Direct-sold advertising is a win-win for publishers and advertisers. Publishers get more control of how to package and price their inventory without as many intermediaries taking a cut. And advertisers know exactly where their brand will be featured and not be as creatively hemmed in by standard programmatic ad units. Media sales teams that proactively drive the ad sales process with their clients stand to more effectively generate revenue, versus a reactive approach. 

Here are three strategies that publisher ad sales teams can use to make their teams and processes more effective in order to drive direct-sold revenue. 

Curate ad formats and features that match campaign goals 

When brands or agencies issue a request-for-proposal (RFP), they are in essence asking publishers to propose the advertising solutions that will best align with their marketing goals. But too often, brands ask publishers to supply responses via a templated, “fill-in-the-blank” spreadsheet listing ad units, pricing, and impression volumes. 

Smart publisher sales teams dig in and ask questions about an advertiser’s campaign goals, creative direction, budget, and success metrics to help shape their response. Direct sold ads allow for far more campaign customization, and RFP responses should reflect that. 

Publishers must take the time to consider the advertiser’s stated goals. Then, they need to select not just ad formats but specific creative features within the ad that will deliver engagement and results. This way, they can deliver a unique, tailored campaign plan that goes well beyond programmatic. 

Here are some ways publishers can optimize their offerings:

• If the campaign is focused on a date (movie or show premiere, product availability, registration deadline), include a live countdown in the ad creative.
• If the campaign can be localized, show how you can include features in the ad creative like embedded maps, language detection, or dynamic text.
• If you as a publisher can bring a unique data angle to the campaign, show how your data and the advertiser’s can be combined to develop more personalized, more impactful creative. Show dynamic elements within a creative execution that can change at run time based on data like geography, demographics and more.

Of course, this all assumes that a publisher has a suite of ad products with robust features and the ability to quickly rotate in new options without a lot of technical upheaval. That’s one reason having the right creative platform partners is crucial. 

Rethink your approach to RFP responses

It’s true that many RFP responses require a set format when submitted (and unfortunately that format is too often an Excel file). However, publishers should still take the opportunity to propose ideas that could be a bit out-of-the-box. 

An accompanying presentation (and not just a completed spreadsheet of line items) can bring a proposal response to life. It should describe the basics like campaign flight dates, impressions, and costs But most importantly, it should showcase what you’re selling.

Publishers who include live ad mocks of creative executions in their proposals make it easy for advertisers to say, “Yes, I want that.” Even better: use the advertiser’s existing assets in mocks and run them on test pages, so they can truly see the power of their brand in your execution and see real examples of how their brand would look on your site(s). 

A presentation is also a means to opening up a further conversation with a brand or agency. That’s where creativity can really start flowing. Maybe a proposed mock won’t be exactly what they are after, but it can spark an idea that leads to something greater. 

Sometimes ad sales teams can find themselves out of their depth technically and unsure whether an idea for an ad unit is truly feasible. Publisher sales teams should always be sure that they’re getting the help they need from their partners to help them manage these questions so that they can close business and be successful.

Sell synergistically across your revenue sources

Sales teams that think holistically across revenue streams can be successful by packaging multiple opportunities into one proposal and creating synergies between different products. When pitching an advertiser on branded content partnerships, like a podcast or video, include display ads in the overall proposal that excerpt the content to play directly in the ad unit and drive users to the campaign landing page. Create additional value for event sponsorships by including ad units that livestream keynotes or sessions from the event directly within the ad. 

The key thing to keep in mind is that brands and agencies are seeking out your publication because of its premium status. If you lack premium inventory, premium ad products, and premium service, they will believe that they are better off rolling the dice on impressions on the open programmatic marketplace. Showing advertisers that you have multiple avenues for their campaign to reach your highly coveted audience helps reinforce the value you offer.

Direct-sold advertising is challenging, but worth it

Direct sales certainly isn’t as turnkey as placing all your ad inventory up for bid programmatically, but the gains are worth it. Higher CPMs and more control of inventory and advertiser relationships are better for publishers over the long haul. And while ad sales teams may have been breathing a sigh of relief earlier this year after yet another delay in the deprecation of third party cookies, ad operations teams are still planning for the continued decline of options to target audiences in ways that aren’t owned by the publisher or advertiser directly. 

A strong direct sold advertising sales team works collaboratively with its internal colleagues, external partners, and its advertisers to develop creative solutions that go beyond the most basic requirements of an RFP. The right mix of inventory, audience, data, and creative formats – packaged and presented elegantly and in concert with other products – will help publishers maintain premium, preferred status among advertisers.