When you sponsor a site or area of a site, instead of swimming among other ads in various locations, your company's name is the only one featured - and in the same place on every page you will be sponsoring. For example, a company that manufactures mountain bikes may sponsor a page on an extreme-sports Web site. In addition to a set number of pages, advertisers can sponsor special site contests, featuring your ad within the contest. Also, if a site has a newsletter, sponsors can pay to put their message within the newsletter for a targeted direct-mail blast. Fees are usually based on CPM rates and many times an additional sponsorship fee.
Pricing is all over the map since the variety of sponsorships can range.
Creating a sense of community on your site encourages repeat visits and helps to gather information and understanding about your users. Plus, the feedback you gain by observing community activity can offer you invaluable information about your site's audience - including what they like and dislike about your business. Bulletin boards are forums where visitors to your site can post or respond to messages. They can also participate passively by just reading messages others have posted. Chat rooms are very interactive and spontaneous, and the real-time responses can keep users more intrigued and engaged.