Category: Advertising

  • 10 Effective Advertising Tips!

    by: BB Lee
    10 Effective Advertising Tips!
    by BB Lee (c)2002

    (500 words)

    Writing a classified ad to sell your product isn’t as hard as you might think, if you spend time researching effective copy writing strategies.

    Here are a few to try NOW!

    1. Never try to sell expensive items from a small classified ad.
    Use the two step method. Request the reader visit your site
    for free information or email an auto responder address
    for more details where you will respond with longer
    ad copy to effectively sell your product.

    2. Study how other marketers write their sales copy. This is a no brainer. Simply study the ads in newsletters you are subscribed to.
    Or surf to a few of the free classified ad sites and study the ads placed there. Don’t copy their ads word for word but use them as an effective design to write your own adverts.

    3. Advertise in the right Newsletter. That’s right. This is basic stuff. Don’t place your ad for cooking lessons in a Sports Trivia Newsletter. Or High Tech Ebooks on Java-Scripting in a Romance
    Writers Newsletter.

    4. Target several appropriate publications. Subscribe to the
    publications and study their classified ads for several editions
    before placing your ads. Practice writing adverts following their
    basic ad writing guidelines.

    5. Advertise in more than one publication at a time. Why?
    You want to pull in as many interested readers as possible in
    order to make sales.

    6. Change your ad copy if it’s not working. If people read the same old
    ad copy in the publication every month they will get bored and
    probably ignore your copy. It’s human nature to do this.
    Freshen up your copy with new headlines, different lengths, new
    wording, power words, appropriate humor, details, interesting facts,
    testimonials.

    7. Key your ads to find out which one’s are working. Or simply have
    several email addresses or auto responders and calculate which
    email address receives the most response to your ads.

    8. Keep records of every one who responds to your ads. Follow up
    with appropriate messages about your product. Of course give
    them the option to opt out of receiving further correspondence.

    9. Free Classified Ad Sites are a great way to test your ad
    writing skills before placing paid ads in publications online.
    Study how other marketers at these sites write their ads.
    Respond to their ads to see how they further market their
    product. Don’t forget to set up a free email account
    especially to handle your request.

    10. Study offline publications. And, advertisements you receive
    by snail-mail to see how they put it all together. This will
    help to build your ad writing skills and confidence in your copy writing abilities.

    ——————————————————————————————————

    BB Lee is Editor/Publisher of SmallBizBits Newsletter.
    Visit the site at http://www.angelfire.com/zine/smallbiz
    Limited Time! New Subscribers Request Your Free Ad!
    mailto:smallbiz@angelfire.com

  • Balancing SEO and Other Forms Of Advertising

    by: Dan J. Fry
    Search engines are by and far the largest supplier of traffic to
    your web site. Moreover, its targeted, meaning the visitors that
    arrive at your site were looking for information that you are
    delivering. At least this is the goal of the search engines: to
    deliver high quality results to web surfers.

    Recent major changes in Google, Yahoo and MSN have put the
    internet market however in a frenzy. As the search engines battle
    it out to be the one producing the highest quality results by
    frequently altering their index algorithm, search engine
    optimization has taken an almost obsessive importance.

    The problem I see is that the battle is not going to end soon and
    repeatedly trying to stay ahead by optimizing after each re-
    indexing is truly a never ending battle. A balance must be struck
    between search engine advertising and other online venues.

    Starting out with an online home business business is
    intimidating. There is pressure to build a quality site, offer
    valuable information, promote, build subscribers,…and the list
    goes on and on. Having a few different forms of advertising that
    you slowly utilize can payoff big in the long run. With a market
    that can change on an hourly basis, you musn’t focus too heavily
    on any single form of site promotion.

    Think of it as your advertising bag of goodies. You reach in and
    pull out one method and give it a try. Don’t dump all of your
    resources into it. Spread them out. Reach in and pick another,
    until you have a few in the works. Now pause and see which is
    working. Tweak a bit here and there and sit back again.
    Continuously re-evaluating your advertising campaigns, you will
    begin to grow a deep feeling as to which works for your online
    business.

    Here are a few types of advertising for your home business you
    should consider:

    (1) Classified Ads – cheap and short to write.
    (2) Article submission – write an article and post for free.
    The rewards reaped can be enormous in the long term.
    (3) Paid ads in E-Zines – hit those seldom used small niche
    markets!
    (4) Link exchange – can you bring in traffic from another
    site? You betcha!
    (5) Newsgroup and Discussion lists – join in on discussions
    and pass out a small blurb about your business at the end.
    (6) Sig files – after all your online! Make use of all of the
    emails you send out daily.
    (7) Flyers – yep, offline!

    The bottom line here is not to stagnate. Search engines are
    important but not the only way to promote. Its better to balance
    your site optimization with other promotion strategies. If one
    method fails you at least have others to fall back on.

    About the Author

    Dan J. Fry is an independent researcher and owner of
    e-Kinetic.com, a site devoted to providing resources for small
    budget home businesses. He has a PhD in Physics and is married
    with two daughters and two cats. Subscribe to his free E-Zine on
    home business resources at mailto:e-kinetic@GetResponse.com or by
    visiting his site at http://www.e-kinetic.com . He can be reached
    at mailto:comp@e-kinetic.com .

  • 10 Tips for Successful Ezine Advertising

    by: Michael Southon
    When it comes to advertising, I’ve tried just about everything. I tried free classified ad sites, I tried FFA sites, I tried banner exchange programs.

    The results? Not much.

    I was tired of hearing that the Internet is the largest market in human history. Maybe so, but how could I reach those millions of people?

    The answer, I discovered, is ezine advertising.

    Ezines are sometimes called ‘opt-in’ lists because everyone who receives an ezine has chosen to do so.

    And that’s why ezine advertising gets results. People read ezines and they’ll read your ad. And if you’ve matched the ezine to the product you’re selling, you’ve reached your target audience.

    There are currently around 90,000 ezines being published every month. So whatever you’re selling, there’s more than likely an ezine that will take your ad straight to the audience you want to reach.

    Ezine advertising is not only effective, it’s cheap as well. A 5 line ad in an ezine that goes to 3000 people will cost you between $5 and $20 per issue.

    As a general rule, you’ll always get back at least the cost of the ad, and usually much more. So there’s very little risk.

    But there are some tips for successful ezine advertising. Here they are:

    1. The first and most important rule is: “Track your Ads!” Say you place an ad in 5 different ezines and get a hundred responses. If you don’t track your ads, you won’t know which ezines were pulling responses and which weren’t.

    But how do you track your ads?

    The simplest method is to place a key or a code at the end of your email address:

    yourname@yourdomain.com?subject=ezineA

    Then, when you get a reply with ‘ezineA’ in the subject field, you’ll know which ezine it came from.

    For a URL, it’s the same principle:

    http://www.yourdomain.com?ezineA

    However, if you’re going to code your URLs, you’ll need a good webstats program to track the coded URLs. These two programs are excellent and they’re both free:

    Here’s another way to code your URLs: for every ezine ad, create a duplicate of your homepage and name the page after the ezine that your ad will appear in. So, if the ad is appearing in EzineA, this is the URL you’d place in that ad:

    http://www.yourdomain.com/EzineA

    2. Target your audience. It may seem obvious but some advertisers overlook this. If you’re selling a web-marketing course, don’t advertise in an ezine that deals with stock options; they probably won’t be interested.

    Use the ‘subject categories’ in any ezine directory to find ezines that relate to the product you’re selling. You can find a list of 56 ezine directories in ‘The Free Directory of Ezines’ at:

    3. Once you’ve chosen a number of ezines that target your audience, subscribe to them and examine the ads closely. If you see an ad that keeps repeating issue after issue, you can be pretty sure that it’s getting results. You’ve found a good ezine to advertise in.

    4. Check to see how many ads are in the ezine. You probably won’t get much response from an ad in an ezine that has 15 or 20 ads per issue. Readers of those ezines have become hardened to the ads and have learnt to skip them.

    5. Check to see if the ezine publisher has a policy of never running ads for two similar products in the same issue – your ad will be much more effective if it’s the only one of it’s kind in that particular issue.

    6. Small ezines Vs. Big ezines: bigger is not always better. The big ezines with 1000’s of subscribers tend to have more ads than the small ezines. Also, small ezines with only a few hundred subscribers often have a much more targeted audience than the big ezines.

    7. Repeat your ads. Research shows that off the Web, an ad has to be seen about 21 times before someone acts on it; on the Internet it’s about 9 times. If your budget allows, try and have your ad repeated at least three times in a particular ezine. Most ezines offer discount packages for bulk advertising.

    8. Email address Vs. URL. The advantage of giving an email address is that it gives you the opportunity to send a powerful sales letter to the person who responded to your ad. It’s also much easier to track your ads with an email address than a URL.

    9. Offer something free in your ad copy. It’ll often tip the balance between a response and no response.

    10. Keep your ads short, even if you’re not using the number of words you’re allowed. Short ads are more likely to be read. Keep your sentences short too; they pack much more power. Use the word ‘You’. Don’t describe your product but tell the reader what your product can do for them.

    Michael Southon is the publisher of ‘The Free Directory of Ezines’ http://www.netmastersolutions.com/ He is also the Editor of ‘FreeZine Express’, a twice-monthly newsletter that brings you details of new Ezines added to the TFDE as well as Articles and Tips on Ezine Advertising and Ezine Publishing. To subscribe, send a blank email to: mailto:FreeZineExpress-subscribe@topica.com

  • 13 Free or Cheap Effective Advertising Methods

    by: Donnie Baird
    Advertising is the life blood of any business, no matter how big or how small. No advertising usually means no business. Large companies have an almost unlimited source of advertising dollars. Small business owners on the other hand, are limited in the amount of money they have for advertising. So, the problem is how to make ones advertising dollar get the most bang for the buck. It’s not enough to advertise. Your advertising must be effective. So, once you have a website or an ad to advertise, check out the following ways to advertise for little or no cost.
    1. Advertising coop- Many businesses, especially work at home businesses, offer advertising coops. They will send people to your business for a fee. Usually the fee is relatively small. This is nice because you already know that these people have at least some interest in your business. Although they may not spend a penny with you, you at least get the exposure.
    2. Website-The age of the internet has expanded the possibility of owning your own business to an almost unlimited number of people. It also has expanded the advertising audience to a tremendous amount of new people, world wide, who otherwise you would never have been able to reach. Although websites will cost you to get hosted, you can advertise it many ways for free. Things like link exchanges and article submissions allow you to get exposure to your website with no cost except for you time. And as we will see in a moment, your website can be advertised many other ways for free. The advantage of a website is that it centralizes all your business and products into one central location. It gives you somewhere to send people so that you don’t have to do as much selling because you let your website do the selling for you.
    3. Answering Machine-Change the message on your answering machine to reflect the fact that you are now in business for yourself. You could say something like,” Hello. You have reached the home office of John Doe of My Business.com…..” That way when you call that person back, they may ask you about your business and thus the door is open to discussing your business.
    4. Put a sign in your front yard or in the yard of a friend or relative with your name and website address on it. This is a good way for your neighbors to find out about your new business as well as any people that ride by your house.
    5. Place a magnetic sign or bumper sticker on your car. Now, when you are riding down the road, sitting at a stop sign, or leaving your car parked at the mall or grocery store, you are getting free advertising.
    6. Wear your ad-Place your website on a sweatshirt, tee-shirt, or a hat. So, when you are out in public, people will see you ad and again it will open up the door to discussing your new business.
    7. Flyers-There are many places that will allow you to place a flyer about your business. Businesses like grocery stores, libraries, laundromats, hair salons and others will let you place a free ad on their public bulletin board.
    8. Business cards-Don’t leave home without them. You never now when the chance to hand one out will happen. You may see an old friend, meet someone looking to get out of the 9-5 rut or who is in need of a new opportunity.
    9. Free Classifieds-Use the internet and the many free classified ads on it to advertise your business. A search using “free classifieds” will give you an almost limitless number of places to submit your website and ad.
    10.Ezines or electronic magazines are also a good place to advertise your business. Some charge a fee for placing your ad in the best location, some let you advertise for free. Again a web search will allow you find numerous ezines to place you ad in.
    11.Place your web address in your e-mail signature.
    12.Place a flyer or business card in your out going mail.
    13.Word of Mouth-The least expensive form of advertising and maybe the most effective way to advertise your business is word of mouth. Simply tell those you come in contact with that you are in business for yourself. They will tell others and they will tell others and it can go on and on. Sooner or later someone will take a look at what you are doing.
    Obviously, there are many more ways to advertise your business for little or no money. The point is you don’t have to have the big bucks to successfully advertise you business or product. There are many people who have started and become extremely successful in their business on a shoe string advertising budget. There is hope for the small business owner. All you need is a website or add, a little creativity, a little time, and you too can advertise your way to success without going to the poor house.

    About the Author

    Donnie Baird has been involved with work at home businesses for 4 years and is the webmaster/owner of http://internet-work-at-home-opportunity.com . He lives in North Carolina with his wife and two children.

  • 80% of All Advertising Is Wasted Due To This Common Mistake

    by: John Jantsch

    You�re flipping through this publication as you wait for your latte, when suddenly you decide to stop and read an ad. What made you stop? I�ll bet it was an attention grabbing headline.

    It is a scientifically proven fact that 5 times as many people read headlines as read the body copy of an ad. So with the headline, an advertiser has spent about 80% of their advertising dollar. It doesn�t take a genius to realize then the headline is the most important part of any ad.

    Yet, most small business advertising is wasted for lack of an effective headline or, worse yet, no headline at all. Don�t make this same mistake.

    The headline is the first thing that your reader or prospect sees when they open your letter, browse a magazine, or flip your postcard. In that moment, (about 3 seconds) your reader decides whether or not to read any farther.

    So first and foremost, any advertisement you produce must have a headline and your headline must grab your reader’s attention immediately. If you don’t grab them by the throat and hold them right away, you never will.

    Writing powerful headlines takes some hard work but it can be done if you follow some simple guidelines.

    1. Your headline should give the reader a reason to stop and read now instead of later a carefully chosen word or two can create urgency

    2. Your headline should communicate something the reader considers valuable they need to be able to justify the time spent reader your ad

    3. Your headline should scream how you might offer something that is unique or at least interesting

    4. Your headline should point to something very specific for the reader use facts and how to�s

    Using these points as a guide to create your headlines allows you to create headlines that hook your reader quickly, offers them a benefit they want, and gives them a reason to read on.

    Never use boring, conventional or overused statements and never use a headline to trick your reader into looking on.

    Attention Getting Power Words for Your Headlines

    Look at powerful headlines and you will see that many contain one or more of the following words that sell.

    Discover Easy Free New Proven Save Results Introducing

    At Last Guarantee Bargain Easy Quick Sale Why How To

    Just Arrived Now Announcing

    Start of by writing some headlines that clearly communicate your promise, benefit or USP. Then look for ways to make them even more powerful by adding a power word or two and checking if they contain at least 3 of the guidelines provided above.

    Copyright 2004 John Jantsch

    John Jantsch is a marketing coach and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing System. You can get more information about the Duct Tape System and download your free copy of How To Create the Ultimate Small Business Marketing System in 7 Simple Steps� by visiting http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com

  • A lunchtime lesson on print advertising

    by: Gary Watson
    I promise you�ll be able to finish this article before you finish the first half of your PBJ. Are you sitting down? Good. Because I have some startling news for you.

    Print ads are here to stay. That�s right. Those dusty, musty, fusty old relics of the century past are still with us. And despite the ubiquity of commercials on radio and TV; despite the onslaught of banners, pop-ups and all manner of intrusive online ads; newspapers and magazines are, and always will be, a mainstay forum for mainstream advertising.

    There�s something about the readiness, the handiness, the heft and feel of a magazine or a newspaper that appeals to the nature of human beings. Yes, flat screens that glow with vivid colors are attractive. Especially when they�re displaying something we specifically asked to see.

    But as we page through a magazine or a newspaper while enjoying our lunch or riding a commuter train, we don�t mind at all if a surprising or intelligent or just plain appealing ad even one in black and white suddenly grabs our attention. We expect it. We secretly look for it. We even welcome it as a break from all the dull gray type we�ve been slogging through. Why? Because let�s face it a really good ad is a delight to behold.

    Is this the kind of ad your target audience is seeing? Do your ads stop them and make them smile�think�take in your message and make a mental note to look closer at your product or service? Maybe even go to your website for the kind of information that could lead to a sale?

    Think carefully about this. If your ad doesn�t stand apart, doesn�t attract, appeal or grab; if it doesn�t delight in some way, the readers you want to capture and bring into your world will simply turn the page and plow on through the dull stuff . . . until they bump into your competitor�s delightfully different ad. And then they�ll stop and, unfortunately for you pay attention to the message.

    So take a close look at your company�s ads. Do they stand out from the crowd of other ads? Are they different from your competitor�s ads in a powerful and relevant way? And most important, do they convey your core message in an engaging, persuasive and delightful manner?

    If so, let them run and run, because they�re bound to bring you business.

    If not, better change your approach soon. Before the competition eats your lunch.

    Gary Watson writes ads for companies that want to add to their bottom line. He also does product/service naming, slogans/tag lines, billboards, web content, sales letters (print and email), etc. etc. He can be reached at Gary@GWCopy.com.

  • Advertising – Does it matter?

    by: Gert Ljungqvist
    When advertising, you need to sell your opportunity,
    your products, and yourself. What sets you apart from
    everyone else?
    Maybe you produce a newsletter with a specific content
    where there is a demand from a particular group of people,
    or you promote your own special product that no one have
    not yet seen. That�s a huge benefit! That�s what you
    need to sell in your ad campaign, and those are the things
    you need to do in order to become successful.

    You don�t have to be worried that network marketing
    prosperity is difficult. It isn�t. In fact, it has never been
    so easy to make a decent second income or even a full time.
    But it takes time, persistence and uniqueness.

    The people looking at your ads and reading your follow up
    letters are going to judge you and your whole business
    not only by what the materials have to say, but also by
    their appearance.

    Be sure you send a powerful, positive and convincing message.
    Invest some time and money on your marketing materials, the
    payoff will be well worth it.
    Look at others ads in the Internet, See what�s attracting you,
    this will most likely attract others too.

    Do you see what I mean? Your advertising campaign will be
    the propel to your business success.
    By now you think “How do I create one of those successful ads?”
    After all, it�s the words that sell your opportunity.
    Write a good ad and it�s taking you to the top.
    Let your friends take a look at it and say what they think.

    Now where to put your ad? If you place your ad in a pets
    publication and the ad is promoting toys for children
    you might not get a single response.
    But placed in the right publication it will be a winner.
    It�s very important that you from the beginning know
    exactly where to put your ad. Just think about you having
    spent hours on that ad and then you put it in the wrong
    publication and get no response at all, that�s a big waste
    of time and effort.

    My best advise is that you always work on your ads.
    Write them down, leave them for some time, go back to
    look at them again, let others look at them and after
    a while you will see the picture of your ad and you will
    see if it�s working or not, if not then you have to start
    from the beginning and write a new one and follow the same
    procedure again.

    The Internet are full of ads, start clicking around and
    read others ads, this is the best way to learn what is
    working or not. You probably can tell instantly when
    an ad is good or not at least after a while.

    Now I wish you good luck with your marketing.

    Gert Ljungqvist – Mailto:gertljungqvist@runbox.com

    Learn How to Develop $6,569 a month
    With 30 days of step-by-step Training
    From Experts by visiting:
    http://www.EliteTeamMarketing.com/37698

    About the Author

    Gert Ljungqvist works as a Internet Business Entrepreneur part time. He also work with economy in the Swedish Church

  • Advertising The Key to Success

    by: Julie Martin
    You have got a great idea, and your website is now complete. You are ready to open for business but where are your customers? Simple you are going to have to go out and get them. It sounds easy, but advertising can be a pitfall that can cripple many e-businesses.

    There are several methods of advertising on the Internet. Some are free, some are low cost, while others are insanely expensive. The first thing you will need to look at is how much you are willing to pay for traffic, and how far your advertising dollar can go.

    One of the most effective, and cheapest, methods of advertising is through e-zines. There are thousands, if not millions of e-zines published every single day. The best way to approach e-zines for advertising is to join a couple that fit your product profile and that you find interesting. Most e-zines offer incentives to new businesses signing up, and will even run your ad for free just for subscribing. You can find many e-zines that offer ads for as little as a dollar. It is a fantastic way to reach thousands of people who are already interested in your type of business.

    In fact, you can utilize e-zines to promote your product for free, if you can write an informative article. E-zines are desperate for content, and will often offer to publish your article in exchange for a link back to your site. If you go this route, make sure that your article is informative and not just a sales pitch. For example, if your e-business deals with making money from home, an article about how working from home decreases stress would be very well received. You can rely more on making a good impression with the article and a simple link back, than a hard sell that might not even make into print.

    Link exchanges are another free alternative to costly advertising. Be prepared to get lost in the shuffle if you choose a popular site. The best way to make use of this method is by running your own link exchange from your site and offering a free posting in exchange for a link back to your site. My links page, for example, can be found at http://www.iscaweb.com/Links.html

    Targeted advertising is by far the best way to bring in traffic to your website. By using targeted key words, your customers are not just stumbling into your website. Half the work is already done by the key words. You just need to supply the information. Google Ad Words can be used very effectively as well as other targeted key word companies. Most of these operate on a pay per click basis, so you will need to research your key words and supply the best possible words to ensure a good cost-to-click ratio.

    Press releases are a great way to get the word out about your site and possibly create media buzz. While this method is more expensive than the above methods, it has the potential to bring in substantial traffic. Before sending out your release, make sure that it is formatted correctly and contains a powerful first paragraph. News editors are inundated daily and you do not want to get lost in the shuffle.

    When writing your press release, it is important to make it news worthy, instead of a plain announcement. Using our example above, if a recent study is released about stress management and working from home, it would be a perfect time to send out a press release that mentions the study and your business. Be prepared to receive phone calls and answer questions if your release is a hit.

    You don�t necessarily have to wait for an event to happen to send out your release. If all else fails, get creative! There are many ways to tie in your business to current events, all you need is a little imagination.

    We have covered just a couple of ways to effectively advertise your new or existing e-business. The best advice is to start wisely, plan your advertising budget accordingly and get the word out as effectively as possible.

    About The Author

    Julie Martin ©

    Julie Martin is the publisher of Iscawebs Internet Income eZine� a weekly eZine dedicated to increasing your online profits, no matter what you are selling. Julie also uses the Plug-In-Profit� system to GREAT effect!

    To subscribe to the eZine, or to learn more about the Plug-In-Profit system visit: http://www.iscaweb.com

  • Advertising And Generate New WebSite Traffic

    by: Charles Kangethe

    Here’s a simple way to use “No Results, No Pay” radio advertising and build traffic for your website.

    Step #1 – Understanding “PI” – Per Inquiry Advertising.

    Radio has a unique advertising format known as “PI” or per inquiry advertising.

    “PI’s” main benefit is that your commercial is aired and you ONLY PAY for inquiries phoned into the station from listeners !

    Inquiries are in the form of callers asking for more information.

    The radio station counts each caller, and re-directs them to your web site address.

    Step #2 – How To Start a “PI” Campaign.

    Find a good directory of all commercial radio stations where you intend to advertise.

    Some sample Internet resources :

    http://www.mediauk.com – UK

    http://www.web-radio.fm – USA

    http://www.radiodirectory.com – International

    Other online resources can be found by searching for keywords like “Radio Directories.”

    Alternatively, visit your library and in the references section ask for the Yearbook of Independent Local Radio Stations.

    Note details such as :

    Ad manager’s names,
    Telephone numbers,
    e-mail addresses
    Programming and schedules

    Listener profiles:

    Age,
    Income,
    Sex,
    Location.

    Step #3 – Decide on Strategy and “Wanted Response.”

    Before you contact the radio stations, be clear on strategy, goals and have your draft commercials in outline.

    * Are you advertising a product offer at your website ?

    Specify product details fully to avoid paying for “tyre kicker” inquiries.

    * Is your “Wanted Response” to build an opt-in list ?

    Decide how you will entice visitors to your web site. Will you offer FREEBIES, or a competition of some sort ?

    * Are you advertising for market research purposes ?

    Tell listeners how and why they should participate.

    * Decide how much you are prepared to pay per inquiry.

    Step #4 – Use Your Strategy To Build A “PI” Proposal

    Two aims in this step :

    Make it as easy as possible for the station to schedule your commercial.
    Negotiate the lowest Per Inquiry cost during the best advertising time slots.

    Keep in mind :

    Listener profiles you want to reach.
    Times you want your advert to go on air.
    Which commercial will best deliver your “Wanted Response”.

    Write to the ad manager by e-mail or normal mail. In your letter :

    Introduce yourself.
    Inform them this is a “PI” Per Inquiry advertising proposal.
    Inform them you of what you are trying to achieve, refer to your strategy.
    Detail your product or service prices and how much you are considering paying for each inquiry.

    Sidebar

    If your “Wanted Response” is not selling a product, you must pay for inquiries out of your “own pocket”. Negotiate a keen cost per inquiry !!

    * Explain how you will handle all the administration

    For instance writing the commercial Outline, handling product fulfilment, dealing with refunds and product support questions.

    Depending on your negotiation skills and size of Radio station you might be able to work a deal where you only pay for *Converted Inquiries*.

    This is practically *FREE* advertising, because you only pay for referrals once a sale is made !

    Step #5 – How To Deal With Radio Ad Managers

    If you do not hear back within a few days, call the station.

    Commercial radio is a busy environment. Be prepared to explain yourself and answer questions quickly and clearly.

    Radio ad managers are always looking for advertisers. That is their job and advertising fees are the lifeblood of Commercial Radio.

    However, “PI” is not the only money earner for stations, so be prepared for a polite but cool reception.

    If this happens, pick another station and start the process again.

    The rewards of a successful “PI” campaign will pay back your effort many times over.

    Step #6 – The Commercial Ad

    Write your commercial’s outline to maximise your “Wanted Response.”

    Write the outlines for at least two 30 second, and two 60 second commercials.

    Writing commercials for broadcasting is very different to writing ad copy for printed media. However, stations will help you by taking your outlines and turning them into finished commercials for a fee.

    Alternatively, if your copy writing is good and you have time to tweak it for broadcasting, then do it yourself.

    Listen to the station’s ads, jingles, and catch phrases and pre-record your own following a similar model. Ask objective people to listen to your ad and give you critical feedback.

    Sidebar

    When recording for radio you may or may not want to use your own voice. Radio stations have “Voices” to record your commercial for a fee before it goes on air.

    They also have royalty free music to include with your ad.

    Make your commercials memorable, with clear contact information for listeners to follow up on.

    When such ads go on air during relevant programming, you cangenerate considerable traffic.

    In closing, “just do it” and learn more than I can show you in a brief article.

    Radio is often overlooked by online advertisers, but it can bring good results depending on your “Wanted Response” and at a surprisingly low cost.

    Ad Managers are tasked with maximising revenue for the broadcaster. They are flexible and as long as you demonstrate a financial benefit to the station, they will listen to your “PI” proposal actively.

    This is good news for you because for minimal outlay and sometimes for free you can drive quality traffic to your site, product and services.

    “PI” is the lowest cost form of broadcast advertising. Make this a new part of your overall advertising strategy.

    Charles Kangethe of http://www.simplyeasier.com is a leading new wave Netpreneur and a published author from England. The “Simply Easier” brand name is your guarantee of high value, quality Marketing Products, Services and Resources

    Charles Kangethe has been involved in direct response marketing since 1982. He now lives in Suffolk County and spends his time working on new Online Marketing campaigns, with particular focus on helping new netpreneurs at http://www.simplyeasier.com

  • Advertising Approach For The First-time Webmaster

    by: Royan Shaw

    For the first time internet entrepreneur [newbie] the best ways to promote your website at first instance are :

    1. Express inclusion of your website for the usual 12 months offered by most of the major search engines. You can choose express inclusion for askjeeves, inktomi, altavista,msn etc but keep in mind to have your site submitted to the local index of your region.

    For example if you reside in Toronto, Canada and you are submitting for express inclusion in the DMOZ or Canada.com search engine/directory you must ensure that your site is indexed in the Toronto’s business and economy directory. Get your site in the local index first things first.

    If your submission listing includes the regional version of the DMOZ directory then thats good enough to go.

    One point to note is that many of the major search engines and directories actually inter-relate that is they search across each other’s database therefore submitting to only one major engine or directory will satisfice for the Internet Marketing beginner.

    2. Next, the most overlooked approach for the first-time website owner is the maximisation of the benefit of offline marketing methods.

    Promote your website in exactly the same way you would have promoted a normal business by telling everyone about it.

    Word of mouth is still the best way to promote a new business.

    Put your motto and logo along with your url address on everything from a pin to an anchor. From stationery, pens, letterheads, postcards, flyers,posters, in your usual email, the list goes on…

    You may consider placing classified ads in the local newspapers.

    Run other programs such as sponsoring quizzes, prize competitions, trivia and other participating programs with your website address. You might ask readers to submit the answer to a quiz by visiting you website. Anything that gets the local community to know that your website exists. You can do it !!

    FACT : You have to make it local before you go global.

    Most start-up webmasters usually make the mistake on concentrating on those numerous ways to promote their site and become confused on deciding what works best. What works best can only be determined by careful evaluation of each and every advertising scheme in use on the web today :

    Publisher/advertisers programs
    Banner exchanges
    Exit ads
    Pay-Per-Click
    Link Exchanges
    Search engine blasting
    FFa, classified ad posting
    Rotator pages
    _JavaScript based pop-ups etc
    10.Express submit to search engines

    11.Search Engine Optimisation

    12.Adwords by Google

    13. Others

    Its interesting to note that no seller of the above services except for Google and the other search engine services has ever took the time to evaluate your website to decide whether or not your site is most suitable to fit the advertising package they are offering.

    The best approach is to evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. Not everything out there works for everybody in every instant. Test your website across every platform say 10000 visitor package each and assess the outcome one by one.

    Some will work better than others but the ones returning the higher rate of response doesn’t necessarily mean they are the most profitable unless they each cost exactly the same per 1000 visitor.

    What I had recommended in the first two paragraphs above should work best for the first-timer and is the most prudent approach.

    Be careful when trying to find the best way of advertising, Don’t be caught up in the Internet Marketing clutter out there as every you come in contact with will tell you the advertising method they sell is the best.

    Ignore whatever testimony you see written on these webpages, use these services under a trial based approach before you order that 100000 package or start paying that monthly subscription.

    Any method you are interested in should be test and proven in quality. Careful tjought and consideration should be given in order to plan, make decisions and control your business operating expenses.

    What works for seasoned campaigners of Internet Marketing does’nt necessary works in the same way for the starter.

    Your website is unique just like your fingerprint and its now your duty to determine the most economic,effective and efficient approach in promoting it.

    R. Urien Shaw

    Webmarketing Financial

    http://www.royanopia.co.uk/

    R. Urien Shaw is a contributor to the WebMarketing Financial Newsletter and the developer of the 43-21 Budgeting Strategy. He is currently a final year student reading for the B.sc in Applied Accounting in London.

    marketingfinancial@royanopia.co.uk