After a successful beta test this summer, Real-Time Ads is now accepting paying customers, and we have eight so far.
Real-Time Ads (RTA) gives businesses and organizations the chance to update their messages to our readers as often as they like. All you need is a Twitter feed or a blog with an RSS feed; every time you update your message there, it automatically updates your ad. So you can freshen your message every week, every day, or even every hour.
The ads appear in random rotation in our RTA widget on the left side of every MinnPost page, chosen from among those that have been updated in the past 72 hours.. And the reader can click on Show All Ads, at which point all ads appear on the screen, with the most recently updated messages appearing first.
Coming soon: We’ll be able to use your email newsletter as the feed; you won’t even need an RSS feed.
Because RTA is a new kind of ad format, we’re continuing to offer a four-week free trial to first-time customers. After that, the price is $25 per week for orders of five weeks or more. Email adinfo@minnpost.com to learn more or visit our Real-Time Ads page.
The free offer does not apply to political advertising. We just posted our first political advertiser: Meg Forney, a candidate for the Minneapolis Park Board. RTA is a great way to get frequent messages out to voters — in our recent survey, 98 percent of MinnPost readers said they voted in the last election.
So this is what you consider an actual news story? A yet more efficient way to pester readers is a story you think might interest readers? I rarely come to MinnPost anymore, because I rarely find anything that interests me. I was so excited when MinnPost was announced. What a disappointment it’s been.
It’s hardly worth the occasional glance at the RSS feed anymore.
It’s not a news story, it’s an Inside MinnPost item. That’s a feature for people interested in the inside workings of our enterprise, both the journalism and the business aspects.
Is this something you’ve built in-house?
A great idea, and I kind of wish I had something like this for my web site.
Rick Ellis
AllYourTV.com
Is there a control mechanism to keep the ad copy within guidelines?