| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
Tips for Using Paid Advertising
Quite a few business out there can't survive without some type of advertising and/or brand recognition, so advertising your business is one of the most important aspects in running certain types of business. It's also one of the most frequently asked questions for "how to". This article is especially important for direct sales reps and those with company websites that need to make themselves "stand out" among hundreds of others that are selling similar products. So why should you advertise your business? For one or more of the following reasons: To Gain Exposure/Brand Recognition This would apply to those who may have a unique product or service which consumers and clients may not know exists. For example, a special tool that solves a problem for a certain group of people - they won't know the product exists unless you advertise. Gain Immediate Sales Many forms of advertising may gain you immediate sales. This is ideal for most, but it's also important to realize sometimes your ads may be working even though you don't see sales at the time the ad runs. Announce new product/service If you are an established business and expanded within your market, paid ads can announce your new product or service which those who know of your current business may not know about yet. Now that you know WHY you should advertise, let's look at the TYPES of paid advertising there is: Banner and Button Ads These are graphics, normally either 468x60 in size for banners, and 125x125 or 150x150 for button ads. Some advertisers offer a variety of other sizes. Graphic ads generally have a lower conversion rate than text ads, although do well for brand recognition and gaining exposure. Ezine Ads Most ezine owners allow only 4-5 line ad with a link in "sponsor" spaces, and vary for solo ads. Be sure to choose only highly targeted ezines to run your ads in. For example, you wouldn't want to run a business opportunity ad in an ezine for recipes. If you sold some type of food, an ezine about recipes would be perfect to run an ad with. Text Ads/Featured Ads Many of those who offer advertising also offer some type of home page ad or a featured space on specific pages. Again make sure the website is pulling in the traffic you are looking for. Now that you know what type of ads there are, here are a few tips to make sure you are making the most of your advertising dollars: 1. TRACK YOUR ADS! If you don't know where your visitors are coming from, how can you be sure where you are advertising is working? If you don't have accurate stats for your website I recommend grabbing a free tracker from AddFreeStats ( http://www.addfreestats.com ) 2. Repeat ads Run your ads in the same place at least twice, if not three or four, before you make a decision as to if this is a good place to advertise or not. Not only will you pick up more brand exposure, but you will be able to make sure the first time was not an "off" time to advertise (or just an abnormally "good" time). Also try different advertising options within the website to see what works best. 3. Read guidelines Many advertisers have a list of guidelines. Be sure to read through them, and follow each guideline. Paying for an ad where your website isn't allowed is not only a waist of time for the advertiser, but for you as well. Here is an example of an advertiser's guidelines: http://www.momsmarketonline.com/guidelines.html About the author: Kara Kelso is a work at home mom of two, and the co-owner of Direct Sales Helpers, which is dedicated to helping mothers succeed in direct sales. For more information, visit: http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Using Ad Agencies and Designers Advertising and promoting your business is expensive, so it's important to get the most from your advertising budget. That means understanding how to get the most from your ad agency or graphic designer. Advertising Inserts One of the best and easiest ways to advertise without having to worry about shelf life of those who would most likely use your services or buy the products from your small business is to use inserts in your local newspaper. A marketing piece might also be to insert our flyers in the daily newspaper. 10 Tips For Writing A Profit Producing Ad 1. You can get ad copy ideas by studying similar product's advertising material. 3 Elements To A Deal-Sealing Classified Ad Have you ever wondered why your perfectly fine classified ad fails to attract the attention you desire? There should be dozens-no, hundreds-of perspective buyers swamping your e-mail inbox with offers. After all, you are offering a mint baseball card, a vintage coat, pristine used car, those wholesale-priced sporting goods, and whatever other attractive items are in your inventory. Why Your Ads Aren't Working The president of a manufacturing company recently asked me, "Why isn't my advertising working?" Have you ever been asked this question? Have you ever asked it yourself?Like most marketing communications questions there are no simple answers. After all, communication is a high level activity. Science of Advertising and How to Benefit From It It is very important to realize that persons buy from you. It is the mind at other end of the internet who will decide a sale from you. Change, or Reinforce? Do you know about the distinction - and it's a useful one - between communication that tries to reinforce and communication that tries to get change?If you follow politics you'll already be familiar with this idea: Incumbents send messages that reinforce existing voter behavior, while challengers call for changes.Any thoughtful marketing communication (and political communication is marketing communication) will be strongly influenced by this distinction, which affects not only the content, but also the presentation, and perhaps even the medium. Promote yourself on radio for free Unless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I'm aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. Avoid The Big Advertising Mistakes Is your advertising copy getting the results you want? If not, look at your current marketing to see if you're making one of the major copywriting mistakes:Selling features instead of benefits. Telling your customer that your "fabulous new ALF-400 comes complete with AeroScan and BandControl technologies!" doesn't actually tell them anything. The TV Shoot, The Spoiled Brat, And A Painful Lesson It was two days before our shoot. I was in the office with the client going over the story boards and filling him in on all the details for his latest television campaign. 5 Newspaper Advertising Myths Revealed What I'm about to reveal are myths that most people think are 'true.'They seem set in stone yet they are deadly to the advertiser. If You Want To Get More Customers, Heres 10 Powerful Stories To Improve Your Ads Remember, as a child lying in bed and listening to stories. Remember how engaged you were. Boost Headline Believability With Specifics Don't use vague generalities in your headlines. Be as specific as possible. Why Would Anyone Want Your Business Card? Do you remember how proud you were the first time you saw your name in print?Most entrepreneurs feel that same flush of pride when they gaze on their new business cards. That small piece of paper represents years of planning and effort and hard work and dreams. Advertising, Public Relations, Newsletters, and Newsletters for Your Small Business If you own a small business you should consider ways to promote yourself through public relations to compliment you advertising regiment and keeping your name out in the public and in front of your best customers. There are many ways to keep yourself visible on top of your typical advertising choices. How Much Money Do I Need to Spend on Advertising? Q: I've never really done much advertising for my business; I've always relied on networking and word-of-mouth. Now I'd like to launch a small campaign, but I'm frightened it will cost a lot of money. Should Your Small Business Hire an Advertising Agency? So, you own a small business, sales are down and you've come to the conclusion you need to start advertising. Questions: Where do I advertise, how much do I spend and do I need the help of an advertising agency?The answer to this question is really very simple. Advertising Copy: What's Really Important? You labor long and hard trying to create the perfect advertising piece but only about 20% of your copy is going to get read. The rest will simply be scanned. The First UK Man To Become a Human Billboard an Interview Advertising on humans using tattoos is rapidly kind of freak niche that is definitely growing. It all started about two years ago (to the best of my knowledge) when a guy ran an ad on eBay offer his forehead as a billboard. Media Savvy - Treat Them As You Would Your Best Customer The ability to lead, persuade and influence are integral skills for effective managers. The capability of telling a story that inspires, motivates and informs is an essential part of this process.
|
| home | index |site map |
| © 2006 |
