Ridiculous CPMs on Direct Media Buys........

M

MistorToker

Myopic Asshole
Mar 31, 2010
245
6
0
Bay Area, CA
Recently, I've been contacting sites directly to establish demographic data for a campaign before expanding to larger network buys. Over the course of a week, I've gotten bullshit quotes from site owners with less than 1 mil uniques/month, such as $7-$30 cpm. Are these sites even worth negotiating with? Is their traffic quality really good enough to justify that price? I've had limited success with low five figure media buys on website with self-service advertising, but it seems 99% of webmasters won't even think about drafting an IO unless you pay premium CPMs.

Thoughts?
 


MistorToker said:
99% of webmasters won't even think about drafting an IO unless you pay premium CPMs.
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^^ This

The only reason for a site to sell direct is to beat the remnant CPM they can get from networks. Then factor in the hassle of managing relations with media buyers, dealing with IO drafting, installation of tags and real possibility of buyers triggering out clauses. This makes it worth only for selling ads at high premium, unless you are a very large site with lots of unsold inventory.

My 2 cents as someone on both sides of buying/selling media...
 
Tell them you're a peformance marketer and can't pay these CPM's which they'd quote to branders. Say you can buy a lot more/all of their inventory if they can offer you $x CPM. If they say no, move on.

MistorToker said:
Recently, I've been contacting sites directly to establish demographic data for a campaign before expanding to larger network buys. Over the course of a week, I've gotten bullshit quotes from site owners with less than 1 mil uniques/month, such as $7-$30 cpm. Are these sites even worth negotiating with? Is their traffic quality really good enough to justify that price? I've had limited success with low five figure media buys on website with self-service advertising, but it seems 99% of webmasters won't even think about drafting an IO unless you pay premium CPMs.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
 
I think the worst quote I ever got was a $75 CPM. I remember laughing pretty hard at that one. I'm pretty sure even branders aren't stupid enough to pay those kinds of rates.

You have to remember to tell these guys you are a direct marketer, not a brander, and that you just can't pay the premium brand rates. If they don't want to come down to a reasonable rate, simply give them your contact details, tell them that you will not be able to pay that and if they change their mind and are willing to drop to $x CPM then give you a call.

You'll be surpised, but some do call back. I've even put the squeeze on a callback before and got him to lower my suggested price because "I've already spent my budget on other inventory now".

That said, there are plenty of sites that are deluded about what their traffic is worth, and there are plenty who aren't. Just keep trying and you'll find some good placements.
 
just wondering, how do you go about finding sites to do media buys from directly? i'm working from the other side of things, running a site with about 20 mill pageviews per month and trying to sell directly instead of going through ad networks where they take a 50% cut.
 
pstation said:
just wondering, how do you go about finding sites to do media buys from directly? i'm working from the other side of things, running a site with about 20 mill pageviews per month and trying to sell directly instead of going through ad networks where they take a 50% cut.
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QuantCast FTW.

But do PM me the niche of your site, I may be interested.
 
pstation said:
just wondering, how do you go about finding sites to do media buys from directly? i'm working from the other side of things, running a site with about 20 mill pageviews per month and trying to sell directly instead of going through ad networks where they take a 50% cut.
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You find a site running google adsense and fucking attack them.
 
Yaxxx said:
Tell them you're a peformance marketer and can't pay these CPM's which they'd quote to branders. Say you can buy a lot more/all of their inventory if they can offer you $x CPM. If they say no, move on.
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This, You'd be surprised how fast the CPM's drop
 
Last week I was quoted $135 CPM. They did offer to suck my dick however, so it could be cheaper than being married...
 
As a publisher, I can shed some light on this. The sites you are calling are just throwing out that quote. Its almost their "rack" rate. Some advertisers come out of the blue and just don't blink at paying off the rate card....to this day this amazes me.

Our remnant inventory migrates from $1.17 to $2.05 depending on the site. Then we use vertical networks to fill the mid range, which is targeted buys from $2.50 - $6 (showing a BMW ad on an auto site is what I mean by targeted). Then the large agencies step in for CPG, Entertainment, Auto and Health branding campaigns that go from $5.50 - $12.

The lower the rate, then the less control you have. Its often below the fold, uncapped, no geo-target, no day target..etc..etc. As the CPM moves up, then those doors open since the campaign needs to be managed more. But even at the remnant rate, if you just need a broad demo ( male or female) or an age group, you can get in there most of the time, you just need to step up with a $2.5K - $5K test buy.

I have 40MM impressions on an entertainment site that needs $3.50 for a guaranteed fill, but I can take anything north of $2.25 on a best case for remnant. I also have 14MM impression on an outdoor network ( hikers, climbers, extreme sports, action sports) that can take $1.50 - $2.25 for a guarantee.

If anyone wants to test, PM me.
 
The economy is starting to rebound and branding and large marketers are moving in to advertise legitimate products not a fly by night flog. Affiliates are being squeezed out it's only going to get worse from here.
 
kingfish said:
The economy is starting to rebound and branding and large marketers are moving in to advertise legitimate products not a fly by night flog. Affiliates are being squeezed out it's only going to get worse from here.
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Read as: Affiliates who provide no value and use crutch marketing to market crutch offers are being squeezed out.
 
MistorToker said:
Recently, I've been contacting sites directly to establish demographic data for a campaign before expanding to larger network buys. Over the course of a week, I've gotten bullshit quotes from site owners with less than 1 mil uniques/month, such as $7-$30 cpm. Are these sites even worth negotiating with? Is their traffic quality really good enough to justify that price? I've had limited success with low five figure media buys on website with self-service advertising, but it seems 99% of webmasters won't even think about drafting an IO unless you pay premium CPMs.
Click to expand...

Tell them they have to be dreaming and throw them back a number. In Media Buying, always make sure your in control. Most will negotiate with you assuming your rate isn't extremely low... If they don't, don't worry about it and move on.
 
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