My youngest son can eat! I mean eat! If you put food in front of him, watch out. Only a few minutes past a meal he wants more. Just like my child you need to be sure that you are feeding the search engines at every corner. Each and every page of your Web site is important to search engines and each page must contain food in the form of key word and key phrase data. Each page of your site is important. All to often people place so much effort on their main page that they forget about the others. With that same point in mind, simply repeating the information from your main page to the remaining pages of your site is no smart either. Each word of text is food for the search engine spiders. (Spiders are automated robots that scan your site and bring back data to the search engine database,) This is why you will often search for a seemingly simple word and get back pages from some very odd Web sites. Just like my mom, they see all and no all!
Here are some things to consider when optimizing your pages for search engine spiders.
1. Focus on 10 key words or less that describe the content of your Web site or 10 key words of phrases that people will search for when trying to find your site.
2. Make sure that these key words or key phrases are in your meta data on your site.
3. Make sure that the top 5 key words or phrases from your list are in the title tag of your web page.
4. Make sure that these 10 words are also in the text of your main page. Also, it is better to have these key words in the top 20 lines of your Web page.
5. Create unique pages within your Web site that contain your key words. For example, if one of your 10 key words is “baby dolls”. Write an article that mentions baby dolls in 7-10% of the text. Place this page within your site and be sure that there is a physical link from the main page to that page on your site.
6. Remember, most search engines spiders can not get to pages that are linked from drop down menu’s in your site navigation. To solve this problem you need a site map or an XML map.
The old thought that if 10 key words are good then 20 must be better does not work! You need to focus and not try to be something to everybody. Pick your 10 and push them hard through out your Web site.
Concerned that you are not doing enough to get your site noticed online? Ask for help from the internet experts at Brain Swell Media. Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Beware Your Assumptions When Designing Your Web Site
Brain Swell Media spends a great deal of time re-designing Web sites. You will note that I said RE-designing, meaning, the business has a Web site and we are fixing it or starting over from scratch. From these ventures have emerged a constant theme that might surprise you; assumptions driven by internal arrogance.
I hear on a weekly basis how a publisher has great content online but no Web traffic. Most editorial teams and publishers assume they know what the readers want online and design their sites based on these assumptions. As an outsider I often sit across the table and see the sharp stares like daggers from editors when I question their assumptions about their readers. When designing a Web site, this arrogance will often yield less than desirable results. Rupert Murdoch recently spoke about this very point when he said, “There is an arrogance that comes from pre-Web years of being the god of the written word. The condescension that many show their readers is an even bigger problem. It takes no special genius to point out that if you are contemptuous of your customers, you are going to have a hard time getting them to buy your product.*”
I often advise clients that when you assume you loose! When you let your assumptions drive your site design you often get a reincarnation of the magazine online with extra content. While this seems a solid approach, it is the reason that Brain Swell Media is acquiring clients at such a fast rate. Magazines are not using the power of the internet and they are not seeing success online because readers are finding other sources that offer what they “really” want online.
Categorically users want more from the Web than what can be found in the magazine. This takes planning, resources and commitment to the cause. A very important part of the planning process is to take the time to ask readers or users what they want from your Web site. There is no one better to ask this question to the reader than the editorial team. I always advise that a reader advisory board be formed and maintained. So, where to begin?
• Run an ad in your magazine or ask for volunteers via the editorial column.
• Assemble a list of 20 readers that are willing to serve as your online advisory board.
• Reward them with a t-shirt or a free subscription.
• Create a simple e-mail and begin by asking this one question to the group. If we could offer one thing on our Web site what would you like to see?
• Use this information to begin to form your offerings online.
• Use an online forum to ask questions of your readers and let them debate amongst themselves a bit too.
Do not assume that you know what your readers want online. Ask. Do not let your editorial team determine what is needed online without asking the readers. When you offer what someone “really” wants, you will soon see quick rewards online.
This is just one step in an exhaustive list of items that must be accomplished to have a successful Web site. Again, assume and you will loose online.
Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
*Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=95397
I hear on a weekly basis how a publisher has great content online but no Web traffic. Most editorial teams and publishers assume they know what the readers want online and design their sites based on these assumptions. As an outsider I often sit across the table and see the sharp stares like daggers from editors when I question their assumptions about their readers. When designing a Web site, this arrogance will often yield less than desirable results. Rupert Murdoch recently spoke about this very point when he said, “There is an arrogance that comes from pre-Web years of being the god of the written word. The condescension that many show their readers is an even bigger problem. It takes no special genius to point out that if you are contemptuous of your customers, you are going to have a hard time getting them to buy your product.*”
I often advise clients that when you assume you loose! When you let your assumptions drive your site design you often get a reincarnation of the magazine online with extra content. While this seems a solid approach, it is the reason that Brain Swell Media is acquiring clients at such a fast rate. Magazines are not using the power of the internet and they are not seeing success online because readers are finding other sources that offer what they “really” want online.
Categorically users want more from the Web than what can be found in the magazine. This takes planning, resources and commitment to the cause. A very important part of the planning process is to take the time to ask readers or users what they want from your Web site. There is no one better to ask this question to the reader than the editorial team. I always advise that a reader advisory board be formed and maintained. So, where to begin?
• Run an ad in your magazine or ask for volunteers via the editorial column.
• Assemble a list of 20 readers that are willing to serve as your online advisory board.
• Reward them with a t-shirt or a free subscription.
• Create a simple e-mail and begin by asking this one question to the group. If we could offer one thing on our Web site what would you like to see?
• Use this information to begin to form your offerings online.
• Use an online forum to ask questions of your readers and let them debate amongst themselves a bit too.
Do not assume that you know what your readers want online. Ask. Do not let your editorial team determine what is needed online without asking the readers. When you offer what someone “really” wants, you will soon see quick rewards online.
This is just one step in an exhaustive list of items that must be accomplished to have a successful Web site. Again, assume and you will loose online.
Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
*Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=95397
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Presenting Your Web Stats to Dummies
Lets face it, all to often the advertisers we sell to know only one thing, the business they run. So, expecting them to understand your Web statistics and how they apply to their business is like asking a fifth grader to grasp the importance of personal hygiene. First, they don’t really care and second they really don’t see why it is important to them personally. (The rest of us sure know.) For these two reasons alone you need to carefully consider your strategy when building your online media kit.
I often hear business owners and publishers say, I don’t have enough Web traffic to sell anything. This could not be further from the truth. Give me one page impression and I’ll sell it! It’s all in the presentation. How do you think some guy got rich off the Ronco Onion Chopper. Was it because it was the best onion chopper in the world? Nope, it was all in the presentation.
Web statistics are boring to most, unless you’re a geek like me, then these numbers get you excited. Why, because I know what they mean and how they can be used to make money. But, all to often, that excitement can get lost in gorgeous graphs and lists of numbers. Unique visitors versus total pages viewed and on and on and on. Unless your advertiser pool is mostly agencies, then you need an approach that is kindergarten in nature. Meaning, simple beyond simple.
There are truly only three things I want to know from a Web site manager. How many unique visitors are coming to your site each month? How many total pages are viewed in any given month? How many ads are on each page? This is not all the data I need, but it is the important meat to present in your buffet of offerings to the public.
The presentation of this data needs to be done in such a way that the end user will understand it without analysis. For example… You are the publisher of Auto Mechanics Monthly. Your Web stats are the following; 20,000 pages viewed, 1,000 unique visitors and you have 3 ads on each page. Excellent, a very good start. Now, how can we present this in such a way that it makes our numbers seem big and our traffic seem vibrant. First, consider your advertiser audience. Let’s assume they are mostly tool manufacturers. Rather than present these numbers in a graph, I would use a more visual approach. Each month more people come to AutoMechanicsMonthly.com than you could fit in 10 Greyhound buses! These users are captive on the site and look at over 60,000 ads. Just imagine if you were the driver of that bus? Then, show the buses lined up for visual effect. Another example. Each month more people come to AutoMechanicsMonthly.com than you could fit in 500 full size SUV’s! These users come to the site for a reason, to read our rich content and while there they look at over 60,000 ads online. Are you running an ad with us? Then, show them 500 SUV’s in a huge parking lot to further enhance your point.
These examples show you how you can present your data in ways that the end user, your advertiser, will understand. It is a fact that 9 out of 10 people need visual stimulation to fully grasp your point. A four star chef once told me that presentation is half the score in winning a guests affection for your food.
Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn ( http://www.ryandohrn.com ) is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com or FreeAdvice@brainswellmedia.com
I often hear business owners and publishers say, I don’t have enough Web traffic to sell anything. This could not be further from the truth. Give me one page impression and I’ll sell it! It’s all in the presentation. How do you think some guy got rich off the Ronco Onion Chopper. Was it because it was the best onion chopper in the world? Nope, it was all in the presentation.
Web statistics are boring to most, unless you’re a geek like me, then these numbers get you excited. Why, because I know what they mean and how they can be used to make money. But, all to often, that excitement can get lost in gorgeous graphs and lists of numbers. Unique visitors versus total pages viewed and on and on and on. Unless your advertiser pool is mostly agencies, then you need an approach that is kindergarten in nature. Meaning, simple beyond simple.
There are truly only three things I want to know from a Web site manager. How many unique visitors are coming to your site each month? How many total pages are viewed in any given month? How many ads are on each page? This is not all the data I need, but it is the important meat to present in your buffet of offerings to the public.
The presentation of this data needs to be done in such a way that the end user will understand it without analysis. For example… You are the publisher of Auto Mechanics Monthly. Your Web stats are the following; 20,000 pages viewed, 1,000 unique visitors and you have 3 ads on each page. Excellent, a very good start. Now, how can we present this in such a way that it makes our numbers seem big and our traffic seem vibrant. First, consider your advertiser audience. Let’s assume they are mostly tool manufacturers. Rather than present these numbers in a graph, I would use a more visual approach. Each month more people come to AutoMechanicsMonthly.com than you could fit in 10 Greyhound buses! These users are captive on the site and look at over 60,000 ads. Just imagine if you were the driver of that bus? Then, show the buses lined up for visual effect. Another example. Each month more people come to AutoMechanicsMonthly.com than you could fit in 500 full size SUV’s! These users come to the site for a reason, to read our rich content and while there they look at over 60,000 ads online. Are you running an ad with us? Then, show them 500 SUV’s in a huge parking lot to further enhance your point.
These examples show you how you can present your data in ways that the end user, your advertiser, will understand. It is a fact that 9 out of 10 people need visual stimulation to fully grasp your point. A four star chef once told me that presentation is half the score in winning a guests affection for your food.
Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn ( http://www.ryandohrn.com ) is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com or FreeAdvice@brainswellmedia.com
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The Importance of A Mobile Strategy?
According to In-Stat, blogging, photo and video sharing, location-based socialization services, games and messaging will all converge to deliver a complete social networking experience on the handset, but the pieces of the puzzle are still fitting into place.*
Wikipedia's latest global mobile phone stats as of December, 2007 is 3.3 BILLION SUBSCRIBERS. This huge growth in human communication channels is historically unprecedented. It is this reason alone that business owners need to pay attention to the mobile society growing around them. Only 34% of business owners have taken the first step toward this mobile emergence by registering the .mobi version of their companies domain name. It may be too late to get the .mobi domain name extension registered for your business entity. I advise clients to look into this issue immediately because mobile extensions are a very important part of your future business success.
The U.S. market for ad-funded mobile entertainment will grow to $336.35 million by 2013, expanding the total mobile media market by 4.6 percent, according to a new forecast released by the Mobile Entertainment Forum global trade association. The MEF says brand-subsidized content will yield the majority of revenues at $262.7 million, with the remainder generated by premium content up selling. Mobile video and TV are expected to account for 41.4 percent of ad-funded revenues within five years, followed by music at 34.5 percent and gaming at 24.1 percent.**
One important part of the previous statistic is that publishers are content creators. This means that mobile content operators will be looking for and paying for content. In addition, publishers that are content creators are in a great position to be the host of excellent content within the mobi ecosystem. Publishers that plan in advance can be the place where mobi users come for information. Most internet users find their information and related Web sites by searching. The world of mobi, most users simply type in the .com address of a web site they know serves that information online. So, making mobi a part of your plan now is very important.
So what can you do now to take advantage of this mobile revolution with no budget, no staff and no clue? It has been proven over and over again that mobi users are looking for fast information like movie listings, business listings and phone numbers. Thus, I would suggest that your business look into an online business directory that serves your niche. Then, point or build your .mobi address to harness the power of this online directory. Business directories are easy to build and sell to advertisers. In this tight economy smaller ad buys like online directories are very appealing to budget worried advertisers.
When it comes to creating content for mobile devices, mobile writing guru Lynn Walford*** offers The Ten Commandments (RULES) of Mobile Content Writing:
1. Content shall be designed for mobile users first and foremost.
2. Thou shall be creative and find new solutions.
3. Thou shalt not worship fancy media and high bandwidth.
4. Thou shalt not make wrongful use of copyrights.
5. Remember your users and make their lives better
6. Honor thy carriers, handsets, and screen size.
7. Thou shalt not steal ideas from other media unless it works.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness to viral marketing.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s screen size.
10. Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s iPhone.
A really neat mobile content creation site is Mobilemo.com. Mobilemo lets you instantly create and manage your own mobile site without the need for programming skills. Its full-featured control panel enables you to create interactive pages, add friends, make comments, and publish reviews with ease.
The essence of this blog entry is to encourage business owners to start paying attention to the mobi world and the mobi ecosystem. All to often business owners and magazine publishers play catch up when it comes to technology. My challenge and my mission is to keep you ahead of the technology curve. Keep reading and keep up.
Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn ( http://www.ryandohrn.com ) is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com or FreeAdvice@brainswellmedia.com
SOURCES:
*http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/special-reports/five-mobile-social-networking-services-you-should-get-know
** http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/mef-ad-funded-entertainment-to-336m-by-2013/2008-05-29
***http://www.mobilecontentwriters.com/Mobile%20Content%20Articles%20from%20Mobile%20Content%20Writer.htm
Wikipedia's latest global mobile phone stats as of December, 2007 is 3.3 BILLION SUBSCRIBERS. This huge growth in human communication channels is historically unprecedented. It is this reason alone that business owners need to pay attention to the mobile society growing around them. Only 34% of business owners have taken the first step toward this mobile emergence by registering the .mobi version of their companies domain name. It may be too late to get the .mobi domain name extension registered for your business entity. I advise clients to look into this issue immediately because mobile extensions are a very important part of your future business success.
The U.S. market for ad-funded mobile entertainment will grow to $336.35 million by 2013, expanding the total mobile media market by 4.6 percent, according to a new forecast released by the Mobile Entertainment Forum global trade association. The MEF says brand-subsidized content will yield the majority of revenues at $262.7 million, with the remainder generated by premium content up selling. Mobile video and TV are expected to account for 41.4 percent of ad-funded revenues within five years, followed by music at 34.5 percent and gaming at 24.1 percent.**
One important part of the previous statistic is that publishers are content creators. This means that mobile content operators will be looking for and paying for content. In addition, publishers that are content creators are in a great position to be the host of excellent content within the mobi ecosystem. Publishers that plan in advance can be the place where mobi users come for information. Most internet users find their information and related Web sites by searching. The world of mobi, most users simply type in the .com address of a web site they know serves that information online. So, making mobi a part of your plan now is very important.
So what can you do now to take advantage of this mobile revolution with no budget, no staff and no clue? It has been proven over and over again that mobi users are looking for fast information like movie listings, business listings and phone numbers. Thus, I would suggest that your business look into an online business directory that serves your niche. Then, point or build your .mobi address to harness the power of this online directory. Business directories are easy to build and sell to advertisers. In this tight economy smaller ad buys like online directories are very appealing to budget worried advertisers.
When it comes to creating content for mobile devices, mobile writing guru Lynn Walford*** offers The Ten Commandments (RULES) of Mobile Content Writing:
1. Content shall be designed for mobile users first and foremost.
2. Thou shall be creative and find new solutions.
3. Thou shalt not worship fancy media and high bandwidth.
4. Thou shalt not make wrongful use of copyrights.
5. Remember your users and make their lives better
6. Honor thy carriers, handsets, and screen size.
7. Thou shalt not steal ideas from other media unless it works.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness to viral marketing.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s screen size.
10. Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s iPhone.
A really neat mobile content creation site is Mobilemo.com. Mobilemo lets you instantly create and manage your own mobile site without the need for programming skills. Its full-featured control panel enables you to create interactive pages, add friends, make comments, and publish reviews with ease.
The essence of this blog entry is to encourage business owners to start paying attention to the mobi world and the mobi ecosystem. All to often business owners and magazine publishers play catch up when it comes to technology. My challenge and my mission is to keep you ahead of the technology curve. Keep reading and keep up.
Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn ( http://www.ryandohrn.com ) is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com or FreeAdvice@brainswellmedia.com
SOURCES:
*http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/special-reports/five-mobile-social-networking-services-you-should-get-know
** http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/mef-ad-funded-entertainment-to-336m-by-2013/2008-05-29
***http://www.mobilecontentwriters.com/Mobile%20Content%20Articles%20from%20Mobile%20Content%20Writer.htm
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Online Revenue Potential
To expand your presence online will require time, money and proof that revenue will be forthcoming. After all, why would you spend time and money to expand your web presence if there is no revenue to come from the venture. So, how do you predict the revenue to come online? It is more than a mathematical equation. There are three critical components to the calculation; circulation, potential advertiser pool and internal sales staff commitment.
Circulation is not only a measurement of your magazines reach, but a great way to gauge potential Web users to your existing or new Web site. A Web site without a magazine is just a Web site. A magazine without a Web site is just a magazine. Together, you have a very powerful force that is hard to stop. Industry experts agree that the best way to promote your Web site is through your magazine. The ability to push users from the fiber environment to the cyber world is mission critical and it is not hard to accomplish. Whether you choose to run contests or you choose to enhance your fiber articles with digital side bars, you must make a commitment to grow your cyber/fiber relationship. Your reader base as calculated through your circulation gives you a very accurate view of potential Web users that may come to your web site. In most cases, 45% of your Web users will be subscribers. This means that if your circulation is 10,000 you can comfortable count on being able to bring over 5,000 users to your Web site. Since our experience tells us that most users will view 4.7 web pages per visit, this means you can comfortably count on 23,500 potential page views per month. This is an important figure to your revenue planning. In addition, if you are not getting this traffic and currently have a Web site you may be doing something wrong.
Identifying your potential advertiser pool is also critical to your online revenue exercise. You can identify those that may run on your Web site by looking at advertisers that are running on the Web sites of your competitors. Another great way to find out if advertisers will embrace your online plan is to simply ask them. Tell each of your sales reps to ask their top 10 clients how much they plan to spend online in the next ad season and then follow that question up by asking how much they will spend with you online if your Web site is up to par with the competition. A big mistake I see often is that a magazine publisher assumes that there is a potential advertiser pool when there is not one. Another great strategy is to share your online business plan with your advertisers. Get them excited about what you are doing online and what you will be doing online to benefit them. All successful strategic Web site plans have the advertisers in the plan from the first word that is written.
People are most passionate about projects when they are asked to participate in the plan. This is a management technique that I have been preaching for many years. It very much applies to the online revenue exercise because when sales people are told what they have to sell rather than being asked to develop the sales opportunity they are less effective due to their nature of rebellion against being told what to do. Type A sales people are very easy to predict. Their attitudes, natural tendencies and performance are easy to manage if you recognize the obvious. If your sales team does not embrace your Web site plan, why would you expect them to be effective in selling the Web site? You can not sit back and say that they have too sell because it is their job. Sure, they will sell because they are good soldiers, but they will never soar because they do not believe in the plan. Many times management will create the wrong selling situation and then become frustrated when sales goals are not met. Most often these situations can be avoided by putting a representative on the strategic planning team for the new Web site. While I am not advocating a democracy, I am advocating that you get your sales team involved in the project from day one. They are in the field each day and only they know what advertisers are asking about. If your sales team is not 90% on board, you can have the best Web site in the industry, but your revenue potential will suffer.
Now that you have these three pieces of data, you can begin to develop your revenue potential. Based on the circulation example above you will have 5,000 potential web users per month. They will then look on average at 4.7 pages per visit. That means you should or will have the potential to serve nearly 25,000 page views each month. Take the number of ads you have on each page times your potential page views to determine how much ad inventory you have to sell. If 25% of your 70 advertisers are ready to get online that is 17 potential advertisers. You have determined that 50% of your sales staff is excited about selling the Web. That means you have 8 potential sales. In most cases it has been my experience that you can charge 25% of your full page rate as a price base online.
The math and philosophy to make this scenario complete is a bit more complex and requires some further questions and answers. However, if you have no idea where to start this overview should give you a place to begin your journey toward online revenue potential.
Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn ( http://www.ryandohrn.com ) is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com or FreeAdvice@brainswellmedia.com
Circulation is not only a measurement of your magazines reach, but a great way to gauge potential Web users to your existing or new Web site. A Web site without a magazine is just a Web site. A magazine without a Web site is just a magazine. Together, you have a very powerful force that is hard to stop. Industry experts agree that the best way to promote your Web site is through your magazine. The ability to push users from the fiber environment to the cyber world is mission critical and it is not hard to accomplish. Whether you choose to run contests or you choose to enhance your fiber articles with digital side bars, you must make a commitment to grow your cyber/fiber relationship. Your reader base as calculated through your circulation gives you a very accurate view of potential Web users that may come to your web site. In most cases, 45% of your Web users will be subscribers. This means that if your circulation is 10,000 you can comfortable count on being able to bring over 5,000 users to your Web site. Since our experience tells us that most users will view 4.7 web pages per visit, this means you can comfortably count on 23,500 potential page views per month. This is an important figure to your revenue planning. In addition, if you are not getting this traffic and currently have a Web site you may be doing something wrong.
Identifying your potential advertiser pool is also critical to your online revenue exercise. You can identify those that may run on your Web site by looking at advertisers that are running on the Web sites of your competitors. Another great way to find out if advertisers will embrace your online plan is to simply ask them. Tell each of your sales reps to ask their top 10 clients how much they plan to spend online in the next ad season and then follow that question up by asking how much they will spend with you online if your Web site is up to par with the competition. A big mistake I see often is that a magazine publisher assumes that there is a potential advertiser pool when there is not one. Another great strategy is to share your online business plan with your advertisers. Get them excited about what you are doing online and what you will be doing online to benefit them. All successful strategic Web site plans have the advertisers in the plan from the first word that is written.
People are most passionate about projects when they are asked to participate in the plan. This is a management technique that I have been preaching for many years. It very much applies to the online revenue exercise because when sales people are told what they have to sell rather than being asked to develop the sales opportunity they are less effective due to their nature of rebellion against being told what to do. Type A sales people are very easy to predict. Their attitudes, natural tendencies and performance are easy to manage if you recognize the obvious. If your sales team does not embrace your Web site plan, why would you expect them to be effective in selling the Web site? You can not sit back and say that they have too sell because it is their job. Sure, they will sell because they are good soldiers, but they will never soar because they do not believe in the plan. Many times management will create the wrong selling situation and then become frustrated when sales goals are not met. Most often these situations can be avoided by putting a representative on the strategic planning team for the new Web site. While I am not advocating a democracy, I am advocating that you get your sales team involved in the project from day one. They are in the field each day and only they know what advertisers are asking about. If your sales team is not 90% on board, you can have the best Web site in the industry, but your revenue potential will suffer.
Now that you have these three pieces of data, you can begin to develop your revenue potential. Based on the circulation example above you will have 5,000 potential web users per month. They will then look on average at 4.7 pages per visit. That means you should or will have the potential to serve nearly 25,000 page views each month. Take the number of ads you have on each page times your potential page views to determine how much ad inventory you have to sell. If 25% of your 70 advertisers are ready to get online that is 17 potential advertisers. You have determined that 50% of your sales staff is excited about selling the Web. That means you have 8 potential sales. In most cases it has been my experience that you can charge 25% of your full page rate as a price base online.
The math and philosophy to make this scenario complete is a bit more complex and requires some further questions and answers. However, if you have no idea where to start this overview should give you a place to begin your journey toward online revenue potential.
Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn ( http://www.ryandohrn.com ) is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com or FreeAdvice@brainswellmedia.com
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