Posted in Online Publishing Strategy	March 4, 2008

Cross platform promotion and an effective landing page strategy keys to contest success

If your budgets and resources are limited, we advise allocating them to efforts that are easily measured and monetized, like the contest Hearst Digital ran for Good Housekeeping last year. A simply brilliant and timely sweepstakes, offering $250,000 to pay off the winner’s mortgage, resulted in a 35% increase in average monthly unique visitors in the second half of 2007, doubled online subscription revenues in 2007 over the previous year and saw a 34% growth in email addresses.

Wow!

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The success of this contest, naturally, came with careful planning and lots of effective promotion. Offline, they used a swipe across their August issue, a mention in the editor’s letter, a ½ page call-out that tied to an article, a “what’s new” page and a cover wrap for subscriber copies.

Online, they had banners throughout their site, using various creative, mentions in the GH email newsletters (and in the email newsletters of other Hearst titles), a floater, which they called an “arrival layer” and they bought pay-per-click ads. Elyse Thibault, Senior Manager of Marketing & Audience Development, Hearst Magazines Digital Media told the crowd at MPA’s 4th Magazines 24/7 conference that all the offline and online efforts led users to a dedicated landing page, which is part of what led to the success of their high conversion rates.

Learn more tips, tricks and strategies shared at the MPA's 4th Magazines 24/7 Digital Conference

• Facebook and YouTube Searching for Magazine Partnerships – But How Can Publishers Make Money?
  Two keynote addresses at the MPA’s 4th magazines 24/7 conference focused on getting publishers to let go of their content and partner with the social networking and video sharing giants
  
  
• The “Big 4” (Google, Yahoo!, AOL and MSN) Took 85% of All Wholesale Ad Revenue Spent Online in 2007 - What Does This Mean for Magazine Websites?
  “Battle against oligopoly of portals” can be won if magazines can learn to leverage their strong engagement and consumer insights
  
  
• Producing Online Video Can be Very Low Budget – Even for Brands as Big as Newsweek
  You don’t need to be cable TV to produce effective online video – all you need is an inexpensive video recorder and the right market
  
  
• Integrating Ad Sales – “Everyone is Talking About It, But No-one Is Doing It”
  Leading advertising executive says “giving digital ads away for free is dumb” and reminds publishers to understand their role
  
  
• Increase in Magazine Website Traffic Outpaced Overall Internet Growth in Q4 2007
  According to a study done by the MPA, magazine websites posted a strong 8.1% traffic surge in Q4 2007