Custom Advertising Solutions

While you can easily advertise on AltWire using our self-service portal, if you’re looking for more flexibility, our custom advertising options are a wise business move. Read on to find out how advertising on AltWire can help you reach your marketing goals.

Our readership encompasses the demographics advertisers seek when targeting passionate music and tech audiences.

• 60% male, aged 35-44, with disposable income
• Early adopters of both music and tech
• An eclectic readership mix of fans, artists, and industry insiders
• Three in five of our users visit us on their mobile phones
• A worldwide audience: 47% US, 33% EU

We run far fewer ads than most sites. This means you’re competing less for eyeballs, resulting in higher ROI.

Notice to prospective advertisers: We do not partner with any third-party advertising platforms (such as Google) for advertising space. All space is sold directly by AltWire and its parent companies. Please get in touch with us directly or use our self-service portal.

The process

It’s super simple to get your ad on AltWire.

1. Choose an available ad type. Available ad types are provided below.
2. Determine where you want your ad. Descriptions of available slots are provided below.
3. Assemble your ad creative assets, and ensure they meet our requirements. If they’re IAB-compliant sizes, you’re likely already set.
4. Reach out to our ad sales team. There’s no need to disclose your entire advertising plan, but providing a few examples of creatives will help us understand where your ads may look best on our site.
5. We handle the rest!

General Requirements

Ads must, at a minimum, adhere to the following requirements:

• The ad is relevant to our readership (25-44, predominantly male, music and tech savvy)
• The same content policies as Google Adwords, etc., apply
• Ad must start within the next quarter (90 days), except for 4Q holiday advertising
• IAB-compliant sizes only
• No profanity, nudity, sexual content, references to drug or illegal activities, gambling, online casino, astrology, or “get rich quick” ads
• No use of click-attracting strategies (i.e., video play icon on an image when a video doesn’t exist)

Crypto Advertisers: We do not permit the advertising of specific crypto coins due to legal reasons. Crypto services are permissible on a case-by-case basis, and prior approval is required.

Helpful, But Not Required

• 60% of our users visit us on mobile. It is recommended that you have mobile versions of все your ads available for the best results.
• If you’re using an application like Canva to export your creatives in various sizes, be sure to check the output. Occasionally, the software may make minor adjustments to the content to accommodate the requested size, which can cause unexpected design issues, making the creative unusable.
• We prefer images in PNG format, which allows us to convert them to lower-quality versions (JPG/WEBP) with minimal loss of clarity. However, submitting in high-quality (with minimal compression) JPG format is also acceptable.
• Avoid using font sizes smaller than 10px, even for mobile ads. When our site or any other site compresses this for caching and faster delivery, your text will lose a significant amount of clarity in that conversion, causing it to look ‘blurry.’ You are responsible for the creatives you submit. We will not provide refunds, discounts, or delay billing for image quality issues resulting from poor source file quality.

PERFORMANCE DISCLAIMER: AltWire and its parent organizations make no warranties as to the number of impressions or click-through ratios (CTRs) of your ad buy. Impressions served on any particular day are highly dependent on factors we cannot control, including the news cycle.

Ad Types Available

Currently, AltWire supports the following ad types.

• Banner ads – 728×90 and 300×250 are the most common IAB sizes shown and recommended for maximum exposure.
• Background image ads – We require a minimum of 1300 pixels of space centered for our content. Anything within that area will not be visible.
• Video ads – Play in the corner of the visitor’s browser. We allow video ads of 15 seconds or less in length.
• Carousel ad – Allows for multiple creatives of the same size to be used together in an ad. For sizes 300×250 only.
• Page Takeover – All ad spaces, including background image, are available for exclusive use by a single advertiser.
• Section Sponsorship – Section is “Sponsored by” advertiser, with ad appearing in prominent space on all articles posted under that section. Sponsorship can either be exclusive (all ad spaces available to the client) or non-exclusive.

These ad types are the easiest for us to implement and the most cost-effective. Additional custom types are available; please don’t hesitate to contact our sales team for more information.

Ad Positions Available

Depending on the page, AltWire has several ad spots available.

Front Page

On our front page, four spots are available for advertisers.

• Background Image Ad
• Headline Banner Ad
• Front Page Top Right Square
• Mid-Page Billboard
• Below Archive Above Audio Podcast

Other Pages

• Background image ad
• In content
• Sidebar Ad
• Page Bottom

Часто задаваемые вопросы

Here are some answers to questions you might have about our custom advertising offering.

Do you offer CPM?

AltWire readers, on average, convert at a higher rate than typical ad campaigns. CPM is useful in situations where an advertiser seeks wider exposure without incurring an equally significant expense, and is more commonly used in ad networks, rather than in direct ad deals. We will quote a price for your entire campaign.

Can you bill me for my ad campaign?

For your ads to run, you must pay your invoice in full. There are no exceptions. We do not offer postpaid options for advertising space. However, established clients may be given additional options other than prepay.

Does it need to be a traditional ad?

No, that’s the beauty of our custom solutions! While a majority of our clients use traditional methods (banners, video ads, etc.), we have assisted clients using other methods such as product reviews, brand and product promotion, and more, seamlessly integrating the advertisement into our content. With ad blocker use rising, these non-traditional methods ensure your campaign gets seen. Please note that FTC regulations require us to disclose any sponsor relationship.

I have an affiliate program. Can I offer that as part of compensation?

Depending on the structure of your program, a portion of your ad fees could be paid on a CPA basis. We do not guarantee approval of such an arrangement: all proposals are reviewed to ensure they’re a good fit for our readers. We do not accept affiliate-revenue-only arrangements for ad payments or where affiliate revenues are the primary payment method (more than 50%) for the ad campaign.

Do you have any special requirements for seasonal advertising?

No, custom advertising clients have exclusive access to our ad inventory during select periods when traffic/conversions are typically higher (July 1-15 and November 15-December 31). However, we do recommend reserving ad space as soon as possible, as it is likely to sell out early. We run fewer ads than most music news sites, so space is limited. While we generally don’t accept ad campaigns more than 90 days in advance, advertising campaigns for the period from November 15 to December 31 can be scheduled early.

Can I target a specific demographic?

Initially, demographic targeting is available based on location, operating system, browser, and device. We aim to add additional targeting options soon.

Do you provide refunds?

No. You are responsible for the creatives you submit and the ads you run. We will not provide refunds, discounts, or delay billing for image quality issues resulting from poor source file quality, performance, incorrect creatives, or any other issue not directly caused by the actions of AltWire or its affiliates. With custom ads, we only bill after ad approval, and before your ad runs on our site. Ads will only run when payment is received.

How often will my ad be seen?

An exact number is hard to determine, but throughout a 30-day campaign, your ad should be seen several thousand times.

Will you provide analytics?

We provide basic analytics that includes impression and CTR data. We continually improve our analytics based on feedback, with additional data expected to become available soon.

Do you offer exclusivity?

Yes. Exclusivity ensures that no direct competitor appears in another ad space on the same page during your campaign. This is offered as an add-on to standard custom ad packages.

Can you design my ad creative?

Yes, we can! Contact our sales team for more information.

How much will all this cost?

Custom ad solutions are, by their definition, created by you. As a result, they will be more expensive than other options. Our self-service ad page gives a general idea of what you might expect to spend on a possible campaign, but it should be considered a baseline. Of course, we’d be happy to provide you with a free advertising quote.