Nicki Lynch

“How can I find advertisers for my website” is a question commonly asked by many of ourInternet Consulting customers.   Offering advertising options on your website or blog is one of the most effective methods to monetise your website. There are many other ways to generate revenue and monetise your website including Adsense and Affiliate links. However, directly finding advertisers for your website is one of the most profitable methods that can offer a comparatively higher return than most other monetising methods.

Finding advertisers for your website can be quite challenging. This article discusses simple yet effective techniques that can help you to find advertisers for your website. Some of the methods involve leveraging your own website while others involve the use of popular Ad networks and other external sources.

Top Ways to Find Advertisers for your Website

1. Create an “Advertising options” page on your website

Most potential advertisers will first look for this page on your website. It is thus important to include an advertising page on your website and link it from the main menu. The advertising page can list the advertising options available on your website together with the costs involved. Perhaps you can also provide a link for direct payment and an enquiry form for potential customers.

2. Place an “Advertise here” banner image

“Advertise here” banners are common on blogs and sites that offer advertising. One of the best places to position this image is among other advertising banners. It is easy to do even when you do not have any real advertisers as you can simply use the allocated ad space for your own ‘Advertise here’ banners. Needless to mention, it should be in a prominent place on your site. You can link the image to the ‘Advertising options’ page on your website.

3. Write a press release or article announcing your advertising options

Press release and articles are still very effective and widely used to promote content on the internet. By publishing a press release or article announcing the advertising options on your website, you can target an additional audience and also gain additional back links to your “advertise here” page. Make sure to use social bookmarking to promote the article and press release.

4. Promote your advertising options on other websites

In addition to publishing a press release or article promoting your advertising options, if you have a blog you can also publish a post on your blog encouraging users to advertise. You can republish this content or syndicate it on other social networks and social media sites. You can include a back link to the advertising page on your website for extra benefits.

5. Send marketing email

Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of advertising and can provide a boost to your efforts. You can create a professional email template to market your advertising options. The content of the email should be brief and well thought of. It should not be too promotional in nature and the benefits of advertising on your website should be highlighted. Appropriate call to action should be included in the email to encourage conversion. You can either send the email to your own list or to an externally sourced list.

6. Create a rate card/Media Pack for advertisers

A rate card is a list of advertising options available on your website. The rate card should list the size of the banners, cost and advertising period. The information is similar to what you would include on your ‘Advertising options’ page if you have one. You can also choose to create a rate card or Media Pack for advertisers in a downloadable format (e.g. PDF) to accompany your advertising options page. It can also be attached to emails or newsletters.

7. Directly Contact advertisers of other websites

Another effective method can be to research other websites in your market and identify those who are advertising on these websites. You can try contacting potential businesses directly to see if they would be interested in advertising on your website. This method can be time consuming but can provide a highly targeted list of potential advertisers.

8. Directly Contact PPC advertisers

You can easily identify those who are paying to advertise on search engines. The easiest way to do is to search for your keywords on major search engines like Google and Yahoo. PPC advertisers will be listed on the results under sponsored listings. You can contact advertisers directly. They are already paying for advertising within your market so it is likely that they may choose to advertise on your website as well if they can see the benefits.

9. Join Ad Networks

Ad networks connects advertisers to web sites and blogs that offer advertisement opportunities. There are many ad networks that can help by putting you in touch with potential advertisers. Some Ad networks are very successful and offer an excellent opportunity for finding advertisers for your website. It is quite common for smaller websites to source most of their ads via and Ad network. Following are some of the leading ad networks that you can join for free.

• AdBrite.Com
• BuySellAds.com
• Click-share.com
• Advertising.com
• 24/7 Real Media
• 24/7 Real Media

Revenue sharing PPC/CPM Networks like Adsense already command the maximum share of revenue on many websites and blogs. You can use competitive ad filters and ad review centre of Adsense to control who can advertise on your blog.

10. Hire professional help

Another approach is to outsource your marketing to an organization or a small business that will market your advertising spots for you. Telemarketing can also be used. This method can be effective as most marketing companies have access to a large pool of data and employ aggressive marketing techniques. It can however be expensive and out of reach for smaller businesses and entrepreneurs who may instead prefer to do it themselves using other methods listed above.

The best approach for small businesses, however, may be to hire an aggressive in-house (or virtual) salesperson, or do it yourself.

As sites like Facebook, Twitter and Digg continue to grow, it is becoming increasingly apparent to everyone that investing in your social networks can be one of the best ways to promote yourself or your brand. However, when you are new to the world of social media you may not have the slightest idea about how to get started. If you are still just testing the waters, these top ten tips can help you take the plunge into using social networks to successfully promote yourself or your brand. By the way, I’ll be referring to the term “Social Networks” here in the broader sense, including Social Bookmarking and video sites.

1. Choose Your Networks Wisely
If you spend any amount of time on the Internet then you are aware of the vast number of social networks there are to choose from. There’s Facebook, Bebo, hi5, MySpace, Ning, LinkedIn, Flickr, Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon and YouTube, just to name “a few.” When you are beginning your social networking campaign you should decide which of these networks are the most relevant for your purposes. For instance, if you want to join a network for professional business contacts then you should join LinkedIn and Facebook rather than Bebo or MySpace (unless you’re a musician). On the other hand, if you want to promote a hip new clothing line to teens, then LinkedIn is the last place you’ll want to be. In order to make an informed decision about which networks to join you will have to do a little research. Figure out what your goals are, who your target audience is and then read some articles and look around in different networks to see where you could best achieve those goals. Don’t sell yourself short on research time—choosing the right networks is one of the most important keys to social networking success.

2. Don’t Spread Yourself Too Thin
Once you have come up with your list of relevant social networks you need to decide which ones you are going to join. Be content with the knowledge that you cannot join ALL of the networks on the Web or you won’t have the time to use any of them to their full potential. Choose a few social networks that fit your needs and that you feel comfortable with and focus your attention on them—build a profile, join groups, add and communicate with friends. Putting all of you effort into a few social networks is much more effective than wearing yourself out trying to achieve the bare minimum in a ton of social networks. It is also important not to spread yourself too thin when you are joining groups in social networks. It is better to be an active and integral part of a few large groups than to be a member of 100 groups that you never even look at.

3. Give Character to your Profiles
Before you start adding friends it is important to fill out your profiles as fully as possible. Include your name, age and location. Write about your interests, your education, your job, why you are here, what kind of hobbies you have… the more information you can give the better. It is also important to upload a nice picture of yourself. Your picture should be eye catching and professional, showing your face with a smile. Yes, in theory you could upload a picture of Heath Ledger as The Joker to your profile (I’ve seen a lot of this on Digg lately) but this isn’t very personal. Your online friends want to see what you look like and get to know your real details and interests.

4. Be Consistent
If you have profiles on several networks it is important to be consistent. Use the same photo and the same screen name on all of your profiles. If you are consistent between your profiles then friends will begin to recognize you immediately and add you to all of their networks, meaning that they will be exposed to your content through a variety of different channels. This is a good thing.

5. Birds of a Feather Flock Together
When you are adding friends to your social networks it is important to add friends that have the same interests as you or an interest in what you are trying to promote. If you add friends that share your interests then they will not only be more likely to accept your request and add you as a friend in return, they will also take an interest in the stories you share and what you have to say and will help you spread the word.

6. Put Your Heart in It
When you are building up your social networks, even if it is just for business or promotional purposes, it is important to be personable. Put a genuine effort into getting to know your contacts through messaging, sharing links, commenting on posts and pictures, and providing feedback. The more you talk with people the more familiar they will become with you. They will be more likely to check out your content and share it with their own friends. When someone adds you as a friend, send them a welcome message thanking them for adding you and telling them a little bit about yourself; send birthday greetings when you see that it’s their birthday; leave comments about your friends’ statuses and posts. It is also extremely important to follow through with your friends. If you say you’ll get back to someone then you should get back to them. You should be just as considerate of your online friends as you are of your real life friends.

7. Be Active Regularly
It is important to be active regularly on all of your accounts. Comment in groups and forums, update your profile and status and add new applications regularly. This will keep you on the radar in your friends’ feeds. Each day, sign in to each of your accounts and respond to any messages or comments your friends have left you. It is important to respond to messages in a reasonable amount of time to let people know that you care. It is also important to keep in mind that social networks never sleep. There are no “Sundays” on social networks, so make sure to check your profiles regularly.

8. Submit Quality Content
When you bookmark stories and websites and post links to your social networks it is important to make sure that you are submitting quality content. Read through an entire story before you post it to make sure that it is something you really want to post under your name and that it’s worth the time of the friends you are sharing it with. The better the material that you submit, the more people will follow you and be interested in seeing what you will submit next.

9. Nobody Likes a Spammer
 Don’t overload your friends with links, messages, comments and content. If you overload people they will either flag you as a spammer or remove you from their friends. Stick to sending relevant, quality content that your friends will get something out of.

10. Don’t Stress Yourself Out!
Social networking should be a positive experience. After all, you are making new friends and socializing with people who share your interests. Interacting with and getting to know these people should be fun experience, so don’t stress yourself out. With these ten tips you have the guidelines for building strong and valuable social networking skills. When you choose the right networks and start having fun with them while achieving your goals, the possibilities are endless. Post written by guest author Megan O’Neill Blonde 2.0

This segment comes from the free e-book “Personal Branding for the Business Professional” by Chris Brogan. Visit his website at http://www.chrisbrogan.com

The Technology of Brands

My friend and interactive media strategist Adam Broitman calls Google a “reputation
management system.” I love it. Essentially, what Google knows is what?s true, as far as
the uneducated are concerned. So, how does Google come to accept you as the
authority on something? There are a few measurements to that at present.

• Inbound links from other sources – if someone is linking to your website, you must
have information of value, especially if that someone who?s doing the linking is
important.

• Outbound links to quality material – this is actually more for human love, but certainly
helps prove that you?re a lively presence.

• Readable, searchable pages – if Google can tell what you?re talking about at your
website, you probably are trying to offer something to the world.

• Constantly updating content – Google values freshness over staleness (don?t we all?)

• Listed in directories – Google wants to know that you?ve submitted your site for
inclusion in the more prominent search engines and website directories.

• Mechanical quality – Google has a lot of other things it values, like well-written
websites that follow standards, and it?s a little bit of learning to understand them all.

That?s what Google cares about, and that?s how a lot of people are searching for you.
But we do this for humans, because humans are who make the decisions. So let?s look
into what counts for your strong personal brand technologically, with humans in mind.

Personal Branding for the Business Professional, by Chris Brogan. – http://www.chrisbrogan.com

The article below is an older article, but timeless in it’s application.  As a web designer, I encounter clients who don’t typically place any emphasis on actually making their website a useful tool for their audiences.  Having a useful website keeps visitors returning and increases your chances for sales.  Your website should not only be about giving them info on you, but provide info on your industry, or help, or something!

It may take a little work, but it will go a long way.  Please remember, I am here to help!

Nicki Lynch
Media Correspondent, Educator, Consultant

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10 Tips for making your site more useful

By Carole Pivarnik

People rely heavily on sites that are most useful to them. They go to Dictionary.com to look
up or translate words. They go to BankRate.com to use financial calculators.  They go to SmallBusiness.com to get and give business advice. They go to Coupons.com to save money. They go to 1800flowers.com to quickly and easily order gifts for loved ones. They go to HomeDepot.com to learn how to install a ceiling fan.

All of these sites and others with a large, loyal visitor base have one thing in common: they provide a useful service or product to their visitors. Usefulness is one of the key factors in attracting repeat traffic. Here are some tips for making your site more useful and more competitive:

1.  Teach Something
There is a huge demand for concise, wellwritten how-to information. If you have a business Web site, you have an area of expertise. What can you teach your visitors?

2.  Simplify a Complex Task.
Many tasks are so complex that people have difficulty figuring out where to start and what to do. Some examples are buying a home, changing careers, or starting a business. By providing checklists, online wizards, or other tools to organize and automate complex tasks, you can make those tasks
significantly easier for your visitors.

3.  Offer Extraordinary Value.
People calculate value by comparing what they get to how much it costs. Value exists for them when they perceive that they’re getting more than they pay for. If you offer an expensive product or service, create value by showing how the benefits of purchase exceed the cost. If market conditions make it difficult
for you to compete on price, increase the value of your offer by packaging it with “free” add-ons or companion products.

4.  Provide Superior Quality.
In today’s competitive market, people simply expect high quality. To wow them, your site must provide that extra feature, service, or customer care that puts you in a different league than your competitors.

5.  Offer Unparalleled Convenience.
People take the path of least resistance. Make it a snap to find and use your Web site. Make it easy to remember. Design it for easy access. Make it clear what visitors can get from you and where they can get
related material that you don’t offer.

6.  Assist with Decision-Making.
People often have trouble sorting out the details that go into complex decision-making. Provide them with an organized, easy way to do that and they’ll love you for it. For instance, a small business portal might offer a checklist or worksheet that helps entrepreneurs figure out what paperwork they must submit to local and state government to incorporate their business.

7.  Invite Participation.
Allowing your visitors to participate in forums, share advice, publish articles, or otherwise interact with other visitors creates a sense of community. Since we all like to belong, sites that provide valuable communities for visitors tend to foster great loyalty among them.

8.  Give Something for Nothing.
People respond to getting good stuff free. Can you offer something free for which your competitors charge? Can you offer more or better free stuff than your competitors?

9.  Differentiate.
Take a close look at your competitors’ sites. What do they lack? Set your site apart from theirs by
offering a different mix, more content, better quality–whatever it takes to rise above the den. And then make sure you tell visitors why your site should be their first choice.

10.  Diversify.
Offer your audience as many different reasons as possible to find your site useful. Offer content, tools,
and services for different levels of expertise, areas of interest, or professional focus.

Conclusion

By providing a more useful site, you encourage your visitors to not only return frequently, but linger. This can greatly increase the chance that they’ll become paying customers. Take the time to carefully assess your site and make changes that enhance its usefulness. Doing so is one of the best investments you can make in your Web site and your business.

1. Do my web pages load quickly?
2. Is it immediately apparent what my company does or sells?
3. Is my menu viewable and easy to navigate?
4. Does my site look attractive when viewed with different browsers?
5. Are colors and graphic elements consistent on all pages?
6. Are my company’s address, phone number, and e-mail address easily accessible?
7. Is my site free of unnecessary gimmicks and graphics?
8. Does my site offer valuable information?
9. Does my site reflect my commitment to quality?
10. Would I want to do business with my company?

If you honestly answered “No” to any of the questions above, please contact Nicki Lynch today for help with maximizing the effectiveness of your site!