[ Why Cost Per Sale Sucks ] [ Why Cost Per Sale Sucks Part 2 ] [ Commission Junction  2002 ] [ Direct Leads  2002 ] [ Fastclick  2002 ] [ Linkshare  2002 ]

Advertising Brokers, CPC (cost per click) and CPL (Cost per Lead) programs

If you own a website, chances are you've tried to find out how to generate revenue from the traffic you receive. Even if the focus of your website is your own business, there are often advertisers who complement the content that you are already providing. By example, we expect to see coupons at a car rental store: If your site is about cooking utensils, wouldn't it make sense to also offer cook book information? Particularly if offering that extra service could generate cash flow?

The only difference between an information website and a commercial one is the nature of advertiser that will "fit" with your content. To help in this, there are online advertising brokers who assemble large numbers of advertisers who are looking to match their products with your visitors.

We've had experience with several advertising brokers, and we have reviewed the ones we like the best. Commission Junction, Direct Leads and Fastclick. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages, but for sites like ours, there is a strategic advantage to them all.

This last point is really the key to successful ad management. Our network is always, 100% sold out. Granted, because of the flexibility we can usually (though not always) make room for paying customers. But because we have that base revenue, it gives us the confidence to know what the real value of our advertising is - and to charge a fair price for that value.

As any sales person will tell you, there's nothing quite like knowing you can walk away from a deal to improve your success rate.

[ Why Cost Per Sale Sucks ] [ Why Cost Per Sale Sucks Part 2 ] [ Commission Junction  2002 ] [ Direct Leads  2002 ] [ Fastclick  2002 ] [ Linkshare  2002 ]