It can. It's not as good a DR channel as paid search, simply because you're buying demographics and interests rather than intent.
However, for list building and 'softer' DR actions like a whitepaper download or a lead form fill, it can work very well.
There's also a lot of off-the-wall targeting things you can do, like advertising your blogger program to mommy bloggers, targeting reporters at techcrunch and mashable with your app launch, and other things that fall outside of the scope of traditional display advertising.
I used this trick when I launched http://anynewbooks.com. I used existing credits (if I remember correctly) I had on both LinkedIn and Facebook to target publishers, book bloggers, and journalists. It worked, to a certain extent.
There are a number of people who know what they're doing who buy smaller web companies. Typically they can network these together to get economies of scale around user acquisition and monetization.
whitewatermap.com. So far its extremely regionally specific but that will change in the near future. Any recommendations for content options that don't diminish the effect of the full screen map?
Interesting. I would recommend adding a link to the blog in the box w/ the text.
As far as link opportunities, this seems to me like something that could go in:
- lists of google maps mashups
- lists of cartographic resources
- lists of outdoors resources
- On the resources page of every rafting club and outdoors club in the country - especially clubs at colleges.
Is the whitewater data you're laying over the Google Map yours, or does it come from somewhere else?
OK Now I'm at home and can write you a substantive answer. It starts here:
- Marketing is Highly Situational
- Different Markets Should Be Approached Differently
- Tactics are constantly changing and evolving, so mix, match, and measure until you find something that works.
It sounds like you're looking for the essence of web marketing strategies for early stage startups. The best person blogging about this topic right now is a guy named Sean Ellis (http://www.startup-marketing.com) who's the CEO of Catchfree and ran marketing at some really amazing companies (Dropbox, Eventbrite, Xobni, etc.).
- Value Proposition Clarification based on user interviews/analytics/qualitative customer data.
- Conversion Optimization - not only conventional LPO or form optimization, but actually optimizing for high quality users, attracted by the value proposition found in part 1.
- Channel experimentation/optimization - At some level, web companies are not highly scalable until they can "buy" customers profitably - until there's a known, strong relationship between CPA (cost per acquisition) and CLTV (customer lifetime value), and of course, you can get CPA below CLTV at scale. So this step is where experimenting with different channels and different tactics fits in.
Here's where you'd try different channels like paid and nonpaid social media and search engine activities, other advertising channels, affiliates, etc.
So that's what I'd do - clarify the value, optimize the conversion flow, and then relentlessly test channels until I could find something where I could acquire customers at a profit.
(In an slightly related side note, I'd suggest you read Noah Kagan's blog OKdork.com, where he writes on cool startup marketing topics.)
(Note: this assumes your product is not a social network.)
So you can either buy your audience or earn your audience.
If you want to earn your audience, you're doing the right thing. Additionally, consider guest blogging on other blogs in your space.
For buying your audience, I have found Facebook ads targeted at your page can be very effective. I've paid ~$.60/US per fan, who then come to your site when you post new things, etc. I bet you could get the CPF (cost per fan) lower if you played with the optimization for a while. (I targeted the ads at people who liked sites and interests similiar to mine.)
