Monetising your startup from the word go with advertising & affiliates

Money! Monetising your startup from the word go with advertising and affiliates

Name 2.0

The weblebrity formerly known as digijoe @

Monetising is an oft-abused word
Over-used/hyped
Often spelt wrong
Embarrassing to use in front of your friends
But it ’ s a clear definition: “how can we take this thing we already have (traffic, users) and convert it into money?”
A nd its back in fashion …

Monetisation can’t work without acquisition
Get traffic (as cheaply as possible)
Convert your traffic
Get a good price for your traffic
This means don’t forget
M arketing (SEO, Email, Social media marketing)
PR/Buzz
Zero cost acquisition makes your job easier
Acquisition Monetisation

How we startups currently monetise
Subscription
Fixed (magazine/newspaper)
Variable (e.g. Freemium)
Third-party supported
Advertising
Sponsorships
Affiliate
Paid Content (advertorial style)
Paid Placement (premium listings)
License Content
Source: Dan Zambonini http://www.boxuk.com/blog/monetizing-your-web-app-business-models
Payments
Pay per use
Purchases (physical/virtual)
Donations
Long-term revenue
Sell customer data
Exit
Hybrid of the above

Popularity based on top 100 web apps
Third-party supported model is prevalent (48%)
Advertising is heavily relied upon (34%)
Source: Not Techcrunch

But what is the trend in advertising? Source: IAB/PricewaterhouseCoopers

5 Practical Steps to Early Stage Monetisation Glory

1. Don’t rely on advertising!
Display advertising CPM rates lowest for years
Network deals expect £0.50 CPM
1m impressions needed to pay for your £500/month serviced office desk
CPC advertising often poorly targeted, low EPCs
Leaves money on the table

2. If you are going to do advertising
Go direct – monthly tenancy with targeted sponsors
Look for sponsorship opportunities e.g. themed home page, sponsored sections, email
Choose sponsors you are genuinely passionate about
Create interactive promotions whereby the audience participates – contest, discounts (think what’s in it for the advertiser)

3. Affiliate is your friend
Low barriers to entry, quick to get going, works with lower traffic volumes
Level playing field, get the same deals as larger sites
13% growth this year vs 9% overall online advertising
Text-links convert the best (top ranked linking method by affiliates) and get rid of eyesore ad units
Allows more creativity, and tighter, integrated approach
Use tools such as voucher codes, product feeds, APIs
Source:Jupiter Research and eMarketer and eConsultancy

Affiliate Example – Merchant text links

Affiliate Example – Mashery Mashups

4. Social Media / UGC can convert well
User opinions/recommendations drive the buying decision
So powerful that FTC is putting holds on word of mouth marketing (WOMM)
Affiliate links to retailers from forums/blogs can have up to 10% conversion rate
Twitter/IM even higher
Be considerate of the users
Beware of user backlash
E thical usage / disclosure
“ A consumer survey ranked consumer content as the #1 aid to a buying decision, cited by 91% of respondents.” (JC Williams Group, 2006)

Further Reading
Copyblogger Blog Monetisation Post http://www.copyblogger.com/blog-money/
Affiliate Tip Blog (Affiliate) http://blog.affiliatetip.com
SEOBook (Internet marketing) http://www.seobook.com
Online Marketing Blog (Social media) http://www.toprankblog.com
Follow on Twitter @mattb811, @matthewwood, @affiliatetip, @mediatrustpete, @copyblogger, @tedmurphy

http://uk.techcrunch.com	114
http://www.steveparks.co.uk	89
http://steveparks.co.uk	73
http://blog.skimlinks.com	67
http://eu.techcrunch.com	38
http://techcrunch.com	10
http://flyingstartups.com	5
http://old.steveparks.co.uk	3
http://www.slideshare.net	2
http://pilotinternet.com	1
http://schmooze.phreadz.com	1
http://www.netvibes.com	1
http://my.phreadz.com	1
http://www.flyingstartups.com	1
http://209.85.229.132	1
http://tech.phreadz.com	1

Monetising your startup from the word go with advertising & affiliates

by Digi Joe on Apr 21, 2009

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Monetising your startup from the word go with advertising & affiliates — Presentation Transcript