Let’s form a partnership.
We’ll work our hardest to get your message in front of our readers through your preferred form of delivery: Digital advertising, sponsored content, social media shout-outs, newsletter advertising and more. And from our perspective, your willingness to advertise with us supports local news.
This digital news site is only getting started but we’ve already had tremendous interest from the community. Before the site even launched on Nov. 30, 2020, nearly 300 people signed up to receive a newsletter that will go into their email in-box at least twice per week. On top of that, more than 500 people liked and followed the Philomath News Facebook page. That tells us that people care about the local news and they want to see this operation succeed. As we get this thing going and more and more people become drawn to what we can offer, page views will certainly climb. We’re hoping that your advertising message and branding will come along for the ride.
Did you know that on average, people spend between 3-4 hours per day on their smartphone? Unlike many other websites, when you advertise with the Philomath News, the smartphone version of your ad won’t be pushed down to the very bottom of an article but will appear within the story. That gives you maximum visibility. And did you know that this website is free for anyone to read? That means your advertising will reach more people. I solicit voluntary memberships to help with the necessity of paying the bills, but I’ve decided to not put up a paywall.
I’m not a salesperson. I took one class on advertising in college more than 35 years ago and I can’t remember a damn thing from it. It was a required course in pursuit of a journalism degree. I’m just Brad, the guy you see every once in a while running around town covering an event or taking pictures, the fella at sporting events who tries to capture the best in our youth. I may not be a slick-talking sales rep but as a small local business, it’s a hat that I need to wear.
What I can tell you is this: People are going to visit this website to find out what’s going on in our town. It’s going to happen. I believe businesses of all sizes need to advertise, you just do to make sure folks know you exist. When I was doing research on what businesses we have in Philomath to get an idea of the market, I was stunned. There are many businesses in this town that I didn’t even know existed. And a good number don’t even have websites or a digital presence at all. Let’s change that together.
I know a lot of you out there and I know times are tough. With that in mind and knowing that we’re just starting out and click-through rates will not immediately rock your world, I’ve put took together a variety of advertising packages and options to fit any budget. Seriously, you’re not going to ask for a quote and receive some estimate that makes your jaw drop. You’ll find that it’s doable. And if I can get enough of you on board, I can keep this website free for everybody to read — I like to tell myself it’s my service to the community.
Get in touch with me and I’ll share with you what I’ve come up with for advertising packages and other options. Beyond the digital ads, I also can offer you sponsored content opportunities. Do you want to work up a story or news release in your own words? You can and it’ll cost you only $99 to put it on my website. It’ll go into the story rotation on the home page, I’ll share it on social media and in the newsletter and it’ll always be available to read online going forward. If someone searches for your business online, they’ll find it. So these posts appear like the rest of the news site’s content (but it is required that we label it as sponsored).
How about getting your message and branding straight into the email in-boxes of our newsletter subscribers? That’s an effective strategy for maximum visibility. These are people who signed up to read this newsletter so it’s not something that will just sit in their in-box as an unread item. Plus, I don’t just fill the newsletter with a bunch of crap nobody wants to read — they include an interesting rundown of the latest stories and so on. Newsletter advertising can be added on to any package or be purchased as a stand-alone product. By the way, if you’re a nonprofit organization, you get a 15% discount on everything.
I tend to write long, so I’ll wrap this up. I’ve got other ideas and if you have any on how you want to advertise, just throw them out at me and I’ll see if it’s something I’d be willing to do. I will let you know that I’m not going to sell pop-up ads or those video ads that automatically start playing. Those bug the hell out of me and I don’t want to ruin the reading experience for those who visit the news site.
Get in touch with me and let’s see how we can help each other. … Thanks, Brad Fuqua