Building a revenue and profit model - Part 1
Posted 4th November 2008 at 05:20 PM by awesometbn
Tags ad management, ad packages, advertising, kotler
Advertising income
The original idea was simply to sell banner ad space on your website. "Give me $20 a month to display your 468x60 graphic." But that was last century and you pretty much did everything yourself.
Today you can still do everything yourself, if you want to. Instead of working harder, work smarter by running your own advertising management software. For example, a popular choice is the free phpAdsNew (newer versions are called OpenX). This type of software does the tracking for you. After entering the new advertiser in your database, there is a section for them to setup new campaigns, upload graphics, type their text ads and much more. All you do on your website is insert the ad rotation script, and all of the advertisers will be shown based on the schedule you set, and this is across all of your web properties.
Another route would be to join an advertising network, such as Adbrite or Linkshare or Commission Junction or even Google Adsense. These networks give you the potential for more exposure to advertising companies. They do all of the tracking, you just display the correct tracking code, and login to their network portal to view charts and payouts. This works well for earning money. It is easy and free to join.
What I recommend is a hybrid approach to advertising. You do it yourself with your own ad management software, but instead of just entering paid advertisers into your database, you can go ahead and enter all of the advertising networks too. That way you can display a mixture of ad networks, and those companies who paid you directly. The great thing about this system would be your control over the rotation schedule, and the potential for getting more money up front from the companies you hand pick. You don't have to rely on the ad network, or their approval policies.
One more thing, you should offer different advertising packages along with your rate sheet. Instead of just a single area on your website, create a collection of header, sidebar, footer, above the fold, in the middle of an article's text body, and so on. Get creative and price accordingly. Think like a magazine or newspaper, because you are now the publisher who's in control of your own content.
I would love to hear your ideas about different types of advertising income. Next in the miniseries we will discuss sponsorship income.
The original idea was simply to sell banner ad space on your website. "Give me $20 a month to display your 468x60 graphic." But that was last century and you pretty much did everything yourself.
- tracking clicks, views
- visitor counts, unique IP
- contacting new advertisers
- communicating with existing advertisers
- processing payments and handling refunds
- technical support and answering questions
Today you can still do everything yourself, if you want to. Instead of working harder, work smarter by running your own advertising management software. For example, a popular choice is the free phpAdsNew (newer versions are called OpenX). This type of software does the tracking for you. After entering the new advertiser in your database, there is a section for them to setup new campaigns, upload graphics, type their text ads and much more. All you do on your website is insert the ad rotation script, and all of the advertisers will be shown based on the schedule you set, and this is across all of your web properties.
Another route would be to join an advertising network, such as Adbrite or Linkshare or Commission Junction or even Google Adsense. These networks give you the potential for more exposure to advertising companies. They do all of the tracking, you just display the correct tracking code, and login to their network portal to view charts and payouts. This works well for earning money. It is easy and free to join.
What I recommend is a hybrid approach to advertising. You do it yourself with your own ad management software, but instead of just entering paid advertisers into your database, you can go ahead and enter all of the advertising networks too. That way you can display a mixture of ad networks, and those companies who paid you directly. The great thing about this system would be your control over the rotation schedule, and the potential for getting more money up front from the companies you hand pick. You don't have to rely on the ad network, or their approval policies.
One more thing, you should offer different advertising packages along with your rate sheet. Instead of just a single area on your website, create a collection of header, sidebar, footer, above the fold, in the middle of an article's text body, and so on. Get creative and price accordingly. Think like a magazine or newspaper, because you are now the publisher who's in control of your own content.
I would love to hear your ideas about different types of advertising income. Next in the miniseries we will discuss sponsorship income.
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