Before start the directory
business, it’s important to understand that directory with promotional modules
are really about helping businesses join the conversation already taking place
on your website. That is helping them reach the audience that you’ve cultivated
in a way that provides value for your readers.
To that end, there are several
ways you can help them do so.
1)
Integrate your Directory with Social Media Promotions
Social Media Integration making the Open medium the best place to
build your brand, find your services for every listing will take on your
directory portal.
2) Contest Module
Best of Contests are a special type of social promotion that
worthy its own category. For those publishers with a local directory, this is a
great opportunity to promote the directory and sign up for new directory
listings.
While it may not generate much revenue directly (although you can,
and should, sell a premium sponsorship for the contest), it will help you drive
traffic to your site which in turn will help you sell other things in the
future. Plus, readers love them!
3)
Reviews Contest Module
If you have a directory that features reviews of local businesses,
reviews contests are great way to get businesses to engage with your
site/brand.
For example, you could say the business with the most reviews in
the next 30 days will be featured with a full page spread in the next issue (or
on the homepage for web only publishers).
Of course, in order for them to collect reviews, they’ll need to
sign up for a free directory listing which in turn you can use to market the
benefits of a premium listing or other digital offerings. It will also help you
grow your traffic.
4)
Banner Ads Module
Banner ads are the most common way people think about monetizing
their websites and you could spend hours talking about the pros and cons of all
the different options such Google Ads, Ad Networks, Direct sales, etc. However,
one thing’s for sure, they should be a part of your strategy but not be the
only way you monetize your website.
5)
Local Guides / Special Advertising Pages Module
Specialized pages on your website can be used to highlight
different topics, areas, events or ideas that are important to your local
area.
For example, you could create a local holiday gift guide, a
special page that highlights your historic downtown area or simply provide a
list of schools. These pages provide you with great local SEO and also the
opportunity to sell exclusive sponsorships to those businesses that wish to be
associated with the various topics.
6)
Events Calendar Module
The calendar may be one of the most important as it will be the
thing that keeps people coming back to your website over and over again. That
said, it’s also got limited direct revenue potential.
You can however offer featured events that show up more prominently
for those event promoters looking for added exposure. You can also offer to
announce or recap events in an advertorial (see below) for an additional fee.
7)
Email Newsletter Module
Email is still one of the most powerful ways to promote businesses.
Whether they’re looking to remain top of mind or promote a sale, email
sponsorships provide a captivated audience to present their offer.
8)
Coupons Module
Offering businesses the ability to offer coupons on your website
is another way to increase your directory revenue. This could be in the form of
a special page on your directory or further integrated into the directory
experience but either way it’s a nice way to keep people coming back to the
site while also helping businesses drive new business.
9)
Deals/Loyalty Program Module
Deals are a hot topic these days. With sites like Groupon and
Living Social offering one time deals with no limits, the deals can quickly get
upside down and, if not carefully monitored, can end up costing business money
instead of making them money.
Publishers have the opportunity to take a slightly different
approach here. By offering a deals service on a subscription basis, they can
help businesses better estimate their costs and promote multiple deals as opportunities
arise including deals which are based on a fixed amount of inventory.
By integrating this into the directory experience you can also
incorporate a loyalty program of sorts into the process.
10)
Advertorials Module
Advertorials are educational and/or entertaining articles that are
published on your website (although advertorials can be print based as well)
that highlight a business or person. The main purpose of advertorials is to
help the advertiser brand themselves as the community expert in a given field
or topic.
11)
Local Job Board Module
Last on our list, is a community job board. A simple system to
help connect local job seekers and local employers without the hassle of
complicated systems and recruiters can be a valuable community service. Plus
you can charge business a small fee to post their job listings.
Choosing the right medium to help & achieve more from
directory portal. Signin to ezydir directory platform to get more promotional
& advanced marketing modules.
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