25 Online Revenue Ideas for Niche Publishers!

"20 Revenue Ideas in 20 minutes" is one of the most popular sessions at the Niche Digital Conference. Ideas are drawn from speakers, sponsors, and attendees. Here are last year's attendee ideas (plus a few extra) to beef up your online revenue.     

1. Place each email you collect on multiple e-mail lists.  This allows you to send topically based messages. If a user unsubscribes you will not lose them completely.  Instead you’ll just lose them from one list.  Be sure to tell/ask users about this practice.

2. Engage your audience and create community by forming self-serve classified portals on the web.  You can start free and offer paid up-sells.

3. Encourage advertisers to use custom URLs to track success. If you look closely at Google Analytics, you will see a traffic statistic called "direct traffic". This can account for as much as 20% of total traffic and most advertisers do not track their direct traffic. Make sure you get credit for traffic that you drive to an advertiser's website.

4. Offer to do video interviews/demos for sponsors & advertisers as part of a digital bundle. As an up sell, make it available on your site, on their site, and on DVD (for offline mailing). Also, ask advertisers if they have promo videos for their product or service.  Then, create a channel to house and offer these videos to your audience.  Most advertisers have spent a ton of money on these videos and want to use them.

5. Create an e-newsletter from your sales team to your current advertisers with content that that positions you as a leader in the marketplace. Fill it with industry news, local news, upcoming issues, current hot topics, and your social media offerings. (Not just ad deadlines!)

6. WV Living Magazine’s MyWVWedding.com - a designated wedding website - they sell hyperlinks on their Wedding Checklist.  So when they say “Book Your Photographer”, when someone scrolls over it a photographer’s website appears.

7. Change up the format of your promotional emails.  Many companies have the exact same format for everything.  At Niche Media, all our email efforts have a different look and feel design-wise. Plus, our best response from email campaigns are personalized HTML text.   Intersperse graphics intensive efforts with “plain” text.  Try it, you’ll like the response rates you see.

8. Charge advertisers to run surveys against your audience.  Make sure that the survey is attached to a solid offer to get respondents.  When the budget is tight, often advertisers have research money allocated.  In addition, you can use this data to boost your sales data.

9. When redesigning your web site, make the advertising spots a serious priority.  Make sure that the sizing is right, the placement is right, and that you set up your advertisers for maximum ROI.

10. Use custom Facebook tabs to offer new product launches for your advertisers. Tabs can be simple HTML creations with embedded pictures, white papers, or videos.  Keep the run short: 7-10 days.

11. Upgrade your banner ad delivery system if you can’t give your advertisers solid stats and inventory reports. Use these stats, good or bad, to create conversations with your advertisers.

12. Use Google Alerts to keep up with news in your industry and your advertisers' industries.  

13. Add a product pavilion (an interactive directory) to your website for new products and services. Easy navigation & a simple look is key. Create a competitive environment by placing marquee ads in the pavilion and then use that to sell to their competitors.

14. Set a goal to create at least three e-newsletter lists that are specific to your niche.  One editorial e-newsletter is just not enough.  Most successful niche mags have at least three e-newsletter lists.  Monthly specific pushes need to be very specific and very driven.  Advertisers can provide and pay for content inclusion.  This is not another editorial e-newsletter.  New product updates, new services updates, legal updates: you name, create it.

15. Segment digital content by audience.  One extended education or training piece can be broken down into different segments based on the audience.  With one 60-minute lecture, you can sell an e-book, DVD, 12 “5 minute tips,” etc.

16. Compilations! Compile related archived content into a sponsored and/or paid e-book.

17. Sell sponsorship of your digital edition and also the email blast releasing the digital edition to your subscribers.

18. Create an online monthly promotional calendar and sell your advertisers into it.  Give away their products in all promotions and create a winning situation for your advertisers.  Plus, it saves you money because you do not have to buy prizes.  Without a promo calendar your sales team will not be able to sell ahead.

19. Boost digital magazine readership with a special 3D edition.  Send out 3D glasses with a special URL to the issue. (You can even get the glasses paid for by an exclusive sponsor.)

20. Podcasts: arm your editorial staff with audio recorders. Every interview an also be a $.99 iTunes download.

21. Use Facebook text ads to draw in fans.  Be careful to write them well and be specific.  These ads are cheap and can bring in a ton of fans fast.  Make your offerings very clear.  Be sure to isolate the ads to only what you “truly” offer.  Be specific.  Grow your fan base so that you can grow the amount you charge for reaching out to this fan base.

22. Create a LinkedIn group for your niche. Even if one exists, you might be able to make one that is better.

23. Social media MUST be a part of your new ad packages or you will miss out.  Price it in such a way that you show massive value at a great price.  Most sales people fail to show value in their ad packages.  What is your total value offering?

24. Sell 4-hour static banner ads on your web site.  Isolate several ad units on your web site and offer them to a single advertiser for a specific period of time during the day.  For example, a city and regional magazine might sell a static ad to a local café for 11am to 1pm.

25. Use Youtube to draw a crowd.  There are many video serving options, but Youtube can help you with free distribution and SEO.