Shoestring Advertising

From Dane’s Blog

For a decade, the internet has gulled aspiring entrepreneurs into believing in the myth of free advertising… “Just put up a website.”

While organic search results may produce good traffic, the investment of time, link building, etc. is not free and normally does not provide the steady stream of business required to have a business “hit the big time”.

Usually SOME regular program of advertising is absolutely essential. That may mean starting on a “shoestring”…

Steve Strauss at USA Today:

I always say that being in business is like being alone in a dark room — you know you are there, but no one else does. So how do you turn on the light and let people (that is, new customers) know you are there?

By advertising.

But too many advertising choices are quite expensive — television, newspapers, radio, and so on. The reason is because with those mediums you are reaching a lot of people — and you pay for that reach.

The problem of course is that, for many small businesses, many of those folks you may reach by mass media advertising have no interest in what you are selling. Thus, reaching them is not only expensive, but is actually a waste of money.

It is often better for the small business to focus its advertising much more narrowly and try and reach only those people who really may buy what it is selling.

1. E-newsletter advertising: Let’s say you sell products for dog owners. Sure, you could advertise in some expensive pet magazine, but, as indicated, not only may the results be iffy, but they will surely be expensive too.

Consider this alternative: Research the most popular dog / pet websites. Find one or two that you really like and which also seems to target your desired dog-owner demographic. Then look at their e-newsletters; many of the big sites offer more than one.

Then buy ad space in that e-newsletter.

2. Pay-per-click: Yes, we have all heard how great pay-per-click advertising is. After all, Google did not become Google for no reason.

Pay-per-click works because the same concept is at work here as with an e-newsletter campaign, namely, you are paying to advertise only to those people most likely to want what you are selling, that is, people who put in your search terms and who then click you ad. They don’t click, you don’t pay.

And remember, Google isn’t the only game in town. Other online advertising networks to check out are: MSN AdCenter, Yahoo Search Marketing, MIVA and Superpages.

Photo by MSDesigns.