Previous: Finding Sites to Buy Banner Inventory On

By far the toughest and most frustrating part is trying to contact the webmaster.  Do not get bummed out by this process if it is your first attempt at buying banner inventory!  My first time around I think I tried contacting 20 different websites before finding a person that would respond.  Somewhere along the way I got disgruntled and gave up.  I hit up a few other affiliates on AIM and asked them if this was normal and they said it was completely normal.  So I eventually started up again and was finally able to get a a hold of some people.

Some of the most common things you’ll want to look for on a site are the Advertise or Contact Us page.  These can most often be in the footer of the page, but it may take a little bit of digging to find out a way to contact the owner of the site or their advertising department.  If you’re unable to find any information this way, go on over to Who.Is and do a WhoIs search on the domain to see who registered the domain, get an email address and maybe even a phone number you can call.  If you’re wanting to buy banner inventory on a forum, your best bet will be to sign up to the forums, find out which moderators have been actively lately and shoot them a PM.  More often than not they can put you in touch wit the correct person.

I have a template email I’ve drafted anytime I have to email someone or fill out a webform.  It’s pretty basic and is only a few sentences long.  It just lets them know I run a direct-response marketing firm based in the United States and that after doing some research, I believe that some of my clients would benefit from the traffic their site could provide.  I ask them if they happen to have a media kit available, if not, what traffic details are available, targeting options and of course pricing.  I then use a closing that lets them know I’m anxiously awaiting their response.  I started out with an email template about media buying from SuperAffiliateTwins.com and made changes to customize it for my tastes.

Note: I created a blog post recommending an email template to use when emailing the site’s owner.

Next: Doing Your Due Diligence