Re: Fear of discussion sites

From: Rob Frankel <rob_at_robfrankel.com>
Date: Tue 03 Oct 2000 15:27:04 -0500

AMY BELLINGER <amylooo_at_worldnet.att.net> WROTE:
> Here's the main reason I subscribed to this list. I
> abandoned hope of finding an ad rep firm which would
> take on a discussion site a couple of years ago, and
> have recently decided to try again to find one.

I love this situation, because you obviously have an
active site with a tightly focused group -- and the
media knuckleheads who are supposedly "expert" in this
stuff can't get their arms around it.

I know it sounds like bad news, but it's really great
news for you. Here's why:

With FrankelBiz (a list, not a site), I can't get any
of those services to even look my way. Even when I
tell them that just recently, it pulled six times the
response from other lists with much larger
subscription bases. Also, as I mentioned in another
post, we drew 1,400 responses to an free e-book in the
first 24 hours.

But still, no takers. Why? Because those services sell
numbers, not response. And FrankelBiz hasn't yet hit
the magic mark they need.

Here's why that's great news, though.

I charge $1,000 a week for ads. I stick to my knitting
and tend the interests of my branded community, which
keeps growing. And because I truly believe in turning
users into evangelists, the word goes out. Next thing
you know, advertisers are quietly calling and placing
ads WITHOUT their services.

No split fees. No billing hassles. Lower ad costs for
clients; higher profits for me.

That's the model that you should follow. Reach out to
your community, motivate them to help you grow a good
thing. The more you build your site brand, the
stronger it becomes. The more interactive you are,
the more responsive your branded community is. And
that, in the end, is what advertisers pay for.

Rob Frankel

Consultant and author of "The Revenge of Brand X: How
to build a Big Time Brand on the web or anywhere
else." on sale at http://www.therevengeofbrandx.com
Big Time Branding (SM) http://www.robfrankel.com
AIM: ROBFRANKEL * 818-990-8623 or 1-888-ROBFRANKEL
Subscribe to FrankelBiz for FREE at: http://www.frankelbiz.com





Received on Tue Oct 03 2000 - 15:27:04 CDT