“That’s a lot of money to ask for…”
That’s because this is a robust, company-wide, 12-month campaign full of value. The advertiser will gain brand exposure as the campaign becomes a community staple and will collect email opt-ins, leads, and important customer data. And it’s much more efficient for your sales reps as you are locking in an advertiser for 12 months, rather than pursuing each individually.
“Why should I focus on this/why is this important?”
Recurring revenue campaigns are great because they benefit everyone on the team. Sales gets revenue, editorial gets email database growth and additional content, and marketing gets audience insights and demographic information. Plus, with big advertising dollars locked in for a year, everyone has more time to focus on additional opportunities.
“How do we keep it fresh?”
Keep the campaign fresh by changing up the theme, at least quarterly. Try themes that focus around something like special events, seasons, and holidays! With that, update the graphics each round to keep engagement up. You can also switch up your promotions schedule to reach new sectors of your audience.
“My advertisers don’t like contests.”
You need to learn about their prior promotions experiences in order to address their concerns. What was the contest? What were their goals and expectations? Reiterate that this is a targeted, multi-media campaign and how you can address their concerns.
This is not a one-off contest; it’s an annual campaign and a huge chance to lock in bigger dollars!
If none of that works, it sounds like you should alter how you’re pitching to those advertisers because there are tons of benefits to running contests!
How to get started
The key to a recurring revenue campaign is that it is one annual campaign including all departments. Once everyone is on board, it’s set it and go!
A great place to start is to create a campaign around an initiative your company is already doing to highlight people, places, or events in the community. A recurring revenue campaign is perfect to engage the community and can elevate your established initiative, while earning your company big dollars!
Need some inspiration? Check out how these 8 fantastic ideas for recurring revenue campaigns!
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Liz is the Senior Director of Customer Success and has an extensive background in media. She is a huge advocate of the power of promotions for every department within an organization, including sales, marketing, audience development, and editorial.