Selecting the best revenue model options for your digital business

A good revenue model is a proven technique used by digital businesses globally, from startups to global corporations, to generate income from traffic on their website, mobile apps, and via digital channels. The 10 digital revenue model options explained in this include both ad revenue models and charging for access to a digital service including freemium revenue models where limited free access is provided with fees charged for the full service. I created this post originally in 2010 to support a revenue model spreadsheet for site owners to forecast their revenue generation. The main parameters you need to set are the variables for each Ad Unit or Container Type (blue fields) and it works out the revenue earning (orange fields) for you!

The site ad revenue model

If you 'plug-in' some average figures for pay-for-performance-based advertising options like cost per click or cost per action…

What is e-commerce marketing and how is it different from other digital marketing? Discover opportunities for strategic optimization in an industry which has seen year on year growth like no other

2020 was the year of e-commerce. You don't need me to tell you that. Over the last decade, our marketing technological ability and sophistication have gradually improved, enabling increased e-commerce engagement and traction, as more businesses have begun selling online. However, it's the rapid change in social behavior during the global pandemic that is responsible for the peaks we've seen this year - such as e-commerce accounting for 16% of total sales in the US in Q2 2020.

Identify, anticipate and satisfy customer requirements profitably, online

So, your customer wants to buy from you online? Great. But how is…

4 Smart ways for frugal small businesses to use online marketing

Competing against larger competitors in your niche or sector is difficult at the best of times. It’s not always a level playing field either. When the bigger competitor with greater revenue enjoys a more substantial marketing budget, it’s tougher for a small business like yours to compete. The good news is that when it comes to digital marketing, it doesn’t always require huge marketing budgets to make a meaningful impact with the people who count. Where once TV advertising or full-page newspaper advertisements took aim at a large chunk of the market, your smaller business can be nimbler and more targeted in its approach. Here are four smart ways that small businesses on a tighter budget can use digital marketing for continued growth:

1.     Use social media to dominate your niche

Social media is a confusing…
Last year I made half a dozen resolutions for 2012 as an email marketer. The basic overall theme was to focus more on relating better to people we serve on their terms, be they clients of the company I work for or subscribers to an email newsletter of any of those clients. I don’t know how you did with your resolutions, but here’s my self-assessment of how I did.

1. Stop talking like a rocket scientist

I’d give myself 7 out of 10 on this one. While like to think I’m naturally talented at putting industry terms and complex ideas into frames of reference which people can understand, I still found myself being lazy at times. Who wants to write out ESP or CTA and so on? I’ll tell you, don't confuse the people who most need to understand what…