Online Advertising Seminar: Authors' Responses Part 1

From: donna stryk <donna.stryk_at_tenagra.com>
Date: Tue 16 Nov 1999 16:25:28 -0600

ADVERTISING ON THE
INTERNET, 2ND EDITION
Online Advertising Seminar
with Robbin Zeff
and Brad Aronson


MONDAY, 11/15/99,
"EFFECTIVE AD MODELS/DESIGNS":
------------------------------

[Bobby Clark, from the Business Know-How Forum, AOL:] I
would appreciate it greatly if the guest speakers would
share their knowledge on advertising in e-zines. How
would one select an e-zine in which to advertise, and
how much would you expect it to cost? How would you
evaluate an e- zine as an advertising medium?
*****
(For our purposes here, I am defining an e-zine as an
email publication.)

I would choose an e-zine that was read by our client's
target audience. For example, when we do campaigns for
the Web Advertising '2000 conference, we will advertise
on e- zines read by Internet advertisers. I suggest
subscribing to and reading an e-zine for several
issues prior to advertising. It's important to make
sure the quality is high.

An e-zine usually costs anywhere from a $20-$40 CPM. We
usually try to get e-zines thrown in as added value
with any ad buys we negotiate.

I would evaluate an e-zine the same way I evaluate a
Web site -- by the audience, reach and effectiveness.



[Janet Attard, from the Business Know-How Forum, AOL:]
What is the average click-through rate on full-size
banners in prime locations on a page?
*****
It depends on the relevance between the advertisement
and the content in which the ad is placed. According to
Nielsen/NetRatings, the average click-through rate for
the week of November 1-7 was .31%, and the average
click- through rate for the week before was .54%.

We've seen that runs of site banners can usually get a
.6%- 1% click-through rate and banners that are more
targeted (like keywords), can get 10% or higher. Of
course, we've seen some great runs of site banners that
get 6% click- through, but those are not the average.



[Anonymous, from the Online Advertising Discussion
List:] I've just signed up for the Online Ads list --
this seminar couldn't have come at a better time for
me. When it comes to advertising, I'm a rank beginner
who's hungry for information and guidance. I'd like to
take a course or read a book that's relevant to my
situation. The ideal title would be "How to sell and
serve ads on your small Web site." Can you recommend
anything close to that?
*****
There are now lots of learning opportunities for the
small and large business alike, both in terms of books,
seminars, and independent learning opportunities.

In terms of books, I recommend that you get a copy of
the second edition of our book "Advertising on the
Internet." There are three chapters which you will find
most relevant to your quest: Chapter 5, "Ad
Management;" Chapter 9, "Buying Online Ads;" and
Chapter 10, "Selling Online Ads."

On the conference/seminar circuit, you have both a
beginning and advanced option. For the beginner, you
can attend the "Advertising & Marketing on the
Internet" conference that will take place in 10 cities
around the country in 2000. This one-day event brings
top quality training at an affordable price ($250) to a
city near you. My company, The Zeff Group, produces the
event and our schedule for the first half of the year
is as follows: February 9 - Atlanta, GA; February 24 -
Cromwell, CT; March 9 - Philadelphia, PA; April 4 -
Washington, DC; April 13 (Thursday) - Miami, FL; May 23
- Boston, MA.

If you're ready for the advanced training, the only
program to consider is "How to Buy and Sell Ads" by
AdWeek and The Laredo Group. Leslie Laredo, one of best
ad sales trainers in the business, teaches this
outstanding program that is offered several times a
year.

And lastly, in terms of independent study, you can
learn a great deal by reading the many email lists on
Internet advertising -- from Online Ads to the Internet
Advertising Discussion List
(www.internetadvertising.org), ClickZ (www.clickz.com)
and Iconocast (www.iconocast.com), to name a few. A
full list of the email lists is provided in Chapter 8,
"Market Research: Information is your Competitive
Advantage," in the 2nd edition of "Advertising on the
Internet." Another good resource is Wilson Internet's
Web Marketing & E-Commerce site, located at
www.wilsonweb.com -- you might try visiting there, as
well.



[Anonymous, from the Online Advertising Discussion
List:] What's the best way to approach potential
advertisers, for a small-scale Web site?
*****
Whether you're working online or off, a big site or a
small site, the key to sales success is building
relationships. If an advertiser believes in you,
they'll consider advertising on your site no matter the
size of your audience. That said, let's look at what
you can do to highlight your offering.

If you have a small-scale site, then you probably don't
have a huge audience delivering millions and millions
of eyeballs. What you can deliver is a very targeted
audience. Use the fact that you can deliver "the right
eyeballs" as your hook.

In deciding which advertisers to approach, analyze your
audience and figure out what type of advertiser would
benefit the most from reaching your audience. Go after
the advertisers who make sense -- not every advertiser
is right for every site. If you have a good fit, your
advertiser will be happy and more likely to continue
advertising on your site.

As someone on the advertiser side, we like to receive
an email with traffic, demographic, and rate
information. We forward that to our media department,
which calls the site if there is a match between the
site and one of our clients. If you want to contact the
company itself (provided it isn't a large company), you
can call and ask for the marketing director.



[Anonymous, from the Online Advertising Discussion
List:] What do I need to give potential advertisers so
they can make a decision?
*****
Online advertising is no longer the unknown, untried,
and untested new kid on the block, but we still need to
invest time in educating our potential advertisers on
the benefits of using the Internet as part of their
marketing campaigning.

Here's a list of the information you need: -
Advertising Opportunities on Your Site: ad formats;
technical specifications; ad space locations; placement
options; type of ads your accept; targeting options
available on your site; as well as special arrangements
you'll consider (such as exclusivity).

 - Measurement options: how your site is measured; how
ads are delivered and measured; and the reporting the
advertiser will receive.

 - Audience profile: a clear understanding of your
audience and presentation of your audience.

All of this material is part of your media kit, which
needs to be readily available on your site.

===============
TO BE CONTINUED



Received on Tue Nov 16 1999 - 16:25:28 CST