Part 1 of 3: Importance of targeting smaller advertisers
A majority of online publishers primarily focus their ad sales efforts on agencies and large brand advertisers via their direct sales force. The cost of operation for this sales channel often requires them to set a minimum ad buy per campaign. In conversations I’ve had with multiple online publishers in North America we have heard that the cost of running an online campaign ranges from $2,500 to $4,000 per campaign. This includes the sales, operations and finance costs. As such you will find that minimum ad buys are set between $2,500 and $10,000 per buy.
With that said, advertisers seeking to purchase smaller ad orders are unable to work directly with online publishers because of these minimums. In most cases, smaller advertisers will spend their advertising budget on solutions like Google AdSense. The limited amount of options for smaller advertisers has a direct effect on online publishers – either they will only generate a small amount of revenue from ad networks or it will all go to companies like Google.
Although their ad orders are of a smaller dollar value, the number of potential advertisers in this segment of the market far exceeds those of large brands – according to Borrel, SMBs make up for 95 percent of all local advertising online. Therefore, it is illogical for publishers to not seek a more effective solution to serve the smaller advertiser market. The potential to generate a higher eCPM than you would from an ad network or exchange is there; it just needs to be considered.
In my 15 years of experience in the digital media world, I have explored this topic in depth and feel there is one option that is simple enough for advertisers (without experience) to work with and provides publishers with a decent return – self-serve advertising platforms. With a self-serve solution, publishers can automate the sales, operations and finance components of running a campaign thereby making the process of servicing smaller advertisers less costly and more profitable. There is no human involvement from the perspective of an online publisher, which can be the most costly component.
Obviously a solution like this will not work if it is not properly promoted, but if done well, can make a big impact on publisher’s ad revenues. But don’t take my word for it; try it out for yourself! Most solutions work on a revenue sharing model so it’s free to get started.
Anyone out there try a self-serve solution yet? If so, I’d love to hear about your experience. Feel free to comment and let’s get the conversation started!
This is the first in a series of posts from Zunaid Khan, VP of Business Development and Sales at Shiny Ads. A majority of online publishers primarily focus their ad sales efforts on agencies and large brand advertisers via their direct sales force. The cost of operation for this sales channel often requires them to set a minimum ad buy per campaign. In conversations I’ve had with multiple online publishers in North America we have heard that the cost of running an online campaign ranges from $2,500 to $4,000 per campaign. This includes the sales, operations and finance costs. As such you will find that minimum ad buys are set between $2,500 and $10,000 per buy.