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Self_Serve_Advertising_PlatformIf you're a small to medium-sized business, the chances are that you've already learned the frustrations involved with finding advertisers to place advertisements on your website. It can be incredibly costly to maintain and hire a dedicated sales team that are there to organize your ads on your behalf, which is one of the reasons why the self-serve model has emerged into an effective and popular option. Self-serve advertising makes the process of finding advertisers easier, so that you don't have to worry about micro-managing or searching for marketing opportunities yourself. Instead of searching everywhere for opportunities to make money, the advertisers you need can simply serve themselves up to you once you've properly set up the self-service program.

What's more, a bonus of self-serve advertising is that business owners don't have to worry about offering every inch of their ad space to self-service ads. Depending on what works for your company, you can create a combination of self-service advertising solutions, and using your ad sales team for larger and more complex solutions.

How Does Self-Serve Advertising Work?

Most companies consider the concept of self-serve advertising to be time-consuming and complicated, but the truth is that it actually may be much easier than you think. All you really need to do to get started is set up a media kit, and from there you'll be able to create an "Advertise with us" link that can be posted on your website. This link will point to an ad server with various self-service advertising features, and the media kit will present any information about what you can offer to your potential advertiser. In other words, your kit should provide information like audience demographics, locations available on the website, and ad rates. Some people choose to show metrics in self-serve advertising, and even provide simple forms through which advertisers can create their ads.

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Over the recent years, self-serve advertising has become increasingly popular, to the extent that huge online giants like Forbes.com are even advertising their own spaces for ad creative. The reason for this is that self-serve advertising is easy to use - for advertisers and website owners alike. The more that people take to this concept, the more spaces arise on popular websites which can lead to extra traffic for your ad. It's all about finding a space that matches your needs, and your budget.

The Benefits of Self-Serve Advertising

Although self-serve advertising as a marketing idea is still young, it's already offering a number of benefits for businesses and advertisers alike. For example, self-serve advertising can provide an ideal solution for small to medium sized businesses, as they give owners an opportunity to deploy marketing campaigns without worrying about losing significant marketing resources. For advertisers, self-serve platforms provide businesses with locations that can offer them meaningful reach to crucial traffic and audience members. Other advantages include:

1. Self-Serve Advertising Saves Time

One thing that all businesses seem to have in common is that they're starving for time. There are so many things to do each day in order to make a business successful, and only a small portion of that time can be devoted specifically to online advertising, as the priority is always going to be keeping the business running. This lack of time makes online advertising platforms particularly beneficial - especially if they come with the right features, and are simple enough to use. With the right platform, small businesses can quickly develop professional marketing campaigns within a short timeframe, and get back to their daily operations in no time.

2. Self-Serve Advertising Is Straight Forward

Self-serve platforms are becoming increasingly successful, and many experts believe that this success will continue to grow. When they were first introduced into the market, self-serve platforms faced serious problems when it came to understanding the value of digital space. However, today, more small businesses are feeling comfortable with the idea of purchasing whatever they need to succeed online.

3. Self-Serve Advertising Is Constantly Evolving

Finally, self-serve platforms may be a new idea, but they're evolving and improving as more people turn to them as an advertising source. If the trend that currently exists regarding low costs, ease of use, and easy access to analyzable results continues, then the longevity of self-serve advertising is likely to continue for some time.

Should You Try Self-Serve Advertising?

Determining whether self-serve advertising is the right option for your business will be a highly subjective decision. However, it's important to at least consider it as you're coming up with ideas for a more complete approach to marketing. After all, with so many new and evolving technologies coming into play, failing to recognize an available source of revenue could mean disaster for your business.

If you do decide to try self-serve advertising, remember to constantly measure and evaluate your results, as this is the best way to improve performance in the future.

Topics: Self Serve Advertising Platform, Self Serve Advertising

Elise Kuhlow

Written by Elise Kuhlow

I work on the advertising operations team with a primary focus on ad creative design and creation for our clients. Graphic designer & Artist. Amateur introvert. Unapologetic animation practitioner. Beer aficionado. Bacon geek. Online advertising all-star.

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