Creating Ad Slots

Ad slots are the advertising opportunities you offer to businesses. This guide explains how to create, configure, and manage ad slots for your newsletter.

What is an Ad Slot?

An ad slot represents a specific advertising placement within your newsletter. Each ad slot has:

• A name and description
• A format (type of ad placement)
• A price per placement
• Specifications for creative assets
• Publishing day availability

You can create multiple ad slots with different formats and prices to offer advertisers various options.

Ad Slot Formats

adly.news supports several ad formats:

Format	Description	Best For
Featured Top Post	Premium placement at the very top of your newsletter	High-value sponsors wanting maximum visibility
Newsletter Post	Standard placement within your newsletter content	Most advertisers, general promotions
Banner	Visual banner advertisement	Brand awareness, visual campaigns
Sponsored Section	Dedicated sponsored content section	Longer-form sponsored content
Custom	Any custom format you define	Unique placement opportunities

Creating Your First Ad Slot

Step 1: Navigate to Ad Slots

1. Click Ad Slots in the sidebar
2. Click Create Ad Slot

Step 2: Basic Information

Fill in the basic details:

Field	Description	Example
Name	A descriptive name for this placement	"Primary Sponsor Spot"
Description	What the advertiser gets with this placement	"Featured placement at the top of our weekly newsletter, reaching 10,000+ subscribers"

Tip: Be specific and compelling in your description. Help advertisers understand the value they're getting.

Step 3: Select Format

Choose the format that best describes this placement:

• Featured Top Post — Prime real estate at the top
• Newsletter Post — Integrated within content
• Banner — Visual banner placement
• Sponsored Section — Dedicated sponsored area
• Custom — Define your own format

Step 4: Set Pricing

Configure your pricing:

Field	Description
Price	The standard booking price for this ad slot
Minimum Bid	(Optional) The lowest bid you'll accept

Pricing Tips:

• Research what similar newsletters charge
• Consider your subscriber count and engagement rates
• Start competitive and adjust based on demand
• If you enable bidding, set a minimum you're comfortable with

Step 5: Creative Specifications

Define what advertisers need to provide:

Image Specifications

Setting	Description	Example
Required	Whether an image is required	Yes/No
Max Width	Maximum image width in pixels	600px
Max Height	Maximum image height in pixels	300px
Formats	Accepted file formats	JPG, PNG, GIF

Copy Specifications

Setting	Description	Example
Required	Whether copy text is required	Yes/No
Min Characters	Minimum copy length	50 characters
Max Characters	Maximum copy length	280 characters

CTA (Call-to-Action) Specifications

Setting	Description	Example
Required	Whether a CTA button is required	Yes/No
Max Text Length	Maximum button text length	25 characters

Step 6: Publishing Days

Select which days of the week your newsletter publishes:

• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

Advertisers will only be able to book on days you've selected.

Step 7: Save

Click Create Ad Slot to publish your ad slot.

Managing Existing Ad Slots

Viewing Your Ad Slots

Navigate to Ad Slots to see all your ad slots with:

• Name and format
• Price
• Status (Active, Paused, Archived)
• Number of bookings

Editing an Ad Slot

1. Go to Ad Slots
2. Find the ad slot you want to edit
3. Click Edit
4. Make your changes
5. Click Save Changes

Note: Editing an ad slot doesn't affect existing bookings. Changes apply to future bookings only.

Previewing Your Public Page

To see how your ad slots appear to advertisers:

1. Go to Ad Slots
2. Click Preview on any ad slot
3. Your public newsletter page opens in a new tab

Share this link with potential advertisers or include it in your media kit.

Archiving an Ad Slot

If you no longer want to offer an ad slot:

1. Go to Ad Slots
2. Find the ad slot
3. Click Archive
4. Confirm the action

Archived ad slots:

• No longer appear to advertisers
• Don't affect existing bookings
• Can be viewed in your archived slots
• Cannot be unarchived (create a new one instead)

Ad Slot Statuses

Status	Description
Active	Visible to advertisers, accepting bookings
Paused	Temporarily hidden from advertisers
Archived	Permanently removed from listings

Best Practices

Create Multiple Options

Offer different ad slots at different price points:

• Premium Slot — Top placement, highest price
• Standard Slot — Regular placement, mid-price
• Value Slot — Smaller placement, lower price

This gives advertisers options and captures more budget ranges.

Write Compelling Descriptions

Good description example:

"Our Primary Sponsor Spot appears at the very top of our weekly newsletter, above all other content. With a 45% average open rate and 10,000+ engaged subscribers in the tech industry, your message gets prime visibility. Includes custom headline, 150-word description, and prominent CTA button."

Avoid generic descriptions like:

"Ad placement in newsletter."

Set Realistic Specifications

• Match your actual newsletter format
• Don't require specifications you can't use
• Consider what advertisers typically have available

Price Competitively

Research comparable newsletters:

• Similar subscriber count
• Similar niche/audience
• Similar engagement rates

Start at or slightly below market rate to attract initial advertisers, then adjust based on demand.

Update Publishing Days

Keep your publishing days current:

• If you change your newsletter schedule, update the ad slot
• Advertisers rely on this for planning

Multiple Newsletters

If you have multiple newsletters connected:

1. Each newsletter can have its own ad slots
2. When creating an ad slot, select which newsletter it belongs to
3. Ad slots are managed separately for each newsletter

Common Questions

Can I change the price of an existing ad slot?

Yes. Edit the ad slot and update the price. The new price applies to future bookings only.

Can I create unlimited ad slots?

Yes. Create as many ad slots as make sense for your newsletter format.

What if I want to pause bookings temporarily?

You can pause individual ad slots. They won't appear to advertisers but existing bookings remain unaffected.

Can advertisers see my other ad slots?

Yes. When viewing your newsletter, advertisers see all your active ad slots and can choose which to book.

Next Steps

Now that you've created ad slots:

1. Set up payments to receive earnings
2. Learn about managing bids when advertisers negotiate
3. Understand how to manage bookings when advertisers book