As the proliferation on-line advertising increases, readers are developing finely-honed "ad-filters", mentally blocking out the material. As a result, adverts are having to become larger or more intrusive, or designers are resorting to flashing displays or the highly irritating "pop-ups". The net effect is either to drive away traffic or, even worse, alienate readers and potential customers.
No more!
On Umbrella Blog, we are pioneering a new concept in on-line publishing and with it an entirely new advertising concept.
The basis of Umbrella is simplicity itself - an on-line "magazine" composed entirely of blogger-generated content, selected for the scope and range of subjects and the quality of writing and presentation.
As each of our blogger members publish their pieces, a summary and their unique logo appears on the "front page", thus alerting readers to the availability of a new post and providing a convenient link to it (for more about the concept, see here). Umbrella thus becomes a "one stop shop" for the best of the blogosphere.
Now, this is where the revolutionary advertising concept comes in ... we do not have advertisers. The site is "clean" and free from intrusive clutter. Instead, we have sponsoring members. Selected for their relevance to our readers, they are fully integrated with and become part of the Umbrella "family", with their own entries in the members directory. They have their own identifying logo, in the same general format (shape and size) as the other members.
At agreed intervals, they then post on the front page in the standardised format, those posts then appearing with the other posts placed by our regular members. The sponsors' posts, linked either to their company blog or website, may promote a particular product, announce news or developments, or may simply be used to foster brand awareness. There is no limit to the imaginative uses to which the posting mechanism can be put.
Because the posts are integrated with the regular posts, they are more likely to evade the "advert filters", but there is a more important reason why they should be read. As sponsors of the site, and members the "family", those who post on the site engender the good will of the readers, who will know (and be reminded) that it is the sponsors' contributions which make the facility possible and allow it to continue.
Furthermore, if the posts are used imaginatively, to announce genuine news - such as new products, product developments, special offers and the like - they are likely to be treated in the same way as the other posts, offering as they do information on the world around us. This is the very purpose for which our readers come to the site in ever-increasing numbers.
For more details and rates, send us an e-mail via the "contact" button on the sidebar and we will get back to you pronto.
A new concept in on-line advertising
