Banner Advertising
What's a Banner?
A banner is a small graphic - a piece of art - advertising your product, service or interest. When I display your banner on one of my web pages, it will take a reader to a website of your choice if he clicks on that banner.
Technical Specifications:
No banner may be more than 800 pixels wide, and no more than 66 pixels in height. Banner files in .bmp, .jpg, and .gif formats are acceptable for submission. The maximum size for a banner file is 80K.
Who Will See My Banner?
Banner ads on Mainly 28s... are sorted by categories so that they only appear on pages which are appropriate for that advertisement. While readers like ads, fantasy gamers often don't normally care for banners advertising Napoleonic lancers or French line infantry, and WW2 gamers don't particularly care for information about products for the English Civil War, while an Ancients gamer might not be particularly interested in the latest products for Star Wars.
I rate each banner ad as to whether it is appropriate for the following categories:
- fantasy
- ancients
- medieval
- renaissance
- 18th Century
- Napoleonics
- American Civil War
- 19th Century
- World War One
- World War Two
- Modern
- science fiction
- toy gaming (plastic soldiers, stuffed animals)
My pages are also rated by the same categories. This means that a banner ad for WW2 vehicles will appear on a page about WW2 vehicles (for instance), and not a page about Egyptian tombs.
Some of my pages are rated as "general," meaning that they are of interest to all miniature gamers. All banner ads qualify to appear on general pages. For example, our home page is rated as "general interest," so all banners qualify to appear on those pages.
Your banner has a chance of appearing on any page that belongs to the same category, as well as a chance of appearing on all of the "general interest" pages.
(Note: Some of my older pages do not yet accept banners. As I continue to update the site, those pages will be categorized and will carry banner advertising.)
What Types of Advertising Do I Accept?
My General Rule is: "If I think my readers will be interested in it, then it's an acceptable advertisement."
For instance, I know my readers like:
- miniatures
- rules
- paint and craft supplies
- game-assistance software
- painting services
- military books and game-related fiction
- game conventions and shows
- military museums or sites of interest
My readers generally don't want to see ads for non-miniatures games (unless they relate to miniatures games - such as the computer version of a popular miniatures ruleset).
This website is visited by gamers of all ages. Therefore, I prefer ads that are appropriate for all age groups. I do not accept advertisements for "adult" or "erotic" sites.
How Often Will My Banner Be Seen?
Your banner ad has a chance of appearing whenever someone reads a page of a matching category. Therefore, how often your ad will be viewed is partly a function of how popular its' categories are.
Viewership also depends on how many banner ads qualify for the same categories that your ad does. Each time one of my webpages is displayed, it is as if a "drawing" is held to determine which banner is to be shown. For example, let's say that the page is about WWII, and that there are 5 banners available that advertise WWII-related gaming products. Your banner has a one-in-five chance of appearing whenever a WWII-related page is viewed.
I reserve the right to limit advertisers to a maximum number of banners and/or multiples, so that all advertisers have fair access to my readership.
How Effective is a Banner Ad?
The effectiveness of an advertisement depends on a wide number of factors, including graphic appeal, relevance to the readers, how compelling or fresh it is, and so forth. One measure of the success of a banner ad is its click-through rate - that is, out of all the times the banner is shown, how often do readers click on the banner in order to go to the advertiser's website.
How Long Will My Banner Run?
Once you place an order for an advertising banner, I will run that advertisement until you ask me to stop or replace it.
What Will It Cost Me?
I charge £2 (British Pounds) per month per banner. If you buy a multiple for your banner, the cost increases proportionately - if your multiple is "3x," then your cost will be tripled. The cost of a banner has no relation to the number of categories it qualifies for.
Payment is required in Britsh Pounds. Invoices are sent at the end of every six months for all accounts with a balance of £12 or higher. (You can also request an invoice at any time.) I prefer to send invoices via email. If you need to receive a written invoice, I charge a £1 fee per invoice for processing. Payments sent directly to me must be in the form of a cheque or money order.
Alternately, we can reach an arrangement regarding payment, preferably to a third party dealer who can send items not yet reviewed to expand my review samples.
There is a £2 per month "late fee" charge for unpaid balances.
Special arrangements can be made to pay in product instead, at a rate of 2:1 (in other words, £4' worth of product credit per banner per month). Such arrangements must be approved in advance, and are usually reserved for manufacturers located outside of the United Kingdom, although if you have something I need to add to my collection, I'll happily consider this instead too.
How Do I Start?
Send an e-mail to to place an order for advertising. You will be asked to provide some basic information. When you are done, you will receive an email to confirm the order. Respond by attaching the art for your banner advertisement, and I'll handle the rest!