12th
MAR

Targeted Website Advertising – Guide Visitors to Your Products

Posted by BlogPostman under Targeted Website Advertising

Have you ever wondered how those internet business success stories happened? People that seemed like they were ill-suited to the lives of an entrepreneur suddenly found the correct combination of determination, product development and internet savvy to attract thousands of visitors to their site and make a comfortable living for their families.

There are many different reasons why these people are successful, but one of the most important is their intelligent use of targeted website advertising. Many people think that all internet marketing consists of annoying popup ads or email spam that will just fill up your inbox with links and offers that you never wanted, but this just isn’t true.

Just like highly sophisticated marketing campaigns that are used by large corporations, targeted website advertising requires that you do research on your audiences, and learn how they like to be communicated with.

If you’re interested in using targeted website advertising to get the most out of your marketing dollars, you should know that there are many different tactics that have been found to be effective in increasing traffic to web pages. You’ll have to decide which will work best with your company mission and the types of people that you’re hoping to attract.

One of the most important things to know about targeted website advertising is that it’s important to make wise decisions about where you place your brand name and logo. Don’t just sign up for an advertising service that pushes your banner ads to just any site.

Dumping an advertising campaign off on any group of websites might confuse your viewers, and convince them that you are just eager for anyone to click on your links. Targeted website advertising will only display your banner ads on sites that have content that is relevant to your business.

If you’d like to develop a targeted advertising campaign, but aren’t really sure how to get started with the services that you’ll need to make it successful, you might want to consider working with an internet marketing service that has experience promoting companies like yours. These services are going to cost

No one likes to feel like they are spinning their wheels and spending money on advertising that just doesn’t work. Click here to learn about time-tested techniques that can propel your business to the top.

10th
MAR

Display: A Medium Unsuited To The Message

Posted by under Pay-Per-Click

With the economy in recession, and consumers examining their checking account balances more closely than ever, marketers have followed suit—spelling trouble for online display ads. In the first half of 2009, display accounted for only 34 percent of U.S. online ad spend. Of that, only 38 percent sold with CPM pricing. So the quid pro quo for the majority of online display advertisers has become the accountability and results that click-through and conversion-based pricing delivers. Once the online display gurus stopped ringing their hands, they freed them for typing. Not necessarily better ads, mind you, but defenses of their format and the CPM pricing models that brands treat with growing skepticism. In a curious way, it’s heartening to observe industry insiders remember what they do for a living. When authoring campaigns for highly competitive clients, we often drop the gloves and start swinging. My beer is lite-er, their burger makes you fatter, my phone map is denser, my kid’s computer can beat up your dad’s computer. Online display disciples have embraced this approach lately by suggesting (more or less) that while their format isn’t perfect, it at least doesn’t disqualify itself with embarrassingly low click-through data. Embarrassing? In direct response—TV especially, but online as well—ad buyers at the very least can compare ad spend to direct sales income (a figure that’s inevitably underreported, as it doesn’t include sales through other channels). No sane advertiser will challenge this common sense staple: if you sell more in merchandise than you spend on the advertising, you know that the format is working. Defending the format is trickier for the online display crowd, which seems to theorize weekly against data. So I ask them: where’s the bee? You find business success in numbers, not nicely turned phrases. While a good slogan can work wonders, you still need some numbers to prove that they actually move merchandise. It wasn’t even a generation ago that marketers trumpeted online formats for the strength of their precise measurability. Ten years later, with less favorable CTRs, we learn that numbers were perhaps overrated, and that we don’t really need instant accountability, especially given display’s mighty branding powers. Unfortunately, branding takes time—curiously a bit longer than the length of a budgeted campaign. Still, many crusaders for the online display CPM model parrot numbers when it suits them. They’re happy to challenge direct response models quoting click-through-rates that fall south of .1 percent, and a finding that a mere eight percent of US online users account for 85 percent of all clicks. And they seem positively giddy about comScore’s “ Whither the Click? ” study that claims a 65 percent lift in site visitation in the week following the first exposure to a display campaign, and an “incremental online sales lift” of 27 percent. Exciting and buzzworthy numbers! But if I were considering an online display investment, the worst number is the legion of display defenders who have embraced defeatist reasoning. The argument is that since current online metrics don’t adequately measure what’s important—awareness, positive feelings, and so forth—we should simply trot out different metrics that sound better (even though they too fail to reliably measure impact). The comScore study responds to the assumption that click-based metrics don’t capture the breadth and depth of variables that boost brand awareness and drive purchase decisions. Yet by attributing every sale to the appearance of an online display campaign (a 27 percent online sales lift!), it repeats the oversimplification it presumably counters. Chances are that TV, radio, and billboards played a role in that sales lift as well. Who runs single medium campaigns? From a metrics standpoint, the minute you acknowledge the interplay of dozens of variables, you diminish the importance of any one, including the variable that you want to spotlight. So like PC telling Mac he should “trust me,” too many online display salesmen ask marketing directors not to obsess so much about numbers—seemingly because the product is still struggling to define a reliable case-proving metric. If you’re going to employ a particular ad channel, you should play to its strengths and do it profitably. The internet is lean-forward medium. People click purposefully, focusing so intently on the objects of their search, that they don’t take their eyes off the road. Product-centric websites are a must because consumers actively seek product info online. Nobody seeks out display ads. While ad aversion is problematic for all formats, it’s endemic to online display. And that’s not even factoring in the “multiple invisible iframes” problem on which The Wall Street Journal has reported. In this scam, ad networks deliver code-only “displays” that consumers literally can’t see, but that are nonetheless tallied and billed in CPM accounting. And the ever-popular entreaties for “better creative?” Well, better ads might mask some online display symptoms, but they won’t effect cures. Fact is, some ad formats are inherently inferior for accomplishing certain purposes. I butter my bread with direct response television, but know better than to lecture Pepsico to sell more Mountain Dew by inviting frat boys to call now (even if they packaged Dew in a keg). An equally apparent fact is that the purpose-driven nature of the internet is simply not conducive to awareness by osmosis. Previously published in adotas.com, January 2010 Author of over 175 published articles, Tim Hawthorne is Founder, Chairman and Executive Creative Director of Hawthorne Direct, a full service DRTV and New Media ad agency founded in 1986. Since then Hawthorne has produced or managed over 800 Direct Response TV campaigns for clients such as Apple, Braun, Discover Card, Time-Life, Nissan, Lawn Boy, Nikon, Oreck, Bose, and Heifer International. Tim is a co-founder of the Electronic Retailing Association, has delivered over 100 speeches worldwide and is the author of the definitive DRTV book The Complete Guide to Infomercial Marketing. A cum laude graduate of Harvard, Tim was honored with the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) in 2006. Article Source

Excerpt from:
Display: A Medium Unsuited To The Message

9th
MAR

Online Marketing Adwords Yahoo Classifieds

Posted by under Pay-Per-Click

Today lets talk about getting your products or services marketed so your potential customers are aware that they exist.Until they know they are, your never going to make a penny. First of all you really need to set yourself a budget, a figure that your relaxed about spending each week or month. I suggest at least a budget that will last for the next 120 days. Of course spending money on advertising may be out of the question for now which is not a problem at all, there are many low cost and free ways to do this which we will discuss later. One thing you will need to do is remember to have fun with it, its not a huge monster to take, its just marketing. Thousands of people before have done it and so can you. An example of how easy it is ,is have you ever recommended a restaurant or movie to someone, well then you can market, that’s no different to any other form of marketing. Ok there are 2 main areas were going to talk about in the next few articles and that is online and offline. Online is advertising on the internet perhaps with google or yahoo and off line is more traditional like newspapers or magazines. With online there is an abundance of choice that will suit any budget. The most famous being Google Adwords otherwise known as Pay Per Click. This in lay mans terms is about you bidding on certain words or phrases connected with your product. When someone types in a word you have bid on, your advert will appear giving that person a chance to click on your advert and visiting your website were they can make a purchase. You pay a certain amount every time this happens ( you fix this price before hand) hence the name Pay Per Click. Now Google Adwords is the most popular but it can be the most expensive if you dont know what your doing in fact any PPC advertising will cost you dearly if your not careful. Me personally i prefer Yahoo’s PPC. Its a lot more easier to understand and is slightly less competitive. But there are many companies out there doing this that will suit your budget and criteria and there will always be a ton of information to get you up to speed. When used correctly these programs can generate massive traffic to you site. Another option is the online classifieds where you place an advert like you would in a news paper. There a many many places to do this, just type in google “Classified Advertising” and see what comes up. Its really dependant on what your providing. Some specialise in particular markets while others cater for all. These can be paid or free both work very well. What i suggest is when choosing a place to advertise you first check its list ranking on sites like http:// www.alexa.com . Here you can type in the web address and see how high it ranks in the search engines listings like Google or Yahoo. I suggest its at least in the top 100,000 for it to be worth your time or money. Another thing you can do is see how popular the site is in particular countries, you may want to target geographically. So that’s just a few ideas for you to mull over but before i continue in the next article with advertising i just want to give a tip. There are endless places and ideas about for you to advertise which can all become a bit overwhelming. I suggest you choose 3 ideas your happy with and stick to those, get good at them, persist with them until they work. Allow at least 3 weeks to start seeing results ( longer with newspapers) dont give up when nothing happens at first, just get better at it and persist. They all work and work well but only if you stick at it. Remember, the home business industry is a real industry just like any other that requires work so please dont loose sight of this Nick Squires have been working online now for several years enjoying huge success for himself as well as teaching others how they can replace their incomes and work from home. He is an industry recognised leader for his consistant efforts in showing people there is an easier way.He spends his time between Lisbon and Paris.To find out how he makes his money and to see if you could too, visit http://www.wealthcreationsgroup.com Article Source

Read the original post:
Online Marketing Adwords Yahoo Classifieds

3rd
MAR

15 Social Media Answers From OMS10

Posted by BlogPostman under Internet Marketing, Pay-Per-Click

Online Marketing Summit 2010 in San Diego is host to a smorgasboard of internet marketing topics and this afternoon I am priveledged to participate on a panel about Social Media. Panelists include: Chris Baggott, CEO, Compendium Blogware Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Online Marketing Michael Senger, CEO & Founder, StoneMass Caitlin McCabe, Founder, WhiteLabel Marketing Ben Hanna, VP Marketing, Business.com That’s a lot of people for a panel, so moderator Jason Baer decided that in the spirit of Twitter, we’d keep bios, questions and answers succinct and at 140 characters or less. For those that can’t be here I thought I’d share the prep questions and my short answers with you. If you’re at OMS and you live blog this Social Media Leaders Forum, please leave a link in the comments. What’s your advice for individuals just getting started using Twitter? Have some idea of what you want out of Twitter. Connect with people of similar interests and goals and engage with them. What’s your advice for individuals just get started using Twitter? Have some idea of what you want out of Twitter. Connect with people of similar interests and goals and engage with them. What’s the #1 myth preventing companies from embracing social media? To start when you’re ready. You’ll never be ready. But you need to do it anyway because it’s the only way towards progress. What’s the best way to integrate social media with other marketing efforts like email, direct mail, etc? Strategically. Learn what customers want and leverage social technologies across channels to make it easier for them to get it. What are the main differences between B2B and B2C social media programs? More romancing in B2B & emphasis on qualitative interactions. Mass appeal of B2C provides large audience engagement opportunities. Is social media best used for customer acquisition, or for customer retention? Both. Social media is essentially word of mouth and once you start facilitating that and customer conversations, you create a cycle of acquisition & retention. How do social media and SEO work together? Yin & Yang. Social network channels of distribution promote content & attract links. Optimized social content grows networks via search discovery. What’s the biggest mistake most companies are making in social media? Outsourcing customer engagement. Companies know their own business and customers best and lose opportunity by not participating themselves. What’s the most overrated social media site or tactic today? Google. LOL. Actually, the one your customers are not using. When is it okay for companies to not engage with their customers in social media? That’s like saying when should you not answer the phone at your business? For severe dissenters invite offline discussion. Does it make sense to make a Facebook fan page at the core of your social media initiative? If the audience to reach is all about Facebook, then why not? Only caveat is that you don’t “own” 3rd party web sites. How can agencies work best with their clients in social media? Be a guide, partner, educator, trainer and source of ongoing support and innovation. Help them help themselves. What’s the one social media skill set that you wish more potential employees had? Honesty about skills. Social media user & expert are very different. Passion, curiosity and ability to really listen, learn and create value using social technology. How important (really) are geo-location services like Foursquare and Gowalla? If you were a brand, how interested would you be to know all the most active people visiting your stores? Many Advertising & social networking tie-in opportunities. With so many companies now using social media, what’s the best way for a brand to stand out? Find remarkable people to curate & tell your brand’s story. Listen to, engage with & empower customers. How can you measure the effectiveness of social media efforts? Start with goals, outline a strategy and how to best reach audiences. Then pick the right tools and metrics aligned with those goals. There you go. I think this exercise proves that shorter is not always better. There’s so much more that’s meaningful to say about each of these questions. I may come back and add to this post after the session or we might just use them as inspiration for a series of blog posts.  Until then, be sure to read this roundup of 25 social media marketing tips . What are some of your most pressing questions about social media? About integrating social media with other channels?

1st
MAR

Email Advertising – Reach Your Audience

Posted by BlogPostman under Email Advertising

Businesses are only as strong as their customer base, and the same is true for web based businesses and their audience of only visitors and clients. Many people don’t understand that maintaining and online audience is constant work, and if you can’t figure out a creative way to stay in touch with your online customers and prospective customers, you’re going to lose their business.

Many people are searching for the right marketing techniques that will keep the interest of their audience members without annoying them or making them feel like they are constantly being sent promotional materials that just end up in the recycling bin.

One of the most successful marketing tools that online business owners have turned to is email advertising. This is a tactic that will reach your online audience right where they are: surfing the internet. It also eliminates waste and doesn’t take more than a click to delete if they’re not interested.

There are many reasons why choosing email advertising is a smart decision for online business owners that want to make the most of their advertising dollars. First of all, this type of advertising makes determining your ROI very easy, through link tracking and reception rates.

If you think that email advertising might be the method for communication that you’ve been searching for, you have to find a marketing service that will allow you to create the dynamic email advertisements that you need without charging you an arm and a leg to send them.

The best email advertising companies will offer you several levels of participation, so that you can try out the service without committing to a large investment in emails that might not work out. Start with a number of emails that represent just a fraction of your customer base, and after a week or so, compare the number of sales in that group to the sales in the rest of your base. If you notice an increase amongst the email recipients, you might want to try a larger round.

No matter which email advertising company you choose, be sure that they offer targeted distribution, meaning that they will help you to tailor your email announcements and product sales to people who are likely to respond favorably to them.

Snail mail is a thing of the past, so why are you still sending flyers about your business through the mail? Increase your sales and brand awareness with email advertising. Click here to learn more.