friendly.
• Call to Action. Do not only offer information about what you
are selling. Call the reader to action—for instance, to order now!
• Do Some Tests. Run a number of different ads and use a different
e-mail address for each one. This way you can determine which
ad receives the most responses. You can then run the best ad in a
number of places to find out which place gets the biggest response.
• Keep a Record. Keep records of your responses so that you know
which ads were the most successful.
Form Lasting Advertising with Sponsorships
Sponsorships are another form of advertising that usually involve strong,
long-lasting relationships between the sponsors and the owners of the
sites. Sponsors might donate money, Web development, Web hosting,
Web site maintenance, or other products and services to Web site owners
in this mutually beneficial relationship. By sponsoring Web sites on
the Internet, you can achieve great exposure for your site. People appreciate
sponsorships and look at banner ads that are from a sponsor. The
benefits of sponsorships on the Internet are that you can target a specific
audience, you usually get first call on banner ad placement, and
you show your target market that you care about their interest. Overall,
by sponsoring sites on the Internet, you have the opportunity to get
directly in the face of your target market.
There are a number of ways in which you can advertise on-line
through sponsorships. The following is a list of the more common forms
of online sponsorship:
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Productive Online Advertising 325
• E-Zines and Newsletters. An example of this would be Nike
sponsoring a Golf Digest e-zine.
• Content Sites. An example would be DuPont sponsoring a
NASCAR racing Web site.
• Online Chat Sessions. An example would be CDNow sponsoring
a chat on the Ultimate Band List.
• Events. An example would be a search engine such as AltaVista
or Google sponsoring a seminar on search engine strategy.
Commercial Links
Another form of online advertising is commercial links. A number of
targeted sites provide lengthy lists of URLs related to a specific topic.
See Chapter 18 on Meta-Indexes. These sites often provide your listing
for free but charge a fee to have a hypertext link activated from
their site to yours. There are also Web sites where you can be listed if
you don’t have a Web site and would prefer to have only your business
name and phone number or e-mail address listed. These are great sites,
especially because they are targeted toward your demographic group.
An example of this would be Franchise Solutions (http://www.
franchisesolutions.com). This site (Figure 20.8) has a database of franchise
and business opportunities targeted toward entrepreneurs wanting
to open their own business. If you are a franchiser and are interested
in expanding your business, you would want to have a link on this
Web site because your target market visits sites like this.
Sponsoring a Mailing List
Another online advertising opportunity is presented by mailing lists.
Mailing lists provide a much targeted advertising vehicle. Mailing list
subscribers are all interested in the list topic and are therefore potential
clients, if you select the mailing list carefully. The rates for sponsoring
lists are quite low. The cost would be determined on a
price-per-reader basis and is usually between 1 and 10 cents per reader.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
326 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
Subscribe to the lists that appeal to your target market and read the
FAQ files to determine whether advertising or sponsorship opportunities
exist for each mailing list. If the mailing list allows sponsorship,
contact the mailing list administrator to inquire about the cost of sponsoring
and, if it is reasonable, check availability and sponsors. All of
the members of the mailing list have subscribed and want to be on the
list; therefore, they are likely to read your e-mail. This is an excellent
opportunity for you to expose your products and services to these
potential consumers. A good example of this would be Trip.com’s sponsoring
a mailing list about vacation destinations around the world.
Readers are interested in the topic, so they might be encouraged to
click through and book a trip.
Online and Offline Promotion
Your advertising strategy shouldn’t be limited to online activities. It is
important to integrate your offline advertising strategy to include promotion
of your Web site. For more information on offline promotion,
see Chapter 26.
Figure 20.8. Franchise Solutions allows franchisors to purchase links from
its site.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Productive Online Advertising 327
Internet Resources for Chapter 20
I have included a few resources for you to check out regarding productive
online advertising. For additional resources on a variety of
topics, visit the Resources section of my Web site at http://www.
susansweeney.com/resources.html. There you will find additional tips,
tools, and techniques.
Banner Ad Tools
Animated Communications
http://www.animation.com
An online resource to build your own animated banners in minutes.
Animation Online
http://www.animationonline.com
Create your own animated banner in minutes for free from this site.
The Banner Generator
http://www.coder.com/creations/banner
The Banner Generator is a free service to help you create graphical banners
for your Web pages.
Online Advertising Agencies
.Com Marketing
http://www.commarketing.com
.Com Marketing is an interactive advertising and marketing firm specializing
in driving traffic to Web sites. It provides Web advertising strategy,
ad banner design, online media research and planning and search
engine submission services.
Ad Networks
24/7 Media
http://www.247media.com
24/7 Media is a network of branded sites in a vast variety of categories.
This allows advertisers to zero in on their target market and get results
from their online marketing efforts.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
328 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
B2B Works
http://www.b2bworks.com
B2B Works has well over 70 industries in its network and is emerging as
an ad network leader. It can target a specific industry of your choice or
advertise your banner to a mass audience.
DoubleClick
http://www.doubleclick.com
The DoubleClick ad network’s goal is to provide solutions to make advertising
work for companies on the Internet. Five types of services are
offered. The site enables you to market globally and locally. It can help
you to build brand awareness, or to close the loop on your target market.
DoubleClick also offers its clients the opportunity to participate in
the e-commerce world by offering online sales technology to advertisers
that would like to sell products online.
ValueClick
http://www.valueclick.com
ValueClick is the Internet’s largest results-based advertising network. It
uses a cost-per-click model, which enables participants to pay only for
the viewers who click through to their Web site.
Banner Exchanges
GSAnet
http://einets.com/
GSAnet Banner Swap is unique in that it offers up to a 1:1 display ratio
to members depending on where you locate the banner on your Web
page(s). In addition, sites with few visitors see an even greater ratio due
to what are called “charity banners.”
Online Advertising Education
Advertising Age Magazine
http://adage.com/news_and_features/deadline
This advertising industry publication always has interesting articles on
advertising online.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Productive Online Advertising 329
Internet Advertising Bureau—Online Advertising Effectiveness Study
http://www.iab.net/news/pr_1997_09_24.asp
The IAB Online Advertising Effectiveness Study is the most comprehensive
and projectable test of online advertising effectiveness to date. With
12 major Web sites and over 16,000 individual users taking part in the
test, the study ranks as the largest, most rigorous test of advertising
effectiveness.
Nielsen Net Ratings
http://www.netratings.com
Nielsen Net Ratings provides you with continuously updated statistics
on the top advertisers on the Internet, and which banner advertisements
are the most commonly viewed on the Internet. The site also offers a
wide range of other Internet-related statistics that could prove important
to your marketing needs.
Know This
http://www.knowthis.com
KnowThis.com and its Marketing Virtual Library contain a wealth of
information, resources, and references for professionals, academics and
students in traditional and Internet marketing, advertising, selling,
e-commerce, market research, PR, and more.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
330 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
330
21
Maximizing Media Relations
Your online media strategy can be extremely effective in building traffic
to your site. News release distribution can be done easily. Build the
right list of e-mail addresses or make use of one of the online news
release distribution services. Most reporters and writers have e-mail
addresses. Some do not like to receive e-mailed news releases; others
prefer the e-mail versions. When e-mail news releases are sent out, reporters
reply by e-mail. They will expect your response within 24 hours.
Develop a media kit that you can e-mail out to editors. In this chapter,
we cover:
• Developing your online media strategy
• Public relations versus advertising
• Online public relations versus traditional public relations
• Effective news releases
• News release and distribution services on-line
• How to distribute news releases on-line
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Maximizing Media Relations 331
• Providing an area for media on your site
• How to find reporters on-line
• How reporters want to receive your information
• Encouraging republication of your article with a direct link to
your site or the article
• Providing press kits on-line
• Electronic newsletters.
Managing Effective Public Relations
Media relations are very important to your marketing efforts. The best
results are achieved when you integrate both online and offline publicity
campaigns. News release distribution can be accomplished easily if
you have an established list of reporters and editors, or if you make use
of a news distribution service.
Maintaining effective public relations delivers a number of benefits
to your company. Your company and products gain exposure through
news releases, and a positive image for your company is portrayed. Your
relationship with current customers is reinforced, and new relationships
are formed.
Benefits of Publicity versus Advertising
Media coverage, or publicity, has a major advantage over paid advertisements.
Articles written by a reporter carry more weight with the
public than ads do because the media and reporters are seen as unbiased
third parties. The public gives articles printed in media publications
more credibility than they do paid advertisements. Another
advantage of distributing news releases is that it is more cost-effective
than advertising. You have to pay for advertising space on a Web site or
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
332 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
time on the radio, but the costs of writing and distributing news releases
are minimal.
One of the disadvantages of news releases compared to advertising
is that you don’t have control over what is published. If the editor decides
to cast your company in a negative light, there is nothing you can
do to stop him or her. If the writer of the piece does not like your company,
for whatever reason, this might come across in the article. Basically,
after your news release is distributed, you have no control over
what will be written about your company.
It is important to note that when generating publicity you might
lose control over the timing of your release as well. For example, you
might want an article released the day before your big sale, but the
editor could relegate it to a date the following week. There is nothing
you can do about this. It is not a good idea to rely exclusively on publicity
for important or newsworthy events, because if the release is not
reviewed or is not considered newsworthy, you might be stuck with no
promotion at all.
What Is a News Release?
Before you begin your media campaign, you should know what news
releases are and how to write them. News releases are designed to inform
reporters of events concerning your company that the public might consider
newsworthy. News releases can get your company free public attention.
A news release is a standard form of communication with the media.
News releases must contain newsworthy information. Companies that
continually send worthless information in a blatant attempt to get their
name in the press do not establish a good relationship with the media.
Writing a News Release
Journalists are bombarded with volumes of news releases. To improve
the chances of having your story interest the journalist enough to publish
it, you must make the journalist’s job easier by presenting your
news release in an appealing format and style. Your news release should
be written as if it were prepared by an unbiased third party. The news
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Maximizing Media Relations 333
release should follow a standard format, which is described in the following
paragraphs.
Notice of Release
The first thing the reader sees should be:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
unless you have sent the information in advance of the time you
would like it published. In that case, state it as follows:
FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, April 14, 2005 [using the
date you want it released].
Remember that no matter what date you put here, the publication
can release the information before or after that date. If the news is really
big, it is unlikely that the publication will hold it until the date you
have specified.
Header
The header should be in the upper-left corner. It should contain all of
the contact information for one or two key people. These contacts should
be able to answer any questions regarding the news release. If reporters
cannot get in touch with someone to answer their questions, they might
print incorrect information or even drop the article altogether.
Contact:
Susan Sweeney
Connex Network Incorporated
(902) 468-2578
susan@susansweeney.com
http://www.susansweeney.com