Much has been written by many Mac webmasters on the state of
advertising and the Mac Web, particularly the free content Mac Web we
all grew up with in the 90s. I'm sure that if you're reading this,
you're well aware of the problem, so I won't go into all the details
here.
I'm writing this because of some erroneous assumptions made on the
part of vendors buying advertising - and to drop another few ideas into
the hat to see if any of them are worth spending the time to try.
Four Ideas
First of all, I have four independent thoughts regarding
advertising.
Where's Apple?
What the heck are we doing trying our best to support a company that
doesn't support us back? Where are the Apple ads? The people who
write and read these sites are on the front lines every day - sitting
on the committees, writing the emails of support, making the case in as
reasonable a manner as possible in every possible situation. The ad
revenue required for the top 20 or so sites for a year would be worth
one Chiat-Day spot in prime time. How about it, Apple? Give a little
back.
Hit the Target
The ad revenue that print and TV media command for a fleeting
glimpse of an ad for products and services I have no need to spend
money on vs. buying a targeted banner where I'm likely to encounter it
online is ridiculously out of balance.
What I say to my friends is this: If the ad rates on the Web show
that vendors think there's little return on their advertising
investment, they'd better not take too close a look at print or TV - or
radio, either. The same assumptions that advertisers make about the
influence ads have over people on the Web are not too far removed from
the influence they have on radio and TV.
Keep in mind when I want to see ads on TV or in print, or hear them
on the radio, it's whatever they happened to put in front of me. On the
Web I go seek out the specific sited I trust and see ads more often
related to my interests. Devaluing Internet advertising is a dangerous
game; one day advertisers and consumers may wake up and realize that
the hold advertising has on us in traditional media is just as tenuous,
perhaps more so.
One Problem with Subscriptions
Over at Educator's News, Steve Wood
has been talking about the fact that subscriptions aren't his cup of
tea - the cost of buying subscriptions for all of his favorite sites is
a lot more than he's willing to pay. I have the following problem with
subscriptions: Those least able to pay (low-cost dialup modem users)
are the people who would benefit most from ad-free content. DSL or
cable modem users can brush off the ad-free pitch because the ads don't
significantly deter from the experience.
Just Click It
Readers should click through on ad banners when browsing the Web
every now and then, just for the hell of it.
Ideas for More Revenue
- What I'd like to see on LEM is a badge next to every vendor on
the used Mac dealers list. That
badge would say to me, "I spend money advertising on this site because
these kind of people are likely to trust a vendor that invests in a
quality site like LEM." Sort of like the Yellow Pages. That would have
more influence over me than ads for some financial service I'll never
use (or even understand) over at CNN.com.
- BackBeat Media or a group of sites with subscriptions ought to
offer a bulk discount - remove ads from all ten of these sites for a
year for $100 - then split the money among the sites. Now even I might
pay for that. Makes a nice present, too. [It's something we're looking
into.]
- Ad sharing between sites, and particularly between Web and print
sites, could benefit everyone. Imagine if Macworld "traded" equal value
ads for LEM in exchange for the same dollar value in print ads in their
magazine. Of course, there needs to be some money changing hands to
keep BackBeat in business. Could be like a PSA, just to fill in some
empty space.
It's one thing to write for a Web site and have all sorts of crazy
ideas. It's another when you have to take those few precious hours of
productive work time and make them happen. Every hour spent scraping
together money means another hour not producing or managing
content.
No one's found the magic elixir of life for small independent
content-based Web sites yet; and until we do, they'll keep on being
absorbed, closing down, and restricting content (like MacFixIt Pro)
until they're just a distant memory.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
