Why Flat-Rate Advertising Works Better Than CPM for Niche Publishers

By Kenny Katzgrau
January 21, 2025

Many of our clients ask whether they should sell advertising at a flat rate or by impressions. It’s one of the most common topics we address when discussing advertising strategies.

At Broadstreet, we explain why, for niche media companies, it’s much better to sell at a flat, monthly rate.

This approach differs from what you might hear from larger ad tech companies, which often suggest selling at cost per thousand impressions, or CPM, instead. We disagree. As a smaller publisher, you’re likely working with small advertisers who aren’t as familiar with advertising metrics. It’s much easier for them to understand a flat monthly rate, like $500 per month, than buying ads based on CPM. If you have to explain what CPM is, you risk losing the sale.

Why flat-rate pricing works

Flat-rate pricing is also more predictable for you as a publisher, helping you reach your revenue goals. For example, if your first-year revenue goal is $5,000 per month, you know you need to sell 10, $500-per-month sponsorships to meet that target. This strategy not only helps you achieve your goals but also builds a strong foundation for future growth.

Flat rates are especially helpful for publishers who are just starting out or for niche publishers who don’t attract as much traffic as national magazines or newspapers. Selling by impressions doesn’t align with the nature of your industry, especially when your target audience is well-defined and narrow. When you begin selling, your focus isn’t on audience impressions but on value. While you may lack the traffic of a major publisher, you can offer premium ad placements and other unique value propositions that larger publishers can’t.

Sometimes it’s hard avoid CPM pricing

Unfortunately for small publishers, CPM pricing isn’t always avoidable. If you’re negotiating with a large advertiser, they may insist on a CPM. This is because, at the end of their campaign, they analyze their spending, pricing and results to optimize their next campaign.

When it comes to programmatic advertising, which I explained in a previous blog, you’ll get to a point where your programmatic is delivering at a certain CPM, because that’s how the nature of those ads work.

For programmatic advertising, CPM pricing becomes relevant because that’s how those ads are delivered. You may also have direct-sold advertisers running campaigns alongside your programmatic ads. In this case, you’ll want to optimize which campaign delivers at any given time. For instance, if programmatic ads deliver at a $2 CPM but you have a direct-sold campaign at $3 CPM, you’ll prioritize the direct-sold campaign because it’s more valuable. However, selling programmatic ads is uncommon for small publishers. If you do, CPM pricing is the best option because it helps you optimize your revenue yield.

A warning about CPM pricing

One thing to keep in mind with CPM pricing is that it can create unfair competition. For example, an advertiser might tell you they can buy from you at $5 CPM or through Google Ad Exchange at $2 CPM. Why would they choose you? They might not realize this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison. Your audience is highly defined, allowing you to deliver more value through targeted content and engagement.

While we recommend flat pricing over CPM, you can mix and match. You don’t have to stick to flat rates for every sale, especially if an advertiser insists on CPM. In these cases, consider offering a dedicated slot or rotating the CPM campaign with your standard flat-rate ads.

Our recommendation

At Broadstreet, we strongly advocate for flat pricing over CPM, particularly for local and niche publishers. We hope this breakdown helps you understand the differences between the two approaches and helps you choose what works best for your business.

To learn more about digital publishing and how Broadstreet supports publishers, visit our website.