Topic: Sponsorship Information (Read 834 times)

Jen · « **on:** June 22, 2009, 05:39:24 pm »

Well folks, it's official: I've been promoted from "Josh's wife" to "Ad Manager" for 20PM! Woohoo!

When Josh started this forum back in 2006, neither of us dreamed it would grow this big. We certainly weren't trying to start a new business (since we already had two) - just trying to get and give some info about Forney to new folks like us. Over the last year you've watched a lot of really cool changes here at 20PM, including our 1,000th active forum member and the recent announcement of the partnership between the Forney Messenger and 20PM. From a personal blog to Forney's #1 source for online news and discussion...It's been a big journey with lots of work, but even more fun.

As a lot of you know, as 20PM grew, it also began to take up a lot more resources. Josh has worked really hard to keep all of that under control by implementing some sponsorship opportunities to help keep the site running smoothly. And that's exactly what we plan to continue: partnerships with area businesses that are beneficial to 20PM, its loyal members, and the Forney economy. This is, after all, a community website. And in a tough economy, communities like Forney that pull together will come out on top.

I know that there are other websites out there that go a little overboard with advertising, and I can assure you that 20PM will not be one of them. That's not beneficial to anyone, including the advertiser who's paying for space competing with 20+ other ads.

I also hope that we have set a reputation as being honest and fair - not just in our news reporting and freedom-to-speak-your-mind forum policies, but in the 'business' side of 20PM as well. We offer accurate, verified, independent third-party metrics so that you can see how 20PM stacks up. And as the newly appointed 'Ad Manager' I'm here to help you make the most of your advertising budget, big or small.

I am also a fan of transparency: I'm posting a PDF including a quick overview of our basic sponsorship packages for everyone to see: advertisers, members, future competitors, whoever is interested. As the site grows, I do expect the rates to change, since the advertiser will be reaching more folks.

As a local business owner, I know for a fact that these rates are a great deal. I also encourage you to talk with any of our current advertisers about their experience - both with us and the 'competition'. You'll see pretty quickly that there really is no competition.

Josh has determined a very limited number of spaces that will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. We are not in the business of advertising: We run a community website...And you will not find us straying from that commitment.

Of course I welcome any feedback and cannot thank you all enough for all the "real" (be it good or bad) feedback that you have given us along the way. We are all in this together and I am always here to help in any way that I can.

yesitsme · « **Reply #1 on:** June 22, 2009, 11:05:24 pm »

Seems really fair, and a good deal... but what's an "impression" in this sense Jen?

Jen · « **Reply #2 on:** June 23, 2009, 01:01:19 pm »

Thanks for asking that question. Since I'm in e-commerce I sometimes forget that I'm talking "internet marketing lingo" rather than plain english.

An impression is each time that your ad appears. You've probably noticed that we don't do static ads (like some other websites you may be familiar with...), but rather rotate through various ads in the same box, so that each time you look at the page, you will see a different ad. There's several reasons for that: For one, we have a very advanced system that automatically calculates which ads are getting clicked on the most on that particular page or that particular area. It then shows the best performing ads more. So if for whatever reason the Mr Jims ad gets more clicks in the Sports discussion forum, we want to make sure that they get more impressions in the Sports discussion area (and in theory more clicks). This system is in place to help you make the most of your ad budget. Also, its a proven marketing theory that seeing the same thing over and over again eventually loses impact. Marketers want you to see that coffee billboard each time you drive to work, but they also change it periodically because at some point, seeing the same billboard just doesn't affect you any longer, and you don't buy their coffee as much. And lastly, we don't want ads competing with other ads on our website side-by-side. Not only does it hurt the advertiser, but its just creates clutter that makes the site less enjoyable.

Depending on the traffic to that page in a given month, you may get more than the minimum impressions. We guarantee that you'll receive a minimum number of impressions, based on a worst-case scenario. We use real stats from several different time periods, and would be happy to provide any stats you are interested in seeing.

Long before 20PM I was marketing my company online via Google, Yahoo, etc. So I've been on the other side of the fence as a company trying to market a product, and along the way I've learned what works best. I've also read lots of really boring marketing books so that you don't have to!

If you have any more questions don't be shy to ask, I'm sure many other people have the same question. I'm not very good at explaining things in writing either though so if you prefer to call or stop by to chat I may be able to help better that way.

yesitsme · « **Reply #3 on:** June 23, 2009, 01:26:09 pm »

Thanks!
"Impression" was on the ad flyer.
You explained it really well... I totally understand!
(Plus I learned even more valuable info................ thanks for reading those marketing books for me..

)

d'smom · « **Reply #4 on:** July 01, 2009, 04:09:36 pm »

Still have spots available?

Jen · « **Reply #5 on:** July 01, 2009, 05:02:35 pm »

Send me a PM with what you are interested in and I'll let you know what spots are available right now. Thanks!

Josh · « **Reply #6 on:** July 24, 2009, 12:25:28 pm »

I've gotten some questions about what our ad rates are, and I remembered that you have to be logged in to the site to view attachments. If you don't see the link at the bottom of Jen's post at the beginning of this thread that says "20PMadflyer.pdf", you're not logged into the site. If you haven't signed up for an account on the site, feel free to email Jen at jenna@twentypeacefulminutes.com and she can email you the PDF with the ad rates. Right now, the ad packages start at $50/month - we have packages for just about any budget!

Cinnamon · « **Reply #7 on:** September 23, 2009, 08:44:49 am »

Hey you two- sorry. Been a busy week trying to get everything completed before I take off for Vegas tomorrow. I will swing by next Tuesday when I get back if that's okay! Don't worry. I will not gamble all my ad money away

Twenty Peaceful Minutes

Author Topic: Sponsorship Information (Read 834 times)

Jen

Sponsorship Information

yesitsme

Re: Sponsorship Information

Jen

Re: Sponsorship Information

yesitsme

Re: Sponsorship Information

d'smom

Re: Sponsorship Information

Jen

Re: Sponsorship Information

Josh

Re: Sponsorship Information

Cinnamon

Re: Sponsorship Information