Offbeat Advertising FAQ

Who can I reach by advertising on offbeatbride.com? Gimme stats!
The traffic on the site is steadily growing, but as of August 2008, here are the stats:

• Offbeatbride.com reaches over 96,000 unique visitors a month
• Offbeatbride.com has 485,000 pageviews a month.
• Mostly of the readership is based in the US and Canada, and a few in the UK and Australia. For a breakdown of city markets based on web traffic, click here.

Where exactly will my ad appear?
Your ad appears as a post in the body of the blog in-line with quality editorial content read by over a 3800 brides every day. As the ad ages, it moves down the homepage like a regular blog post, moving into the paginated archives after approximately two weeks. Offbeat advertisers are also featured on Vendors & Shopping tab of the site.

Can I buy an ad in the sidebar of offbeatbride.com?
No. Unlike most sites where your ad is relegated to a little link in the sidebar or a garish banner ad, your ad on offbeat bride is part of the blog, posted as editorial content.

Can anyone advertise on offbeatbride.com?
No. I do not accept all advertisers. This is part of the service I offer to the readers of offbeatbride.com — I act as an editorial filter, which is a benefit for both readers and advertisers. Readers find vendors, products, and services aligned with their values. Advertisers, meanwhile, receive the added credibility of editorial recommendation and don’t waste their money on a campaign that isn’t going resonate with the readership.

Are your rates monthly? How long will my ad be on offbeatbride.com?

“Six months after advertising, I still get TONS of traffic from Offbeat Bride — it’s so great how my ads stay up forever; I’m still getting new clients from them.” -Washington DC photographer

The rates are for an ad that will appear forever. You’ll receive the most clicks during the first two weeks, as your ad moves down the homepage. After that time, your ad moves onto the second page of the site, but it will remain in the archives forever. Your ad is never deleted from the site, which means brides can always find it and that the SEO value of the link goes on and on. If you’re thinking “Huh? SEO?” keep reading.

Does an ad on offbeatbride.com improve my rank in search engines?
Yes. Being linked by a popular blog increases your site’s PageRank and will help you show up higher in search engines like Google.

Here’s how it works: I link to your company website using your keywords — for instance, Super 8 Wedding Films. Search engines favor sites that have been linked by blogs, and so this means that when people search Google for “Super 8 Wedding Films,” not only is your Offbeat Bride ad going to show up, but your site more likely to appear higher in the results because you’ve been linked by a popular blog using those keywords. (Look how high Layer Cake Films shows up — thanks to Offbeat Bride!) In addition, your offbeatbride.com ad is archived as a link with all the other content on the site, meaning that your one-time ad investment brings you ongoing search engine value.

Ok, I understand SEO. What’s your Google PageRank?
Offbeatbride.com (where your ad first appears) has a page rank of 5. Offbeatbride.com/tags/offbeat-blog/vendors-shopping/ads (where your ad will ultimately be archived) has a page rank of 3.

Who writes the ad?
I do, which is part of the cost of the advertisement. I treat my advertisers like clients, and offer my copywriting services as part of the advertising package. I’ve got almost a decade of experience as an award-winning copywriter and web marketer for industry giants like Amazon.com, Disney, and Microsoft. You give me the keywords you want linked, and tell me what features and benefits of your goods or services you want me to touch on. I then write the post about your product.

Do I get to approve the ad before you post it?
Nope. That’s the “editorial” part of advertorial. I promise to hit on all the keywords, features, and benefits you specify, but I do so in my own words, in my own way.

Can you help me figure out a fun offbeat promotion to go with my ad?
Sure. I’ve helped advertisers do everything from promotional offbeat discounts all the way to co-sponsored contests.

Can I advertise multiple times?
Yep. Although your ad is archived forever on the site, you’re welcome to run another ad with updated information, new promotions, etc.

I advertised with you a while back, but things have changed since then. Can you update my old ad?
Not unless you advertise again.

How many ads do you run?
Never more than two feature ads a week, although text link ads may appear more often. Although this means I make less money, limiting the number of ads ensures that readers aren’t overwhelmed by too much advertorial content, and ensures that each advertiser maximizes their window of exposure on the site.

How do you pick which advertisers you accept?
My goal is to make happy advertisers. I do this by accepting less than half the advertising business that comes to me. I base my decisions on whether or not I feel my readership will resonate with the product, as determined by:

• Specific relevance of product to nontraditional brides
• Website design
• Price point of product
• Performance of ads of similar products in the past

Most of my advertisers are indie business owners with limited budgets. Unlike many web advertising venues, I actually care about how my advertisers’ campaigns do, and I won’t accept an advertiser’s money unless I truly believe you’ll make it back from my readership.

How much do ads cost?
Check out the rate sheet.

Ready to advertise?

Please email me with your name and company URL. I’ll get back to you within 24 hours to let you know if you’re a good fit to advertise on the site.