Advertising
With over 100,000 visitors and millions of hits since inception on December 1, 1999,
our online community is the fastest growing, busiest, and most diverse web site dedicated
to the militaria collector on the internet today. With over
9000 registered
members and more than 15 thousand lurkers, your business can greatly benefit from an
advertisement in our community.
Why choose us?
Simple, advertising is a numbers game. The more people who see your ad the more people who
will visit your site. Also the more times your ad is seen the better your chances are of
getting your ad noticed. We average over 100,000 page views per month (and therefore over 100,000
banner impressions per month). No other militaria site even comes close and and our
numbers are only increasing. Here are our current advertisers:
How does advertising with you
help me get business?
Banner advertising increases your exposure on the internet and makes customers more
aware of your site. But more importantly, since high standards of knowledge and
integrity are prerequisites for being accepted as an advertiser, our members know
that if they see your banner, you can be trusted. It's like a stamp of approval.
It's also been shown that our members support those who support our website.
They know that your advertising dollars help keep "The Forum" (the most popular
part of our website) free for them to enjoy and learn from.
Who can advertise?
Not every potential advertiser is accepted into our advertising program. This is
because we screen our advertisers to make sure that our affiliation with them is good for
our community. Please remember that just
because a company advertises with us does not mean that they are
infallable. There are three factors we look at when considering an advertising
applicant.
- Integrity. We demand the
highest level of integrity from every advertiser. Dealers that have many
questionable items on their websites, or who have a "shady" reputation are not
invited to become advertisers.
- Knowledge. You don't have to be
an accomplished author to advertise on our website. However, we do expect that if
you are a dealer, that you have a level of knowledge that the average collector can rely
on.
- Relevance. You don't have to be
a dealer to advertise with us! However, we look at every advertiser's relevance to
our community mission. This is good for you and good for our members. We
will generally not look for sponsors who wish to sell watches, spy cameras, and other
goods and services not relevant to the militaria hobby.
-
Guarantee. All dealers
who advertise with us must subscribe to the Max/GDC Code of conduct
and must offer a refund policy that is in accordance with that code.
Advertisers must guarantee all items that he
or she sells to be authentic or as described, and
must offer a full refund (less shipping) of the original
purchase price should an item be deemed not original or not "as
described" by our Board of Experts.
How many advertisers do you
plan on having?
We have decided to limit the number of regular advertisers to 15 at any one time.
This means your banner won't get lost in a huge pile of other banners.
In fact, with the traffic we receive, your banner
will probably be "exposed" at any given minute of the day to several
potential clients. As an advertiser, as long as you maintain your advertising account in good standing, you may
continue to retain your slot.
Will my rates increase?
Subject to modest increases in advertising based upon inflation and site relevance (if our
site gets millions of hits a day on a regular basis, you can expect ad rates to
increase!), your rate is "locked in" for the remainder of your advertising
period.
How much does it cost?
Advertising costs $175 for 6 months or $300 for a prepaid full year (a 15% savings when
you prepay). When you compare the advertising costs with the magnitude of exposure
and additional sales benefits, advertising in our community is unbelievable bargain.
As a regular advertiser, you may also place special "monthly" ads in
addition to your regular ad (see below for more details).
Where will my advertisement
be displayed?
We have several areas on our website - the forum, the classified section, the
galleries, and other "general" pages such as the chatroom and other pages on our
site. Our advertising program allows us to create code that will place ads on any
page. While we do not wish to bombard our members and visitors with advertising (we
all hate that, don't we!), ad-space will generally appear on 75% of our website at the top
and bottom of various pages.
What format does my banner have to be in?
All banners must be in either .gif, or .jpg format. Banners should be sized at 468x60
pixels and no more than 15k in size to minimize download times.
If I pay more can I get more banner exposure?
For those businesses that desire higher visibility, we offer some custom tailored
"high-visibility" packages that gives additional weight to your banner over
other banners. Contact us and we can discuss an ad program that works for you.
However, to obtain a 50% increase in "weight" your banner receives, the
cost for one year of premium advertising is $500.00. Just as we have limited the
number of site andvertisers to 20, we have placed a limit on the number of premium
advertising slots to 5 of those advertisers. As long as you maintain your premium
advertising account in good standing, you may continue to renew your premium advertising
slot. NOTE: There 1s currently one premium ad spaces available. If you would
like to be placed on the waiting list, please contact us. Current advertisers will
receive priority wait-list status.
So what do you do with my ad
dollar?
All monies which come in will pay for our maintenance, product giveaways, and our
advertising on other media. Each month we have a surplus we will either make larger
magazine ads or expand our services within the site itself.
Can I change my banner?
You are allowed 1 free banner substitution per month, any additional banner substitutions
will have a $25 service charge attached (in addition to any fees charged if we create your
banner for you).
What ads would you not approve?
We will not allow competitor bashing, nor will ads like "WE WILL BEAT ANY OTHER
DEALER BY XX%" be allowed. This sort of behavior does not promote a healthy
atmosphere. You can do this on your site but not ours. Ads like "Great Deals
all the time" are OK.
Can I have more than one banner?
You certainly can! If you are a current advertiser, and are having a sale or special
event, or you want to promote a specific item, we can offer you an additional banner in
the system for $30.00 per month. Of course, you can opt to change your
"normal" banner if you prefer.
How would running multiple banners help my business?
Good question. Our suggestion would be to have 1 "standard" banner that you run
year long, and then perhaps use another banner for a sale you are holding on your website
for that month. Or, if you are promoting a show in your area, or want to advertise
your presence at somebody elses show, that "one month" banner (see above) might
be just the thing.
Do we design banners?
Yes. Generally, we will build you a banner for $50.00. If a banner requires
additional work, we will quote you on a case by case basis.
How do I pay?
You may pay by cash, check, money order, or by credit card using PayPal. Contact us for details. An Invoice will be provided on request.
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