Hey George:
At your suggestion I will add comments and information to message board relative to advertising.
The three publications you mentioned I will look into immediately for advertising "rate cards" on display ads, and classified ads. Ani info regarding online advertising, if these publications are co-produces online and "old fashioned" print versions.
Communicating with Darren Cameron he suggested that he may be willing to create some prototype leaflets and flyers. Since he is in UK, it seems more cost effective for him to only mail the protypes of these documents to a volunteer member in each country who can have them printed and distributed locally.
In terms of circulation, Coin World seems to have the largest in USA at 83,000. They are of Amos publication, and based in Ohio. This is where we begin to get into target marketing. While we may scower circulation figures, a demographic market research report on the readership of each print and online publication seems the preferred method of planning an advertising campaign. As much as possible, I think it wise to use our advertising monies to advertise in those publications whose subsribers seem to come closest to unusual and unrecognized state world coin collecting.
Because of it's large size and budget, Coin world hired a market research firm from Minnesota to do the research on it's subscribers. Most publishers contacted to date have not gone to such effort or expense and thus we are left with surmise and conjecture regarding the demographic breakdown, and pertinent marketing info on it's subscribers.
Do to limited funds at present, my recommendation would entale small classified ads in the most prominent world coin periodicles, Coin World, World Coin News and the Numismatist.
The cost of classified ads in these publications is very low, less than $ 10 per issue in most cases. If we wish to take out display ads in the name of the USNS, rather than the individual renting the ad, we have to file appropriate documentation and official be constituted and recognized by local municipal and federal authority. I've already begun accumulating all appropriate IRS forms and publications to do this. Needed are application for Non-Profit status (designated as 501(c)(3), an EIN number, and Non-Profit officer authorization.
We will also need to register the ficticious name request with the juristiction the USNS is located in. This would appear to be Castaic. Meanwhile, we can take out classified ads in the name of a volunteer, which I am willing to do and will do with printed publications in USA. If there are volunteers we may also do this with popular world coin publications in Britain, Australia, Europe and others nations in which we have a volunteer member.
If there is a volunteer to investigate and take out web-based advertising, including the online versions of major printed publications this would seem welcome.
One of the largest of these for world coins is again Coin World. The data and contact info regarding their online version is below;
COIN WORLD: Online ad telephone # (866)501-6063. Email; nbriner@amospress.com (The pub. company of Coin World is Amos Pub.). Address is 911 Vandemark Rd., PO BOX 150, Sidney, Ohio 45365-0150 company telephone (800)673-8311 or (937)498-0800. Ad specialists at Coin World are; Rita Gerkey (888)293-4188, rgirkey@coinworld.com or Brenda Wyen (866)468-1622 and bwyen@coinworld.com. Online ad info available at
www.coinworld.com/banner/ and online transfer info and specs below. FAX number is (800)340-9501.
This publication has affiliated or spin-off online or printed editions; CoinTrends, State Quarters, Amos Advantage. The Coin World homepage offers rotating ads at $ 50 per week, general rotating ads at $ 70 p/w. Huge banner ads are included in packages beginning at $ 300 per month.
The subscriber/visitor figures for ad viewing are 97,000 per month on the banner online ads. The Coin World homepage is at 11,000 viewers per week, and 27,000 for general. The largest of the spin-off pubs. is CoinTrends at 25,000 p/w. The overall subscriber circulation for print ads is still much higher, at 83,000.
With yearly subscriptions to both print and online advertising at about $47 p/y the marketing breakdown in the market research report I spoke of thends to indicate very affluant readership. This means that many of these subscribers see coin collecting as much as an investment as a hobby. This is also bore out in the market research study in which a larger percentage of readership collect US and bullion coins, than world coins.
This is where we begin to get into target marketing. Although display advertising in Coin World begins at a column sized ad of 1-18 $ 28 per edition, and although Coin World has a much larger circulation than many competitors, the target market we are trying to reach is significantly smaller than the overall circulation figures.
If the online advertising member-volunteer is intrested I can make available the full data on the marketing research report of the Minnesota company which was hired by Coin World. The stats and research data may be useful. We may use it as a tool in guesstimating ball-park figures for those many publications who did not hire such a company to analyze it's subscribers, but in all liklihood subscriber demographics and marketing breakdowns would be very different than Coin World's.
Coin World is a weekly online and print. Deadlines for print ads are fixed, also online ads. Methods for submitting online ads can be obtained at
www.coinworld.com/CustomerService/Advertising/specs.asp or calling (866)501-6063 or emailing nbriner@amospress.com.
Special advertising is available one time per month, with box ads specials of international, web-site promotion links and for print insert-ads. Rates very and must be inquired. Discounts to general rate-card ad quotes are available for commitment contract of lengthy duration and range from 5 to 10%.
According to Coin World's own marketing research data the cost of reaching 1,000 reader per for major US coin pubs. online and print is;
World Coin News $107
Coin Prices $41, Numismatic News $32, Coins $34, Coinage $28 and Coin World $21. Does this mean that Coin World is the most cost effective pub. for us, the USNS?? No. In order to make that assessment we need the full market research figures from their competitors, which often did not hire a market research company to do the detailed analysis. Even with smaller circulation, competitor publications may have as large, or larger target market of those intrested in world and unusual unrecognized state type coins. Because of the low cost of classified ads however, I recommend placing ads in a half dozen of the largest US pubs.. Cost per ed. ad is often less than $10. For display ads costing in excess of $25 I make no such recommendation in reference to current budgetary figures and unavailability of completed market research report. Personally I hate it when a major company fails to do such research. As a potential advertiser this data is critical in planning a good advertising campaign.
One major source of online advertising may be had via the Numismalink site. The ANA site also has such links for member Societies we we now are.
With reference to the suggestion regarding placing an ad in Krause's upcoming Colin R. Bruce II 4th ed of Unusual World Coins catalog, a custom not used in the 3rd ed. but now used in the Standard Catalog of World Coins, Krause pub.. Absolutely I am in agreement. Even without the market reserach data this would seem to be our primary target market population. I can mention this to Colin on the group email. If gratis or low cost super. If it is very expensive we may have no alternative than a pass because of current budgetary limitations.
Hopefully this will be useful info George. I will check out the publications mentioned. I also have the rates cards for World Coin News and the NUmismatists. But these are for print display ads, not online ads. The rate cards for Coin magazine and Coin Prices magazine, both Krause, I have also. However, the target market of these pubs. would appear to be askew. We can not know this for certain in the absence of comprehensive market research report, which I'll attempt to acquire by phone after Xmas.
One online suggestion would be to contact some of the major dealers in world coins such as; Alan Berman, Joel; Anderson, Scoen-Buchversand, Erik McCrae, Alejandro Guelfand, Oded Paz (If I don't include him even in an example he feels jealous),...etc.. We may request recipricol trading of web links. After contacting Coin World it seems that major online pubs. may be reluctant to accepted mutual link trading offers because they regard it as free ad space.
I'll check out the pubs. you mentioned George and get back to you. I thought I would start with the largest and most high profile first. But, please remember to mentally seperate print and online ads. Although, we may coordinate them in overall advertising campaign, it does take different skills than the other to submit and create. I'm not computer savy enough to submit online ads, but I can acquire the contact info and market reasearch data of said online ads..
Because I am in USA I am familiar primarily with the USA pubs. which I am doing. Thank you for the tip on the Aussie pub... It is very helpful if members outside USA can mention names of most popular world coin pubs. and web sites for their nations.
Stephen