Looking to monetize your SNO site?

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We know budgets are tight these days…

That’s why the SNO Patrol offers a couple of optional tools that can help your site generate revenue. All it takes is clicking an Activate button, and then you can be as hands-on (or hands-off) as you’d like in promoting these monetization options.

Option 1: SNO Ads

SNO Ads allows you to activate up to three ad placements on your site, (header, footer and sidebar areas). By default, each placement will display a SNO placeholder ad that encourages interested businesses or organizations to click and purchase the spot.

You have full control over pricing! You decide how much to charge per month for each placement. From there, the process is simple: businesses create an account at SNOAds.com, SNO’s staff works with them to provide artwork, and SNO manages uploading and removing ads as well as collecting payments. Revenue is split 70/30. Your program keeps 70% of the ad revenue, and 30% goes back to SNO.

You can choose your own level of involvement:

Totally hands-off: Just activate the ad spots you want on your homepage by going to the SNO Ads tab on your dashboard.

A little more involved: Reach out to local businesses and encourage them to click on the placeholder ad to purchase a spot. Consider drafting a flyer or email to explain the process.

Really involved: Replace our placeholder ads with custom “Advertise with us” graphics that feature your branding. For inspiration, check out The Winonan’s example of custom placeholders.

Option 2: SNO Donate

SNO Donate makes it easy for readers to support your program with a credit card donation. Once activated through the SNO Donate tab on your dashboard, a donation prompt will appear at the bottom of every story.

By default, donations are applied as a credit toward your annual hosting fee, lowering your bill. You also have the option to request a payout of your donations* if you’d prefer to receive funds directly. The revenue split here is 90/10. Your program keeps 90% of donations, while 10% goes back to SNO.

Like SNO Ads, you control your level of involvement:

Totally hands-off: Simply activate SNO Donate on your site.

A little more involved: Customize your donation request, thank-you message, and donation goal. If you’re comfortable with design tools, you can also add a SNO Donate widget to your homepage.

Really involved: During high-volume giving periods (like Giving Tuesday or homecoming), create a story highlighting how donations benefit your program. Since the donation prompt appears at the end of every story, this is a great way to inspire readers to contribute.

*Payouts are only available once you’ve collected at least $100 in donations.