CPA Networks

Getting in Action: Choosing the Right Ads

Choosing the Right Ads

You'll be looking at just two things here:
  1. What Images to Use
  2. Determining if An Advertiser is Worth Working With

Some Context...

The key thing here with choosing the right ads is: it STARTS with the relationship.

Are you going for being an anonymous publisher or are you working with someone like Sally?

That will set the stage for how you start choosing the ads.

Then, there's another angle to consider here: what will your advertisers' relationships be with your readers? Are they a strong topical / demographic match?

Running beef jerky ads in a vegan magazine is just stupid, no matter how great the affiliate manager or their EPC is, so keep that relationship with your reader at the forefront of your decision-making.

What Images to Use

For starters, let's immediately rule out Flash ads since they can't run in iOS, they make everything slower, and they're usually full of animations and other garbage.

Next, is your decision about whether or not to run animated ads.

My own belief is that animated ads patently suck. I'll never run one, especially in our magazine. Seeing something moving on a magazine page or jump around like a Jack Russel Terrier is, to me, anathema to a good user experience.

You may feel differently and love them. Your prerogative. Inside your magazine app itself, think about what user experience animated ads create before you use one.

On your article landers, it's another story. Those are web pages. Readers are more used to animations on web pages. I may personally dislike them, but it's your call.

Use Quality, High-Res Images

The one shortcoming you may come across with the standard ads in the CPA networks is the overly zealous graphic designer who over-optimizes their company's ads so they're small (and thus fast loading).

You may decide it's sometimes worth using a lower quality, lower resolution ad, especially when it's used outside your App.

Within your App, however, poor quality, i.e. lower resolution / overly optimized ads tend to look like garbage. The iPad and iPhone (and Droid siblings) are high-res devices meant to show things off and make them look fabulous. Low-res images have the opposite effect and can look lousy.

Since it's your brand at stake, take care, and try to stick with good looking, high-res ads.

Bottom line when choosing ads is great EPCs are important, no doubt, but the relationships on all sides of the equation are even more so.

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Negotiating: Perspectives & Leverage 		Next »
Is an Advertiser Worth Working With?