This is a short synopsis of advertising and the Internet.

There are a few direct ways to make money on the Internet. Subscription to services, sale of goods, and advertisements. For pure online plays, in other words businesses that are in the business of information, it’s either subscription or advertisement to monetize content.

As time passes, fewer and fewer companies can survive based on the subscription model. People want free access to online information. Today, advertisers provide a means for the average person to freely access online content.

This is why we see the domination of Google, a company that makes 99% of its revenue through advertising… $11.6 billion in 2007 to be exact. Advertising networks drive the monetization of today’s Internet. Content exists, people want it, producers and publishers rely advertisers to sponsor their content.

Here are some figures…

• There is $26.53 billion spent on advertising for Internet, mobile, video games and digital out-of-home
• Total Internet advertising is projected to to reach $61.98 billion in 2011, surpassing newspapers as the nation’s largest ad medium.
• Marketing segment is a $254.01 billion industry

The advertising market seems to be bubble proof and Web 2.0 proof. Regardless of the *what* and *how* of the medium, it’s going to be sponsored by advertising until there is a cultural shift or another clever way of monetizing eyeballs on digital content.

In an effort to capture this revenue, ad optimization is the game. Advertising networks such as Google, Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft among many others are working on providing the best click-through and conversion rates to keep advertisers paying and keep content publishers paid.

Contextual targeting, recommender engines, consumer behavior tracking, and now social networking are the means for optimizing advertisements online today. Making sure the right person is looking at a relevant advertisement keeps this market growing. Undoubtedly there will be other methods of creating optimized advertisements in the future.

This article outlines categories of want for not for profit organizations. Previously I’ve written about categories of want for consumers and businesses. You can find those articles at http://blog.lowesoftware.com.

Not for profit groups are an interesting animal. They are here to meet a social goal with ultimate primary focus on that goal and not profit. At the end of the day though, a not for profit organization is very much like any other incorporated entity. It needs to make money, market, and make their customers happy to survive.

Here are some categories that not for profits want:

1. Survival – Like all entities a non-profit wants to survive and continue. This could be indefinately or for the duration of its mission or grant. Survival is usually a cost for not for profits and includes taxes, government filings, human resources, and other operational items that are required to function.
2. Stability – Stability is a category of want that a not for profit has that is somewhat unique. Many not for profit organizations are not concerned with growth or change. They reach a plateau and want to maintain. If you can help an organization to maintain it’s user base, volunteer base, funding, etc. then you can help the organization meet its want.
3. Achievement of Mission – The ultimate goal of a non-profit is to accomplish a mission. This can be a mission with an end or something that is onoing. If you can help a not for profit better fulfill its mission statement you’ve got a potential customer.

The not for profit sector is a different animal. The culture and wants and needs and problems are unlike that of traditional business. But, the not for profit sector is huge.

There are many not for profit organizations that do run more like typical businesses with profit as a focus. This is especially true with not for profit medical. There are stories about not for profit board members and executives making millions and millions of dollars personally. There are regulations that have been passed and changes continue to be made.

The entire US not for profit market is composed of 1.3 million organizations. There’s definately money to be made and problems to be solved.

This article is about evaluating categories of wants for businesses. I previously wrote an article about categories of wants for consumers, you can find it at http://blog.lowesoftware.com.

Distilled down, businesses are concerned with two things:

1. Survival – This category is about ensuring the ongoing operations of the business. These are often times cost centers for the business such as taxes, regulatory compliance, corporate filings, human resources, etc. They are required for the business to function and survive.
2. Profit – This is the ultimate goal for business. This category is about offering ways for businesses to increase profit. See return on investment. This includes optimizing processes, reducing cost structures, providing product for resale, etc.

While businesses can be socially conscious or do good, charitable, and altruistic things, a business at it’s core is concerned with it’s own survival and profit.

When developing offerings for businesses you should ask yourself how your offerings fulfill one of these two wants of the business entity. If you can offer a business a better way to survive or profit you’ve got something.

Illustrate a return on investment and you’re gold.

I just started a grassroots political activism web site at http://www.ownpolitics.org that I am trying to get out there. It’s a non profit group and it has a different twist. Not only is it about demanding change from the government like every other group. But it’s also about humanizing all those statistics we read.

It’s about taking all those tragedies that are summed up in a simple number, making them personal, and sending those stories in mass by fax, email, or any other way to government, activist groups, corporate execs, celebs, and anyone else of influence. It’s not that “18,000 die every year from lack of health insurance” it’s about the 18,000+ stories of family members and friends and the *real people* behind that cold, simple number.
 
Here’s a paragraph that sums it up: “Josef Stalin had a quote, “a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.” This seems to sum up politics today: 47 million people are uninsured 1, 10 million children are uninsured2, there are 18,000 deaths a year from lack of health insurance3, and on, and on. Ownpolitics.org is a place to make the statistics human, to bring awareness to the tragedies, and to demand change.”
 
Please take a look, the web site is at http://www.ownpolitics.org. Please help us make a difference! I hope you find the concept interesting and you sign a petition and find ways to get involved; it’s all pretty to do. If you have any questions or feedback, please get in touch.

Consumers want things, that’s why we are able to sell product. I believe there are five categories of wants that you can evaluate when making a product or service offering.

By evaluating your offerings in these categories it helps to give clarity as to the “why” a person is after your offering and how to tailor your offering and marketing.

The categories

1. Survival – This category encompasses basic needs. Food, shelter, clothing and all the things that go with it.
2. Comfort and Contentment – This category includes entertainment, leisure, and creature comforts.
3. Ego – This category is about power, status, and standing in communities and social circles. These are purchases made for image and status.
4. Peace and Fulfillment – This category is about seeking or finding something to give a feeling of inner peace. Religion, meditation, counseling, and self help.
5. Family – This category is about providing for your family. This includes services for children, education, and health.
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   There may be other categories that are more general or more specific, but I believe these cover most all offerings. So let me give a few details to clarify these categories.

   1. These categories embody various types of wants, needs, or problems. Find a gap that keeps someone from meeting their needs for survival, comfort, family, etc and you’ve got a potential market.
   2. Wants within these categories don’t necessarily have to be real or actual wants. It’s the perception of want or need that we’re considering.
   3. Solutions to wants or needs or problems can cross categories. Cars, for example, provide survival, comfort, and ego depending on the state of mind of the consumer.
   4. There is a hierarcy of these needs. The problem is the heirarchy changes based on the person. Survival should be at the top, as should family (from my moral and ethical view anyway), but people will often times put personal comfort or ego above family. Or will put ego above fulfillment. The hierarchy can define our cultural values.
   5. These categories don’t derive from a natural or biological need. These categories are about what people say to themselves and perceive as needs.

   That’s the category list, if you can think of any other categories or a better list, please let me know.

   These categories help me with brainstorming and execution. It allows me to think in small chuncks and once an idea comes it is easier to evalulate the execution of the idea.