How should we pay our web ad rep?

October 26, 2009 7:08 PM

How should we pay our web ad rep?

We (partner and I) have got a local arts website that is beginning to do well in terms of readership. We're finally at the point where we want to bring on someone to sell ads.

We've got a good candidate and we're ready to start negotiating their payment.

We're thinking of a small flat fee plus a commission, but don't know how to balance them. We want to be fair - don't want to cheat but don't want to give away the store.

Any advice, anecdotes and/or resources are welcome.

Thanks!

posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

I think the ringing silence is expressing puzzlement at the concept of a "web ad rep." Most websites monetize by signing up with an ad network (like Google's AdSense or Project Wonderful) or affiliate network (like Commission Junction or AdBrite). A techie drops the ads onto the website, and you're all set.

I'm not convinced you will be able to demand enough $ for an ad to balance out hiring an actual person to track down advertisers. You might be surprised how little people are willing to pay to post ads on a website. And most of them will not pay up front, unlike the world of print sales, which makes coming up with the ad rep's salary problematic at best.

If I were in your position, I'd start with dropping a vertical bar of AdSense ads on every page, and seeing how the income rolled.

But since it sounds like you've basically already hired this person, I'd start by offering them 10% off the top. Set up a tiered system, so that the more ads they sell, the better their take - sales above $1,000 per month, and you earn 20% off the top, etc.

Try your hardest to avoid locking yourself into a flat fee; I fear you'll regret it.
posted by ErikaB at 8:58 PM on October 26, 2009

Best answer: I disagree. There are only two kinds of sites that can do really well off direct advertising and popular local sites are one of them.

To get your split rate, look at (off the top of my head) Federated Media, The Deck, Blog Ads, BlogHer and AdBrite. You will find that traditionally the people selling the ads get from 30 - 50% of the ad sell because it's critcal that they be incentivised - if they don't sell your ads, none of you make money. Obviously though you need to sort out your CPM rate, look at your total number of pages delivered per month, and figure out what's viable for you particular business.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:54 PM on October 26, 2009