Clark County Chatter

The Clark County Chatter was established in July 2009 with a free forum host as an independent outlet for residents of Clark County, Indiana (and elsewhere) to express their opinions, connect with neighbors, and generally foster a greater sense of community. While much of the discussion on this site can be of a political nature, we have also made it our mission to help support local businesses, spread the word of local events, encourage the support of our schools and educators, and be involved in other efforts to meet needs in the community in which we live.

Today, ClarkCountyChatter.com is hosted on dedicated servers, using licensed (and supported) forum software. While our look has improved and our costs have increased, our mission today remains the same as it was in the beginning. With our efforts to ensure the Chatter is firmly rooted, and as we strive to make improvements to the site, our costs and time requirements have increased significantly. Since private donations were unreliable and put the burden of supporting the site on the membership, we implemented local advertising. The Chatter provides a unique opportunity for local businesses to reach an audience comprised of readers who live and shop in Clark County and the surrounding area, at an affordable rate.

How many people really visit this site?

Simply put... A LOT!! While our recorded membership numbers are growing weekly (we had to start over at one point), Clark County Chatter has entertained visitors from ALL 50 States, Canada, and South and Central America. But our greatest numbers (99%) come from right here in Clark County and the Kentuckiana area. How many is "a lot"? In the span of 6 months, we recently recorded* the following statistics:

231,822	VISITS: This is the total number of times all unique visitors have come to the site in the specified timeframe
36,012	ABSOLUTE UNIQUE VISITORS: This is measured by unique individual IP addresses and system statistics
1,736,654	PAGEVIEWS: Simply put, this is the number of pages the unique visitors have viewed during the recorded time! Yes, that's MILLIONS!!
7.49	AVERAGE PAGEVIEWS: On average, each visitor views over 7 pages on the site PER VISIT.
00:07:59	TIME ON SITE: On average, each visitor to the site spends nearly 8 minutes browsing the site.
17.95%	BOUNCE RATE: This is the number of visitors who only view our main page and then move on. This is actually a VERY low rate.

* July-December 2011. Site statistics measured by Google Analytics

As you can see, this site has a significant local traffic, which could mean significant exposure on a DAILY basis for your business!

How do the ads look and work?

Most advertisements displayed on the site link back to your business web site or Facebook page. However, they can also simply be a static image which conveys your business name and contact information. Currently, we offer two standard ad image sizes (shown below). These ads are measured in "pixel" size, which is relative to the display on your computer's monitor. Businesses can lease one or more of any of the available spaces at any time. The number of advertisers for all ads has been limited to ensure that all sponsors receive equal and measurable viewing time. We do NOT want the site to be "cluttered" with ads. All sponsorships are sold on a monthly "tenancy" basis, which means you essentially either lease or co-lease that space.

728x90 Leaderboard: This format is the most prominent. It is visible to all site visitors, and displays across the top of all pages of ClarkCountyChatter.com. The number of available leaderboard ads is limited to four advertisements at a time in order to offer the most exposure for your business. These ads typically draw the most attention and notice since they are "front and center", regardless of what page the member is viewing.

180x150 Sidebar:
These ads are positioned in a "stacked" formation down the right-hand side of all pages, and move up and down in that space. There are a limited number of these slots available, since they are visible at all times. Sidebar ads offer the most impressions (how many times your ad is viewed), though they are not the most prominent.

728x90 Baseline: These ads are displayed at the baseline, or bottom, of the site. While they are the same size as the Leaderboard ads, they are the least prominent ads on the site. As with the Leaderboard, they are displayed in a limited rotation with other ads. However, that does not mean they aren't seen! These ads tend to be viewed quite often on the individual topic pages, where members typically scroll to the bottom of each page in the process of reading posts.

Want a warm fuzzy?

Great!! Because we aren't just spending our funds on pizza and gas for the company scooter! As noted, we have numerous costs associated with running this site. BUT, we also use income from this site to GIVE BACK to the community. Going back to our core mission, we want to continue to help spread word of local events, encourage the support of our schools and educators, and be involved in other efforts to meet identified needs in the community. And, by advertising your business on this site, you are letting local citizens know that YOU support their right and desire to have an outlet where they can express their opinions, share their stories, and engage in healthy debate.

So what are you waiting for?!

Signing up is easy!! We have recently partnered with isocket.com to offer complete self-service advertising. It's as easy as 1-2-3:

1) Click the button below and pick the ad inventory you wish to purchase. For example, "728x90 One-month Leaderboard Title Sponsorship"
2) Check the date availability. Most ads run for 30 days.
3) Place your order: register, pay, and upload your creative artwork (ad)*

* If you would like more information, or simply do not know where to start with regard to having an ad graphic made, you can email us at advertise [AT] clarkcountychatter.com and we'll be glad to help! You do not have to have your ad artwork immediately available in order to sign up!

We look forward to seeing your business on the Chatter!!