Are you a business trying to get your product or service in front of the right people? Sometimes throwing up some ads on facebook doesn’t do the trick because it’s not where your customers hang out. Moreover, banner ads on major platforms feel intrusive. Native advertising is definitely a smoother experience for the user, especially if it integrates with blogs and newsletters that people love to follow. That’s where ThoughtLeaders.io comes in. ThoughtLeaders connects brands with the websites and blogs who publish content that is related to their product or service. Not only does ThoughtLeaders present a novel solution, but their domain name extension of .io helps them to stand out as a leading edge tech firm.
Interview With ThoughtLeaders.io
We got the chance to catch up with Daniel Conn & David Tintner of ThoughtLeaders.io and ask them some questions about how their marketplace works.
Tell us about ThoughLeaders.io. What is ThoughtLeaders about and how did it get started?
TL: ThoughtLeaders is a branded content marketplace that uses our proprietary tech to help match up brands with content creators and vice versa.
We got started actually as content creators ourselves, in the design and front end development space and we saw how much brands wanted to align themselves with super relevant content creators or thought leaders and the placements were driving real performance for them.
Likewise for the content creators they were really happy to be bringing amazing deals and content to their communities instead of having to slap banners everywhere which created a bad experience for their audience.
It really was a win win for both sides.
What drew your attention to the .io domain name?
TL: Great question. Well everyone starts by looking at a .com but unless you are flush with tons of cash or you are really lucky you have to make serious compromises on the domain which I think end up reflecting badly on the business. What we liked about .io is that it has really positive connotations in the tech industry. It’s seen as a fully legitimate alternative to .com and you come across as a serious company in a way that for example .biz never really managed in my opinion.
How has .io helped your business?
TL: I think above all it allowed us to have our name and therefore our brand. Thoughtleaders.io is a domain name we are really proud of, its easy for our clients to find and remember.
What are some lessons you’ve learned building ThoughtLeaders.io since its inception in 2016?
TL: Wow, where to begin, everyday there is a new lesson to learn when building out a business. I think the main thing is to always remember what you are trying to do and what motivates you which leads us conveniently on to the next question…..
Can you elaborate on your mission to “incentivize high-quality long-form content? That sounds interesting…
TL: More than happy to! There is a problem with content online today which is a huge misalignment between the quality of the content and the revenue it generates. For example we all know the issues surrounding the 2016 US election but what many don’t know is that alot of the eye- catching, extreme content that circulated was not politically motivated at all but because it was highly profitable. Every time you go on a website and get bombarded by ads as you are just trying to scroll or click through the content you searched for, its because there is a misalignment between quality and revenue.
We are setting out to fix that. Content creators (the good ones) provide a valuable service often giving away information that is hugely useful to their audiences but can struggle to make a living from it because of the way the ad revenue system is built. We help creators connect to the right brands that having something meaningful to offer their communities.
This is the way to reset the internet, by realigning quality content with revenue.
Conclusion
If you publish your own content online and are looking for a way to monetize your blog without compromising your brand voice and staying true to your readers, check out thoughtleaders.io. They can help connect you with advertisers that have products that would be relevant to your audience. Likewise, if you’ve got a product that you want to promote, chances are you can find the right niche audience to get in front of with their content search platform.
Or, if you’re inspired by their story and you’re looking for a great .io domain name extension, click the link below to get your own .io domain name for your startup.