Increasing revenue by selling advertising space - any tips?

**FishBowl** · 01-19-2010 05:11 AM

My website follows three start-up businesses through blog posts and video uploads.

One of the businesses is run by a guy called Matt, and is called Sharabang Music. It's a band management company, and, as part of it, he is buying a double decker bus to use for promotions and transporting bands and their fans around gigs.

It's a really exciting time for him, and you can read more about it at www dot inafishbowl dot co dot uk. He's Fishbowl One.

Anyway, he is now looking to increase his revenue by selling advertising space on the side of his bus. Has anyone got any tips on finding companies and choosing the right ones for your business? Should adverts be relevant to your company or does it not matter? Any advice would be much appreciated and passed on to Matt. You can also message him on Twitter @fishbowlone.

**Wayne Liew** · 01-19-2010 08:12 AM

Before going out to find advertisers, your friend needs to understand what are the demographics of the people that will be looking at the advertisements. Are they motorists following the bus or people on the sidewalks? What are the frequent routes that the bus takes and how often the bus will be on the road?

The best place to start will probably be local businesses. It's best to let them know all the information above and show them the bus (photos should be sufficient).

Ads don't need to be relevant but as a business, you must make sure that companies that advertise on the bus isn't selling or promoting questionable products or services and will not bring an adverse image to your company or the band that your friend is transporting. Don't be afraid to turn down offers.

**rogercbryan** · 01-19-2010 08:45 AM

You need a lot of traffic to sell advertising space. I would start with Google Adsense first. This will give you some historical data about your ability to create value for those who advertise on your site. If you are getting less then 1000 hits a day you'll probably not be able to sell much advertising space.

**OverrideHost** · 02-19-2010 12:21 PM

increase page rank and site traffic

**FishBowl** · 02-26-2010 08:36 AM

Hi all,

Wayne - I think your advice has really helped Matt in his search for advertisers. It's difficult to decide, I think, whether the adverts need to be relevant to the specific business he is running, or if people will simply view them as a means to an end and take notice if they are interested in the ad and ignore it if they are not.

Roger, I have passed on your information too but, at the moment, Matt doesn't have a website! I know, shock horror in this day in age (discuss perhaps?) but it's certainly something to bear in mind.

Thanks for your help guys.

I have actually just posted another question from Matt about VAT, would be great to get your advice there too. I really do pass it on and, hopefully, we get some useful discussions going here which are valuable to other entrepreneurs too.

Laura