open talk-dsim
ankit dsim

Open Talk @DSIM

An Interview  with Interview with Ankit Oberoi, Co-founder of Adpushup

AdPushup is an Ad-Tech product that helps optimize online ad revenues by using advanced automated A/B Testing (a proprietary multi-arm bandit algorithm).
Using AdPushup, publishers can get a chance to A/B test various versions of an ad unit and see which ones give them the best return.

Q1.  Hi Ankit, We are eager to know about your business? Kindly tell us something about it.
Ans   AdPushup helps web publishers and bloggers increase their revenue from their display ad networks like AdSense. The app does this by continuously testing between different ad placements, types, sizes and other ad unit factors on your website, without compromising on the user experience. Users can even create and control ad unit layout through our intuitive visual editor.
Q2.Nice idea! Our readers will definitely like to know about what spurred you to start this business in this competitive industry?
Ans. We found a huge gap in the market and we had the vision and necessary skills to plug it.
Q3.  What business model and marketing strategy you are following to reach to your customers?

Ans. Our marketing strategy primarily depends upon inbound marketing. This means that instead of advertising our services through traditional media channels, we concentrate on creating actionable and useful content that helps our target audience solve pain points. This helps us build relationships with our customers based on trust. It also enables us to work efficiently within a lean budget (startups are all about cutting costs).
Q4. Definitely Ankit… As a startup, what hurdles you are facing and what are your initiatives to tackle it?
Ans As a startup, the number one hurdle we are facing is creating brand and value awareness among our target audience.
Q5. Ok Ankit, coming towards brand promotion, how are you using content marketing and social media marketing to promote your business?

Ans. We write amazing content on our blog that is insightful and actionable.By insightful I mean we share stories backed by science and data that are new to marketers and web publishers. And when I say actionable, I mean that our articles are one-stop-shop for people who are looking for solutions that are practical and can be acted on. Another thing that is working for us is ‘transparency’. We like to be open about our inner workings and to this effect we share posts like what it cost to build our new office and even the successful viral marketing strategy we used to generate buzz at our first offline event. Essentially, we our taking users and readers on a journey and they are in the front seat with us. I won’t be surprised if soon other startups start following this practice too.

Q6. Nicely explained Ankit. Are you also in email marketing? What do you think about affiliate marketing? Are you using it too?

Ans.  Yes, we’re using GetResponse as our email marketing software of choice. We use it to send out weekly newsletters to our subscribers, track subscriptions numbers; open and click rates; unsubscriptionsand bounces among other metrics. As of now we are not using affiliate marketing because content marketing in itself is doing very well for us. However as our business expands, we may consider it as viable option for lead generation.

Q7. What is the overall role of digital marketing in your business as startup?

Ans  Haha, this is like asking a car owner “what’s the role of an engine in your car?”.Jokes aside – along with our product, digital marketing is the primary initiative that is helping us reach our target audience and build a credible brand. Creating a disruptive app in your niche is one thing, getting it in front of your target group is another and digital marketing is helping us bridge these two together.

 Q8 Well said Ankit, everyone knows the importance of digital marketing in modern era. Where do you see digital marketing in near future?
Ans.Digital Marketing is growing at an exceptionally high rate. Interesting fact: More than 90% of the world’s data has been created within the last 2 years itself. I mean the speed at which new tools and advances in tech are being made; it will be interesting to see how marketers will find innovative ways to create better solutions.

 

 

Q9.What according to you is the biggest benefit for opting you over your competitors?

Ans. Simply put – AdPushup continuously and automatically optimizes a website’s ad layout. Its biggest advantage is that it uses machine learning and data to come up with the best ad layouts that have better chances of increasing the click through rate. And it achieves all this while seamlessly integrating with our user’s website design. Yup, our application is one of its kinds.

 Q10.Can you tell us something about the working team?

Ans.Our working team is kick ass. It is a collection of smart and determined people who also happen to not hesitate in letting their hair loose when it’s time for fun.We hire experienced as well as amateur professionals based on their learning and problem solving skills and not simply because of the numbers and designations they have put in their resumes.

 

 

 

Q11. We heard you have been funded by the investors. Let us know more about company’s funding?

Ans. Aah, good question and a very expansive one at that. It won’t do justice to the DSIM readers if I just summarize it in a paragraph which is why we actually wrote a post about it detailing the entire process, pitch and experience. You guys should check it out.

 Q12.What are your future plans and where can we see you in the upcoming time?
Ans.From a founder’s perspective I’ll say our plan for the next one year is to create awareness about the product, demonstrate its value and get it accepted by our target audience. Hire new team members as all this is happening and once are roots are strong, scale up aggressively. And I am assured with the role of digital marketing in our venture.

 

Q13. Anything you would like to say to the emerging startups and aspiring entrepreneurs?

Ans. When you’re beginning out – Have a vision, start hustling (jugadupan) and network with people.When you’re growing – Hire the right team. Ship products and features continuously. Concentrate on retaining the customers/users have, not getting new ones. When you are fairly established – Stay true to your vision and start planning everything long term. Expand your operations.

Great words Ankit. Team DSIM wishes you all the best for your future. Thank you so much for giving your valuable time to us. Have a great day.

DSIM Team
DSIM Blog is created to help you to know all aspects of Digital Marketing ranging from basics of Digital Marketing to Advance Level Topics, Read our posts and feel free to reach our team for any queries.