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Purchasing Advertising
If free
advertising ventures aren't providing you with the response that
you had
hoped for, maybe it's time to consider purchasing some
advertising.
If you
really want to build your business online, you must be willing to
invest a
portion of your profits back into your business. There are
several
advertising opportunities available on the Internet that will
enable you
to purchase targeted advertising very reasonably.
Ezine
Advertising
Ezine
Advertising is one of the most effective forms of advertising on
the
Internet. Not only is it effective, but it can also be very
inexpensive
depending upon the size of the publication.
The key to
using ezine advertising effectively is to target your
audience
and track your response. You must test the effectiveness of
both your
ad and the publication in which you're advertising. This will
enable you
to determine which ads are pulling the most response and
which
publications are providing you with a high response rate.
When
selecting an ezine to buy advertising, there are a few factors
that
should be taken into consideration:
1. Select
an ezine that targets your potential customer. In other
words, if
you were selling health products you wouldn't want to
advertise
in a "marketing" ezine. You would want to advertise in an
ezine that
focuses on health.
2. The
size of the publication really isn't a factor in determining your
ad's
success. Smaller publications will many times have a higher
response
rate, as they may have a higher percentage of subscribers
that
actually read the publication.
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3. Before
buying advertising in a publication, make sure you subscribe
to a few
issues. You want to ensure that the publication contains
quality
content and see how their ads are displayed. If they're running
15 or 20
ads each issue, your ad's response rate will most likely be
low. Try
to select a publication that runs only a few ads each issue and
places
them in the center of the publication.
4. Contact
the ezine publisher to make sure that they never run two
ads for
similar or the same product. This will increase your response
rate
immensely.
The
Directory of Ezines provides a complete online searchable
database
of ezines that accept advertising. This directory contains all
of the
information you'll need to know to effectively place your ads.
There is a
$39.95 per year membership fee.
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/web/jump.cgi?ID=244
If you're
looking for a low cost alternative for purchasing ezine
advertising,
Ezine Ad Auction will enable you to bid on ad space in
targeted
ezines.
http://www.ezineadauction.com/
Pay-Per
Programs
Pay-per
programs include, pay-per-click, pay-per-lead and pay-persale.
Pay-per-click
Enable you
to advertise to your target audience and only pay for
results --
you pay a set amount for each visitor that is sent to your
website.
The most popular pay-per-click program is the pay-per-click
Search
Engines. You can learn more about pay-per-click Search
Engines
here:
http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/
Pay-per-lead
Enable you
to only pay for leads. These leads may be potential
customers
that fill out a registration form, enter a sweepstakes, or
download a
free product trial.
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Pay-per-sales
Simply
affiliate programs. You pay your affiliates a set commission for
each
qualifying sale.
You can
find a number of Pay-Per programs here:
http://www.clickaffiliate.com/
Another
form of a pay-per-click program is pay-per-click banner ads.
There are
several companies online that will place your banner within
their
network and charge you a set fee for each click through.
Here's a
few to get you started:
Value
Click
http://www.valueclick.com/
I-Clicks
http://www.i-clicks.net
PennyWeb
http://home.pennyweb.com/
Opt-In
Email Marketing
Another
powerful advertising method is opt-in email marketing. There
are many
Internet companies that will allow you to purchase targeted
lists of
individuals who have chosen to receive commercial email
messages.
Although this form of advertising can produce a good
response,
it can be rather expensive. Make sure you have fully tested
your sales
copy and have a good response rate prior to purchasing this
type of
advertising. In addition, make sure you only deal with a
reputable
company, as there is a very thin line between "opt-in" and
"Spam."
Some of these companies may use unethical means of
obtaining
email addresses. The only company I can recommend is
PostMasterDirect.com.
Before
purchasing any "major" advertising, make sure you have fully
tested
your ad copy. Take your time and plan your advertising
carefully
for the best results. Your success depends upon it.
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Building an Opt-in List
Developing
your own list of targeted potential customers is the
absolute
most important marketing strategy you can use.
No matter
what strategies you're currently using, if you're not
collecting
the email addresses of your potential customers, you're
literally
guaranteeing your failure.
Opt-in
lists provide you with the ability to create a targeted list of
potential
customers in which you can advertise on a continual basis.
You will
have a direct line of communication, which will increase your
sales
considerably.
The key to
creating an effective opt-in list is to provide your
subscribers
with quality information. The best way to do this is to
provide
them with a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly ezine. An ezine is a
newsletter
or publication that is sent to subscribers who have chosen
to receive
your publication.
For
further information on creating an ezine, download the free ebook,
"Ezines:
A Complete Guide to publishing."
http://www.web-source.net/free_ebooks.htm
In order
to build a database of potential customers and start collecting
email addresses,
you'll first need to set up a mailing list. This mailing
list must
enable your visitor's to submit their information and
subscribe
them to your list.
There are
many free list services that will enable you to set up a
mailing
list. However, they are not recommended. They will not allow
you to
personalize your messages with your subscriber's names and
they
require your visitor to reply to a confirmation message.
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For a
complete guide to setting up your own opt-in list system, read
the
article, "Creating, Managing and Building Your Opt-In Lists.
http://www.web-source.net/optin_lists.htm
If you'd
rather not have to set up your own system, I highly
recommend
a great new script called, OptIn Lightning. This script is
like none
other you've ever seen. It will increase your subscriptions up
to 500%,
as your subscriber won't have to fill out a single form. When
your page
loads, an alert box will appear asking them if they'd like to
subscribe
to your publication. They simply click on "OK" or "Cancel."
That's
it... If they click on OK, they will instantly be subscribed with
absolutely
no forms. For further information, visit:
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/web/jump.cgi?ID=513
Building
Your Subscriber Base
There are
many powerful ways to build your subscriber base. However,
for this
article, we will only focus on the "best" ways.
Your
Website
Place a
subscription box on every page of your website. Make sure you
don't
overlook this powerful means of gaining new subscribers. Your
visitors
will enter your website from many other pages other than your
main page. They may never even visit your main page,
so make sure
your subscription box is visible on every page of your
website.
Incentive Subscriptions
This powerful means of obtaining subscribers entails
offering your
visitors a free gift in return for their subscription.
This free gift may be
a free ebook, software, or report. This method of
obtaining new
subscribers will increase your subscription rate
immensely.
Download free ebooks that you may use as incentives
here:
http://www.web-source.net/free_ebooks.htm
Writing
Articles
Write
informative articles and allow them to be freely published. By
writing
articles, you can significantly increase your subscriptions. The
key to
using this method effectively is to include your subscription
information
within your bylines.
Free
Ebooks
Create a
powerful free ebook and allow it to be freely distributed. Place
your
subscription box on each page. Your ebook will have the potential
to be
viewed by millions of Internet users.
For
further information on creating an ebook, download the free
ebook,
"Ebooks: A Complete Guide to Self-Publishing."
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/web/jump.cgi?ID=500
Creating
and developing an opt-in list is an absolute must. You must
take every
opportunity to promote your publication and gain new
subscribers.
The more subscribers you have, the more sales you'll
make. Make
sure you don't overlook this powerful method of making
sales.