The first week of text ads has sold out already!

October 24, 2001 7:32 AM

The first week of text ads has sold out already!
posted by mattpfeff to MetaFilter-Related at 7:32 AM (20 comments total)

So should Matt raise prices, or what? (I think, btw, that it's smart that he's put the moratorium on selling them -- I know if I bought an ad I'd want to reach at least a majority of MeFi readers, and if there are too many ads in circulation at one time, they become less valuable.)
posted by mattpfeff at 7:38 AM on October 24, 2001

Rats. I'm still waiting for my cash transfer into my PayPal account. Guess I'll have to check after I get back from my vacation in two weeks.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 7:40 AM on October 24, 2001

the other thing you might consider matt, is allowing new advertisers to sign up now, while it's still hot hot hot, but not allowing them to set start dates earlier than, say, 11/1.
posted by judith at 8:38 AM on October 24, 2001

Tough choices... Congrats on the cash Matt. I still love the text ads. :-) Maybe double up ads??

I know if I bought an ad I'd want to reach at least a majority of MeFi readers, and if there are too many ads in circulation at one time, they become less valuable

That's typically true in "real world" advertising, where you're building a campaign and brand awareness, but not so here. I don't click on banner ads. I hate ads. I don't patronize them, especially popup or popunder ads.

But I LOOOOOVE the text ads and click on them every time I see a new one... (or almost)

With more ads in circulation, there is less of a chance that I will get a repeat impression on a page refresh, which makes all of the ads more efficient. We are an audience of willing clickers if they are one of our own. No campaigns are needed and hence concentration is less important.
posted by fooljay at 9:07 AM on October 24, 2001

What about putting text ads inside the threads themselves?
posted by iceberg273 at 9:09 AM on October 24, 2001

iceberg: it's probably a better idea to let demand remain high and have people wait for their chance to run an ad, thereby guaranteeing a constant flow of ads for some stretch of the future, than to risk blowing the whole thing out by running ads everywhere. Perceived scarcity leads to increased value, and all that.

In testimony to the sheer coolness of Matt's advertising strategy, I've actually caught myself thinking of buying some ad impressions for Edgecase. Coming from a raving anti-commercial anarchist type, that's kind of scary.

-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 9:31 AM on October 24, 2001

Or...you can start selling pop-up windows. People love those!
posted by Mark at 9:47 AM on October 24, 2001

I like the text ads, too. I feel like it's MeFi-ers supporting a community, rather than Madison Avenue exploiting one.

Still, I'm all for more text ads, maybe in the threads? Or on metatalk? I'm not thinking about numbers of impressions or clickthrus -- I'm talking about Matt being able to let this site pay for iself.
posted by bjennings at 10:04 AM on October 24, 2001

The reason why I think this works is because it is advertising being sold to the user community itself. If the advertising was from outsiders, it would be different; if the ads were for deodorant or beer or feminine hygene products (whatever those are) they'd be a lot less effective.

The fact that most of the advertisers are themselves non-commercial changes things a lot.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 10:14 AM on October 24, 2001

The ads really feel like ads in a zine, something I had never seen or imagined on the web before -- a third way of sorts.
posted by sudama at 10:14 AM on October 24, 2001

I never see the ads; can you make them appear on lofi?
posted by rebeccablood at 10:33 AM on October 24, 2001

I'm such an ad floozy I've been clicking like crazy and discovering how many of you have websites. I could never be bothered to go the user profiles and click on them there. I need the colour, the glamour, the tease!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:58 AM on October 24, 2001

I'd take orders as far ahead in advance as demand will last, so everyone can get their place in line.

If the demand stretches too far out, for instance, until March, then I'd start looking to increase the price.

Textads are awesome. Who'd have thought that they'd actually *add* to the experience rather than take away? (take rebecca's comment above as an example : she's actually requesting advertising! ;)
posted by jragon at 12:31 PM on October 24, 2001

I say keep the price the same and put them on thread pages as well.
posted by rushmc at 12:31 PM on October 24, 2001

I agree with rushmc.
posted by timothompson at 2:54 PM on October 24, 2001

Who'd have thought that they'd actually *add* to the experience rather than take away?

Taking the print analogy further, it reminds me of visiting a new city and picking up the free weekly -- not just for the news and features but to identify the interesting neighborhoods by what kinds of shops are where.
posted by sudama at 3:03 PM on October 24, 2001

me too
posted by walrus at 4:13 AM on October 25, 2001

Heh. I meant me too.

(getting my coat now)
posted by walrus at 4:15 AM on October 25, 2001

I don't think it's a good idea to put the ads on the thread pages. The reason is because those readers are "honing in" on a topic - so the ad becomes a distraction that's ignored. Yet on the front page, readers are still in "cruising for links" mode, making them more open to the idea of discovering another (mostly) non-commercial site.
posted by wenham at 1:00 PM on October 25, 2001

"Cruising for links"? How kinky. But I don't think a text ad on the side of my thread would trouble me that much.
posted by timothompson at 3:32 PM on October 25, 2001