Attract Advertisers to Your Web Site

Attract Advertisers to Your Web Site

ATTRACT ADVERTISERS TO YOUR WEB SITE
By Rozey Gean

Sponsors are other web sites or companies that wish to advertise on your website BASED UPON the type of target market your site is attracting. For example, if your products and services are geared toward high impact marketing and promotion, a business specializing in promoting baby formula is not going to find your website a potentially marketable medium wherein they should advertise.

However, if your web site has ample traffic flow to your pages - you may want to consider the idea of offering "advertising space" to other entrepreneurs. Consider it a win/win situation for both parties involved. The advertiser reaches their target market - and you gain additional income by selling ad space from your web site.

With that being clarified, let's dive in and discuss the approach you should consider before seeking advertising clients:

1. A steady stream of adequate traffic

First and foremost - you need to have a steady and growing flow of traffic on your website. This would start from having "unique visitors" per day, which can account for people actually SEEING your site. This information is most important to those who seek to advertise with you.

What is an ample amount of traffic to your web site? That would depend on the advertiser that's interested in your target market. While one advertiser may appear hesitant that you have only 1000 visits to your site per week, another advertiser may be elated to discover an advertising venue on the web where he or she can start out with a small market for a minimum amount of advertising dollars. For small sites with less traffic, you can compensate the advertiser by offering smaller prices for each banner impression.

For example:

a. If your site receives 200 visitors per day, 1400 visitors per week that amounts to 5600 visitors per month, you would possibly charge $5 per thousand banner impressions.

b. If your site receives 400 visitors per day, 2800 visitors per week, adding up to 10,200 visitors per month, you would possibly charge $10 per thousand banner impressions. As the traffic to your site improves, and your visitor count increases per day, you could very well establish a price of $20 per thousand banner impressions. Again, it all depends upon the price the going market will bear.

Do your research and find out what this price is by visiting other sites online that carry the information you seek. Hint: Search for a demographics site that offers this type of information.

As your traffic increases, you must be prepared to convince other potential advertisers that your website is the perfect place for them to advertise. They may not realize that your current advertisers are making money by advertising on your site. You must let them know.

Ask your current advertisers to share testimonials that you can post somewhere on your site so that your prospects can clearly see these advertisers are cashing in! You will, in essence, create a site that will generate cash for you based on the increasing numbers of other businesses who will purchase advertising space from you.

2. Placing ad rate sheets directly on your web site.

Once you have the adequate traffic that advertisers will be interested in, you can start announcing that you are looking for sponsorships. To do this, you need to develop an ad "rate sheet" that you can provide to prospective advertisers. The ad rate sheet should contain information that is important to the potential advertiser such as:

a) The demographic profile of your web site users.

b) How many unique visitors your site gets on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.

c) Where would the banners be displayed?

d) The size of the banners you accept.

e) How many other sponsors are shown during the same time?

f) The price per 1,000 impressions of the banners.

g) How many impressions they must purchase from the start.

h) The number, if any, that you give of FREE impressions for purchasing a certain amount, and so on.

3. Software

To allow you to display banners on a rotating basis and to be able to keep track of how many times each banner is shown, you will need to use banner advertising software that counts the impressions for you.

Visit any CGI resource center to retrieve banner advertisement scripts. I do believe that Dream Catcher currently offers a FREE script that can get you started. ==> See www.dreamcatchersweb.com/scripts/

Once you have found the banner software you intend to use, test it with your own banners for a week or so. Make sure that you understand how the script works and that it IS functioning properly before you tell others that you're offering ad space. Testing with your own banners first, is a good safety precaution, and it will provide you with adequate knowledge to handle any problems you may encounter later.

4. Time to Advertise

You have established your rate sheet and you've tested your banner software and you're ready to begin the hunt for sponsors. You may very well have to place advertisements yourself in order to attract your sponsors.

If you are specifically interested in one or two major companies, approach them by e-mail with your offer. This is a great way to ask them for their support.

Start out by writing a letter to them explaining the benefits of sponsoring your site. Be sure to mention you draw "unique visitors" on a daily basis from their target market and also remember to send them directly to your ad rate sheet. Give them a day or two to mull over your offer and then write to them again and ask them if they had a chance to consider your offer.

As with any good sales letter and follow up correspondence, keep your communication positive and upbeat!

There are many online avenues wherein you can announce that you are seeking advertisers for your website. In my opinion, you will get more mileage from those with whom you network. Someone within your networking circles may be seeking a way to reach your target market, or they may know someone else looking for exposure. Relay your needs to your networking circles and then work your magic. Since these people are a group that know and trust you, most will be willing to help you spread the word.

5. Offering an Incentive to Work with You

More and more online entrepreneurs are learning this important fact: "The better the benefits are for the individual to advertise on your site - the higher the number will be of individuals you will attract".

Everyone likes something for FREE! Add incentives for obtaining those you want as sponsors. An incentive is a "bonus" and you can use them to your advantage. All it takes is a little imagination! Be sure to include your incentives, or benefits, in your sales letter. The potential advertiser must know why he or she should advertise with you.

While this is not a comprehensive guide on how to attract advertising sponsors, it should be enough to get you started in the right direction. As with any new element in your marketing endeavors, you will continue to learn as you throw yourself in and just do it!

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Rozey Gean is the founder of the Marketing-Seek.com web site where writers, e-zine publishers and online entrepreneurs are brought together in an easy-to-use, friendly interface.

Web - http://www.marketing-seek.com
Email - mailto:rozey@marketing-seek.com