Is it worth it?

Artashes

Artashes

Administrator
Staff member
OK, so to spin off the discussion, I'll ask a question I've been interested in for quite some time: is it worth advertising in these magazines?

It is definitely worth talking about it. :agree:

Best,
 
I really doubt it's worth the money they're charging.

The fact is, if you're not offering business class services, such as dedicated servers, colo, ecommerce solutions, etc..., then it's a waste.

When we called to get ad rates, they wanted $4k for a full page ad. Now, while that's not a bad price generally speaking, it's a little much considering the largest reader base they have are also hosts, it seems to a good waste of $4k.

Afterall, if your audience are not consumers that will buy your products, why put your ad in front of them, when your ad dollars can be better spent, targeting those that will buy.
 
Based on what Mark said, it seems to me that a datacenter would have reason to consider advertising.

Besides, consider that advertising at WHT for example will most likely have a very poor ROI, but immediate sales aren't usually (and shouldn't be) the reason to advertise there. :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks Mark and Dan for some thoughts. The reason I'm asking is that at one point I was considering actually advertising HostingDiscussion. But the directory listing alone costs around $250 per issue in TheWHIR! That's very expensive, yet no guarantee of positive ROI.

So is advertising in those magazines more like a statement to show you exist and create visibility (make an appearance in some way) or is it actually a tool to sell yourself?

Best,
 
Yes, it is most certainly worth it.

Granted, it will not bring you mimmediate ROI, aka instant signups - but what it does provide is the ultimate in advertising: brand recognition.

Brand recognition is "up there" on a par with word-of-mouth advertising, and I guess you could say that at certain times, they are hand-in-hand.

PingZine!'s prices are very, very affordable - having spoken with them on a number of occasions, and being in the process of sending our first print-ads out with them.

TheWhir, whilst a little 'off-side' with their magazine, have relatively good pricing too, especially considering their name, and how established it is, in the hosting sector.

PingZine does win over for me though. It has a following, and a good distribution base. The distribution problems of the past are also behind them, for the larger part.

Art, I have an idea that I would most certainly think you would find beneficial for the HD community - providing you with exposure, aswell as your advertisers also.

Drop me an email if you are interested, Artashes, and I'll zip you it over.

Simon
 
Simon, I will definitely contact you regarding your idea.

Thank you for sharing your view. I believe you got it right on some level - its more of a brand recognition thing. Especially that almost all subscribers are hosting owners/employees, etc.

How about the reach though? Who's got more readers?

Best,
 
I agree totally that these ad outlets are more for brand recognition.

However, this takes you directly back to "Who is going to recognize us?" other hosts.

It depends greatly on the market you're targeting.

Reseller providers, as well as dedicated, VPS, or colo providers would benefit greatly from this kind of recognition. HD, I believe would also benefit from this recognition.

The general hosting company would lose a lot of money, generally get absolutely no ROI, and be recognized by a lot of other folks just like them, which of course.....doesn't equate to very much.
 
Good thinking, Mark. I also believe that since most (if not all) subscribers are hosting company owners - services and products targeting their needs would do greatly. Example? I believe DemoDemo is doing well. I might do well too, I'll see what I can do.
 
Artashes said:
I also believe that since most (if not all) subscribers are hosting company owners - services and products targeting their needs would do greatly.
Click to expand...

Correct, Artashes. If you are provider to web hosts, advertising in PZ will serve you well. It's about as targetted a venue as you can get.

Vito
 
Thank you, Vito. Simon gave me a good idea earlier, so I'm considering PingZine as a potential advertising platform.

Best,
 
Simon said:
Yes, it is most certainly worth it.

Granted, it will not bring you mimmediate ROI, aka instant signups - but what it does provide is the ultimate in advertising: brand recognition.

Brand recognition is "up there" on a par with word-of-mouth advertising, and I guess you could say that at certain times, they are hand-in-hand.

PingZine!'s prices are very, very affordable - having spoken with them on a number of occasions, and being in the process of sending our first print-ads out with them.

TheWhir, whilst a little 'off-side' with their magazine, have relatively good pricing too, especially considering their name, and how established it is, in the hosting sector.

PingZine does win over for me though. It has a following, and a good distribution base. The distribution problems of the past are also behind them, for the larger part.

Art, I have an idea that I would most certainly think you would find beneficial for the HD community - providing you with exposure, aswell as your advertisers also.

Drop me an email if you are interested, Artashes, and I'll zip you it over.

Simon
Click to expand...


Ding ding!

Great post Simon. The money isn't spent for increasing that months conversion rates. It's about branding, exactly as Simon said.

I also agree in that working with Ping Zine, you can get very competitive rates. I of course wouldn't recommend advertising shared hosting, but reseller, dedicated and other product types targeted to hosts are a perfect advertisers.

I do work for a host, and I still check out each of the ads and see what it's all about.
 
For us, advertising in Ping Zine was a waste of a few grand....We had everything setup, awesome deals, and no one rang....

If you decide on going the mag route, be sure your in it for the long term, because thats the only good thing about mag advertising, is it gets you visiblity among readers.

The bad thing is these mags is 100% subscribers are hosting companies

One thing i dont like is the fact that they focus on the large companies, 80% of the companies out there offering hosting is small based sub 5,000 customers.
 
Artashes said:
Trust me, his idea will benefit all you guys just as much as it would me. :agree:
Click to expand...

Is this the idea of Having a HD ad, then the members below them?
 
I wouldn't listen to dubs...he just goes around bashing other hosting companies.

busted!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Lets see here. You come to a forum, specifically register a name to bash a certain member, and post something thats completely random and has no merit. You sir, are immature and need to find a better place to put your time. From what I've seen from dubs, his posts have been meaningful and informative and I do not see how he is bashing other companies. You are the one bashing him. Would you care to be a mature person and explain why you dislike him/his company. And btw, you didn't bust him on anything because you presented no evidence about anything.
 
Thats very random.
Thank you for the complimets btw Jordan. :)
Your posts are very meaningful as well
 
I would have to say it is only worth it for the larger companies to post their advertisements in magazines, <my company> is in a few Online Magazines, but none that are in print... there are so many companies out there its really a strategy for the larger companies
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum supporters

Members recently online

Total: 13

Forum statistics

Threads
80,942
Messages
248,472
Members
20,681
Latest member
zentekinfosoft
Top