You shouldn’t have to sell candy bars to support your news website. Yes, you can make money through sponsorships, advertising and other sales opportunities — if you know what it takes.

1. ONLINE
ADVERTISING
that works!
School Newspapers Online
www.snosites.com

2. PRINT
ADVERTISING
HOW IT WAS IN YESTERYEAR

3. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
YESTERYEAR
•Large, monolithic audience
•Advertiser bought space in paper
•Only way to reach audience
•Message published = message read (assumed)

4. ONLINE
ADVERTISING
HOW IT IS TODAY

5. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
TODAY
•Fragmented audience
•Advertiser can access audience via many ways
•Audience often ignores ad messages
•Tracking methods available

6. The key is bringing
your specific audience
to your specific advertisers.
ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!

7. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
People won’t just
give you money.
Leverage what you have
to generate revenue.

8. ONLINE
ADVERTISING
VOCABULARY

9. VOCABULARY
•Audience: People who visit the site
•Traffic: Size of audience, measured by page views
or sessions
•Impression: Each time an ad is shown (impressed)
to a reader to the site.
ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!

10. VOCABULARY
•CPM: Cost per thousand impressions
•CPC: Cost per click (only pays if a person clicks on
the ad)
•Exclusive: Fixed ad position for period of time
(week, month)
ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!

11. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
Change your paradigm.
Educate advertisers.
Online isn’t print.

12. Adapt your skills
for a digital platform.
Use tools to your advantage.
ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!

13. ONLINE
ADVERTISING
WHAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER

14. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
BUDGET
•How much revenue do you need to generate?
• Pay the site hosting fees
• Training
• Equipment
•How much is coming from other sources?

15. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
TRAFFIC
•What does your audience look like?
• Demographics
• Age
• Location
•How big is the audience?
•How much can you charge?
• More traffic = higher rates

16. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
COMMUNITY
•Who is your competition?
•What will advertisers pay?
• Charge as much as you can.
• Don’t devalue your product.
•Set (and adjust) price accordingly.

17. ONLINE
ADVERTISING
WAYS TO GENERATE REVENUE

18. BANNER ADVERTISING
•Called banners even though they may be in sidebar
•Leaderboard
•Footer
•Embedded in text
ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!

19. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
NATIONAL BANNERS
•Google AdSense
•National campaigns (good luck)
•SNO Ad Network

20. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
LOCAL BANNERS
•Online-only campaigns
• Advertising only on the website
•Print + digital campaigns
• Advertising on both print and the website
• Other print platforms (yearbook, lit mag)

21. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
OTHER TYPES OF ADS
•Pre-roll
•Pop-up
•Interstitial
•Email
•In app

22. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
NON-AD REVENUE
•Photo sales (SmugMug)
•Parent/congrats ads
(baby pics, sports teams, graduation)
•Traditional fundraisers (candy, carwash)
•Patrons/sponsors (T-shirts, signs, listing)
•Promoted social media posts (tweets, posts)

23. ONLINE
ADVERTISING
WHO TO HIT UP

24. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
BUSINESSES
Target businesses with a local connection
• Local businesses
• Franchises with local owners
• Large teen customer base (florists, tux shops)

25. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
ORGANIZATIONS
Groups that want to spread their message
• Nonprofits (advocacy orgs, campaigns)
• Government (city parks/rec, employment)
• Colleges (trade schools, other training)
• Churches
• Youth groups (study abroad)

26. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
PARENTS
Congratulations messages
• Baby ads
• Sports teams success
• Graduation

27. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
NON-PRODUCT SPONSORS
Businesses that want to be affiliated or support
but aren’t after an immediate sale.
• Insurance agencies
• Funeral homes
• Law firms

28. ONLINE
ADVERTISING
HOW TO SELL

29. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
•Research from analytics
•Know your traffic — they’ll ask
•Know weak areas and prepare rebuttal
•Anticipate questions and provide reasonable
answers

30. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
PROVIDE BENEFIT
•Why should they advertise with your site?
•What do you offer that others don’t?
•Think win-win.

31. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
OFFER INCENTIVE
•Combine with print or other sponsorship
•Discount for multiple months
•Introductory rates

32. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
KEEP PUBLISHING
•Publish something new to your site every day
•Promote traffic to your site
•Use social media to remind and resurface

33. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
BE CREATIVE
•Find ways to generate revenue
from non-traditional methods
•It’s not always about running an ad

34. ONLINE
ADVERTISING
KEYS TO REMEMBER

35. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
GO LOCAL. 1Coke and Verizon don’t need
your site to reach their audience.
Your best advertisers are local
businesses.

36. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
KNOW YOUR STATS. 2Advertisers know you have site
analytics, and they’ll ask you for
them. If your traffic is low, why
would they advertise with you?

37. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
SELL SOMETHING. 3Show how the advertiser will
benefit, and make sure there’s a
point to the ad. Don’t just publish
a business card.

38. START SMALL & BUILD. 4Start with a handful of loyal local
advertisers and build on that base
as you increase site traffic. Use
that success to attract others.
ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!

39. ONLINE ADVERTISING
that works!
ADS + SPONSORS
Generate revenue through
traditional advertising and
non-traditional means.
Every $25 helps. 5

40. QUESTIONS?
Logan Aimone, MJE // School Newspapers Online
logan@snosites.com slideshare.net/snosites