4 Ways to Generate Citywide Ballot Revenue During COVID

Create sales materials

Keep these very simple. Include three levels of packages (such Basic, Deluxe, and Premium) and what is included in each. Make sure all relevant dates and deadlines are listed, as well as a section explaining details of each of the sponsorship opportunities. That will help advertisers understand how they will be presented on the ballot.

Here is an example of the one-sheeter St. Louis Magazine creates for their pitches.

Create goals for each phase

Set goals for how many of each package you want to sell in each phase. We’ve created a Best-of Revenue calculator for each media type to help you create your goals.

It’s important to note that most revenue will come from your Winner’s Phase (thank-you ads) but there is still money to be made in the Nomination Phase and Voting Phases. There are plenty of businesses eager to capture to claim that title.

Prospect effectively

When we say prospect effectively, we mean you need to target categories of advertisers that are competitive in your market. These industries have a fear missing out in their advertising category. Go after these businesses! They are ready to spend to find new customers to replace those they lost, or are ready to hit the ground running in Q3/Q4.

Categories that are competitive and spend:

• Healthcare
• Home services (landscaping, HVAC, roofing)
• Legal
• Insurance
• Real estate

With this in mind, you can create a huge ‘hit list’ of leads in your area. Identify the top 10-20 advertiser categories, and under each category, list the top 10-20 local businesses.

Drive leads from your sales kits

Many media companies provide free downloadable kits for businesses to help generate nominations. These often include images for social media and printable signs for in-store reminders. This is a great way to generate engagement with the campaign but often there is a very key piece missing.

Put your sales kits behind a form! If you are giving away these materials without collecting any information, you are missing out on a huge opportunity for leads. You want to ask for information such as company name and contact information, but you should also include an opt-in on the form for users to indicate if they would like to be contacted by someone from your team. And, with the Notify and Share feature within Second Street, those leads are sent to you as soon as they are submitted.

Have questions on generating the most revenue from your Citywide ballot? Download our Citywide Ballot Best Practices Guide!