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Behold The Sponsored Post

Starting Monday, April 20th 2009 the top position on the ActiveRain Feature Board will be available for paid sponsorship.

Sponsored Posts will run for 24 hour periods, 12:00:00am to 11:59:59pm.

Sponsors are welcome to sell/advertise their products and services in most any fashion they see fit, so long as they coincide with ActiveRains Terms of Use...in other words...no pornography, unauthorized use of copyrighted material etc

It will be interesting to see how sponsors use this valuable real estate to flex their creative marketing muscles...

Well, that's it!

Contact Chris Martin for pricing, availability and scheduling.

Posted by Jeff Corbett on 04/20/2009 05:14 PM

Comments (99)

sponsored post, activerain advertising

99 Comments on Behold The Sponsored Post

APR

Wow! It works :)

Anyone want to buy something from me?

So now the fearured post will be a 2 flat on the south side of Chicago sponsored by McDonalds Chicken Fingers.

Interesting idea Jeff. My IE crashed and then I came back and here this was.

It will be interesting to see how people use this. TLW said she had some ideas but wasn't telling...

Interesting.... not sure I like this idea, but we'll see. What type of price are you talking about for the sponsorship?

Looks like the guys in the Board Room have been busy with some new money making ideas for Activer Rain! A good thing...money that is! Can help make things better!

Just like how I felt after that closing on Thursday!

Will we see you in Charlotte?

Hey all...

The Sponsored Post is intended for advertisers who want broad exposure to a national audience of real estate and affiliated industry professionals as well as the millions of consumers who visit AR on a monthly basis.

In other words, the cost to sponsor for a day isn't cheap (relatively speaking)...

The upside is, the vendors who do sponsor this slot likely have something really important to say :)

Aloha Jeff,

I'll take a nickle bag of funk and a side of tiddly winks! If you can't earn your way to the top...buy your way, it's the American Way!

Peace,

I'll pay for it. It will be a monster of a blog too.

okay, just read your recent reply..now i'm curious as to "how much."

Jeff, I have something really important to say, the question is: can I afford to say it?

Do single mothers with disabilities who have 12 small children and are veterans of a foreign war get a discount?

I want to read Greg's monster blog. Of course I want to know the price to. Jeff have we got any tracking of consumer exposure and bounce rates?

Aloha Kimo! Pass the message on to vendors of funk and tiddly winks :)

@Greg email me...

@Virginia: Ummm, yes, yes they do!

Ok Jeff, you have us hopelessly addicted ~ what are you going to charge us for next?(LOL)

Larry from Greensboro! I lived there for 8 years, still visit frequently. AR receives ~2.5M visitors per month, 85% is organic (from SERPS)...bounce rates vary widley from blog to blog.

Sandy- Not charging you for anything...just sponsors who want to show off their cool wares to people like you :)

I can't wait to see the first sponsor - this will be fun to see everyday and maybe a cool "shopping" spot for us re agents!

Sponsors will be able to track how many hits their article gets from their My Home Page...

This article has already gotten 149 views in less than an hour on a Friday at 11pm est...ill post total # of views over the next 24 hours...

Well, Bob's always been accused of taking bribes for 'Featuring' articles. At least now it can be legit...

Rich- Yep...Bob was none to pleased to hear of this, put a real dent in his wallet ;)

Interesting concept - looking forward to see how it works out.

I see this revenue generating idea as the golden goose for AR... levels the playing field for all the "un-cool kids."

As the book says -- we all live a sponsored life..... interesting ... will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

It should be interesting to see what's featured here. It certainly caught my attention.

Jeff, interesting idea. It should be a great revenue generator for AR! It will be fun to see who the first sponsor will be.

Behold!!!... and it was good.

APR

This is going to be really interesting.. I'm sure there will be some type of a waiting list as well.. Would love to hear the cost.

Very interesting....

Jeff - thanks for the notice. Interesting idea. Looking forward to see who takes advantage, and what the response will be.

Jeff

One sponsored post at a time? Very interesting.

I'm looking forward to see how this pans out. Not sure I like the concept, but I can understand AR looking for revenue.

valerie osterhoudt

I will be interested to see who has the first sponsored post, and number of comments, etc. It is a great advertising spot!

LOL...

It does work and caught me by surprise too :)

TLW...ROAR!

And this costs what and how do we get it? I have to say there are almost too many changes taking place at AR. I'm starting to feeling overwhelmed by them.

I see it now - looks very nice - the format doesn't take away from the others - cool idea!

How much? I am curious to how many people visit AR on a monthly, weekly and daily basis.

@Rich - I think I was the first to try and bribe Bob!! lol~

It looks like some of the commenters above understand this sponsored post position to be used by our real estate practitioners. While I suppose this use is possible, it is not what we intend. The position is primarily for real estate service and product vendors to use to reach our members.

Can I sell some of my features? Maybe I can sell some banner ads on My posts. I like that idea.

Hey Bryant- Go for it! :)

Chris must be BRAND NEW.... a couple of points and no post.

Well...

That was amusing while it lasted. Poof :)

P.S. We've decided to use our Blog Skins to sell advertising :)

TLW...ROAR!

Kat- Chris is brand spanking new...Formerly with CitySearch, he's AR's 'Director of Advertising'...big time title and all :)

TLW- Woot!

Hey Jeff - Interesting new feature!. I will have to see what happens. Thanks for the info! I noticed the feature said 'sponsored' and was wondering exactly what was going on! Now, I know it's $$$ and like you said, exposure. The company has got the money and is paying for the spot. Frankly, it means a lot more to me to see agents who comment on their own about the success of a product rather than through a 'sponsored' blog. The verdict is out!

Mary

Is it pornography if the house has been stripped on the inside?

Hey Bruce-

"Frankly, it means a lot more to me to see agents who comment on their own about the success of a product rather than through a 'sponsored' blog."

I agree, and the best sponsored posts would be of the type where professionals genuinely write about the sucess using the sponsors product...

@Joe- no, yes, kind of? :)

I might be bypassing those posts quite often. I think the best way to get me to buy from you is the soft sell. Not the in your face featured post. I hope they can't delete comments.

"I hope they can't delete comments."

Spot on! Best have a good product or service and be prepared to back it up! :-)

IMHO, there's no better way to communicate with clients- past, current and potential...

No pornography!?!? I guess I am out

"Well, that's it!"

Gee...there goes the neighborhood, next will be a couple of fast food joints and then another sponsored "BILLBOARD" and another and eventually you just... Pave paradise and put up a parking loT

*Laughing with Renee and her wonderful sense of humor and agreeing completely with Kimo's "Buy your way, it's the American Way!"

What am I supposed to do living in Sin City and all

j/k

I clicked on the hyperlink for ChrisMartin to find out about the pricing and the link doesn't work. I am interested to know more so please let me know what the link it.

Thank you....Patricia/ Portsmouth NH Real Estate

Cool. I probably won't be taking advantage of it... but since it is clearly a paid spot, I don't see an issue here...

Jeff, I like this idea that you have implemented...or was this Chris's idea?

Renee--If it would help you sell some homes in Sin City,I can't imagine Bob & Jeff turning YOU down! ;-)

What, no garage ads, Lane? LOL

I'm looking forward to seeing what (SMART) vendors see this as THE place to advertise their wares to us--hopefully they'll offer AR members BIG discounts!

Hey Jeff, Bob started a little rumor that you may be at REBar Camp (May 15) here in Charlotte (and him too)?! I've built up the planning committees hopes...PLEASE don't let us down! ;-)

One more thing--we're hoping for Brad & Jeremy too (for REBar Camp) and have not gotten answers yet but, would LOVE to have all of you guys here in the Southeast! Do let us know if you can come and who will be coming!

OH, you said you lived in G-Boro--were you at UNCG or were you selling real estate?

Cool idea! It seems the price is still secret....why not just put it out there? It can't be so high that you're embarassed to publish it.

Hmm, interesting we (Trump University) might be interested. Ill contact Chris next week or feel free to have him contact me directly.

I hope it is successful I will check it out thanks.

APR

You guys keep the changes coming fast and furious. I'm having a hard time keeping up with all of them. Hope this one turns out successful. Curious as to the cost.

Debe :)

I'm not sure that I am crazy about this idea.

I understand that AR is in this to make money, and it looks like they have several streams of income. To me, we start to muddy the waters when we start selling prime real estate on the featured home page to those that are looking to sell something.

I see the home page as sacred ground, kind of like the bases in baseball. You don't sell ads on that real estate in my opinion.

Mark MacKenzie wrote: "To me, we start to muddy the waters when we start selling prime real estate on the featured home page to those that are looking to sell something. "

Wondering why that is prime real estate? Yes it is a popular spot... but is it productive as it is used now? Some of the featured posts are fun, some are educational but a lot of the conversations started are mostly "Great post thanks for sharing" or "Congratulations on the gold star." It is RE industry person to RE industry person. Why not sell business to business advertising in the form of a sponsored post on the page where the majority of the members eyes are? Why should ActiveRain instead delegate something that is going to make them $ to a less seen page?

Maybe some of those who are posting about their products on their blogs yet not engaging readers will use the sponsored spot and get some business from it.

I'd rather see those who are using other members posts to sprinkle their comment spam about their service or product against AR guidelines, use a sponsored post.

You have to generate some funds so its all good! It will be interesting to see what comes out on top of the featured section.

I am curious. All of us want to know the cost. We ask questions by nature. Why not post here?

Hi Jeff: You said early in the comments you would continue to - and I quote: "I'll post total # of views over the next 24 hours..." HOWEVER - you have failed to do so! I was curious to see what kind of "view" statistics a featured top post gets. I guess the answer is 149 in an hour and then after that it is a Colonel Sanders secret - LOL

Will be waiting to see what happens.

Jeff, I love Renee Burrow's comment from Sin City. Sex sells. Ah, but then it wouldn't be following the guidelines LOL. Another interesting money making idea though and it will be fascinating to see which topics or promotions make it into that top "paid" spot. I think everyone is curious on pricing and if it will have an auction model like eBay.

Does anyone want to buy a link on my PR4 blog?? - LOL

Thats one way of knocking off the perrenial position holders

It will be interesting to see the first sponsored post.

I think this is a great way for AR to make some additional money and even for professionals to get some additional exposure by spending some of their marketing dollars.

Go for it!!

Yet another great idea. ? "Who do I contact to find out about the cost?" The hyperlink for ChrisMartin doesn't work???

Advise pls.

Patricia/Portsmouth NH Real Estate

There are way too many "commercials" already, this just dilutes the credibility of the site.

Why does this post keep "popping" back up to the top? Oh wait...never mind...

AR has many vendor members who ask to have their posts sponsored, others who walk a fine line -to- blatantly market via comments, and are otherwise looking for ways to market their wares to other AR professional members.

We're simply creating vehicles to do this in a resonable, effective, obvious and cost effective fashion...for both AR and providers of good products and services.

If you Sponsor a Post about your product or service, it had idealy be:

A) A good product :) B) Well written and laid out. C) Educational more than transactional. D) Offering a special to the members of ActiveRain. <-- Not a requirement but a great idea. E) Written by a member who is using your product successfully.

@jeremy: its been batted around the office and thrown up against the wall for a couple months now.

@Debe- Theres no way I could miss Charlotte!

@Matt: 849 clicks in 24 hours. We'll be running formal analytics on the spot going forward.

I say "go for it". Who cares if it's on the feature board? If we don't want to look at it, we just don't click on it. I don't understand why some people are upset by this? I certainly don't get how it dilutes the credibility? It would be different if we were forced to look at the ads. Hope you have great success with it!

Now that I've sucked up....I'm heading to REBar Charlotte in May also...how many AR Gods can we get? LOL..really, the more the merrier! I'd love to meet ALL of you :) I'll do more brown nosing when necessary if that's what it takes, rotfl.

Hahahahaaa! Thanks for the laugh Elizabeth... :-)

Great idea Jeff...

The MEMBERS of AR have spoken! It will be interesting to see the sponsored posts... and it will be more interesting to see the reaction. I'll stay tuned to see what unfolds.

I think it is an interesting idea. I like how the sponsored part is a different color so it serves 2 purposes- it stands out for the advertiser, and for the AR members who don't agree they can just overlook it. I am definitely interested to see what goes in that spot!

BIG XOXOXOXO to you Jeff! THANKS--can't wait to see you. We're working on the BAR part of the camp now--will let everyone know! ;-)

Debe in Charlotte

Awesome, there is actually a way for me to get a featured post!LOL

Well this will be interesting. Can't wait to see how it works out.

I can't wait to see how this works, Jeff. It'll be a new area to explore tomorrow morning.

Cool. Now we can really spread all kinds of rumors about bribery and favoritism. *Mwa ha ha haaaaa* j/k

LMAO @ ERCG. Too funny. I like the idea. Very cool.

Hi Jeff. :-) How many daily slots? Two? Three? One with over 143K members doesn't seem like enough. 365 for the year may be doing you guys a disservice. :-)

Drats. I'm bumped out of the system. The comment above is from CTannStarr. :-)

APR

I'm not sure how would it work.. .I can wait to see it.

hmmm this has some implications. some of the vendors who right on active rain will be featured for free and others will have to pay. I hope this doesn't cause any problems for you.

Why not just sell a banner ad?

I juat checked out the featured page and it is barely even noticeable. I hope this helps AR but I'm waiting to see how it works.

I'm just interested in seeing who and what decides to advertise to us here on AR. I have a few ideas of what we will see, but time will tell.

I'd like to see the sponsored post giving something away to us! Not sure about this...

OK so how much? How about posting that information. The suspense is killing us :)

APR

Does the fact that ActiveRain’s Weltanschauung is the sponsored post today and yesterday was Brad Andersohn mean that no one who writes business to business blog posts has stepped up to write a sponsored post?

They are all busy writing them? They can resubmit posts they have previously written can't they? Posts are occasionally refeatured aren't they??? There have to be plenty of them... out there.

APR

Pay Per Feature? I dunno, F X. Sounds complicated.

JUL

I wonder if any of the sponsors will be giving away free ginzu knives if we act in the first 3 hours.

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