Everywhere you turn another new publication shows up online. The barrier to entry for anyone to publish anything is just about nonexistent. Lots of folks succumb to the lure of making money with high search engine rankings, and AdSense, AdWords and other ad networks. Although this approach doesn’t make a new publication an overnight hit, it does amp up the noise and confusion on the wild wild web.
So why is a bona fidé publisher like you bleeding advertising revenue? Why is it that big brands are spending less with you than ever before?
You bit the digital bullet and went online with a cool interactive format. You added the latest and greatest advertising technology (e.g. video, programmatic, etc.) and email blast offerings, not to mention exclusive sponsorships, round-tables, and even contests. Yet despite all that, ad revenue is still dropping. At the same time, you realize that the coffers of publishers with a unified responsive database are growing.
What Do They Know That You Don’t?
1) Eyeballs and clicks aren’t enough. Advertisers demand qualified leads.
While there is value in creating brand awareness, it’s no longer enough value to justify spending big bucks with you. Especially when a competitor can offer targeted lead generation programs – one that delivers leads ready and willing to engage with the advertiser.
2) Advertisers insist on behavior-based information. Unlike readers’ survey data, it doesn’t lie.
We all know how reader surveys work. Even paid subscribers will fudge the truth. Think about this: 81% of people lie about their height, weight, or age. Then there are the inevitable changes of address, jobs, titles, etc. Since survey data is rarely validated or verified, it has a high propensity for being inaccurate. The degree of inaccuracy varies — but that still doesn’t help you or your advertiser.
Online behavioral data is the most accurate because the right system can capture digital activity in real time. Web pages seen, videos watched, downloads, shares, likes, etc. And that data can be sliced, diced, correlated, and analyzed. Behavioral data is far more reliable, and therefore, more predictable and valuable.
