But first, make sure your servers are up to the task of handling all the massive traffic we’ll send your way! Okay, so maybe we won’t actually crash your servers, but we do believe that VI-Control offers the best ad value compared to any other forum or commercial site.
For starters, for as low only $69/month, your banner ad will get over 30,000 impressions (views) per month. Other forums charge 3 to 8 times as much.
Second, with all due respect to other websites or forums, the VI-Control audience is a high end group. These are people who take their careers seriously, and it’s not uncommon for members to come here *looking* for things to buy. If you have a better mousetrap (or better yet, a better string library), they want to hear about it.
Third, and possibly most importantly, advertising on VI-Control allows you to also post announcements in the Commercial Announcements sub-forum. Non-advertisers can also post, but their posts go into the “Tier 2” sub-forum, which is only accessible to signed-in members. (Tier 2 is not seen by non-members, which is significant since 60% of forum visitors are NOT logged in members. Tier 2 also does not Google searches.)
Note that we do have a “No-Ads” option for only $39/month for people who want to post in the main Commercial Announcements section, but don’t want to run an add.
As you can see from the picture (to the right), we have several options for ad placements. Note that all prices are “à la carte.” We no longer have bundle options, but here’s the good news: when you add up the a la carte prices with our lower sidebar and Portal prices, they’re actually cheaper than the bundles were!
Top/Bottom Banners
– Top Banner – The classic! 728 x 90 up to 1160 x 105
– Bottom banner – 728 x 90 up to 855 x 100
NEW! Forum Sidebar Ads
– Appear on all forum posts – These ads stay on the page as the user scrolls
– Our most effective ad!
– 160 x 600 pixels
Original Sidebar Ads
– There appear only on some forum pages
– Top Sidebar (Up to 300 x 250)
– Bottom Sidebar (300 x 600)
Feature Ad
– Our exclusive new option available for one week at a time.
– 360 x 80 pixels
Portal Ad (Not shown)
– Our other classic! These appear on the Portal page and get high exposure and clicks.
– 300 x 250 pixels (formerly 468×180)
Non-Advertising Option
– Some people want to post Commercial Announcements and support the forum, but don’t actually want an ad. This mucho cheaper option is for you. Details below.
Sounds great, Mike! So what do I do?
– Click one (or more) of the buttons below to pay, then send your artwork to that same PayPal address. (vicontrolforum {at} gmail) Easy!
BANNER ADS
TOP BANNER – 728 x 90 up to 1160 x 105 (Smaller is also fine) — 25,000+ impressions/month
– This is the classic ad that most companies get. It’s a banner at the top of every forum page. You can, of course, swap graphics and links as you introduce new products or have sales during the course of your contract.
BOTTOM BANNER – 728 x 90 up to 855 x 100 (Smaller is also fine)
– 30,000+ impressions/month – More views since fewer people take this slot)
TOP & BOTTOM BANNERS – You knew that was coming, right? Double your exposure for only $40/month more.
– 55,000+ impressions/month)
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $149 for one month:
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $109 for one month:
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $199 for one month:
NEW FORUM SIDEBAR ADS
(Note – Must be purchased in conjunction with a Forum Banner Ad – So you’ll make two purchases: First a banner ad, then this Forum Sidebar ad)
This is a 160 x 600 ad that appears on the right side of every forum thread, as well as a few other pages. (Resources pages, etc.)
Note that it “sticks,” so as the reader scrolls down the page, the ad stays with them.
This is our most visible and effective ad!
$89/month (auto-renew subscription)
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $149 for one month:
ORIGINAL SIDEBAR ADS (Different from the new Forum Sidebar ads)
(Note – Must be purchased in conjunction with a banner ad – So you’ll make two purchases: First a banner ad, then your Sidebar ad(s))
Full disclosure – on VI-Control, most forum pages only show the top and bottom banner ads, and do not display these sidebar ads. They’re still pretty cool, though, and since very few people get these ads, your ad comes up a lot. Plus they’re cheap!
Sidebar Ad Top – 300 x 250px, although any height up to 250 pixels is also fine. Although smaller, this ad gets seen more since it’s higher. (7,000+ impressions/month)
Sidebar Ad Bottom – 300 x 600px, although any height under 600 pixels is also fine. (7,000+ impressions/month)
SPECIAL COMBO PRICE: Sidebar Ad Top & Bottom – Double your exposure by using both the top and the bottom sidebar ads (please note there is a difference in sizes between the Top and the Bottom Sidebar ads).
$39/month (auto-renew subscription)
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $59 for one month:
$29/month (auto-renew subscription)
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $45 for one month:
$59/month (auto-renew subscription)
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $89 for one month:
PORTAL ADS
(Must be purchased in conjunction with a Forum Banner Ad – So you’ll make two purchases: First a banner ad, then this Portal ad)
This is a 300 x 250px ad that appears on the Portal page, as well as a few other pages. (Resources pages, etc.)
Note that the Portal Page gets fewer views (around 3,000/day) than the main forum pages, and your ad shares the page with 25 other companies (your ad appears on every page load, as opposed to a rotation), but for some reason, ads there generate a lot of clicks. My theory is that people who visit the Portal pages tend to be people who stay longer, plus they’re often newer to the game, so they’re not already aware of most companies.
$39/month (auto-renew subscription)
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $59 for one month:
COMPLETE BUNDLE OPTIONS – SAVE BIG!
(Note that these bundles do not include the Feature Ad.)
The Full Enchilada, including the new Forum Sidebar ad – This includes both top and bottom banners, the portal ad, the original sidebar ads (both top and bottom) and the new forum forum sidebar ad!
All except the new Forum Sidebar ad – This includes both top and bottom banners, the portal ad, and the original sidebar ads (both top and bottom.)
$259/month (auto-renew subscription)
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $379 for one month:
$199/month (auto-renew subscription)
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $295 for one month:
“FEATURE” AD (FORUM HEADER)
(350,000+ Impressions/week)
For a couple weeks in September, we ran an “Hurricane Harvey” ad to support the Houston Food Bank (which my brother runs) in the upper right corner. This ad appears on every page load and gets seen around 50,000 times per day.
We’ve decided to offer this ad to advertisers for one week periods, on an experimental basis for now. The Hurricane Harvey ad got a TON of clicks, although obviously comparing a charity to companies like ours is ridiculous, so I’m not sure what the results of these ads will be. I’m also thinking it might be best aesthetically if most weeks don’t have an ad there at all, so pricing may go up or down as we see how this goes.
(Feature ad does not need to be purchased in conjunction with a banner package)
COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS OPTION
Option for Non-Advertisers
Note - This is only for people who don't buy ads. If you are a current advertiser, you already have full Commercial Announcements posting privileges, so you don't need to also purchase this package.
If you prefer not to purchase advertising, yet still want to use the Commercial Announcement forum section regularly, then this option is for you. Not only does it give you full Commercial Announcement posting privileges at a lower cost, but you’re also helping to support the forum, which we really do appreciate.
But Mike! Why should I have to pay for this? - It’s only fair. After all, if some companies are buying ads which keeps the forum running, then other companies who take advantage of the forum should also help.
Note: Auto-renew option is intended for periods of at least three months.
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Or for those of you who are afraid of commitment: $59 for one month:
THE FINE PRINT
2- To retain a certain visual ambiance on the forum, we ask that "animated" banners use a reasonable amount of transitions (we recommend between 2 and 4), and that transitions be timed apart resonably. Members tend to refresh the page to get away from jarring stroboscopic banners. It is to your advantage to keep members engaged with the content of your ad.
3. "Subscriptions" are not intended to be started and stopped. If your intention is to advertise for only a month or two in order to qualify for posting Commercial Announcements, then please purchase the one month option rather than the subscription.
4. Complete rules about Commercial Announcement postings are on the forum. It’s mostly an honor system, though, and I’m not going to play police. The purpose of advertising is to support the forum, so in fairness, if your company is making money by posting on our forum, please help us out. Thank you.
5- For more info, feel free to contact us at support at vi-control dot net.
6- Banner design services: If you need help to create your banner, you can contact André through the forum PM system (member name = creativeforge). For a reasonable fee, he can create a banner per your specifications. This would constitute a work-for-hire independent from the forum. Static banners and animated banners have different costs. Click here for more info.
