Advertising in Market Place- a working example of micro marketing

Advertising in Market Place-part of the Winsham Parish Web Site.

Winsham Parish Web Site exists solely to serve the needs of the residents of the parish of Winsham. About 750 people live in Winsham, in some 320 households. It is sponsored but not funded by Winsham Parish Council.

Winsham has a successful village shop owned by the community, a pub-‘The Bell’, a Primary school, two Churches, and a village hall . Like many small rural communities in the South West the surrounding land is farmed and there are numerous small businesses providing a variety of local services. 

Winsham Parish Web Site

The site is a relatively busy one when related to the size of its target audience. About 250 homes have broadband access, with download speeds up to 6mbs. It has a 12 month average of 424 visits each month. This has grown by 21.5% in the last year and 15% the previous year.

Site visit analysis shows that after ‘Notice Board’, an important part of site navigation, the second most popular venue is Market Place with 12% of traffic being the first area visited, with a further 8% as the first visit after going to the Home Page.

Much traffic for the Parish Web Site is generated by hyperlinks from the Winsham E-Letter that is sent to about 190 Winsham residents each week.

The e-letter keeps subscribers informed of parish news items and coming events. Occasionally it is used to promote areas on the Parish Web site such as Market Place.

MARKET PLACE

Market Place is a Directory of product suppliers and service providers. For the most part, but not exclusively, they are based in  Winsham, or the Chard, Crewkerne, Axminster triangle. It was set up specifically to help local businesses, who are important our community.
The Parish Web site is an ideal vehicle to place their services before a large sector of Winsham residents at a very low cost. There are modest expenditures involved in the running of the two village web sites and the Winsham E-Letter which need to be met. The small charge for  Market Place advertisements cover these costs.

To experience how Market Place works, simply click ‘HERE’.

There are 20 business headings, and Advertisers are free to select which headings they wish their advertisement to appear. More than one heading can be selected, and no premium is charged for the use of more than one heading category, providing it is directly relevant to their business .

The advertisements are 450pixels wide, and approx 350pxls deep. Graphically, they are often a web version of their Joint Parish Magazine advertisement (see below).

Other advertisements can be used, using mono or colour illustrations- a facility not available in the Joint Parish Magazine.

A hyper link is provided for advertisers who have a web site. Alternatively an e-mail link can be provided.

An aspect of Market Place is the section called ‘Bazaar’ which facilitates private transactions between villagers, and a ‘Freebee Corner’ that advertises free items.

What does advertising in Market Place cost?

Charges (Effective for bookings after 1^st January 2013):
A space in the commercial area of Market Place is £5 pa January to December, or part of the year, for advertisers also advertising in The Joint Parish Magazine.

For advertisers not also advertising in the Joint Parish Magazine, the rate is £8 pa January to December, or part thereof.

No charge is made for adapting a Parish Magazine advertisement for use in Market Place. Ads can also be designed free of charge on receipt of copy and pictures. We do not offer a professional studio service, but basic requirements can usually be met.

Revenue generated from the Market Place facility goes towards maintaining and operating the  Winsham Parish Web Site and the Winsham Web Museum, which otherwise operates on an entirely voluntary basis.

 Working in association with the Joint Parish Magazine...

 The Winsham Parish Web Site and the Joint Parish Magazine are separate organisations, but with similar objectives. The Winsham Parish Web Site is set up to serve the interests of the residents and businesses of the parish of Winsham. The Joint Parish Magazine exists to serve the interests of three Parishes-Cricket St. Thomas, Thorncombe and Winsham. One can only be accessed through the Internet. The Magazine exists only in print. The Winsham Parish Web Site can be reached by some two hundred households in the one parish; the Joint Parish Magazine reaches 470 each month across three parishes.

Neither operate to make a profit, only to cover  direct costs. Both are  subsidised by the efforts of a team of volunteers. The only overlap is on the advertising ,where three volunteers work on both projects.

If you would like to know more about advertising in the Joint Parish Magazine, click HERE