Sponsorships are another form of advertising that usually involve strong, longlasting relationships between the sponsors and the owners of the sites. Sponsors might donate money, Web development, Web hosting, Web site maintenance, or other products and services to Web site owners in exchange for advertising on their site—this creates a mutually beneficial relationship. By sponsoring other Web sites on the Internet, you can achieve great exposure for your own site. The benefits of sponsorships on the Internet are that you can target a specific
audience, you usually get first call on ad placement, and you show your target market that you care about their interests. Overall, by sponsoring other sites on the Internet, you have the opportunity to get directly in the face of your target market.
There are a number of ways in which you can advertise online through sponsorships. The following is a list of the more common forms of online sponsorship:
- E-zines and newsletters. An example would be Lee Valley Tools sponsoring a woodworking e-zine.
- Content sites. An example would be Web MD sponsoring a health and fitness Web site.
- Online chat sessions. An example would be Honda sponsoring a chat on the ATVFrontier.com forum.
- Events. An example would be an airline such as Continental Airlines sponsoring a seminar on vacation planning and booking.