Publishing and performance marketing

If your company needs visibility in trade media or inquiries from advertising, we plan the project with you and carry it out with editorial teams and media agencies we work with. B&S remains your point of contact and keeps the results connected to your website and your systems.

What problem does publishing solve?

A company that does good work is not automatically visible. Customers search on Google and increasingly ask AI search tools, and both favor companies that others write about as well. Your own website is the starting point. Expert articles in magazines your audience reads are the outside proof that search engines and AI search treat as a trust signal. A well written article also works in sales: as an attachment to a proposal, as evidence in a conversation.

What is the difference between publishing and performance marketing?

Publishing means expert articles, interviews and guest posts in online magazines. The piece explains a topic from your practice, names your company as the source and stays online. Paid pieces are labeled as advertising. The result is lasting visibility and mentions on third-party sites that count for search and AI search.

Performance marketing means ads on platforms such as Google, LinkedIn or Meta that lead to a page where a visitor takes an action, such as filling out a form or booking an appointment. The result is measured: what an inquiry cost, which ad worked and which did not. When the campaign stops, the results stop too.

The two work together. The article provides the substance an ad can point to, and the campaign brings visitors to the article or to your website.

Who does what?

B&S Ventures from Hannover works out with you in the free intro call whether publishing or a campaign is the right tool, and remains your point of contact throughout the project. We adjust your website, landing page and systems so that inquiries arrive and can be measured.

Articles are written by the editorial teams of online magazines for businesses and decision makers that we work with. Campaigns are planned, run and analyzed by media agencies that do nothing else all day. Who does what and who invoices whom is set down in writing before the start.

How does an expert article come together?

First the topic: a question your customers ask and that you can answer from practice. Then a short briefing and an interview with the person at your company who knows the subject. The editorial team writes the draft, and you check the facts and approve it. The piece appears in the right magazine, labeled if it is paid, with a link to your website. On request, we adapt the article for your own website and for sales.

How does a campaign work?

It starts with the goal, in one sentence: what should a visitor do? Then the page the ad leads to, because an ad without a matching landing page burns money. We build that page if your website does not provide it. Then ads, budget and duration, set together. During the campaign, results are measured and adjustments made, and at the end there is an analysis that tells you what an inquiry cost and whether it is worth continuing.

Why does publishing help visibility in AI search?

AI search tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity cite sources they trust, and that trust does not come from your own website alone. It comes from mentions on sites the systems already know as reliable, such as trade magazines and industry directories. An expert article that names your company as a source and links to your website is exactly that kind of mention. What your own website needs to bring to the table is described under Websites. What citable content looks like is shown in our articles under Insights.

What do you need to contribute?

A topic you have something to say about, and one person who gives an interview for it and checks the draft. For campaigns, the ad budget, which goes to the advertising platform separately from the execution, and access to your ad accounts, if you have them. A website or landing page where a visitor can take action. And the patience to see publishing as something that builds over time: an article works over months, not overnight.

What does it cost?

An article depends on length, research effort and magazine. A campaign has two parts: the execution and the ad budget, which goes directly to the platform. Both are quoted in a proposal before the start. Reach figures and prices are deliberately not on this page, because they go out of date. We give them to you on request, with source and date.

Frequently asked questions about publishing and performance marketing

Are paid articles labeled as advertising?

Yes, without exception. Anyone who pays for a piece of content has to disclose it. This follows from Section 5a(4) of the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG) and Section 22 of the German Interstate Media Treaty (MStV). Unlabeled advertising would be a legal risk for you and for the magazine.

What reach do the magazines have?

We provide current figures on visitors and audiences on request, with source and date, depending on the magazine and topic. This page lists no reach figures, because they go out of date quickly and are worthless without proof.

Who do I sign the contract with?

With B & S Beteiligungs GmbH. It plans the project, remains your point of contact and connects it with your website and your systems. Editorial work and ad placement are handled by partner editorial teams and media agencies we work with. Who does what is set down in writing before the start.

What does an expert article or a campaign cost?

An article depends on length, research effort and magazine. A campaign consists of the execution and the ad budget, which goes to the advertising platform separately. Both are quoted in a proposal before the start.

Does publishing also work for a small company?

Yes, if the topic and audience fit the magazines that address businesses and decision makers. Companies that want to reach local consumers are usually better served by a campaign or by local media. We clarify this in the intro call.

Related services: websites as the destination for articles and ads, and AI assistants that take the inquiries a campaign brings in.