Advertise
"Over 3,500 active consumers will receive Talk at its launch, with what we feel will be thousands more shortly thereafter.
Our brand will definitely be viewed by our existing and prospective customers, and we want them to see
we’ve associated ourselves with this new, innovative and most important—all good news venture!"
Dr. Kathleen Saylor, CEO—REHAU North America
Advertise with Talk Loudoun—
Because Your Ad Never Goes Away!
With a link to all of Talk Loudoun’s past issues on every page of the site, Talk’s readers are conveniently directed to past E-zine issues. We expect many of our readers will reference past issues for a variety of reasons and when they do, the entire former e-zine will appear, not just the articles, and that includes your ad.
And even more 5% of its cost immediately goes to one of our charities listed on Talk’s home page. We hope that’s enough reason to join the ranks of advertisers right there!
If that's not enough, here's more:
Product
- Talk Loudoun (“Talk”) is an e-zine with a mission: to build community through the sharing of positive stories about the people, organizations and events at the heart of where we live and work.
- Rooted in a belief good news begets good news, Talk reaches beyond the daily headlines to report the stories behind the scenes—stories that evoke a smile, touch the heart, and maybe even inspire giving back to the community.
- Born out of the need for quality coverage of local human-interest stories, Talk will come as a convenient e-zine delivered to your inbox, positioning it as the digital, shortened version of the local paper on your doorstep.
- Subscription to Talk Loudoun is delivered FREE; one simply goes onto the website and subscribes to either one, two or all three e-zines, Behind the Brand, Rendezvous and Total Health, which will go out one per week at launch; over time surveying readers about sending out all three weekly.
- Distributed through a large, expanding e-mail list of subscribers, near 3,500 at launch.
- Readers will be encouraged to comment on and submit story ideas, giving subscribers a vested interest in a publication that truly belongs to the community.
- Pioneered by a visionary founder and leader, and a team of reputable writers and techies, Talk ushers good old-fashioned journalism into the modern age.
Market
The popularity of the human-interest piece is stronger than ever, as evidenced by the millions of listeners who tune in each day to programs such as NPR's Storycorps and Driveway Moments. While abundant on talk radio, these heartfelt stories tend to be national in scope and in short supply when it comes to other news outlets.
- Talk Loudoun targets educated, active professional men and women at all executive levels that go to the office or work at home, ages 30 – 55 with broad interests and ample disposable income, similar in profile to the audience of the NPR radio shows mentioned above.
- Subscribers at launch will include Loudoun and Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce members, groups such as Success in the City, Sterling and Middleburg Women luncheon/event attendees and the many more who are asking to be added to the list daily. Expansion of the subscriber base will grow as press continues to hit post launch, and our team talks it up at meet and greets, speaking opportunities, and other social and business forums.
- One of the areas hit hardest by traditional media's current financial woes is the coverage of soft news—the human interest story—while ironically the declining coverage of these pieces comes at a time when people are increasingly seeking an uplifting message.
- Recent years have witnessed the unfortunate decline of the newspaper industry.
- Digital age has experienced unprecedented growth, locally and nationally.
- Likewise, the Internet offers much in the way of entertainment, but many sites are sorely lacking in reliable, professional coverage of soft news.
- Talk is designed to fill voids through easily accessible e-zines offering quality coverage of local stories.
Readership
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Talk Loudoun’s e-zines are delivered FREE to those who work in the fields of: |
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Accounting/Bookkeeping/CPA |
Insurance |
Branding & Positioning
- Talk logo appeals to the professional target audience (who go to the office or stay home) with its clean, sophisticated design, while its retro motif conjures images of simple, happy times spent just talking round the table, on the corner, at the coffee shop—reflective of both the product and its founder.
- The universal logo is easily transferable to other markets as Talk grows in 2010 and 2011.
Marketing Strategy—Launch and On-going
- Talk Loudoun launches July 22, 2009, with publicity efforts about it focused post launch on local and regional newspapers including the Times Community Newspapers, Leesburg Today, Ashburn Today, Loudoun Connection, Loudoun Business, Purcellville Gazette, Loudoun Magazine, Washington Woman, Washington Business Journal, Washington Post Metro Section, Comcast Cable TV's Community Affairs programs and DC television stations such as Fox 5, TV 4, 7, News Channel 8 and TV 9. National efforts will also be made through pitches like, "Creative, forward thinker brings good news and good will to the DC area during recessionary time."
- Also post launch, on-going, smart social marketing on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter is also part of the marketing effort for Talk—as it grows here in Loudoun and other regions.
- From its inception, a grassroots approach to forging strong relationships within the community through direct selling and networking, has been and will continue to be at the heart of Talk's marketing strategy.
Competition
- While all media competes for consumer time and attention, Talk Loudoun is positioned to serve as a supplement to the current local news outlets and considers the local and regional print publications its friends, not competitors for readers and advertisers.
- Talk understands that profit and growth are stimulated by customer loyalty. A five percent increase in customer loyalty can produce profit increases of 25 to 85 percent, making loyal customers six times more profitable than customers who are simply satisfied. By providing an easily accessible, high quality product that is continuously improved based on customer feedback, Talk's goal is to turn every satisfied customer into a loyal one.
- Talk’s 5,000 initial e-mail customers are critical to its success. Their feedback to queries such as ‘how are we doing?' and ‘what would you like to see?’ will ensure their on-going passion and commitment to the product.
- This will also pertain to the Founding Supporters and advertisers, who have and will continue to receive outstanding customer service to ensure they’re thoroughly pleased and 100% satisfied—nothing less will be accepted.
Measurement
A number of indicators will be monitored to assess Talk's success, including:
- Percent of e-mail customers who opt to subscribe
- Total # of subscribers
- Total # hits per day, week, month
- Total # hits per day, week, month for its advertisers
- Various financial measures
Qualitative measures will also be evaluated through customer surveys and feedback provided from subscriber e-mail and other sources.
What You Need to Know:
The following guidelines will ensure that you have a successful ad campaign with Talk Loudoun.
Ad Sizes + Rates
- Ad #1: 495 pixels (horizontal) X 150 pixels (vertical) $395 per insertion
- Ad #2: 650 pixels (horizontal) X 215 pixels (vertical) $495 per insertion
- Ad #3: 300 pixels (horizontal) X 200 pixels (vertical) $225 per insertion
- Ad #4: 300 pixels (horizontal) X 200 pixels (vertical) $225 per insertion
- Ad #5: 495 pixels (horizontal) X 150 pixels (vertical) $295 per insertion
Maximum file size is 500kb (most ads we receive are under 200kb)
Frequency Discount
Sign on and place ads for
- Four (4) consecutive weeks—receive a 10% frequency discount on total ad buy.
- Three (3) through six (6) months throughout the year—receive a 15% frequency discount on total ad buy.
- Twelve (12) months throughout the year—receive a 20% frequency discount on total ad buy.
- Every issue throughout the year—receive a 25% frequency discount on total ad buy.
Accepted Formats
JPG, and GIF are the only acceptable formats. Unfortunately, we cannot do flash animations because most email clients do not support them.
Deadline
Ad(s) should be sent via email to your Talk Loudoun representative at least one week prior to the e-zine issue release date.
Payment Method
Ads will be invoiced following signed agreement at time of e-zine run, terms payable by check or credit card payment on receipt. Accounts not paid within 30 days will be subject to a standard finance charge of 5% per month. Go to talkloudoun.com and pay online using Visa, Mastercard, or bank debit card via PayPal®—The safer, easier way to pay.
Agency Discount
Recognized Advertising Agencies (a business entity legally independent from the advertising client) will receive a 15% discount off the open rate; frequency discounts will not apply. Unless otherwise informed, if agencies place client advertisments, the agency is responsible for payment of the Invoices and must be paid in full within 30 days after e-zine ad placement, or the discount will no longer apply.
Ad Design
Talk Loudoun will serve as a referral source to graphic artists experienced in the development of dynamic pixel advertisements.
Publisher reserves the right to decline any advertisement deemed improper.
To speak to Talk’s Director of Advertising Sales, contact Vickie Currier at (703) 472-5897 or via email at Vickie@TalkLoudoun.com and Talk's Founder, Miriam Nasuti at (703) 771-8893 or via email at Miriam@talkloudoun.com.
All rights reserved.
© Copyright 2010. Talk Loudoun, LLC.