what to do when Ad sales slump
good morning media folks ☀️
There comes a time for any media company where Ad sales slump. There are varying factors as to why this can happen. And most commonly, people blame market trends. Which can be fair depending on the situation (like COVID for example). But most of the time it’s just bullshit. And that’s because people are afraid to look at processes and systems first.
From what I’ve seen working with 20+ publishers in the last year (and being in advertising for 12+ years) these are the reasons why it happens (not in any specific order):
- audience disconnect
- bad content
- segmentation and personalization
- weak value proposition
- bad selling strategies
- no diversification
- lack of optimization
So today we’re going to talk about all these things... why it happens and what you can do about it as a media company.
first understand what’s going on
This can be the part where publishers have the most difficulty. How to actually figure out what’s going wrong with Ad sales. Every time I hear “I think it’s because we don’t have enough leads” I roll my eyes. Because more leads won’t solve your problem. Why would you go fishing if you know your boat's not working?
You need to start from the beginning. And work in a straight line to the end.
how well do you know your audience?
This is something that I’ve seen publishers neglect more than I’m comfortable with. They know little to nothing about their audience. This can be one of the most powerful levers you can pull to beef up your ad strategy. If you can understand you’re audience's interests, it allows you to back into advertising verticals that you can go after. The result can mean more value for your advertisers and better engagement from your readers with your advertising campaigns.
What you need to do is look at your advertising data. Do you have as much info about your demo that can help you make the right call on what advertisers to go with? Not just the simple stuff, like household income... I’m saying to literally ask your readers what type of advertisers they would be interested in and more likely to engage with.
Also, your welcome sequence needs to be succinct. When you get a new email subscriber, tastefully nurture them. Give give give, then ask the right questions to find out more about them. You’d be surprised at how much they give you just by asking.
A bonus from this is your survey answers will literally tell you what type of content you should produce for your readers. They will literally decide your editorial strategy for you. And there’s a huge plus in that.
The last piece about this involves segmentation. And it’s a case-by-case situation. If you’re smaller you don’t need to segment. There isn’t much deviation in your audience to do that. But if you’re larger, segmentation can help you with targeted ad campaigns. You can ultimately charge more if for example you know 30% of your audience is interested in finance products.
how are you presenting your value?
You need to be able to sell your value to advertisers in a really easy way for them to understand. Don’t make it difficult for them to make a decision. Your media kit should cover the basics, yes, but you also need to include a bunch of social proof to reassure them. Not only social proof from advertisers but social proof from readers too. They need to know that the ads work and that the readers will engage with them.
Your focus should be to provide white glove service through and through. From the time they learn about your newsletter, and even 2 years into the relationship. You should be consistent.
From what I’ve seen, the biggest issue is that most publishers are treating advertising relationships in a transactional way. And that’s a problem. You’re not thinking in a long-term lens. Every conversation you have with an advertiser should be about how much you can bring to the table to keep this relationship going. It’s your job to do that, not theirs.
are your ad products creative enough?
Gone are the days of simple ad copy and imagery. It’s not enough. You need to be holistic about your campaign creative, and the campaigns you’re pitching to these advertisers. Think like a creative agency. What’s the full point of view of this campaign? How will each ad product you offer help the advertiser hit the goals they told you?
The goal is to make something that’s interesting and different. There needs to be an overarching theme and story behind your campaign, with your audience in mind. That’s what advertisers are interested in. Not a shitty simple ad product.
example of a well-rounded creative POV
are you selling properly?
Some publishers don’t know how to sell. There’s no process, strategy, or methodology behind their approaches. If you're mad at why advertisers aren’t buying, it’s probably because you aren’t selling it right.
You need to understand their needs. What are the KPIs? How do they buy? What does the timeline look like for this campaign? How do they make budget decisions? Who’s involved? And lastly, what are your deal management strategies from start to finish?
You need to be melodic in your approach. Assertive, not aggressive. Not overselling, but listening. And then cater campaigns around what you heard to get it across the finish line.
Going back to the transactional thing. Why would you ever look for a new advertiser, when you have advertisers that have already spent money with you that you can grow? Your focus should be on them. And how you can expand your relationship with them. Not to churn and burn to find someone else. It’s much easier to get someone who spent money with you to spend again than to get a new advertiser to spend with you.
optimization
You should always be making your newsletter better. Updating design, trying new content, creating new ad products, engaging your audience in different way...
Getting feedback from your audience can be an easy way to do this. They will tell you if something sucks, or if something is great. Experimentation can be your best friend. Your overarching goal should always be about how you can create a better user experience for your readers, and get them to engage as much as possible. Yes, the data can tell you a story, but your audience will also tell you everything you need.
Plus, if you’re boosting your engagement, that means more money in your pockets from your advertisers.
diversify, diversify, diversify
One thing publishers struggle with is leaning too much one way when it comes to driving revenue. Maybe you rely too much on advertising, paid subscriptions, etc... either way, you should be looking at how you can have 3-4 different revenue streams for your newsletter.
I’m typically against affiliates, but they can be lucrative if you have 2 or 3 really good partners. When it comes to paid subscriptions you have to battle against subscription fatigue. Everyone is trying to charge readers for premium content. Which I’m typically against... your newsletter and content should always be free, and your readers shouldn’t foot the bill for it. But you can find ways to charge for premium products. Maybe it’s a course, maybe it’s a ticketed event or consulting... there are ways to generate revenue outside a paid readership subscription.
Have a safety net, you don’t have to always rely on advertising as the sole source of income as a publisher.
Look.. this can be a really demoralizing situation. But if you take a step back, understand the root causes, and come up with the right systems and an action plan to tackle it... you’ll be better prepared the next time this happens. And you’ll be able to fight through it with grace.
see you next week,
shaan
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