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Successful Blog - Ideas on how to monetise? (20)

03-17-2015 12:31 PM #1 ruairimccann (Member)
Successful Blog - Ideas on how to monetise?

STM Community

Newbie to the AM world and really enjoyed the Conference. Favourite quote ‘You can’t compete with my Army!’ (Charles Ngo)

I was hoping I could please get some help from the community? I would love to have your thoughts on how we may be able to monetise our luxury watch and lifestyle blog. We also feature cars, clubs, events and fashion. Our understanding is that it is now one the world's most followed and credible luxury lifestyle blogs anchored in watches. A lot of recent press in top end publications.

Salient features are:

1. Primary channel is Instagram.
2. We are at 1m+ followers, very engaged and very social!
3. Audience are primarily young affluent m/f 25-35.
4. Geos - particularly strong in Russia, CIS, Middle East, UK and Switzerland. We also have good numbers in rest of Europe, China and US.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Ruairi

03-17-2015 12:39 PM #2 fabian (Member)

As a watch lover I got to ask: what's the blog?

03-17-2015 01:34 PM #3 ruairimccann (Member)

Cheers Fabian

WatchAnish

03-17-2015 01:47 PM #4 cmdeal (Veteran Member)

That is a beautiful blog with a ridiculously attractive and affluent demographic audience.

1 million organic Instagram followers is sweet.

Your photographer definitely knows how to take stunning shots.

03-17-2015 03:19 PM #5 ruairimccann (Member)

Thanks so much cmdeal. Growing every month. As of today closer to 1.2m. Believe it or not but a lot of photos also taken on iPhone 6. I know Apple have an advertisement campaign on the London Underground as we speak - 'Taken on iPhone 6' showcasing some of their most impressive pictures taken by users. We should contribute!

We are starting to push the traffic to other channels too most notably Facebook. Any advice on how to monetise most welcome.

03-17-2015 05:05 PM #6 stackman (Administrator)

Hey there, amazing brand. You can do a LOT of big stuff which such a strong brand. Your demographic is $$$.

First go to http://www.6speedonline.com and see what they do.

The forum users on 6speed are 30%+ millionaires who shares their secrets about investing, trading, buying, and lifestyle habits. I've seen some of the craziest homes in the world on 6speed (with trap doors, and bookshelves where you pull the book and the room rotates.. seriously) -- owned by forum members.

6speed monetizes very will with big brand advertisements.

I'd follow a similar route and at the same time start branching out with similar brands and advertising around niches that fit the demographic.. aka fancy cars.

03-18-2015 08:05 AM #7 cmdeal (Veteran Member)

1. Definitely find a natural way to collect email addresses ... either for a newsletter or a contest or invitations to an event (whether virtual or physical).

2. Place remarketing pixels on the website

3. Expand into other luxury categories and get a ad sales team for China, Russia and the Middle East!

Best of luck to you!

03-18-2015 08:20 AM #8 prof (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by ruairimccann View Post
Thanks so much cmdeal. Growing every month. As of today closer to 1.2m. Believe it or not but a lot of photos also taken on iPhone 6. I know Apple have an advertisement campaign on the London Underground as we speak - 'Taken on iPhone 6' showcasing some of their most impressive pictures taken by users. We should contribute!
That's amazing. The quality of your photos really is outstanding. They're the type of images you'd expect to find a glossy, printed fashion magazine.

If you don't mind, I'd love to know a little bit more about your project.

How did it come about? Presumably there has been quite a large amount of personal investment (money and time) gone into getting where you are now? Are you / were you in the watch selling business in the offline world? How do you get access to so many high ticket items?

03-18-2015 08:35 AM #9 cmdeal (Veteran Member)

Man, the photos are beautiful.

https://instagram.com/watchanish/

03-19-2015 12:09 PM #10 ruairimccann (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by stackman View Post
Hey there, amazing brand. You can do a LOT of big stuff which such a strong brand. Your demographic is $$$.

First go to http://www.6speedonline.com and see what they do.

The forum users on 6speed are 30%+ millionaires who shares their secrets about investing, trading, buying, and lifestyle habits. I've seen some of the craziest homes in the world on 6speed (with trap doors, and bookshelves where you pull the book and the room rotates.. seriously) -- owned by forum members.

6speed monetizes very will with big brand advertisements.

I'd follow a similar route and at the same time start branching out with similar brands and advertising around niches that fit the demographic.. aka fancy cars.
Many thanks stackman. Having a look over the next few days and appreciate the info.

Although luxury lifestyle we are always very keen to showcase the craft element - particularly easy with watches and cars. Personally I am fairly interested in high end spirits, drinks and alcohol market. Have to be careful with our Middle East demographic though.

Will get in touch once fully digested site.

03-19-2015 12:17 PM #11 ruairimccann (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by prof View Post
That's amazing. The quality of your photos really is outstanding. They're the type of images you'd expect to find a glossy, printed fashion magazine.

If you don't mind, I'd love to know a little bit more about your project.

How did it come about? Presumably there has been quite a large amount of personal investment (money and time) gone into getting where you are now? Are you / were you in the watch selling business in the offline world? How do you get access to so many high ticket items?
Many thanks for the interest prof. Answers below in order:

1. Really it came about by a love affair Anish has had with watches since a very early age. A complete nerd when it comes to the craft of watch making and a good eye for fashion.
2. Huge amount of personal investment by the partners has gone into this yes which ramped up over the last 2 years in particular.
3. No we are not the watch business.
4. A lot of legwork went into being present at industry events. Then creating an awful amount of content around the events. This was all pretty much done off their own backs. Once the team were able then to show the traffic and buzz, it was easier to get access to some special watches and cars. In addition our network of users are quite affluent and also welcome us to showcase some of their collection.

Interest very much appreciated.

03-20-2015 11:59 AM #12 ruairimccann (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by cmdeal View Post
1. Definitely find a natural way to collect email addresses ... either for a newsletter or a contest or invitations to an event (whether virtual or physical).

2. Place remarketing pixels on the website

3. Expand into other luxury categories and get a ad sales team for China, Russia and the Middle East!

Best of luck to you!
Many thanks cmdeal. What software/hardware do you recommend for point 2 regarding remarketing pixel? Also is there a good automated crm/email platform you suggest. Safe secure and reasonably priced. Finally any advice on where to start in terms of looking for the right ad teams in those jurisdictions stated?

I am very much pushing the luxury spirits and cocktails category. Not sure about craft beers though. What are your thoughts?

Thanks so much!

03-20-2015 10:41 PM #13 cmdeal (Veteran Member)

johna5150 and _mcr_ are the ones to ask about anything email related!

03-22-2015 12:46 AM #14 johna5150 (Senior Member)

With the demographic you control here, there is a substantial opportunity to make a lot of money, if you approach them the right way.

First off, I’d highly recommend getting a copy of Dan Kennedy’s No BS Marketing To The Affluent book, as well as subscribing to his newsletter. No one knows more about selling to the affluent than Dan.

http://www.amazon.com/No-B-S-Marketi...dp/1599185369/

https://dankennedy.com/luxury/

Secondly, I’d look through print magazines with similar audiences such as Private Traveler (might be called Private Air Traveler, I forget), Scotsman’s Guide, the Marvin Shanken titles (Wine Spectator, Cigar Aficionado, Whisky Advocate), maybe Robb Report and other magazines specifically for the affluent to see who’s advertising in them.

Although we, as direct marketers hate image advertising (because it is unmeasurable and untrackable), it is a fine thing to sell if you control an audience with the demographic you do. I’d look through those magazines, see which advertisers are running in all of them, then see if you can find the “agency of record” for these advertisers and contact them, as a source of new media for their existing advertisers (ad agencies are always looking for new and creative ways to piss away client ad budgets and they might as well send the money to you).

Certainly you would want to compile an email list as well, really more an extension of your blog with “subscriber only” information, all about watches and related luxury items. You could probably have several lists, depending on interest—watches, luxury clothes, luxury vacations, and other luxury goods depending on your subscriber base. A list like this is an opportunity to sell ad space, and it also makes the blog an eminently salable asset to a publisher who has titles that fit with that demographic (such as Shanken’s).

Lots of opportunity here.



Quote Originally Posted by ruairimccann View Post
Many thanks for the interest prof. Answers below in order:

1. Really it came about by a love affair Anish has had with watches since a very early age. A complete nerd when it comes to the craft of watch making and a good eye for fashion.
2. Huge amount of personal investment by the partners has gone into this yes which ramped up over the last 2 years in particular.
3. No we are not the watch business.
4. A lot of legwork went into being present at industry events. Then creating an awful amount of content around the events. This was all pretty much done off their own backs. Once the team were able then to show the traffic and buzz, it was easier to get access to some special watches and cars. In addition our network of users are quite affluent and also welcome us to showcase some of their collection.

Interest very much appreciated.

03-23-2015 06:43 AM #15 dr_ngo ()

Hey Anish!

Glad to see you enjoyed my speech. I've actually been following your instagram for over a year so imagine my surprise.

Feel free to msg me for my Skype. Would love to help you out. Just give me some watch advice in the future :-)

03-23-2015 06:49 AM #16 maynzie (Moderator)

Oh no way man see your logo on photos all the time, awesome job and best of luck with stms advice you're sitting on a gold mine would love to have updates with your progress and plans

03-23-2015 07:39 AM #17 ruairimccann (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by ruairimccann View Post
Thanks so much cmdeal. Growing every month. As of today closer to 1.2m. Believe it or not but a lot of photos also taken on iPhone 6. I know Apple have an advertisement campaign on the London Underground as we speak - 'Taken on iPhone 6' showcasing some of their most impressive pictures taken by users. We should contribute!

We are starting to push the traffic to other channels too most notably Facebook. Any advice on how to monetise most welcome.
Apologies but I got a little stick for not expanding on this. We do have some amazing professional photographers and contributors. Not all done on iPhone 6 although quite a few are - particularly the party ones and of course real time uploads at various locations.

03-23-2015 07:41 AM #18 ruairimccann (Member)

Hi Charles

This is Ruairi. I will pass on your message to Anish no problem. We would love to meet up asap.

Thanks so much.

R

03-23-2015 07:49 AM #19 ruairimccann (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by johna5150 View Post
With the demographic you control here, there is a substantial opportunity to make a lot of money, if you approach them the right way.

First off, I’d highly recommend getting a copy of Dan Kennedy’s No BS Marketing To The Affluent book, as well as subscribing to his newsletter. No one knows more about selling to the affluent than Dan.

http://www.amazon.com/No-B-S-Marketi...dp/1599185369/

https://dankennedy.com/luxury/

Secondly, I’d look through print magazines with similar audiences such as Private Traveler (might be called Private Air Traveler, I forget), Scotsman’s Guide, the Marvin Shanken titles (Wine Spectator, Cigar Aficionado, Whisky Advocate), maybe Robb Report and other magazines specifically for the affluent to see who’s advertising in them.

Although we, as direct marketers hate image advertising (because it is unmeasurable and untrackable), it is a fine thing to sell if you control an audience with the demographic you do. I’d look through those magazines, see which advertisers are running in all of them, then see if you can find the “agency of record” for these advertisers and contact them, as a source of new media for their existing advertisers (ad agencies are always looking for new and creative ways to piss away client ad budgets and they might as well send the money to you).

Certainly you would want to compile an email list as well, really more an extension of your blog with “subscriber only” information, all about watches and related luxury items. You could probably have several lists, depending on interest—watches, luxury clothes, luxury vacations, and other luxury goods depending on your subscriber base. A list like this is an opportunity to sell ad space, and it also makes the blog an eminently salable asset to a publisher who has titles that fit with that demographic (such as Shanken’s).

Lots of opportunity here.
John

Thanks so much. You may recall our talk on Irish Whiskey at the conference courtesy of a mutual friend's introduction.

We will certainly absorb these fantastic and very generous insights. Would love to approach you again later if ok?

Best

Ruairi

03-24-2015 04:09 AM #20 johna5150 (Senior Member)

Indeed I do! A man bringing a long lost Irish Whisky back to life may, of course, approach me anytime. And until your distillery is complete, I shall drink some Yellow Spot in your honor...

Quote Originally Posted by ruairimccann View Post
John

Thanks so much. You may recall our talk on Irish Whiskey at the conference courtesy of a mutual friend's introduction.

We will certainly absorb these fantastic and very generous insights. Would love to approach you again later if ok?

Best

Ruairi

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