Radio web page ads?

[lurker]

This year was the first year I bought ad space on two web pages belonging to the radio stations I advertised with. I was just reviewing my web stats, and as far as I can tell it was a big fat waste of money. Click throughs from the larger station was .02% of my total, and the other was less than .01%. Has anyone else had any luck with web advertising with your radio station?

[Barry]

Clear Channel has been selling ads on a site for two years here. Last year one haunt owner told me that traffic from my site (hauntedohio.com) was something like 50-1 over the CC site in the first 10 days.

[Haunted Illinois]

I’ve had haunted house owners tell me the same thing; the traffic they got from HauntedIllinois.com was huge, compared to any radio station’s website they advertised on.

If you think of it logically, it makes a lot of sense.

When people want to find out information about a radio station, what songs they were playing or their online personalities, they go to the radio station’s website.

When people are looking for haunted houses, where do they go? …an online Haunted House Directory, of course.

If a radio station comes to you, trying to sell you online ad space, think twice. Don’t fall for their “our site gets over 1,000,000 visitors a month” sales pitch. Even if that IS true, most likely the majority of those people came to the website looking for something other than a haunted house. Do the math. Of those people, how many will even see your banner? How many of those who do find it will be interested enough to click on it?

Advertising on an online Haunt Directory is your best bet and DEFINITELY the most cost-effective, given the two choices, hands down!

[Jim Warfield]

"Worthless" Web Page Listings

Around here newspapers and others give you free web page listings, at least they attelpt to "sweaten the Pot" when trying to get you to buy their regular ads.
Imagine trying to sweaten the pot with a nearly worthless fart!.
("Don't breathe deeply, and there will be enough for everyone!"-Bob Blount)

[Haunts of Richmond]

I would try to negotiate more when going for your radio buy. Try to get your AE to throw in a free website banner so they can earn your business. You may not get the biggest banner that way, but at least it's something.

[Raycliff Manor]

If you purchase radio ads from them you should be able to request that they also include you on their website. I've never had a problem getting the radio stations to include this at no extra cost. The traffic from the radio station sites is negligible though.

Kel

[spookhaven]

We were on 3 different clear channel websites along with spending a ton of money on radio ads. I talked to almost everyone that came to the haunt and our store we opened. The response I got was more from the radio ads and not the websites from the radio stations. This was moreso from the store front. The haunt we tracked and got most of our expose to our website direct from radio and signage/billboards. But searchs on the internet went to hauntworld.com and others with yahoo and google. I personal think a little bit of everything is the way to go with advertising. And word of mouth with the locals is the best. Seeing repeat customers two and three weeks in a row was awesome for us on our second year.

Our local clear channel couldn't give us a click through count so I took it off their sites the second month. They actually charged us 100.00 per site we were on even with thousands spent in radio ads.

[Jim Warfield]

So When clear Channel got done..

One of them checked your wallet and said, "Clear!"
(and the moth sighed, "I thought they swe, oopz too late, my train of thought just derailed,

[lurker]

Well, I bought a pig in a poke this time around. It won’t happen again.
For the past several years I had the same Clear Channel rep, and we always worked out accommodating deals. I guess she moved to a different job this year, and I got a new rep., and he wasn't as enthusiastic about our account as his predecessor had been.
I think my radio advertising is going to be a lot less next year. Based on customer surveying I think those ad dollars can best be spent elsewhere. Our posters seemed to have more drawing power this year than radio.