Advertising offline to promote your web business is a great idea. After all you need to tell as many people about your product or service as possible. But it is often said that 90% of advertising is wasted, but most business people, either don't know this or just don't know how to work out which is the effective 10% part. This article clearly lays out what not to do.
1. Building Brand awareness
Perhaps the biggest lie you will ever be told in business,apart from the cheque is in the mail,is that you need to build a brand to be successful. So why doesn't it work? Brand awareness requires a large advertising budget. You just want people to visit your website. Brand building is just a way for newspapers, radio and television stations to get you to commit to a contract in which you will place a series of ads over a given period. It just doesn't work! What you need to do is place simple direct response, emotional response ads, with the goal of having clients act now! This way you can measure exactly the response from each ad. If you are brand building, you are waiting for someone to contact you sometime when they are ready. You cannot measure this kind of ad. You are just wasting your money. Even the big companies with massive budgets use direct response. The have a special, an offer or a new product. And there is always a time limit. So if you want it you have to get it now.
2. Movie Advertising
Advertising at the movies is also a waste of money. For a start how often do you have a pen and paper handy in the dark while watching the pre movie ads. Several times I have thought sounds good, only to forget the URL or phone number before I get home. Also the ads are not always appropriate to the movie. e.g. An ad for a beauty therapist at a boy style action flick. Or recently I saw an ad for super fast internet packages, but it requires ADSL2 which our region won't have for years. Avoid it!
3. Directory Ads
Directories are somewhere between a complete waste of time and at times just a scam. Once you are in one directory you will be contacted by others. If it's for a charity then its OK as long as you consider it a donation and don't rely on any business from this so called advertising.
4. Calender Ads
Its the same deal as directories. I have advertised in a Calender for a several years. I see it as just a support for this Calender. I don't ever recall anyone contacting me. People just don't see the ads.
5. Graphic designers
This links back to the brand awareness. The vast majority of graphic designers have no clue, no interest, or no experience in marketing. They want to make your ad or website look flashy or even worse their job is to make your ad compatible with the overall look or a publication. They dislike simple direct response non flashy ads. But they are not the one paying for the ad. You are! and now for your free information on internet marketing go to http://www.netbizessentials.ws. For my regular blog on many aspects of internet business go to http://netbizboomers.wordpress.com/.
1. Building Brand awareness
Perhaps the biggest lie you will ever be told in business,apart from the cheque is in the mail,is that you need to build a brand to be successful. So why doesn't it work? Brand awareness requires a large advertising budget. You just want people to visit your website. Brand building is just a way for newspapers, radio and television stations to get you to commit to a contract in which you will place a series of ads over a given period. It just doesn't work! What you need to do is place simple direct response, emotional response ads, with the goal of having clients act now! This way you can measure exactly the response from each ad. If you are brand building, you are waiting for someone to contact you sometime when they are ready. You cannot measure this kind of ad. You are just wasting your money. Even the big companies with massive budgets use direct response. The have a special, an offer or a new product. And there is always a time limit. So if you want it you have to get it now.
2. Movie Advertising
Advertising at the movies is also a waste of money. For a start how often do you have a pen and paper handy in the dark while watching the pre movie ads. Several times I have thought sounds good, only to forget the URL or phone number before I get home. Also the ads are not always appropriate to the movie. e.g. An ad for a beauty therapist at a boy style action flick. Or recently I saw an ad for super fast internet packages, but it requires ADSL2 which our region won't have for years. Avoid it!
3. Directory Ads
Directories are somewhere between a complete waste of time and at times just a scam. Once you are in one directory you will be contacted by others. If it's for a charity then its OK as long as you consider it a donation and don't rely on any business from this so called advertising.
4. Calender Ads
Its the same deal as directories. I have advertised in a Calender for a several years. I see it as just a support for this Calender. I don't ever recall anyone contacting me. People just don't see the ads.
5. Graphic designers
This links back to the brand awareness. The vast majority of graphic designers have no clue, no interest, or no experience in marketing. They want to make your ad or website look flashy or even worse their job is to make your ad compatible with the overall look or a publication. They dislike simple direct response non flashy ads. But they are not the one paying for the ad. You are! and now for your free information on internet marketing go to http://www.netbizessentials.ws. For my regular blog on many aspects of internet business go to http://netbizboomers.wordpress.com/.
