Pubvertise Your Live Content to a Wider Audience

They laughed at us in Geneva when we presented our new word to the scientific community, but it's the surest way to describe our latest enhancement to Headline Animator. Publish + Advertise, all in one place (and let's not kid ourselves, "adverblish" isn't going anywhere).

Headline Animator - through its many transformations - is morphing into quite the marketing tool. Why do we continue to call it a Headline Animator when others refer to these things as widgets? Because we are a stubborn people, some would say an ornery people, raised on the hardscrabble plains east of Medicine Hat, eking out meals of corn with more corn, and we say it's a Headline Animator…where were we? Oh yes. For those of you tracking the Headline Animator's evolution via ham radio or this blog, you already know that it helps build your audience by enabling feed promotion on MySpace, other blogs, in forums, even at the bottom of your emails. Or, you can just grab code and put it wherever you think it should go. Leveraging Headline Animator to advertise your content in other feeds is the next step.

How it works
By connecting the simple-to-use Headline Animator service to our world-class feed advertising network we can give content publishers the ability to create their very own dynamic, feed-powered ad units and place them in the feed ad network (all by themselves). No sales folks, no ad trafficking to ensure the creative is current. No speed bumps. Just you and your content, going more places. This is the fast-track method for putting dynamic content in front of an audience subscribed to the most popular feeds on the series of tubes. If the world's top blue-chip advertisers can advertise in feeds, why not you too?

Sample ads
Feed-powered ads reflect the most current headlines from your feed and they can be designed to suit your marketing needs. Create an ad encouraging feed subscription using one of our standard template designs. Or, paint your own canvas by linking to a background image you host. Check out these sample ads below:

Quality and reach of the ad network
Rarely has the almighty dollar gone so far. Place your ad in a target channel (e.g. Business, Arts & Entertainment, Travel) and it will run on established brand sites like the leading newspapers and media properties (e.g. USA Today, Wired, Newsweek), top blog networks (e.g. Gawker Media, B5 Media, Gothamist LLC) and independent sites across a diverse range of topics. This type of ad buy gives you scale and access to an audience consuming content away from traditional Web sites.

Getting Started
The process for creating and placing a Headline Animator ad is simple. Sign in to your FeedBurner account, select the feed you want to promote, navigate to the "Publicize" tab and look for the Headline Animator service listed in the left-hand column. From there, you can create your ad. (View a sample configuration screen) For more information, additional FAQs are included at the end of this post. If you publish regularly updated content and you want to put that content in front of more eyeballs, this service is for you.

What? You have questions? Here is the FAQ. It lives but to inform, amuse, and delight.

What is a Headline Animator ad?

An ad unit that displays the most recent headlines (aka live content) from your source feed, placed in the feed ad network reaching millions of feed subscribers.

What does a Headline Animator ad look like?

The beautiful thing about Headline Animator ads is that they can look however you want them to look. Using one of the standard template designs, you can easily create an ad encouraging end users to subscribe to your feed. Or, paint your own canvas and reflect your brand by linking to a hosted background image. Font sizes and colors can be customized. Word wrap can be applied and content can be arranged on the ad however you see fit. Check out this sample ad below.

What size ads can I place?

Currently, Headline Animators sized 468x60 pixels or 468x120 pixels may be placed as ads in feeds.

How do I create and customize my Headline Animator ad?

Sign in to your FeedBurner account, and click on the “Publicize” tab. Go to Headline Animator under Services, and design your ad to your heart’s content. Be sure to save it in one of the two accepted sizes, and click Activate. To place your ad in the ad network, select “Promote yourself in the FeedBurner Ad Network” option and follow the step-by-step instructions. View a sample configuration screen

How will my ad appear within a feed?

To see an ad in context, check out sample feed ads on the ad specs page.

Where will my ad run? What audience will I reach?

Your ad will run in the channel or network you select. To determine the best channel for your ad, and to review a representative list of participating brands, visit the FeedBurner Ad Network demographics page, organized by channel.

What’s the difference between a Channel and a Network?

A Channel is a broad category such as Business, Consumer Electronics, or Travel. A Network is a group of related FeedBurner publishers, organized by a fellow publisher around topics like Music, Venture Capital or Politics.

Can I select the feeds on which my ad will appear?

No. To provide the greatest reach, feed targeting is done at the Channel or Network level.

What are the budget requirements?

Headline budgets can be 25, 50, 75, 100, 250, 500 or 1000 dollars. To place a media buy exceeding $1000, contact the Ad Sales team using this fancy form.

How many impressions will I get for my given budget?

Pricing varies by channel and network and is clearly displayed in the Order Summary section during the configuration process. E.g. “Approximately 3,125 impressions (446 per day) in Computing & Technology”

How is this service different from AdWords?

By placing your ad in the feed ad network, you reach an audience that is complementary to AdWords. Feed advertising is a great way to supplement existing marketing efforts and helps you reach the widest possible audience, particularly in content viewed away from traditional Web sites.

Where do I track the performance of my ad?

Sign in to your FeedBurner account, go to the “Analyze” tab for your feed, and look for your ad under “Headline Animator Stats” in the left column.

Can you track CTRs?

Yes. Click-through rates are listed with other ad performance stats on the Analyze tab. (See previous question.)

What types of ads perform best?

Unlike search, where readers have a specific goal in mind, feeds attract a loyal subscriber audience who has opted-in to receive regular updates to specific types of content. Typically, ads designed to reach the target demographic perform best.

Can I auto-renew my ad?

Yes. When placing your order, select “Renew my ad automatically” and your ad will run continuously until canceled. Speaking of which… To cancel, go to the Analyze tab for your feed and find your ad under “Headline Animator Stats” in the left column. Uncheck “Renew my ad automatically” and click [Save].

For more information, check out the complete Headline Animator Overview and FAQ.

P.S.

If you’ve created a compelling ad that is helping you promote your content, grow your audience or reach some other marketing goal, drop us an email at Publisher Buzz and you may be featured on the FeedBurner Web site.