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How to WIN at ad sales
The sponsorships glossary, plus, is affiliate dead?
๐ Today, Iโm sharing the ultimate ad sales glossary. The handbook of every term you need to know when slinging sponsorships.
Media sales bibles aside, letโs dive in! ๐

๐ฐ Newsletter News

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๐ FT has been having some drama around overlapping teams
๐ฐ 5 hacks to make more product sales with your newsletter
๐ ICYMI
๐ต๐ปโโ๏ธ The lowest hanging fruit in ad sales

THE Ad Sales Glossary
Every term and buzzword you need to know to be successful in ad sales.
If youโd like to download this in a super sexy PDF, go to my most recent LinkedIn post and comment โTermsโ.
๐ General Advertising Terms
CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) โ The cost an advertiser pays for 1,000 impressions of their ad.
Impression โ A single instance of an ad being loaded and displayed to a user, regardless of whether it is clicked.
CPC (Cost Per Click) โ The cost an advertiser pays each time someone clicks on their ad.
CTR (Click-Through Rate) โ The percentage of people who click on an ad after seeing it.
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) โ The cost an advertiser pays for each conversion (e.g., lead, sale, sign-up).
ROI (Return on Investment) โ A measure of how much revenue an advertiser earns from their ad spend.
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) โ The revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) โ The total cost a company spends to acquire a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses.
LTV (Customer Lifetime Value) โ The total revenue a business expects to generate from a customer over their entire relationship.
ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) โ A description of the best-fit customer for a product or service, based on demographics, behaviors, and buying patterns.
Ad Copy โ The text written specifically for an ad, designed to grab attention and encourage action (often just called 'copy').
Call to Action (CTA) โ A direct instruction in the copy that tells the audience what to do next (e.g., "Subscribe Now," "Shop Today")
Geo-Targeting โ Delivering ads based on a userโs physical location to improve relevance.
Pixel โ A small piece of code placed on a website to track user behavior and measure ad performance.
UTM Parameters โ Tags added to URLs to track campaign performance in analytics tools like Google Analytics.
First-Party Data โ Customer data collected directly by a company (e.g., email lists, site visits).
DSP (Demand Side Platform) โ A tool advertisers use to automate media buying across multiple ad exchanges.
SSP (Supply Side Platform) โ A platform that helps publishers manage and sell their ad inventory programmatically.
Sponsored Newsletter โ A dedicated email sent to a publisherโs audience, fully branded by the advertiser.
Primary Placement - A format of newsletter ad that typically includes a 'Sponsored by (logo)' and an image & paragraph of copy.
Secondary Placement - A format of newsletter ad that typically includes an image & paragraph of copy in the second half of the newsletter.
Native Ad โ An ad designed to blend in with the newsletterโs editorial content.
Open Rate โ The percentage of recipients who open a newsletter or marketing email.
CTR (Click-Through Rate) โ The percentage of recipients who click on a link within an email.
Lead Generation โ Collecting user information (e.g. emails, names, phone number) for marketing purposes.
A/B Testing โ Testing different versions of an ad or email to see which performs best.
Click-To-Open Rate (CTOR) โ The percentage of email openers who click on a link within the email.
Onsite (Web) Advertising
Display Ads โ Image-based or video ads that appear on a website.
Programmatic Advertising โ The automated buying and selling of ad space.
Lead Magnet - Something of value offered to acquire potential customers information (e.g. e-books, free training)
Ad Placement โ Where an ad appears on a webpage (e.g., above the fold, sidebar, inline).
Interstitial Ad โ A full-screen ad that appears before the user reaches the content.
Retargeting (Remarketing) โ Showing ads to users who previously visited a site.
Ad Inventory โ The total available ad space a publisher can sell.
๐ Podcast Advertising
Pre-roll, Mid-roll, Post-roll โ Ad placements at the beginning, middle, or end of a podcast episode.
Host-Read Ad โ An ad read by the podcast host, usually perceived as more authentic.
Dynamically Inserted Ad (DAI) โ Ads that are inserted in podcast episodes in real-time based on the listenerโs profile, they're not evergreen.
Sponsorship โ When a brand pays for a broader association with a podcast, often beyond ad placements.
CPM (Cost Per Thousand Downloads) โ The standard pricing model for podcast ads, based on the number of downloads an episode receives.
Evergreen Content โ Podcast content that remains relevant long-term, making ad placements potentially long-lasting.
Branded Content โ Content created by a publisher or influencer that features a brand.
Boosted Post โ A paid promotion to increase the reach of a social media post.
Engagement Rate โ The percentage of an audience that interacts with a post (likes, comments, shares).
UGC (User-Generated Content) โ Content created by consumers about a brand, often used in marketing.
Paid Partnership โ A collaboration between a brand and influencer, often disclosed with #ad or #sponsored.
Influencer Tier โ Classification of influencers based on follower count (e.g., nano, micro, macro, mega).
Social Proof โ The credibility built when others engage positively with a brand or product online.
Whitelisting โ When a creator gives a brand permission to run paid ads through the creator's handle.
Creator Fund โ A platform-supported program that pays creators based on performance or engagement (e.g., TikTok Creator Fund).
Swipe-Up Link โ A call-to-action feature in stories that allows users to visit a link directly (often used by verified or business accounts).
Story Frame โ A single image or video within a multi-part story post on platforms like Instagram or Snapchat.
Thumbstop Ratio โ A video ad metric measuring how effectively content grabs attention within the first few seconds (usually on scroll-heavy platforms).
๐งฎ Metrics & Performance Tracking
Impressions โ The number of times an ad is displayed (not necessarily clicked).
Conversion Rate โ The percentage of users who complete a desired action after clicking an ad.
Attribution โ The process of determining which ad interactions contributed to a conversion.
Bounce Rate โ The percentage of users who leave a webpage without interacting.
Engagement Rate โ The percentage of interactions (clicks, shares, likes) compared to total views.
Time on Page โ A measure of how long a user stays on a web page after clicking through.
Scroll Depth โ The percentage of a webpage that users scroll through โ used to gauge content engagement.
Page Views โ The total number of times a page is loaded, including repeated views by the same visitor.
Session Duration โ The average amount of time a user spends on a website in a single visit.
Customer Journey โ The sequence of interactions a user has with a brand before converting.
KPI (Key Performance Indicator) โ A measurable value that indicates how well a campaign meets its objectives.
Lift Test โ (brand lift) A method of measuring the true effect of an ad campaign by comparing exposed and control groups.
Spark Ads โ A TikTok-specific format allowing brands to boost existing organic creator posts as paid ads.
Finsta โ A โfake Instagramโ account used by influencers or users to post more authentic, personal content, sometimes used strategically for microtargeting.
Comment Laddering โ A technique where creators or brands comment on their own post (or coordinate others to do so) to boost early engagement and algorithmic reach.
Share of Voice (SOV) โ A brand's ad presence compared to competitors across a defined media space or time period.
Earned Impressions โ Views generated from organic shares or reposts of paid content.
๐งพ Advertising Sales & Negotiation
Insertion Order (IO) โ A formal agreement between an advertiser and publisher outlining the ad placement, dates, and pricing. This is the type of contract we use when closing deals.
Ad Package โ A bundle of different ad placements sold together (often just called package, e.g. newsletter + podcast + display).
Rate Card โ A list of standard itemised ad prices and options offered by a publisher.
Make-Good โ A replacement ad or additional inventory given when an ad does not deliver as promised.
Exclusivity โ When an advertiser is the only brand featured in a certain ad space or period.
Upsell โ Persuading an advertiser to purchase additional placements or larger packages.
Renew - when a brand rebooks after their first campaign
Direct-Sold Ads โ Ad space sold directly to a brand or advertiser without automation or intermediaries.
Remnant Inventory โ Unsold ad space that is offered at a discount, typically filled programmatically or via ad networks.
If youโd like to download this in a super sexy PDF, go to my most recent LinkedIn post and comment โTermsโ.
P.S. Need help selling more sponsorships? My agency Ad Sales as a Service helps media companies do just that.

๐ฏโโ๏ธ Social Media & Influencers