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Online
Advertising for
Dummies
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by: Daegan
Smith
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Whether
you are checking your email, shopping on a
website or just searching for information,
online ads are everywhere! A new marketing
landscape, the Internet offers a new and
cheaper advertising space, as compared to
traditional spaces like print, television,
radio and outdoor advertising. It’s a
revolution of sorts and small and home business
owners are making the most of it.
For a home based start up, online advertising
is a potent tool that can maximize visibility,
drive traffic to the company’s website, up the
sales and build a solid brand in the process.
Going to an expensive advertising agency to run
your campaign would most definitely burn a hole
in your pocket. The good news is you don’t have
to do that. Just remember the twin
mantras of focus on what you want
and a strong dose of imagination; and
you’ll be on your way.
Take the guesswork out of online
advertising
Online advertising is not a function of
elaborate guesswork and a myriad of hits and
misses. Like the traditional offline version,
online advertising must also follow some basic
rules. Know what you want your advertising to
do, where to get it and what to do with it once
you have it. Here are some guidelines to get
you started.
http://www.marketingprofs.com/preview.asp?file=/2/honabach1.asp
- Define your
advertising objective: Shut the door,
switch off the lights, take a deep breath
and think why you need to advertise.
Clearly define the goals you want your
advertising program to achieve. Is it
generating new leads, increasing the number
of hits on your website, making your
company visible in the market place or to
increase on/off -line sales? Each goal will
have a different advertising path. You can
only expect your program to maximize
returns, if you know for sure what you want
your advertising to do.
- Decide “where”
you want to be seen: It makes a
difference to be seen in the right places.
Like in offline advertising, the placement
of your ad is very crucial to success.
Advertising (Co-advertising for higher
benefits) on websites that are most
relevant to your line of business would be
the best place. Also consider top Search
Engines, Online Yellow pages, Service
Provider directories and large sites or
networks. Explore trade –specific websites
for a more focused audience.
- Tailor the
message for your target audience: when
you want the caveman to listen, beat your
chest! Craft your message to appeal to the
target audience. Your message for a visitor
on a trade forum’s website would be
different from what you say to the guy
clicking on your ad on a home business
site. The trick here is to align your
message to the mindset of your audience.
Equally important is that the message
should convey the promotional goals your
advertising desires to accomplish. So if
you are selling ice to an Eskimo shopping
in an Internet mall, don’t forget to
mention the discount on your season
sale!
- Be
Creative: In a marketplace teeming with
new ads you can easily get clobbered on the
head with run-of-the-mill ad copy. Your
most valuable asset in this crowd is your
creativity, which will make your ad stand
out. Be creative not only in the copy, but
also in the placement of the advertisement.
An online contact lens clinic pulls
hundreds of people every day to take an eye
test with a simple ad. The small 1” X 2”
banner says, “ Think You Don’t Need an Eye
Test?” in the same format as you see on the
reading sheet in an optometrist’s clinic,
with alphabets running vertically in a
decreasing order. This is a classic example
of a simple but creative idea getting the
desired results.
Add more depth to your advertisement by
using rich media like HTML, DHTML, Java and
layered ads. Use animated messages doubled
with pull down menus for better use of
space and for expanding possibilities of
response.
- Choose the
advertising medium well: They say,
“Well Begun is Half Done”. If you are going
to spend a sizeable amount of money on
creating and placing ads, they should do
more than just wiggle and pop. To maximize
response, choose the advertising medium
carefully. You have several choices like
banner ads, contextual advertising, ezine
advertising etc. Research and read on
various formats and the factors for each
one’s success. Then decide on what format
works best for your campaign. Once you have
decided on the format, it is equally
important to choose the vendor. If you have
decided on banner advertising, research and
list the websites that would give you the
maximum exposure to the right kind of
audience. Check out the option of using
advertising networks and the pay-per-click
options as well. http://a1portal.com/
Once your campaign has been set in motion,
take care to monitor response and be ready
to change or completely redo your copy and
the advertising vehicles you use. Keep a
track of the ROI (Return on Investment) for
every advertising purchase that you make.
This way you can figure out which forms of
advertising are working for you and which
ones aren’t.
All online advertising is aimed at inducing
“action”. Every online ad that you see is built
to make you act: ‘Register for a free
newsletter’, ‘buy now and save dollars’, ‘get a
quote on your requirements’…the list goes on.
The thing to remember here is that once the
prospect has been pushed into an action, there
should be real value for him at the other end
of the pop- up. Unless you can fulfill the
promise your brand is making, your online ad
has been wasted.
A well-planned and well-executed advertising
campaign can fuel the growth of your home
business tremendously. Use online advertising
following some simple guidelines and see how it
impacts your sales, visibility and brand
building, all at the same time.
Also see:
http://www.web-source.net/internet_advertising.htm
Daegan Smith is the Ex-NCAA Wrestler Turned
Webmaster of
Perfect Home Based
Business Opportunities - The Net’s
Top Growing Source for Home Business
Information.
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Webmasters & Web Publishers
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