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Monetizing large email traffic + web traffic? (14)

01-05-2013 01:50 AM #1 _mcr_ (Moderator)
Monetizing large email traffic + web traffic?

After dragging my feet for over a year, I finally set everything up. I launched a site, got writers, set up a dedicated mail server, cleaned up my email lists and got them ready for email campaigns, etc.

I have good, interesting content, similar to what you'd find on a top-tier travel site for example. I do not wish to reveal the site or nature of content at this time.

I sent out my first newsletter to a very small part of my subscribers, which is 150,000 people or so. I included 4 ads from CJ just to test with. I got 123,000 ads impressions in the last couple of days so far but no conversions, probably because the ads are lame. I also have a few ads from CJ on the site.

I'm pretty sure I can do 1 million ad impressions per week, probably more, between newsletter ads + website ads. I know some of you do that many impression per day, but remember, clicks cost me nothing.

Questions

1. What is the best way to monetize this? Which networks? Some networks offer CPM which is nice to monetize on volume. I understand this is a bit different from what most people here do with Facebook ads or targeted search traffic. I'd love some good unbiased advice. I've been browsing ad network directories and noticed some like AdBrite and ValueClick. I am also open to partnering with member networks here if it's a good fit.

2. I have years of experience in the email game (the IT side), which is why I am able to safely send large volumes. I could probably write a book about all it takes to set up a server, what software to use, how to avoid blacklists, essentially how to set up a media company. The only part I do not have figured out is the monetization. Should I actually write a book/guide on how to set up a media company with millions of readers and sell it?

Thanks.

01-05-2013 01:59 AM #2 _mcr_ (Moderator)

Proof of ad impressions from CJ.

It's actually closer to 130k impressions for yesterday only.

01-05-2013 10:04 AM #3 richardj (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by _mcr_ View Post
After dragging my feet for over a year, I finally set everything up. I launched a site, got writers, set up a dedicated mail server, cleaned up my email lists and got them ready for email campaigns, etc.

I have good, interesting content, similar to what you'd find on a top-tier travel site for example. I do not wish to reveal the site or nature of content at this time.

I sent out my first newsletter to a very small part of my subscribers, which is 150,000 people or so. I included 4 ads from CJ just to test with. I got 123,000 ads impressions in the last couple of days so far but no conversions, probably because the ads are lame. I also have a few ads from CJ on the site.

I'm pretty sure I can do 1 million ad impressions per week, probably more, between newsletter ads + website ads. I know some of you do that many impression per day, but remember, clicks cost me nothing.

Questions

1. What is the best way to monetize this? Which networks? Some networks offer CPM which is nice to monetize on volume. I understand this is a bit different from what most people here do with Facebook ads or targeted search traffic. I'd love some good unbiased advice. I've been browsing ad network directories and noticed some like AdBrite and ValueClick. I am also open to partnering with member networks here if it's a good fit.

2. I have years of experience in the email game (the IT side), which is why I am able to safely send large volumes. I could probably write a book about all it takes to set up a server, what software to use, how to avoid blacklists, essentially how to set up a media company. The only part I do not have figured out is the monetization. Should I actually write a book/guide on how to set up a media company with millions of readers and sell it?

Thanks.
OK - You have a huge amount to learn about email marketing.

Key metrics you are looking for on your ESP are:

Received
Unsubscribes
Open rate
Clickthrough rate
Bounces

Come back with those stats and we can talk about monetising.

P.S - Your clicks do have costs. You pay for an ESP, right?

01-05-2013 05:10 PM #4 _mcr_ (Moderator)

Thanks for your reply. Let me clarify. I have access to a bunch of powerful servers, load balancers, email software, clean IP ranges, I am my own ESP and it doesn't really cost me anything. You're technically right though, it would cost the average person money to be able to send a large volume of emails.

For the last couple of days 200k ad impressions, CTR is 0.07%. Email stats like received/bounces/unsubscribes are not relevant to the affiliate aspect per se, so I didn't include them.

I am pretty sure I can bump it up to 2 million ad impressions if I email my whole list. I can increase CTR to 0.10% by playing with ad placement, so that's 2,000 clicks. I'm trying to figure out the best way to monetize that.

01-05-2013 06:38 PM #5 richardj (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by _mcr_ View Post
Thanks for your reply. Let me clarify. I have access to a bunch of powerful servers, load balancers, email software, clean IP ranges, I am my own ESP and it doesn't really cost me anything. You're technically right though, it would cost the average person money to be able to send a large volume of emails.

For the last couple of days 200k ad impressions, CTR is 0.07%. Email stats like received/bounces/unsubscribes are not relevant to the affiliate aspect per se, so I didn't include them.

I am pretty sure I can bump it up to 2 million ad impressions if I email my whole list. I can increase CTR to 0.10% by playing with ad placement, so that's 2,000 clicks. I'm trying to figure out the best way to monetize that.
Why is CTR more important than open rates, click through rates, etc? Email stats aren't directly relevant to your ROI, but you need to be monitoring all of these. You need to work out if you open rates and click through rates are good / bad, just as you would need to calculate if your CTR is good enough on Facebook. I've worked in email marketing for some time and dealt with all the major email marketers in the UK. I can assure you that CTR is not the only metric you need to be looking at. You need to work out where the process is breaking.

Why are you talking about ad impressions? Are you just sticking banners in an email? This is unusual and wouldn't be the best way of monetising. Your first 150k test didn't work and repeating the same to 2million impressions would be daft. You can normally tell how an email is going to perform to 2million, by sending to 30k.

You need to be finding relevant offers to your list and sending your users properly formatted email creatives for these offers, normally the ones supplied by the advertisers themselves.

Furthermore - You need to be aiming for at least £2 eCPM. You should be generating £300 at least from every 150k send. Zero revenue is not good. How long have these users been on your list for? Longer than 6 months?

I would advise you do a bit of reading up on email marketing. Email is a goldmine, you've just got to know how to market it.

01-05-2013 08:01 PM #6 _mcr_ (Moderator)

I just want to focus on the monetization part here, that's why I didn't share that data. Bounces/unsubscribes are less than 1%, open rates and CTR are on par with industry standards.

The newsletter I am sending looks pretty good and is properly formatted. It contains editorial content and ads. I am using creatives from advertisers. The advertisers are a good fit for a general audience (like hotels ads, travel, etc). I cannot send entire email creatives to my list; that's a little too spammy.

I guess I am looking to hear from people who are currently running successful campaigns through email newsletters, or anyone who has a good sense for what strategy is proven successful when sending email newsletters.

I know the way most high-volume newsletters do it is by selling advertising directly, and not going through any kind of network. I want to try the network approach first, since selling ads directly requires a large amount of resources.

I changed the ads and am about to send another 200k emails, to be sure it wasn't the ads that were too lame.

01-06-2013 02:01 AM #7 richardj (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by _mcr_ View Post
I just want to focus on the monetization part here, that's why I didn't share that data. Bounces/unsubscribes are less than 1%, open rates and CTR are on par with industry standards.

The newsletter I am sending looks pretty good and is properly formatted. It contains editorial content and ads. I am using creatives from advertisers. The advertisers are a good fit for a general audience (like hotels ads, travel, etc). I cannot send entire email creatives to my list; that's a little too spammy.

I guess I am looking to hear from people who are currently running successful campaigns through email newsletters, or anyone who has a good sense for what strategy is proven successful when sending email newsletters.

I know the way most high-volume newsletters do it is by selling advertising directly, and not going through any kind of network. I want to try the network approach first, since selling ads directly requires a large amount of resources.

I changed the ads and am about to send another 200k emails, to be sure it wasn't the ads that were too lame.
I'm running a very successful campaign through a mix of both email newsletters and solus creatives. Yes, we work direct with advertisers as well as through networks. Like you say, we always try and go direct.

SPAM is such a strong word! Solus isn't spammy if the offers are relevant and you mix it up with useful content. It's also a good way to make an incredible amount of money. But you are right, send too many offers like this and you risk burning out your IP. I'm easily drawn to the dark side!

How long have you owned this data for? As I'm sure you know, if you leave them too long they can be almost worthless. They are obviously most responsive when they have just registered, so i would advise you setup a series of Autoresponders which act as a kind of sales funnel.

The fact you sent to 150k with an on-topic newsletter and made nothing, is very strange. But if the offers were CPS then it may take a few days for the sales to roll in.

It sounds like the list should be valuable though, so please feel free to give more details on exactly how, where and when this data was collected.

01-06-2013 02:38 AM #8 _mcr_ (Moderator)

Your strategy seems quite aggressive for my taste currently. Not saying it's bad. I want to be very gentle and build a brand long-term with my newsletter. I send good content with inobtrusive ads so far (they're still prominent). Like you say, people get irritated easily over email, so I want to maintain my reputation. I am not selling anything myself; if I was I suspect I'd be raking in some dough.

My list consists of top-tier North American emails. People with solid purchasing power. Some of it is through direct opt-ins. That's as much as I can say. The list is quite fresh, and the opens are good. I have been doing this for several years. Professionally I use the same platform that major brands like American Express use to manage their email campaigns. It costs me $xxx,xxx/yr.

The ads are dependent on sales commission, so it make take a few days like you say. The thing is, I am running a very clean brand for a top-tier audience, so I can't throw in stuff like credit reports, adult dating, or email submits. It would look very out of place. So I'm running ads like hotels. I threw in a diet product also this time, to see if that does anything.

Ideally, as we both know, I'd have a sales team pitching companies on the value of the newsletter. Companies would pay money for a few hundred solid leads.

Can you tell me more about your operation? What offers are you running, what kind of CTR, conversion, location, etc.

01-06-2013 03:21 AM #9 richardj (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by _mcr_ View Post
Your strategy seems quite aggressive for my taste currently. Not saying it's bad. I want to be very gentle and build a brand long-term with my newsletter. I send good content with inobtrusive ads so far (they're still prominent). Like you say, people get irritated easily over email, so I want to maintain my reputation. I am not selling anything myself; if I was I suspect I'd be raking in some dough.

My list consists of top-tier North American emails. People with solid purchasing power. Some of it is through direct opt-ins. That's as much as I can say. The list is quite fresh, and the opens are good. I have been doing this for several years. Professionally I use the same platform that major brands like American Express use to manage their email campaigns. It costs me $xxx,xxx/yr.

The ads are dependent on sales commission, so it make take a few days like you say. The thing is, I am running a very clean brand for a top-tier audience, so I can't throw in stuff like credit reports, adult dating, or email submits. It would look very out of place. So I'm running ads like hotels. I threw in a diet product also this time, to see if that does anything.

Ideally, as we both know, I'd have a sales team pitching companies on the value of the newsletter. Companies would pay money for a few hundred solid leads.

Can you tell me more about your operation? What offers are you running, what kind of CTR, conversion, location, etc.
We are at polar opposites by the sounds of things...

We run a prize site in the UK, so people opt-in for the chance to win prizes. We send our users a mix of newsletter material updating them on the latest prizes and freebies, and also send them some promotional emails which are mostly CPL payouts. We definitely have not got a top tier audience. Although, surprisingly, upon testing, the list has shown a strong propensity to convert into sales.

I think this comes down to where we buy our actual registrations from. We judge the quality of our lead buys, by the open rates and click through rates on our first autoresponders. We generally see open rates between 2% - 15%. We probably send around 10mil per month, and generally look to get at least an eCPM of £2.

With a top tier audience, you should really only be doing CPM sells. But, of course, you have to prove your worth to your advertisers. Right now the list hasn't made you a dime.

In fact, I'm a bit confused by your whole set up...

- Solus email creatives are too agressive, but your chucking in a diet product to send to a top-tier travel orientated audience?

- How and why did you purchase / accumulate a high-net worth list without a solid email strategy in place? It would have cost a fortune gathering such a high value list and you've not decided to do anything with it until now?

- You don't have any click costs, yet you are spending $xxx,xxx/yr on an email platform? That sounds like an associated cost to me.

- Why an earth are you spending that much on an email platform when you are not as big as AMEX?

- You are spending 6 figures per year for an email platform and you don't have anyone doing sales for you?

01-06-2013 05:52 AM #10 _mcr_ (Moderator)

- Solus email creatives are too agressive, but your chucking in a diet product to send to a top-tier travel orientated audience?
Diet is seasonal and it's the high season right now. With the right brands, the big ones, it doesn't look so off-putting.

- How and why did you purchase / accumulate a high-net worth list without a solid email strategy in place? It would have cost a fortune gathering such a high value list and you've not decided to do anything with it until now?
Yes it's quite an invaluable list. I've had it for over a year. The best way I could think of to monetize it was to create an online magazine that would engage the audience and hopefully sell ads directly down the road. In the meantime I am trying to monetize it somehow.

- You don't have any click costs, yet you are spending $xxx,xxx/yr on an email platform? That sounds like an associated cost to me.
I am not using the platform for IM, it's for work. I have other servers set up for email for my use. I was just mentioning that because you asked about my credentials in email marketing.

So as you see it's quite an interesting situation, I have the list, the set up, the content, I just need to find the right monetization strategy. My open rate is around 10% which is very good for a huge list.

The operation you're running seem pretty good, you know your audience and you know how to monetize it. Mine is quite different; it's people who are more likely to buy expensive stuff than follow a link for a free ringtone or credit report.

01-08-2013 12:14 AM #11 _mcr_ (Moderator)

Quick update

350,000 impressions so far, 1 sale.

01-08-2013 05:30 AM #12 _mcr_ (Moderator)

Any affiliate geniuses want to help? Please share ideas on how I can monetize a large list and large impressions.

01-08-2013 06:34 AM #13 Smaxor (Veteran Member)

Here's what you want to look at in my opinion.

For a higher quality list which we'd consider a newsletter type list. Build an auto responder newsletter type series around it with content emails intertwined with sales emails. Sales emails shouldn't look much different the the content emails

Great benefit as the subject and first few lines.
Problem people are facing
Where that can lead if unresolved
Solution

Very basic sales format and all articles should be formatted as such even if they're how to. This is why someone like ehow does well. Their pages inform but sell their content at the same time.

Also I'd look to some of the auto-responder series out there being pitched on warrior forum. There's some really good stuff. Then work through a series. I think just sending a newsletter with some ads isn't going to get you too far.

The key is those well written sales emails intertwined in your list.

You mentioned Travel.

Then decide what offer you want to pitch. Lets say it's a get a free cruise style Timeshare offer. Then work backwards see a destination and a cruise line that are rated the best.

Then write a nice content email about 10 places to see before you die. Of course one of the free cruises would go here and isn't mentioned in the email.

Then write another about the top 5 cruse lines as rated by whatever company. Of course the free cruise offer would offer this cruise line.

Then the 3rd email would be "My sneaky inside secrets to getting a free cruise. What the cruise companies don't want you to know!" Then write the content around that pitching the leadgen offer.

Rinse repeat.

The key is deliver value in the first two emails. And make them feel like your'e giving them value in the 3rd not just selling them. Should make you a money printing machine

01-11-2013 08:21 PM #14 _mcr_ (Moderator)

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. My list is pretty young so it's very sensitive to dedicated sales emails, that's why I must stick with content for a while.

It's an investment, but after establishing a good relationship with a list of 1M or 2M people the monetization will get easier.

For website traffic did anyone run any cpa vs cpm comparisons? What would be best for a site with 1k or 10k or 100k visitors per day?

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