Media in Focus - YourKidsEd

Your Name & Position - Sophia Dimitropoulos, Director
Name of your media brand - YourKidsEd
Target Markets - Parents of school age children, Australia
Launched - August 2008

See YourKidsEd's listing with MediaScope

Please provide a brief overview of your brand, your market position and forward plans?

YourKidsEd is a content-rich Australian website with information and resources to help parents educate, enrich and inspire their children. YourKidsEd is a free resource for parents.  Members receive a monthly e-Update, with expert articles, education and well-being news, events, competitions, and special offers.  YourKidsEd will continue to be free to parents, and therefore a greater emphasis will be placed on advertising. 

Going forward, YourKidsEd is seeking partners with which to align, so that quality content and features can be further developed.

Tell us how & why your site was launched?

My background as a marketing professional and as a parent of three young children, were the impetus for creating this website.   I established YourKidsEd in August 2008 when my children were in their early primary years, and I identified a gap in the availability of relevant and easy-to-find education information for parents. The website has been designed to provide parents with a one-stop-shop for information, products and resources relating to their children’s education and well-being. 

YourKidsEd takes a holistic approach to education, addressing issues relating to children’s well-being and happiness, as well as their formal education.  Intrinsic to the business philosophy is that parents play a vital role in their children’s education and want to become increasingly involved in educational matters.  Research shows that parental involvement makes a world of difference.

Can you give us an overview of your background and experience?

My professional background has mainly involved the marketing of services to small and medium sized businesses, marketing analysis, strategy development, and campaign implementation.  These professional skills have been supplemented by my more recently acquired skills of logistics management, driver, and personal assistant, though not professionally, but as related to running a household with three children and taking on a building project.  I am sure that many of us can relate to that!

What benefits does your site offer advertising buyers and marketers?

YourKidsEd targets a niche market of parents who are highly involved in their children’s education and well-being.  The website addresses a gap in the market – of websites aimed at providing quality information to parents of school-age children, all the way up to Year 12 – and with a special focus on education and related products and services. YourKidsEd currently attracts over 10,000 unique visitors per month, the majority of whom are women aged 30-44.  Visitor numbers are rising quickly as more and more parents are discovering the site and sharing with their friends.  There are currently over 2800 registered members throughout Australia.

What is the best & worst thing about being an independent media publisher?

The best thing about running YourKidsEd is collaborating with a multitude of people who are experts in the fields of education and well-being, and developing original quality content for the website.  The most difficult thing about being a media publisher is finding the time and resources to implement all the ideas and features I have in mind for the website.  On the flip side of that, YourKidsEd has a great deal of content, and often the challenge of this is simply to keep it simple.

Tell us about your advertising sales structure?

Ads are sold either through Postclick or directly through YourKidsEd.  YourKidsEd custom tailors advertising campaigns for its clients, and these campaigns can include display ads, member discounts, giveaways, event listings, dedicated member emails, or other elements.  Or, for a simple campaign, advertisers can purchase online, through the advertising page of the website.  Clients range from retailers of kids’ school essentials and educational products/toys, to book publishers, to those providing services for families relating to their children’s education and well-being. The website lends itself to any company wishing to target highly-involved parents.

What tips can you offer other media owners when dealing with advertising buyers?

Understand your client’s needs and what they are trying to achieve in their campaign, and help to tailor their message accordingly.

Can you offer any advice to someone starting a new commercial media business?

Be prepared to go through many stages of altering and tweaking the website.  It’s like building a house…  by the time you think you’ve hammered in that last nail, you notice something else that needs fixing.  Also, if something isn’t working, try a different approach!

Where do you get your advertising and marketing information from?

Industry and government websites and newsletters, blogs, social media including Twitter and Facebook, MediaScope, and definitely using my networks!

Like to be profiled like YourKidsEd?  Please get in touch

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