Online Magazine

How to Create Compelling Ad Packages

What’s the secret to creating compelling ad packages in 2021? We’ll tell you

Publishers who want successful advertising and sponsorship programs need to differentiate their offerings from anything else on the market. For local news publishers and online magazines, that means developing compelling ad packages.

The best ad packages incorporate the following:

Exclusivity

What makes a compelling ad package? The best ad packages are exclusive and they are unique. Advertisers will pay a premium for exclusivity. When we talk about ad packages, exclusivity could come in the form of exclusive website sponsorships or exclusive section sponsorships. The opportunity to be the sole advertiser across an entire publication, or within a single section of a publication, for a certain period of time is something that few businesses can pass up.

Scarcity

After exclusivity, the next feature that most compelling ad packages have in common is scarcity. What we mean here is that premium ad packages aren’t available to just anyone. Publishers that sell exclusive website sponsorships or exclusive section sponsorships can only offer so many of these deals at any one time. An advertiser that sits back and waits on this kind of opportunity might miss out altogether, particularly during desirable periods of time, like in the weeks before major holidays or local events.

Scarcity can also involve the sections of a website or a magazine that the advertiser wants to sponsor. Digital publishers can charge a premium for advertisers to sponsor their homepages because of limited supply. Each publisher only has one homepage, so there is a scarcity of availability. That scarcity drives demand and makes for a compelling ad package.

Imagine you run a restaurant and you’re thinking about advertising on a local food blog. Maybe you’ve been considering this for years, but you haven’t made your move. Scarcity in supply could be what leads you to finally take that leap. If you learn that a competing restaurant is considering taking your place as the exclusive sponsor of a publication, then that scarcity might be what tips you over the edge.

Alignment

The next focus for digital publishers that want to create compelling ad packages should be alignment. Alignment is when an advertiser’s need or brand image directly fits with the publisher’s. The most successful digital publishers are those that can pair the right ads with the right content.

In the real world, this might look like a sporting goods store’s display ads running alongside sports articles on a local news website or a supermarket’s display ads running alongside recipes and other food-related content. The alignment between advertising and content drives engagement and click-throughs, and those are the metrics advertisers care most about.

The most compelling ad packages bring in revenue for publishers and advertisers alike. They are developed in a way that creates excitement and engagement among online audiences.

If you are setting up your ad packages for the first time, consider adding these features to make your packages more desirable:

  1. Native Content: Offering custom articles, written by the publisher’s own staff, is one way to make an ad package more compelling.
  2. Email Marketing: Native articles placed in email newsletters are even more valuable than those placed alongside editorial content on a publisher’s websites. For this reason, advertisers will pay a premium to have their native content included in a publication’s email newsletter.
  3. Display Advertising in Newsletters: Email newsletters aren’t just for native content or editorial content. With the right advertising system in place, digital publishers can run banner ads and other display advertising formats in their email newsletters. These ad types have historically been shown to generate great returns.
  4. Video Sponsorships: More and more publishers are launching their own YouTube channels. Capitalize on the work you’ve put into growing your YouTube following and start selling exclusive sponsorships on your channel.

To learn more about creating compelling ad packages, including insights into what’s worked best for top digital publishers, contact our team at Web Publisher PRO.