Advertise your Project Management Service or Software on PM-Sherpa.com

1. Traffic History

While PM-Sherpa.com is a “new” site as of mid-May 2009, it’s traffic has been redirected from a site that has been on the web since 2005 and has had increasing traffic during that time with over 50,000 annual page views and over 30,000 annual unique visitors. You can see the Google Analytics results from May 1st 2008 thru April 30th 2009 to get a feel for the traffic being redirected.

Note that the prior site was a single page site where no real effort was ever made to drive traffic and/or generate good search engine results. Prior to the discontinuing accepting new or renewal advertising, the prior site had seven (7) advertisers each paying approximately US$100/month where most of the advertisers had renewed their advertising several times.

Ready to sponsor PM-Sherpa now? Just go here.

2. Sponsorship Exposure

Since PM-Sherpa.com is a new site with many pages as compared to the prior site which had only one page, we plan to experiment continuously so to increase effectiveness with a direct goal of driving results for sponsors. To enable us the flexibility to test new approaches we won’t commit to exact exposures delivered but promise to be very proactive in our attempts to optimize it for sponsors benefits. That said, full-site sponsorship currently consists of:

• Home Page “Featured Solutions” exposure - A rotating carousel presents a 497×382 screenshot and a promotional blurb about your solution. The carousel currently displays each solution for 7.5 seconds before moving to the next solution. The links for these solutions either 1.) click through to the page on PM-Sherpa.com for your solution, or 2.) clicks through to your website if the user clicks the following icon:
• Solutions Page “Featured Solutions” exposure - A random selection of three (3) 300×250 ads from the six (6) sponsored solutions are displayed “above the fold” for each page view at the top of the Solutions Page.
• “Featured Solutions” exposure on All Other Pages - A random selection of four (4) 300×250 ads from the six (6) sponsored solutions are displayed on the right-hand column on all other pages on the site.

We have potential plans in the near future to change to the following:

1. “Featured Solutions” exposure on most pages - We’d like to move to using 125×125 ads for all six (6) sponsored solutions on most pages to enable them to be seen “above the fold.”
2. Display Twitter Stream via Socialable Ads - We’d like to implement Socialable Ads as seen on Mashable.com that pull tweets from the sponsor’s Twitter feed and display it on PM-Sherpa.com.

Beyond those two (2) ideas we’ll be wracking our brain to come up with new and better ways to provide sponsors with exposure which means we are very much open to hearing any and all ideas you might have for how we can help you, just email sponsorship@pm-sherpa.com.

Ready to sponsor PM-Sherpa now? Just go here.

3. Sponsorship Costs

As stated, our sponsorships are provided on a unique semi-auction style. Here’s how it works:

• Sponsorships are scheduled on a calendar month.
• The lowest bid for sponsorship is US$100/month.
• Bids over US$100 need to be made in increments of US$25/month.
• Bids for sponsorship can be submitted for the following month up to 10 days prior.
• The six (6) highest bid prices will be accepted.
• Sponsorships slots can be reserved for up to six (6) months.
• Bids are placed by making payment for sponsorship.
• Sponsorship payments must be made via PayPal to sponsorship@pm-sherpa.com.
• Any payments for bids not accepted will be refunded by the first week in a month unless instructed to hold the bid until it clears.
• If accepted, sponsorships will run for the full time paid.
• If during your sponsorship a bid is submitted with a higher amount than your sponsorship fee we will challenge you to see if during your current sponsorship period you would like to meet or exceed the bid rate for the same number of months.
  • If you opt to meet or exceed their bid rate starting at the next month then, you will be able to maintain your position as sponsor.
  • If you opt to maintain your current sponsorship rate your sponsorship will continue until the last month for which you paid after which the higher bidder will gain access to your slot.
  • When higher bids are presented during your current sponsorship period and there are multiple current sponsors with the same bid amount we will challenged sponsors in an order based on those who are reserved the earliest and have had the longest history as sponsor.

Ready to sponsor PM-Sherpa now? Just go here.

Sponsorship FAQ

Q: Why the unusual sponsorship program?

A: We are trying to best balance the interests of our advertisers and our own. Advertisers get frustrated when they are just one of tens of competitors and their exposure gets diluted so advertising on a small niche site becomes just not worth the trouble. So we decided to limit to only six (6) advertisers.

From past experience with our advertisers on the prior site we know what we are offering has great value for sponsors. And since we want to invest some in content for the site we decided to use the semi-auction based system to ensure that the level of revenue we are generating is more closely aligned with the value we are providing.

Q: What does it cost to sponsor?

A: A minimum bid of US$100 per month, but you may bid as much as you like.

Q: Is there a benefit for me to bid sooner than later?

A: Absolutely. We will determine sponsor priority based in part by who has been sponsoring the longest so bidding sooner mean’s you’ll be less likely to be challenged to have to pay more to maintain your sponsorship slot.

Q: Why would I want to bid more than US$100?

A: Bidding higher than US$100 means that you’ll be much less likely to be challenged to increase your bid and/or you will be challenged much later than those who low-bid. We’ll also be using total amounts paid as part of our priority calculation when time comes to challenge an existing sponsor based on the bid of a hopeful future sponsor so bidding higher increases your history. Lastly, the higher you bid the more likely you’ll be one of the six (6) selected for sponsorship.

Q: Do I really need to bid more than US$100?

A: Initially, probably not.

Q: Or maybe I should just bid US$101 initially?

A: Bids beyond US$100 must be done in increments of US$25 so the next higher valid bid amount would be US$125, not US$101. If you do bid US$101 it will be treated as if it is US$100.

Q: Can I just bypass this silly auction process and guarantee my sponsorship?

A: No but if you bid US$500 per month, that will probably do it.

Q: How many sponsors do you have already?

A: As we are launching our sponsorship program for June 2009 we have only one sponsor who will be grand-fathered from the prior site since we didn’t renew any other the other advertisers knowing that we planned to change how advertising was done from the prior site to this one. And the other “sponsors” you see on the site during May 2009 are those who previously advertised at one time or other on the prior site, which we are doing as a “thank you.” So other than the grand-fathered advertiser, we have no sponsors as of May 18th, 2009.

Q: Sounds like you won’t get any other sponsors?

A: We had seven (7) advertisers on the prior site which now redirects to PM-Sherpa.com. If you believe we won’t get many sponsors, feel free to sit on the sidelines for a while.

Q: I was a prior advertiser. What about my priority?

A: Yes, assuming you consistently advertised on the prior site we will count your prior advertising towards your priority.

Q: If I sit out sponsorship for while will I loose my accumulated priority?

A: Yes.

Q: If someone challenges my sponsorship rate do I get bumped and loose what I paid if I don’t meet their bid?

A: No, once you pay for a sponsorship and it gets accepted we cannot remove you until the end of your sponsorship period.

Q: So why would I want to meet a challengers bid if I have a reserved sponsorship slot?

A: The benefit of meeting a challenger’s bid is it enables you to maintain first-right-of-refusal on your sponsorship slot beyond the period for which you’ve already paid.

Q: Do you provide access to Ad Statistics and allow me to manage ads?

A: Not currently. We are planning the latter and considering the former. One benefit of not providing the latter is we get to give you direct links to your site which provide you with SEO benefit from a site that is (or soon will be) clearly viewed by Google as an authority hub on Project Management solutions.

Q: So how do I submit a bid?

A: Send a payment via PayPal.com to sponsorship@pm-sherpa.com for your bid amount times the number of months you’d like to bid for up to a maximum of six (6) months. PayPal will notify us and we’ll begin to evaluate your bid based on current sponsor levels.

If you are a large company and cannot use PayPal, email sponsorship@pm-sherpa.com with the details and I will give you mailing address for a company check and/or wire transfer details.

Q: Do you plan to raise the minimum bid to more than US$100?

A: Yes, that is our goal; to increase the value of the site so that we can raise the minimum. When it becomes clear that the site will easily support a higher minimum sponsorship amount we’ll do so.

Q: When does a sponsorship period begin and when does it end?

A: A sponsorship period begins on the 1st day of a month and ends on the last day of a month; 28th, 29th, 30th, or 31st depending on the month and year.

Q: But I get less exposure on shorter months vs. longer months?

A: Agreed, but managing it differently would just be too complex and the dollar amounts for sponsorship are really not worth anyone’s haggling over a few days.

Q: So walk me through the process if I bid?

A: When you submit a bid we’ll first look to see if we already have six (6) other sponsors. If we don’t currently have six (6) sponsors we’ll start running your sponsorship for the next month immediately which means you’ll get “free” exposure through the end of the current month.

If we already have six (6) sponsors and your bid exceeds at least one of their sponsorship fees by at least US$25/month for a sponsor whose sponsorship period is expiring in the next month, we’ll challenge them to increase their bid and give them three (3) business days to respond. If they do not increase their bid we will grant you their sponsorship slot starting on the 1st day of the next month through the end of your paid sponsorship period.

However if the challenged sponsor does increase their bid we will go to the next sponsor in priority order and challenge them also giving them three (3) business days to respond. We will continue this until we have contacted all sponsors whose existing paid fees are less than your bid.

If we make it through all sponsors and then all raise their bids we will give you the choice of increasing your bid by at least US$50/month trying the challenge process again, staying on “the waiting list” until a sponsorship slot opens at your current bid, or having your bid refunded.

Q: If I stay on the waiting list can I later get a refund if it does not clear?

A: If you pay for your bid via PayPal and request the refund more than 45 days after submitting the bid we will refund 95% of your bid. The 5% covers our PayPal fees and processing expense. If you bid via company check, we will happily mail a refund check.

Q: Can I change my mind and get a refund if I’m in the middle of a sponsorship period or if you accept my bid for a future set of months?

A: No. Once you submit a bid you implicitly enter into an agreement to sponsor PM-Sherpa for the number of months specified in your bid and a refund will only be given if PM-Sherpa is somehow unable to fulfill on its delivery of your sponsorship benefits.

Q: How is sponsor “priority” determined?

A: Sponsor priority used to determine the order in which sponsors get challenged when a new higher bid is submitted. Priority is based on several factors including but not limited to sponsor’s current monthly sponsorship rate, number of sponsorship months remaining for which they have already paid, a loyalty factor based on number of prior month of consistent sponsorship. We plan to tweak the exact sponsor priority formula over time to reward sponsors who are consistent and who help PM-Sherpa.com maximize its sponsorship revenue.

Q: Okay, I’m ready. What materials do I need to provide you with the bid?

A: If your solution is new to PM-Sherpa.com please be sure to first submit your solution. And even if your solution is not new it might made sense to review the submission requirements to ensure we do already have the most up-to-date information about your solution. Then besides payment send the following to sponsorship@pm-sherpa.com:

1. 300×250 ad in .GIF, .JPG, .PNG or .SWF format (max 50kb, or we will optimize it for you.)
2. 125×125 ad in .GIF, .JPG or .PNG format (max 20kb, or we will optimize it for you.)
3. 980×740 screenshot of your website and/or of your solution (or we can do this if you like.)
4. Promotional Text that fits in 300×320px when formatted in HTML with font Georgia at 13pt with 1.5em line-height (384 characters in paragraph format.)
5. URL that your ads should link to (they can include sourcing codes.)
6. SEO text you want us to use when linking to your site.

Note on the Promotional Text: This should be different than the 384 character description found on your PM-Sherpa solution’s page. We suggest using bullet points and a call-to-action and it can be per-marked up in HTML if you like.

Q: Can I provide you with Flash ads?

A: Yes for the 300×250 ad but their interactivity must stay within their 300×250 pixel boundaries. No Flash is allowed for the 125×125 ad or for the 980×740 screenshot.

Q: Isn’t this awfully complex to manage manually?

A: Yes it is, but with only six (6) sponsors on a monthly schedule we think we can manage it. What’s more, we’re looking at this as our use-case and test-bed for converting this into a WordPress plugin that will then let us manage it on an automated basis.

Q: How can you be sure this semi-auction approach will work for you?

A: We can’t be sure it will work. This is an experiment. If we don’t sign up any sponsors because of it’s complexity, we’ll change it; simple as that.

Q: I have ideas for new ways to make sponsorship more valuable to me!

A: Great! We are all ears: sponsorship@pm-sherpa.com

Q: I’m almost ready but still have a (few more) question(s).

A: Just ask: sponsorship@pm-sherpa.com

Ready to sponsor PM-Sherpa now? Just go here.

Other Advertising Opportunities

Beyond full-site sponsorships, we have plans to introduce a variety of innovate opportunities for providers of Project Management Solutions in the near future. Email sponsorship@pm-sherpa.com if you are interested in learning more.