Every web site of any size or seriousness will eventually need to offset the operating costs of the site, with money generated from (usually) advertisers. This, I think, is one of those confusing and difficult steps in the evolution of a successful and popular site. Well, here we are! In this new and constantly changing place we call the Internet, there are, it seems, no easy answers on how to get sponsored. Our research always seems to lead us away from what we are all about: song lyrics, music and you! Yet it is a necessary part of allowing us to continue to grow and develop our site.
You may have noticed that we have added some advertising banners to
some of the pages. It is to early to tell how well they will do (they only
help us if they are clicked, so please ...), but at least it's a start.
And of course there is the LRc store!
We're pretty excited about it because, this is a place for us to put great
things designed to help you to become better writers (and have some fun
too!). While it's still new and developing, we have big hopes that it will
grow to help support the site. So, buy those books
and music! And read them and listen to the lyrics of the artists
we've chosen. They're going to help you. Now, back to advertising ....
As we discussed how and who should be our advertisers, a light bulb
went off in our heads!
Rather than get an advertiser that would be promoting something important
to them, maybe we could develop a way to let our own readership take advantage
of the excitement and growth and popularity of their own site: LyricsReview.com
. After all, it is everyone of you who comes here that has helped make
the site what it is: a bona fide winner!
Thank you all. Now, as LyricsReview.com
picks up speed, credibility and awareness, even more eyes are going to
be checking us out. Some of those might just belong to someone in or related
to the music business. And of course it has always been in our charter
to foster those types of relationships that could be of value to the writers
who submit their lyrics. So, here's what we've come up with. To see a sample
of the "Featured Writers" page, click
here.
The promotional banner that resides on the main page at the top and center, the absolute most viewed place in the entire site (even if people come to the site and then leave), will have a rotating message calling attention to the writers name and lyrics title (as many characters as will fit in the banner). A click on this banner will direct the viewer to the "Featured Writers" page. Here, they will see your name, your lyrics title and be able to read your lyrics (see sample).
There is a limit of three featured writers at any one time. We feel that this is necessary to preserve the uniqueness of this site feature. As LyricsReview.com becomes even more popular and as more people find out about it, we expect the site's volume to continue to climb. As of this writing, the page is being loaded over 1,300 times a day! And this is just the front page!! Well, it is here our visitors will see your name and lyrics title. All thousand plus.... of them.
On the "Featured Writers" page,
there are inherently three successive positions, one for each writer. The
first position being the most desirable (more visibility), so we will step
the advertising cost accordingly. As a writer who's work is presented here,
you will be accessible to the reader with one
click. Take that!!
The specifics:
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What we need from you:
1. You must send us a bank check or money order (until we get credit
cards going) for the amount of the cost of your promotion, made out to
Tao-Tech, Inc. (our host). Send to:
Tao-Tech, Inc.
19 Crosby Drive
Bedford, MA 01730
Attn: LyricsReview.com / Promotions
2. You must submit your lyrics from the submissions page. Look
carefully at the displayed copy of the submitted email. Your information
and lyrics will be displayed "as is." We will put the pieces in the appropriate
place, but we will not reformat your lyrics for you (sometimes they come
to us as a big block of run on text). Be sure to include the non lyric
information, as seen on the example "Featured
Writers" page, in the background section of your submission.
If you fully understand the
promotional program we've outlined above and you would like to take advantage
of this offer,
then please email us at (click =>) promo@LyricsReview.com
and ask us about availability and for an order form. Thank you again, and
remember
the more our readership advertises on our site, the less we have to
depend on commercial advertisers.