|
|
|
Advertising the Kanoodle Way
Another great tool for advertising is http://www.kanoodle.com. At Kanoodle.com you can sign up and get $5 free towards you advertising cost. You can then request for Kanoodle to review your submission and create a list for you with the keywords that...
Advertising Your Home Business on a Budget
When you are starting out in a new home business and no one
knows who you are, one of the greatest challenges you will face
is how to drum up new business.
If there were not people in your community or marketplace that
you knew who needed...
Forum Advertising: Getting the Most from Your Investment
As an interactive marketing professional and also a forum webmaster, I have come to the conclusion that many smaller online marketers - the type that sponsor many forums - are prone to making a few key mistakes that wind up costing them sales. Quite...
Free Advertising For Your Online Business
You have finished building your own website. You have introduced
your company and presented your products and services. You have
added propositions and promos to catch your target audience's
attention. You think you are doing everything "right",...
Internet Advertising Options
Your online business will likely require more advertising than a
contemporary business downtown, yet some new to the world of
online business do not spend the time and money to advertise
their business appropriately and are, in turn, losing...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Going Beyond Banner Advertising
Going Beyond Banner Advertising
R.M. Blackledge
©Copyright 2005
A major stumbling block for many internet marketing newbies is the false belief that the
placement of a banner ad on a web page is all that's required to immediately start making a few
sales. This is a false premise.
There are a couple of key principles of internet marketing that can prevent any newbie from
falling into this enticing trap.
No. 1) Choose A Relevant Affiliate Program
Let's hope at least that as a newbie you have chosen an affiliate program to promote that has
relevance to your online interests. As an example, if you have placed a website online that
discusses the care of young infants, it is certainly easy enough to find affiliate programs that
deal with infant health, nutrition, clothing, or even security, such as baby monitors.
The affiliate program doesn't have to exactly match your website content, but it should be very
closely related. If your site is about infants why on earth would you want to promote rock videos?
Only perhaps, if you think your own child is a future musical prodigy.
Yet, many first-time internet entrepreneurs make just such a mistake. Even an affiliate program
that deals with teens or preschoolers is not close enough, because the people coming to
your site, presumably are not seeking information about those subjects.
Tiny infants are not preschoolers.
Of course you might make a sale or two, by virtue of blind luck, but that is not the way to run an
internet business.
You want at all times to be lean and focused. Don't waste effort promoting anything that is going
to be a hard sell. Your effort is best spent elsewhere.
No. 2 ) Write Informative Articles and Testimonials
Using the same example above, let us propose that you have wisely chosen an affiliate program
that relates to young infants. Now what? You've had your banners up for a month or two, and you
just aren't making many sales. This despite the fact that your site receives a reasonable amount
of traffic.
One of the problems you've unwittingly created for yourself, is that banner ads are too easily
ignored. They are like background music. Each hour online, anyone who surfs the web is going to
be bombarded with banner ads, such that they become invisible. And it doesn't matter even if the
banner ads are of excellent quality.
They are still banner ads.
Text-based ads are a much more effective advertising method, although at first glance it would
seem exactly the opposite.
But, let's look at this idea more closely.
Banner ads say out loud that you're attempting to sell something. One of the major precepts of
internet marketing is that people DO NOT WANT TO BE SOLD. People are online to gather
knowledge. Even if they are online as a time for recreation and pleasure, they are still interested
in learning.
Human beings are innately curious. This is a plus
for you, as you attempt to make a sale.
Here's how.
One way to introduce text-ads into your web site is to write articles. Or to write a review of the
very product that you're trying to sell. { you aren't trying to market something you haven't
purchased yourself, are you? }
Testimonials are an extremely effective advertising device. That's why so many web merchants
place testimonials on their site, and frequently on the very first page of the site, where the
testimonials are most likely to be viewed.
Also, testimonials are a form of "aggressive" advertising, that doesn't look aggressive at all. This
is because testimonials deliver valuable information to the consumer. Thus, the consumer is more
likely to make a purchase because they never form the negative impressive in their mind, that they
are being SOLD something.
A person who is feeling negative is much less likely to decide to make a purchase.
~~~~~~
One final point before we conclude this article. Banner ads are not going to disappear. They can
still serve a useful purpose. Sometimes a banner ad or two, can help dress-up a drab,
uninspired-looking site. You don't want your website to resemble a plain white term paper.
A little sizzle is okay. But, NEVER let banner ads be your main advertising method.
Also, if every other affiliate is using the same banner ads, then the impactof the ads on your site
will be further lessened. The key to online marketing success is to be unique. Online, as opposed
to the offline world, uniqueness is an endearing trait.
Don't plaster those same ads all over your pages everyone else in your marketing niche is using.
Write your own articles. The customer will become comfortable that you know what you are
talking about. This gives them a reason to return. { a key factor as people rarely make a purchase
the first time they ever visit a website. }
Stay on your toes, don't become complacent, and never miss an opportunity to improve the content,
relevance, and usefulness of your site. If you have a thought or an idea about something. Then
place it online. You're always more likely to receive a click-through from a well-written
informative article than from some flashy banner ad. Give the customer more of what they want,
without trying to sell them.
That is the simple key to increasing the overall marketing effectiveness of your website.
R.M.B.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Resource Box:
R.M. Blackledge is the owner of TheWorkAtHomeBlog.Com.
Additional articles and important, up-to-date home business
news and information is available almost daily at the following url:
http://theworkathomeblog.com/index.html
contact: http://theworkathomeblog.com/contact.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Author
R.M. Blackledge is the owner of TheWorkAtHomeBlog.Com and is the publisher of numerous business and self-help articles.
|
|
|
|
|
| Welcome to Advertising.com |
| This screen will only appear once. The country you select will become the default page for your return visits to Advertising.com ... |
| www.advertising.com |
|
| Advertising - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another ... For example, think of an advertising campaign targeting a female audience aged 25 to 45. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Online Behavioral Contextual Advertising and Marketing. |
| An advertising network offers content targeted advertising service on CPC/PPC basis. |
| www.clicksor.com |
|
| Online advertising service for webmasters and advertisers. |
| Promote your business with today's most effective internet advertising technology, contextual advertising at a cost effective metric of CPC, PPC, ... |
| www.clicksor.com |
|
| Advertising |
| You've found the ultimate resource for everything advertising. Weekly feature articles, in-depth coverage of the latest advertising mediums and industry ... |
| advertising.about.com |
|
| BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. |
| Pay per click advertising - online advertising directly on sites of your choice, internet marketing solution for online advertisers. |
| www.bidvertiser.com |
|
| Google Advertising |
| Allows you to buy advertising on the Google search engine, or on other sites through its AdSense program. Includes a tour and FAQ. |
| www.google.com |
|
| Business Week Online: Advertising |
| Get advertising information on companies that have appeared in our directories, ... Click here to open a new window to our Special Advertising Section. ... |
| www.businessweek.com |
|
| Texas Advertising @ The University of Texas at Austin |
| Submit your URL to Advertising World ... Search WWW Search advertising.utexas.edu ... Center for Interactive Advertising Updated November 2006. |
| advertising.utexas.edu |
|
| Advertising Standards Authority - Home |
| The ASA is independent regulator for advertisements, sales promotion and direct marketing in the UK. |
| www.asa.org.uk |
|
| Boston Globe Media - Boston.com |
| More than one million registered users allow Boston.com to target advertising by demographics (age, gender, income, job title, and industry), ... |
| www.boston.com |
|
| Lycos Advertise@Lycos |
| Advertising Opportunities on the Lycos Network ... Banner Advertising, Rich Media, Display Advertising on Lycos Network. Ari Bluman - 24/7 RealMedia ... |
| advertising.lycos.com |
|
| PhysicsWeb - Advertising |
| Physics World and PhysicsWeb, the complete solution to your advertising needs ... For detailed guidelines on how to supply your advertising materials, ... |
| physicsweb.org |
|
| MaineToday.com 2006 Online Media Kit |
| ... Kit Why Advertise on MaineToday.com? Advertising Products · Audience · Content Areas · Service · Contact · Advertisers. Why Advertise on MaineToday.com. |
| advertising.mainetoday.com |
|
| The Wall Steet Journal |
| ... go to www.wsj.com/freetrial for a free month of WSJ.com to experience the benefits of using print and online together. spacer. Advertising Information ... |
| advertising.wsj.com |
|
| Inteactive Advertising Bureau |
| Global nonprofit group open to companies actively engaged in the sale of interactive advertising and marketing. Membership features IAB events, ... |
| www.iab.net |
|
| AAF: American Advertising Federation |
| The AAF protects and promotes the well-being of advertising through a unique, nationally coordinated grassroots network of advertisers, agencies, ... |
| www.aaf.org |
|
| MSN Advertising - Online Advertising from MSN including ad ... |
| Online advertising from MSN helps marketers build powerful brand and direct relationships with consumers. |
| advertising.msn.com |
|
| Advertising Association |
| The Advertising Association is a federation of 32 trade bodies representing the advertising and promotional marketing industries including advertisers, ... |
| www.adassoc.org.uk |
|
| Advertising: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with advertising on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
|
|