Banner Ads, pop ups etc...

should I take that as a no then?? [:I] www.getshirt-e.co.uk
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www.getshirt-e.co.uk
www.realcarsnetwork.com

Hi Catherine I'm not an expert on this but I can tell you that it's a huge job if you try to do independently. Selling ad space online is a hard grind and very specialist. If you're prepared for negotiations about CPM, CPA, tenancy, ad sizes/formats and positions, tracking, visitor audits, conversion rates etc then that's a good start. Even if your targeting is good, advertisers generally need a LOT of convincing before they'll stump up to appear on a site that isn't audited, has no obvious track record, or if no other comparable businesses are advertising there already. They want proof that their customers/prospects are visiting your site regularly, and that they are likely to click on their ad. Even then, many will only pay for click-throughs, ask for a trial period, or require detailed statistical tracking such as that available via 3rd party ad servers like Doubleclick. If you're starting out on this route, it's worth considering signing up to some affiliate programmes - eg at http://www.tradedoubler.co.uk and http://www.commissionjunction.co.uk. You'll only get paid for click-throughs, often only for conversions. But you'll have all the stats you need to see if you can realistically sell ad space on a CPM or tenancy basis. You might find some useful information at the IAB FAQ page http://www.iabuk.net/index.php?page=14 Hope that helps a bit and is not too negative - best of luck! Robin http://www.robinhoughton.com http://marketingkarma.co.uk
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Eggbox: Cracking Online Marketing
http://www.eggboxmarketing.co.uk

Sorry to sound bad but personally I hate pop-ups! Banners I can handle as long as the point of the site isn't lost! Think many people are the same!
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Marketeer
marketeer@lycos.co.uk

Umm have to say I agree about the pop-ups, they can be very intrusive and if your firewall is active then all you get is a blank box. The only advertising would be very relevant companies (its for another venture, not getshirt-e) who's products visitors to the site would definitely be interested in. I'm afraid that advertising might be a necessary evil, but if it can benefit all parties involved (site owners, companies advertising and site visitors) then isn't it worth the hassle? www.getshirt-e.co.uk
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www.getshirt-e.co.uk
www.realcarsnetwork.com

Hi, Sorry for the slow response in answering this thread; I had asked one of our sales staff to reply but I guess they're busy selling and that's not a bad thing. Startups.co.uk's main revenue stream is advertising and while we try and make this as targeted and unobtrusive as possible is necessary for us to exist and provide the information we do free of charge. Fortunately for us, we're part of a bigger picture (Crimson Publishing) that also publishes a range of other business products. As a result, we've built relationships with many of the leading service providers and are able to have a sales team that communicates with them on a full time basis. However, this hasn't always been the case and this relationship has had to be built over time. For us, it was about producing a product that advertisers felt was of sufficient quality to want to be associated with and also proving that it attracting the right kind of audience for their products. In terms of beating the competition then, for us, it was a case of simply providing a superior service to others in order to attract readers and hoping advertising would follow - but that was always our overall aim and not necessarily a strategic sales plan. Without discussing figures, we offer various different packages to meet clients' needs but mostly sell on a monthly basis or for a certain amount of impressions. We don't sell on a click-through basis although I wouldn't say you shouldn’t. In general, the more flexible you are and the more options you can offer, the better. Basically, if you get a site with good content and a reader base that comes for that reason should be able to attract relevant advertisers as the benefit of working with you will speak for itself. However, as others have mentioned, it is a balancing act and certain types of advertising and 'selling your soul' will drive the readers away and ruin the original product. Hope this helps. Matt Thomas web editor, Startups.co.uk

Thanks for your comments you have been really helpful. [8D] www.getshirt-e.co.uk
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www.getshirt-e.co.uk
www.realcarsnetwork.com

Hi Catherine, Have you thought about things like Google's 'Adsense' scheme [URL]http://www.google.co.uk/ads/[/URL]? You register with them, put a linked banner position on your site and whenever someone loads your page it calls the Google server and pulls down one of the ads which is targeted as being relevant to your site's content. I've not got any personal experience of this but hear it's a reasonable scheme to start out with if you can't afford to do the whole marketing relations piece and gets you (and your veiwers) into the swing of having adverts on your site. James. James Thomas jameshthomas@hotmail.com 07968 048107 http://UK-121712.yourteambuilder.com
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James Thomas
james@phoenixconcepts.co.uk
07968 048107
http://UK-121712.yourteambuilder.com

Thanks - I had not heard of that one yet. Will look into it. Thanks again. www.getshirt-e.co.uk
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www.getshirt-e.co.uk
www.realcarsnetwork.com