Last month, we published our Revenue Generation eBook, a resource that sets out precisely why — in this very moment — digital monetisation is so relevant to the destination marketing industry. In these challenging times, your destination’s website can be a rich and reliable source of income. For those ready to make the shift from straightforward marketing to monetisation, our eBook is here to help.
As we touched on in our initial blog on this topic, when it comes to making money from your site, it’s all about strategy. Even better, when it comes to the world of digital monetisation, there are methods to suit the needs and aims of every destination. But rather than take our word for it, we’ll let our clients inspire you with a glimpse into the tactics that have helped them to make the most of their sites.
On-site advertising: A straightforward revenue strategy
On-site advertising is probably the most straightforward strategy for monetising your website. The method refers to any kind of promotional content that is displayed on your site. The goal of on-site advertising is simple: to influence the decisions of visitors to your site. From the perspective of a destination marketer, this type of advertising is geared toward those who are already highly engaged with what your destination offers, with an ultimate goal of converting digital visitors into tangible bookings and revenue.
But it’s helpful to know there are subtle differences between types of on-site advertising, particularly between banner ads and mid-page units (MPUs). A banner ad is usually rectangular in format — appearing either at the top or the bottom of a webpage — while an MPU is deployed within an app, usually embedded mid-article. In terms of purpose and function, banner ads are used for brand awareness and broader messaging while MPUs are used for imagery, offers, and more interactive campaigns. Both types of online advertising allow destination marketers to create an impact, with our CMS offering the facility to show banner ads at the bottom of your site when it’s viewed via mobile.
As we can see, destination client Visit Devon uses on-site advertising as a monetisation technique here within its mobile site:
Making the most of user-generated content (UGC)
The tactic used by our next client proves that while a picture certainly tells a thousand words, it can also make you a lot of money. This is especially the case when it comes to user-generated content (UGC), which adds a sense of authenticity to a site while enhancing its trustworthiness. This was the strategy taken by Visit Bristol, which relies on an integration with CrowdRiff to get the most of their UGC. Our eBook explores a couple of different ways to make the most of this kind of content, each of which can help to smartly enrich your revenue.
Earn efficiently with passive income strategies
Want to make money by doing nothing (or, at least very little)? Of course you do! In the world of destination marketing, systems like TXGB, Supercontrol, Freetobook, Eviivo, or booking.com can help destinations to passively earn a commission on any stays booked via your destination’s site.
But if you’re looking for another route to passive revenue, it’s also worth following the example of our client Visit the Isles of Scilly and implementing an event integration tool — like Data Thistle — into your site to help capitalise on affiliate income. While the Isles of Scilly works with the ATG affiliate scheme, other options are available, with our eBook setting out exactly how you can generate revenue by doing nothing more than taking advantage of your existing website traffic.
When it comes to digital monetisation, there’s a strategy to suit every destination. A goldmine at your fingertips, we’re here to show you how your site holds the key to unlocking rich rewards.
