“Ads are the new online tip jar” said Seth Godin in a blog post today.And marketers went crazy. Calling Seth crazy!
Yet crazy isn’t quite the word that springs to mind when talking about Seth Godin. Genius is more often apt.
Points to consider.
#1 - Not all advertising is ‘cost per click’. For CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) or CPA (cost per action - sale, opt-in, registration etc.) models, Seth’s advice may actually IMPROVE advertiser ROI (return on investment).
#2 - ‘Frame of mind’ matters in marketing. And contextual advertising, by delivering RELEVANT ads around content, can actually reach targeted eyeballs - if only they’ll click.
CPC fanatics are complaining about clicks by ‘disinterested’ prospects. Yet can a reader who just consumed relevant, targeted, INTERESTING content be considered ‘totally lacking in interest’?
Sure, a prospect roped in this way isn’t the hottest one on earth. But then, contextual search CPC advertising has almost ALWAYS outpulled content ads for that very reason.
#3 - Inside Triiibes.com today, I made this comment on an unrelated discussion.
“Marketing is the tax you pay for being unremarkable. And advertising is the cost you incur for not building your tribe.“
With advertising, you’re shouting at a neutral, apathic, unknown crowd. At best, as a CPC advertiser, you’re paying for one thing only - your prospect’s ATTENTION.
Targeting that prospect is done by contextual models that deliver appropriate ads to audiences. But still, all a CPC advertiser hopes for is that instant of attention from a previously uninterested prospect.
Converting that casual curiosity into overwhelming desire, and leading it into a sale or profit, is the challenge that marketers will have to learn and master - or leave the game.
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5 Comments Received
August 23rd, 2008 @9:55 pm
Seth was suggesting that you click on adwords ads to generate a tip to the Site owner for his nice content.
WHAT? That isn’t a tip. That isn’t spending the vistor’s money, that is spending the ADVERTISERS money and throwing it down the drain.
Jonathan
August 24th, 2008 @2:15 am
Jonathan, when you’re reading stuff a thought-leader like Seth Godin writes, it’s critically important to try and avoid viewing the message through any lenses you’re wearing normally.
Nowhere in the blog post does Seth advising “that you click on adwords ads” - that’s the conclusion a horde of marketers rushed to. Seth did say, and I quote, “If you like what you’re reading, click an ad to say thanks.”
Last time I looked on the Web, NOT all ads are Adwords (or any other form of PPC). And I addressed that point in my post above.
Just saying.
All success
Dr.Mani
August 24th, 2008 @7:42 am
I can appreciate the fact that not all ads are CPC. But, if an ad isn’t CPC what is the point in just “clicking” the ad to say thank you. You aren’t going to get paid unless the user buys the product.
I am pretty sure that an average person can come to the conclusion he was talking about a CPC ad. If we are “to stupid” to come to the same conclusion you came to then the article didn’t serve its purpose.
You mention marketers jumping to conclusions… isn’t this exactly what you just did? How can you be certain he wasn’t talking about an Adwords ad?
I, for one, will not stand for a post like this. If the the vast majority of the population isn’t “smart” enough to come to the conclusion that he wasn’t talking about an Adwords ad he is not only wasting my hard earned money, but a lot of other people’s money.
August 24th, 2008 @5:35 pm
Mike, I’m not sure what you mean.
You ask:
“But, if an ad isn’t CPC what is the point in just “clicking” the ad to say thank you.”
The content provider gets paid by an advertiser to run non-CPC ads.
When a satisfied or delighted reader clicks on an ad displayed with the content, the advertiser benefits - by having a chance to convince a ‘casual prospect’ about the value of his/her offer.
If a certain fraction of those who click out of curiosity end up becoming buyers, the advertiser profits. And if the advertiser profits, the chance is s/he will continue running more ads, which earn the content providers some more money, giving them an incentive to create more such high quality content.
Only with CPC ads does the advertiser pay MORE for clicks than with the other models. And even there, they pay more for getting MORE attention from prospects who have consumed the content.
It may not be obvious or immediately apparent how everything works out in the benefit of all 3 players concerned - the reader, the advertiser and the content provider - but it does, when you take the time and effort to think it through.
That’s why one needs to study a ‘thought leader’ like Seth Godin with an open mind and more than a little care and attention… not just flip through what he says and jump to conclusions.
All success
Dr.Mani
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