Several changes from previous years have been incorporated with some new opportunities into the  TurfNet 2013 Media Kit.

The Page Peel (top left corner) and Pushdown (full width, under the menu) banners on the main page have been made available separately in the Employment section as well.  Both sections are now available by the week as well as monthly.  High visibility positions, they are great for short-term promotions. See page 8 of the Media Kit.

As part of our site redesign (currently awaiting launch), the TurfNetTV section has been redesigned and restructured to display a matrix of 15 video thumbnails that launch individually in a Lightbox modal window.  TurfNet TV will now be presented by one Tips & Tricks sponsor along with series sponsors for individual series like Hectors Shop, On Course with Kevin Ross and Frank Rossi on Location at GIS.  Banner size has been changed from the previous 160×600 skyscraper to the 300×250 scorecard size used elsewhere throughout the site.

Sponsorship of  our TurfNet University Webinar program has been divided into three presenting sponsors.  Grigg Brothers is staying on as one of the three. so two others are available until sold.  Each sponsor will be sole sponsor of roughly ten Webinar events to be selected at random.

As always, please direct questions to Jon Kiger or Peter McCormick.

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I didn't anticipate ever being able to say it, but we are SOLD OUT in several of our advertising positions on TurfNet.com.  Tiers One and Two on the main page, the Employment section, and the Turf Blog Aggregator and TurfNet Today e-blast positions are all sold out for the remainder of 2012.

The top-left corner Page Peel is also sold through October (November and December are available).

We limit participation in Tiers One, Two and Three and the Employment section to ten advertisers each to assure all of a fair return for their investment.  The Page Peel is exclusive per month, so of course we are limited to twelve placements per year.

Tier Three (the footer, which is mostly run-of-site), TurfNetTV and additional Featured Product placements are available.  We also have limited availability of the main page Pushdown banner position (also exclusive, always-on, no rotation).

Make a note to book early for 2013!

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Customers are prompted to pick up the phone, send an email or even an occasional written note when they are either REALLY ANGRY about something or REALLY PLEASED usually more of the former society-wide, but were grateful for the generous number of pleasant notes and thank-yous we do receive.

Heres one we received lately with regard to our Turf Blog Aggregator Tuesday morning e-blast, which we launched last June. We select four or five pertinent posts from among TurfNet members personal blogs to share with the masses. Here goes:

"Two things:

1. Can you stop sending the Turf Blog Aggregator? Because of you continuously sending me this e-mail every stinking week, I now have like 50+ (and counting) course blogs that I check at least a couple of times every week!! (obviously kidding  keep sending  I'm addicted now)

Because of you continuously sending me this e-mail every stinking week, I now have like 50+ (and counting) course blogs that I check at least a couple of times every week!!

2. Did I read in one of the Turf Blog Aggregators that if I send you my blog info you would spruce it up for free?!?!?!?! If so let me know how to go about doing that please.

Great work!! This is without question my favorite e-mail every week. Keep up the good work!

Thanks,

Owen Coulson, Golf Course Superintendent

Vestavia Country Club

Birmingham, AL

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TurfNet is humming along with site traffic remaining strong. Google Analytics shows a 3.44% increase in overall traffic for the past twelve months compared to the previous twelve including 1,272,520 site visits by 241,261 absolute unique visitors totaling 5,483,493 page views. Almost 5.5 million page views!

One of the surprises is how strong traffic continues on our GIS 2011 Orlando blog.  Total views are over 12,000 at this point, with about half of those coming in February, the month of the show. The busiest day was the Monday after the show with a total of  856 page views. Visits to the GIS blog continue to average over 1000 page views per month in April, May and June.  Thank you, Google, as youre sending us most of the traffic!

Several new opportunities have been initiated this year, including the page peel banner in the upper left corner of our main page.  The page peel is sold by the month, and is exclusive/always on for the month.  A variety of creatives can be implemented and rotated.  Its almost sold out for the year!

Also new is our Turf Blog Aggregator (TBA) weekly e-blast. Many superintendents are now hosting private blogs to better communicate with their golfers and/or members. Beyond local weather and course conditions, there is a great deal of information about projects, methodologies and techniques that would be of value to other superintendents, hence our Turf Blog Aggregator.

As every blogger struggles occasionally with content, we also include posts intended to educate golfers about turf maintenance for superintendents to use as a template for their own blogs. Check out a sample here.  Banner opportunities are available with annual, monthly or short term durations for special promotions. Circulation is currently around 7000.

Overall, business is good!

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We're not above tooting our own horn, but we also know when to give credit where credit is due. This week our tip of the cap goes to Frank S. Rossi, Ph.D. of Cornell University for quickly pulling together his latest TurfNet University Webinar, "2010: Summer of Stress and What's Next."

Rossi not only is an accomplished alpaca farmer, he also knows a thing or two about turfgrass, mainly how to keep it alive during times of stress. We've known that for years at TurfNet, but never was that more evident than this week.

With widespread turf loss attributed to hot, humid summer conditions throughout many parts of the country, nearly 400 people registered for Rossi's Webinar, including professional turf managers from 40 states, five Canadian provinces and even a few people from Ireland. Although the number of people registered (396) and those who logged on to watch (about 180) both are the most ever for a TurfNet Webinar, the 200 or so who did not log in for one reason or another also is a large number.

If you missed Dr. Rossi's Webinar, or would like to watch it again, the recorded version already is available on our archives page. The Webinar is free to members and non-members, and no coupon code is required to register.

Rossi came to us promoting his idea for this Webinar in response to the outpouring of requests he has received this summer from superintendents throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Rossi noted that requests for his consulting services were up three-fold this summer, and added that his colleagues at Rutgers University told him the school's turf diagnostics lab set a record for soil specimens in July with more than 500 samples in some stage of decline.

Clearly, autumn cannot come soon enough.

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Common wisdom dictates that golf course superintendents (at least cool-season and transition-zone) are busiest in summer, thus more often on the golf course than in the office.  Some advertisers have traditionally assumed, then, that internet traffic on turf industry sites should decline in the summer.

TurfNet.com metrics supplied by Google Analytics tell a different story.  Traffic at TurfNet.com stayed steady through the summer months as measured by both visits and unique visitors.  Total visits hung just below the 100,000/month level while total visitors measured just below the 30,000/month level from April 1 through September 30.

Site traffic (total visits) stayed steady from April 1 through September 30.

 

Total visitors stayed steady at just under the 30,000/month level.

 

TurfNetTV video views actually rose during the summer from 4782 in June to 6742 in July before peaking at 9705 in August.  September settled down to roughly July levels (6896), probably due to aerification processes that typically consume many maintenance staffs during that month.  We switched to a new video platform in June so data is unavailable prior to that point.

Think about that:  almost 10,000 video views here on TurfNet.com in August.  Thats powerful.  Thats an audience.  Thats eyeballs. Thats what this is all about.

More recently, our TurfNet Goes to Ireland: Old Head Golf Links has been viewed 939 times since it was launched one week ago. Brian Gouthros tip on eliminating localized dry spots has been viewed 831 times in the past ten days.  Dr. Frank Rossis segment on Topdressing and Anthracnose has been watched 1546 times since August 18, a little over two months ago.

As you can see, were not afraid to share our numbers. If and when youre pitched to invest in other turf industry sites, ask to see their metrics.  If they live up to what they claim, they wont be afraid to show you their numbers either.

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