Internet Advertising Options
By David McKone



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, loosing money. Your

online business is crammed into the world wide web

along with thousands of others selling the same

product or service as yourself. Consider this

scenario: In your hometown you want to open an art

supply store. In that same town there are thousands

of art supply stores. In order for your business to

be successful, it will have to stand out in some way

from the others. This is exactly what is happening

when a business is opened online. There is so much

competition, that you must take drastic measures to

ensure that you are getting noticed. Advertising can

be done in so many ways online. These are some of the

most successful ways that you can promote your online

business.



Advertising in e-zines is a popular way to promote

your online business. Ezines are the magazines of the

internet; they written on a particular subject and

read by those interested in that subject. Therefore,

ezine readers are already potential customers and

advertising your site in ezines that are related to

your business is almost guaranteed to help drive

traffic to your site and increase sales for your

product. You should be sure when advertising in

ezines that you are not advertising along side

competitors. Ask the ezine producer if there is a

policy concerning posting competing ads. It is also

a good idea to subscribe to the ezine before making a

decision about whether or not to advertise in it. An

ezine that runs fewer ads is a better choice than one

that runs many ads. You can look at the online

Directory of Ezines to find publications that are

relevant to your company.



Pay-per-click programs are an excellent way to

advertise your business without taking a risk that you

have advertised in the wrong place. With

pay-per-click, you can advertise you site and only

pay for those who click the link and go to your site.

Another popular pay-per program is the pay-per-lead

program that allows you to only pay for leads.

Usually this means that you pay for only those who

download a trail, fill out a form or enter a

sweepstakes; whatever you choose. Lastly you can

display pay-per-click banner ads in which your company

would be allowed to place a banner on their site and

you will be charged for every click that your banner

receives.



Opt-In email is a great way to advertise your

business, however it is expensive and it can be

misused very easily. Using opt-in emails, you would

submit your sales copy to the company that will in

turn email it to those on their mailing list. You

should be very careful since some of the companies

that advertise their mailing lists as opt-in email

service is sometimes really SPAM. It is essential

that you have a perfect and effective sales letter

when using opt-in mailing lists. Without and

effective sales copy your money and time have been

wasted.

About the author:

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To find the best home based business ideas and

opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.Build-Your-Home-Business.com

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Cross Promoting Techniques that Work
By David McKone



Cross promotions are not a new idea. They have been

used by businesses for a very long time. For example,

a real-estate company may promote a certain lawyer to

close a sale, as the lawyer will promote that agency

in his firm. The system is somewhat similar to the

primitive barter system, where people traded items

rather than using money. How can anything primitive

fit into the online world of Internet marketing? Very

easily. Cross promotions are, simply stated, a trade

of advertising space. Instead of paying for

advertising space on a site, you would place their ad

on your page and yours on theirs. There are many ways

to use cross promotions in your internet business that

can be an effective and cost efficient way to

advertise.



One way is to use link exchanges. This is very

effective when doing cross promotions with a company

that is similar to yours, however you should be sure

and never link to a page that is in direct competition

with yours. One of the best things about link

exchanges is that some search engines are factoring in

hits from the sites that are linked to your page to

when determining the ranking. Therefore linking to a

more popular site, can not only increase your

advertising, and traffic, but also increase your

search engine ranking.



When customers or potential customers subscribe to

your ezine you can use this as an opportunity to use

cross promotions. On the same page that the customer

subscribes to your ezine, make available the

opportunity to subscribe to another company’s ezine.

You can even exchange ad space in ezines, and provide

recommendations for those whom you cross promote with.

You might even want to exchange column space in one

another’s ezines.



Writing free articles that inform customers or

potential customers with information that is useful

and accurate can create a reputation for you and your

business. Soon readers will come to know you as an

expert on the subject. In these articles the author

uses a byline to help promote his site. Bylines can

be a way to use cross promotions as well. You can use

part of the space in your byline to recommend

another’s product.



If you have been considering writing an ebook, a joint

venture could mean increased profits for you and the

person you are partnering with. Cross promotions

through ebooks are an excellent way to allow for a

wider topic and to promote both your business and your

partner’s business. The ebook should contain

information that will benefit both businesses and

still be helpful to the reader. A good example of

using cross promotions through an ebook is to a site

selling used video games partnering with a site

selling gaming devices. These are two subjects that

would interest the same reader and most likely lead

the reader to both sites.



You should keep in mind that the recommendations that

you make are a direct reflection of you, so choose

your cross promotional businesses carefully. Also

keep in mind that it would be nice as a shopper to be

able to link from one site to another as a way to

“shop around.“ Since this is usually not beneficial

to you, never link or recommend a site that is in

direct competition with you. Instead, recommend those

who are similar, such as health and life insurance.

About the author:

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To find the best home based business ideas and

opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.Build-Your-Home-Business.com

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Designing A Website That Sells
By David McKone



Would you buy meat from a grocery store that left the

bad meat in with the good meat or wasn’t clean? Would

you buy a car from a sales lot that had totaled

automobiles on the front lot? I wouldn’t and neither

would you. Your website is your grocery store; your

car lot. You must have an atmosphere that is pleasing

to buyers. One that tells that buyer that you are not

an amateur, but instead a trained, seasoned

professional. Your site is a direct reflection of

your product and that is why that having a well

designed website can make or break your sales.



The first thing to keep in mind when designing your

website, is “surfability”. Take a few minutes a look

around at several web pages. What makes them

appealing? Were there some that you closed out of

immediately? Why? Take notes and do your research.

Keep in mind that when a person visits your site they

have a goal in mind. They are either seeking

information or shopping for a product. Give the

person what they want without having to search for it.

Be sure that all the information on your site is

relevant to your product. Make the buyer think that

they need your product to solve their problem.



Your main page serves a very specific purpose. It

should be an avenue by which the customer can shop

your site. It should be easy to view and load very

quickly. This is your first impression and we all

know that first impressions can either close the deal

or loose the deal. Make it simple. It is best to

have links that are easily viewable by the reader that

will navigate them to where they want to be. Tables

are often a great choice when deciding on a way to

design the main page of your site. Your main page

should load very quickly, chances are if it takes the

page more than ten seconds to load even on a 56k

modem, the customer will click away to save time,

hoping to find the information or product elsewhere.

To increase the loading speed of your main page you

should avoid large graphics or excessive graphics. To

many banners or special effects can cause a page to

load slowly as well.



To make your web site more appealing to the eyes, you

should stick to mild colors. If your site is a

content site where the user will be doing a lot of

reading, it is best to stick to black and white.

Color can be added when using tables, as a way to

brighten up the page, but remember to keep the overall

look of the page professional and appealing to the

audience that will be visiting most often. Since

screen resolutions vary among monitors, it is a good

idea to set the pixels to a standard 800x600. You may

also choose to set the tables in your web page to span

a percentage of the page rather than a set number of

inches. This will be sure to accommodate all screen

sizes. You should remember that a lot of Internet

users will not use the same browser as you, and

therefore you should be sure that your site looks as

good on other browsers as it does your own. You can

do this by downloading several browsers through which

to look at your page.



Be aware of the fact that the overall look of your

website is a way to make money. The appearance of the

site, if designed properly, can be an excellent

marketing strategy for your product or service.

About the author:

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To find the best home based business ideas and

opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.Build-Your-Home-Business.com

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Multiply Your Sales Through Affiliate Programs
By David McKone



What could be better than exceeding your personal

sales goals for a given month or year? How about

doubling, tripling or even more of you sales goal for

the month? This is exactly what affiliates can do for

you. The amount of growth potential through

affiliates is unlimited; the more affiliates you have

the more money you can make, after all, if Sam Walton

tried to run every Wal-Mart store, he obviously

wouldn’t be very successful. You must realize that

for maximum growth you cannot do it alone. Think of

the success of companies such as Avon or Home

Interiors. Their success is based on two things; a

great product and excellent affiliate programs.



To attract affiliates to your company you should make

it worth their time. Offering one percent of sales,

is not an attractive offer, the higher the commission

that you are able to offer your affiliates the more

affiliates will be tempted to join your team. You

should also provide your affiliates with the tools

that they will need to successfully market your

product such as banner ads, articles, and anything

else that will help them to better market the product.

You should provide the affiliates with updated

product information through newsletters, new

promotional campaigns and other things to motivate and

inform the affiliates.



You can choose to run your affiliate program in a few

different ways, both of which are beneficial to your

business. A one-tier affiliate program allows you to

generally offer a larger commission and pays on one

level. The affiliate will receive a predetermined

amount for each sale. Using a two-tier affiliate

program, affiliates are paid on two different levels.

This is done by allowing the affiliates to recruit

others to sell under them. In this situation, the top

level affiliate would receive a slightly larger

commission than the recruit or second level affiliate.

For example if the top level seller makes 20% of the

sale, then she/he would make 15% giving the second

level affiliate the 5%.



Setting up the affiliate program can also be done in

two different ways. One way is to do it yourself

through an affiliate tracking software. This software

will provide you with a way to track affiliate sales

as well as allow the affiliates to view their

progress. The downside to this option is that you are

responsible for making payments. You can also choose

to hire an affiliate tracking company to do all the

work for you. These companies will allow the use of

credit cards and completely run the affiliate program

from billing customers, paying affiliates, and also

pay you. This is a great option for the busy business

owner or the beginning business owner and it is

affordable as most affiliate tracking companies charge

a small one time fee. However you choose to run your

affiliate program it is sure to increase profits for

your business.

About the author:

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To find the best home based business ideas and

opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.Build-Your-Home-Business.com

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Implementing and Opt-In List to Optimize Your Internet Marketing Success
By David McKone



In order to make a success of your website or online

business, it is obvious that you will need customers.

Although everyone who visits your page will not become

a customer, they must have some interest in your

product or service that brought them there in the

first place and therefore they are a potential

customer. Potential customers are much more likely to

become actual customers if you make an effort to keep

in touch with them. This essential marketing tool is

called and opt-in list.



An opt-in list will allow you to keep track of your

potential customers by obtaining their email address

in order to keep them informed about the latest

updates for your product or service. You can create

your own opt-in list or you can use an opt-in list

creator that is available online from several sources.

The benefits of creating your own opt-in list is that

you will be able to send personal messages to the

potential customers and they will not need to do

anything, whereas with commercial opt-in lists, the

customer will receive a generated message and will be

required to verify their acceptance of the message.



An important part of creating a successful opt-in list

is to keep in mind that potential customer will visit

your site from many places and may not see your

homepage. Therefore it is imperative to have the

ability to subscribe to the mailing list from all

pages of your site. You should not, however, make the

subscription information a focus point of every page.

It is a good idea to put it at the bottom or top of

the page where it is visible but not distracting. It

is also a good idea to promote your mailing list by

using a give-away. You could offer a service, a

discount, or an ebook. You can also drive potential

subscriber to join your mailing list by writing

articles that will benefit the reader and at the same

time, build your credibly as an expert. You can

include the subscription information in the byline of

the articles. You could also write an ebook with your

subscription information on each page, which will

allow the customer to easily access the information

and join the list with ease.



Once you have created the mailing list and now have

your potential customers within your grasp it is your

responsibility to keep them updated and interested.

Provide them with quality information that is

up-to-date and of interest to them. Offer discounts

or a newsletter, something that the reader can use.

This will keep them interested and will drive them to

your site over and over, eventually they may make a

purchase and if not, they will be informed enough to

use word of mouth advertising for your site.

About the author:

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To find the best home based business ideas and

opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.Build-Your-Home-Business.com

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Golden Rules For the Use of Autoresponders
By David McKone



Autoresponders are a perfect way to increase traffic

to your site. They can save many valuable hours by

automatically answering emails concerning frequently

asked questions about a service or product or by

sending a welcome letter to new members of your

program. There are many ways that autoresponders can

help your business. One of the most important is

their ability to track the effectiveness of your

promotions. Since autoresponders are one of the most

popular marketing tools available today, they are

being used by a lot of different kinds of business and

websites. Some of these take advantage of the system

to use the autoresponders in a negative manner. You

should be aware of some of the “Golden Rules” when

using autoresponders.



Thou Shalt Not Use an Autoresponder Address When

Submitting to Search Engines.



Since you will most likely submit your site to search

engines such as Google or Yahoo!, directories,

classifieds, and free for all sites, you should be

made aware of the fact that these sites commonly use

an autoresponder as well. If you were to use your

autoresponder to contact these companies, their

autoresponder will reply to yours and so on and so on.

Thus creating a cycle of autoresponses that will

flood your email box and theirs as well.



Thou Shalt Not Use an Autoresponder to Subscribe to

Ezines or Discussion Forums.



Since most of the time an Ezine will send you updates

and new information regularly, your auto responder

will send them a message each time. In a discussion

forum, every person in the discussion forum will

receive your auto response. This can be irritating

and most of the time you will be unsubscribed. It is

often hard for the administrators of the forum or

ezine to determine who is using the autoresponse and

therefore it is simply common courtesy to never use an

autoresponer in this manner.



Thou Shalt Not Use an Autoresponder to Take Advantage

Of Unsuspecting Individuals.



Some very unprofessional companies will use

autoresponders to respond to an automated message

when this is done the address in the “from” field will be

automatically subscribed to their mailing list. This

is a extremely un ethical use of autoresponders and

those who do it are in jeopardy of creating a very

negative image of themselves and their company.

Rather than promote their service or business, this

usually leads to people becoming very upset and

spreading a negative word about your company rather

than a good one.



The Internet can be a great place to do business and

autoresponders can be an excellent way to save time,

however when used in an unprofessional way, they can

lead to frustration and aggravation for others. Your

company will suffer the loss of much business if you

choose to participate in these abusive practices. The

appropriate use of auto responders can generate a

large amount of business, while inappropriate use can

drive away that business.

About the author:

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To find the best home based business ideas and

opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.Build-Your-Home-Business.com

-------------------------------------------------------

Five Proven Methods for Internet Marketing Success

Five Proven Methods for Internet Marketing Success
By David McKone



There are hundreds of ways that you can promote your

online business or website, some more effective than

others. These five proven methods will help you to

generate traffic to your site and also to generate

income into your wallet.



1. One thing that appeals to everyone is “free.” If

it is free people will take it. Think of the samples

of cheese given away at grocery stores. Do you really

want a small piece of cheese? Of course not! But you

take it simply because it is free and someone is nice

enough to offer it to you. The same principle applies

with information or services offered from your

website. You can send out free newsletters or offer a

free trail period. One popular thing that is being

given away now are free credit reports or free PC

scans. These freebies are what we in the marketing

field like to call teasers. After running the free

credit report or PC scan we alert the customer if

there is something found on their credit record or PC

and then offer to show them what it is or repair the

problem for a price. This can be an effective way to

get information to your potential customers, create

sales or to generate traffic to your site.



2. Your website contains information about a service

or product that you are very knowledgeable about. You

can use this knowledge to generate traffic to your

site by writing articles in your area of expertise and

having them published in an ezine or an article

information site. The most effective way to use these

articles is to write them for free and ask in return

that the publisher allow you to include a byline. A

byline is a very short summary of the author, their

credentials and their website. Your byline is a way

that readers will come to know you as an expert on the

topic and will in turn come to trust your site as a

source of credible information.



3. Some search engines will allow a website to

purchase their ranking. This is an excellent Internet

marketing technique in that it is effective and

inexpensive. In the pay-per-click programs, website

are only billed for those who actually visit the page,

unlike banner ads which may be seen by millions but

only used by a few. When using the pay-per-click

program you are asked to choose keywords and when

those are entered your site will appear and if the

surfer chooses to view your site, you are billed for

that click. Many pay-per-click programs will offer

other benefits as well, such as updated lists of

commonly used keywords.



4. You should remember that others are in the same

boat as you. You can choose to network with those who

have similar marketing ideas. When networking you

will be able to share links and refer customers to

each other. You should always be very cautious when

choosing a networking partner as everything that you

recommend is a reflection of yourself or your product

and therefore, you should be certain that your

networking partner is a reputable source of

information.



5. Simply because your website is online, doesn’t

mean that all your advertising should be. Advertise

in newspapers, TV, the radio or you can even send out

a press release to get your information to thousands

of people all over the country.

About the author:

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To find the best home based business ideas and

opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.Build-Your-Home-Business.com

-------------------------------------------------------

Autoresponders = Automatic Internet Marketing Success
By David McKone

What if you could send out all the information that

your potential customers have requested without

checking your email or answering a phone? While this

may seem impossible, it is becoming more and more

popular among the most successful Internet marketing

gurus. This is all due to what is called an

autoresponder. An autoresponder is an automatic

method of responding to emails sent by existing or

potential customers and is an must for any Internet

business. Time is money and answering emails

personally take a lot of valuable time for both you

and the customer. Not only do autorespnders allow you

to spend the time elsewhere in your business, but it

gives the customer access to the information almost

immediately.



Since there are so many different uses for

autoresponders, they can be of value to virtually any

type of business. Some choose to use the

autoresponders to answer frequently asked questions

about a product or service. Others use them to

provide information about pricing or product

information. Autoresponders are also a nice way to

welcome new members to a website or group as well as

thank them after a visit.



One might ask what would be the advantage of using

autoresponders as opposed to simply listing the

information on the site. An important feature of

autoresponders is that they send you an email

notification each time a response is sent out. This

allows you to track the success of your promotions as

well as have the email addresses of potential

customers at your fingertips so that you can easily

send out updated and new information to them.



It is of the utmost importance to choose an effective

autoresponder. An autoresponder should be as

personal as possible and send out follow-ups to

potential customers since it has been proven that

persistence pays off. It could take up to seven

contacts before a final sale is conducted. Generally

speaking an advertisement should be short and to the

point. However, in this case, the customer has asked

to see this specific information and therefore an

effective autoresponder should allow you to place as

much text on the page as you desire. The

autoresponder that you choose should provide automatic

updates to customers free of charge.



The autoresponder is one Internet marketing tool that

will not cost you an arm and a leg. You can get free

autoresponders online from several sources. The

automatic responses will be a welcome addition to your

marketing strategy and will help to automatically

increase traffic to your site all while you do

nothing. Be sure that the one you choose includes all

the extras that will send you site to the top and your

profits through the roof.

About the author:

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To find the best home based business ideas and

opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.Build-Your-Home-Business.com

-------------------------------------------------------

Effective or Irritating: The Use of Pop Windows in

Internet Marketing
By David McKone



A few years ago, pop-up windows were all the rage in

Internet marketing. It seemed that every time one

opened a web page they would be bombarded with offers

for this or that. It had gotten to the point where

surfing the Internet was almost like playing a video

game; when the ads would pop-up one would try and

close them out before another one came. This is

precisely why we have seen the decline in the use of

pop-up windows on the Internet today; surfers simply

do not even look at the pop-ups anymore. They close

the windows out before even reading the ad. Very

often, a surfer will even leave your site if there are

too many pop-up ads. They simply do not want the

hassle of closing those windows while trying to obtain

the information that your site has to offer. This

information, while valuable, is not as valuable as the

surfers time. Studies have shown however, that even

with these set backs, pop-up windows are still an

effective method of Internet marketing.



Is there some way that pop-up windows can be less

irritating and still be effective? Yes! What if the

pop ad were seen upon exiting your site instead of

entering? This would allow the surfer to obtain the

information that they need from your site, feeling

that they were able to come and go quickly without

being hassled by other ads and offers all the while

making the surfer happy. You have left the surfer

with a positive attitude and therefore are more likely

to respond to the pop advertisement. This is being

accomplished more and more by using what is being

called pop-under windows. When the surfer comes to

your site, the ad is opened discretely behind the your

web page. Then, upon leaving your site, after

obtaining all the information that they need , will

see the ad and therefore be more likely to respond.

Since the surfer has the information, he has achieved

his objective and is now open to do other things;

ideally respond to the pop under advertisement.



Not all pop-windows are created equally. There are

some things that you can do to make your pop-windows,

whether pop-up or pop-under more effective. The

pop-window should be easy to “escape” from. If the

surfer does not want to see the add, but has a hard

time closing it out, they will likely become

frustrated and could leave your site all together.

You should either use a button to that will allow the

surfer to close the window or be sure that the “x” is

easily visible. Another good idea is to use a script

that utilizes cookies. Cookie will prevent

pop-windows from overloading the surfer since you can

decide the frequency of the pop-windows, rather than

each time a page is opened. Also be sure that there

is no more than one pop-window per page.



When creating a pop-window, you will be asked to fill

out a short information form, select the length of

cookies, and choose the layout of the pop-window.

When choosing the design of the pop-window, you can

increase the effectiveness by creating a large

headline that includes benefits that will be most

appealing to the customer. You should also consider

using incentives and lastly do not ask the customer to

read a long and drawn out advertisement. Keep the

message simple yet powerful and your pop-ads will be

sure to generate profits for your site.

About the author:

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To find the best home based business ideas and

opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.Build-Your-Home-Business.com

Getting Started: Creating a Business Plan

Getting Started: Creating a Business Plan
By David McKone

You're excited. You have a great idea for a profitable
online business. Maybe it is an original idea that has
not been marketed online before. Maybe you have come
up with a new spin on the ordinary. Whatever it is
that has influenced you to start your online business,
be sure that you have a plan before you begin. This is
not the time to “pick it up as you go”. These are some
basic things that should be included in your business
plan.

The business summary should give a brief description
of the entire business and is an integral part of the
overall business plan. After you have completed the
business summary you should begin to list the
objectives or the goals that you want to accomplish
through the business. Next and perhaps most
importantly, you should develop your marketing plan.
The marketing plan will address all the specifics of
the business. When developing the marketing strategy
you should consider the following:

The target market. The target market is the customers
that you expect to see visiting your site. For example
will your product be more appealing to college
students or those who are in retirement?

Consider the competition for your product when
determining the marketing strategy. Choose a product
that will be seen as unique and useful. Visit sites
that are offering the same or similar products. Find
out the cost, and how they are marketing their
product. Finds out the pros and cons of their business
and try to improve your product based on their flaws.

Research the various methods for advertising online.
You should become educated about search engines and
how they work since each one is different. Also be
sure that you know how to submit your site to search
engines. You should be prepared to spend a small
amount of money on advertising, but the profits that
you will gain from the advertisements will prove to be
money well spent.

Think about pricing. Again, look at the competition
and see what similar products are selling for. Pricing
can play a big role in the success of your product
since selling a product well below the average price
may lead customer to think that there is a problem
with the product or that it is not of the best
quality. However, pricing items too high could also
detour customers.

Determine the shipping method. Be sure that you know
how products will be shipped so that you can have
shipping details clearly posted on your site. If you
are shipping things of great value, you should
consider providing shipping insurance. Also think
about shipping outside the country that you live in.

Think about the different methods of payment that you
will accept. If your business does not accept credit
cards, you should be ready to give up half if not more
of your sales. If you decide to accept credit cards
will you use a merchant account or will you use a
third party credit card processing center? Both will
help you get started and the third party processing
center will handle all of the business so you don’’t
have to. You should decide which you will use and also
if you will accept checks or money orders. It is
essential to have a secure server when taking credit
cards.

These few things will help your online business to
become a great success and also provide you with peace
of mind knowing that you have thoroughly thought about
and planned for the opening of your online business.

About the author:
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To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
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Advertising Your Home Business on a Budget
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
Build Your Home Business

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 your
products or services, you probably would not have
started your business to begin with. But, once
you have talked to those who you personally knew
who needed your what you offer, then your next
task is to find others who will help keep your
doors open.

Many people know that they must turn to
advertising at some point in the future, but they
hope that day will be long down the road. For
some, this utopian concept will come to fruition.
But for the rest of us in the real world, we must
come up with creative solutions for meeting our
home business advertising needs while working
within our budget.

Most people have a misconception about having to
spend lots of money in order to advertise their
home business. When you start out, you honestly
will not have much money available for
advertising, and if you do, you should still
spend it wisely.

Before you jump headfirst into the world of
advertising, let me share some of the lessons I
have learned concerning this most important topic.

LESSON #1

It does not have to cost an arm and a leg to
advertise your home business, unless you fail to
plan and fail to test.

As much as is possible, you should always test
your advertising. If you jump in and start
dumping tons of money in to advertising without
first testing your advertising, you might find
yourself broke and without sales at the end of
the road. Most people who commit this error write
off their failure on the home business they chose
or the economy or any of a hundred other excuses.
But, if they are unwilling to take responsibility
for their mistake, they will never learn from
their mistake. Don't let this be you.

LESSON #2

All testing should be done in blocks. If you
begin to advertise simultaneously in newspapers,
radio and television, how will you know which
advertising is bringing people to your cash
register? You won't. All you will know that
something might be working, but you will not know
what is actually doing the trick.

Even if you tell people in your advertising to
tell you how they found you, my experience shows
that fewer than 10% of the people ever will tell
you anything --- and those people who do may not
even get the facts straight! You cannot rely on
your customers to tell you what advertising is
working for your home business. You must put in
the extra effort to know for yourself.

LESSON #3

Only when you have a proven and solid advertising
portfolio should you venture to drop big bucks in
an advertising campaign. Even then, you should be
careful to keep further measurements to determine
how much the maximum advantage of an ad would be.
Sometimes you might be able to reach ten times as
many people, but depending on the kind of media
and other factors, the additional exposure will
only generate twice as many sales. Keep your eye
attuned to situations like this to get the most
from your advertising dollars.

LESSON #4

As Lesson #3 illustrates, sometimes your best
advertising investment may actually cost you less
money. When you are first starting out, whether
you are running a home business or a business
outside of your home, you need to be able to get
people talking and thinking about your business.

If you are busy testing ads in media's such as
the newspaper, magazines, radio, and television,
you need to learn ways of promoting your business
that do not require large cash expenditures. A
few examples are:

· Word of Mouth
· Business Cards
· Press Releases
· Non-Primetime Ads on Radio and Television

Here is more information about each type of
low-cost advertising:

WORD OF MOUTH

This of course is the cheapest kind of
advertising on the planet --- it does not cost
you anything. Ask your customers if they know
anyone who could also use your products or
services. When they are happy with your offerings
and service, they will be willing to tell you
whom you can contact, and they will pass the
word for you.

BUSINESS CARDS

You can usually pick up 500 business cards for
about $20. When you do, hand them out. Do not
give more than a couple of cards to each person.
If they need more cards from you, they will ask.

Some people are known to network with others on a
regular basis. Some of these people are also
known to be always looking for an extra few
bucks. With these people, you can suggest to them
that if they write their name on the back of one
of your business cards and the card is presented
to you, then you will pay a referral fee to them.
You do not have to offer much --- sometimes one
dollar is enough. Look at your home business and
your offerings and decide how much would be a
good referral fee.

PRESS RELEASES

Press Releases are a good source for generating
news about your home business. The business
editor at your local newspaper is always on the
lookout for a good business story to fill the
business news section of the newspaper.

Of course, the business editor understands the
economics of running a paper and is more inclined
to run your story if you buy advertising in
his/her publication, but will still print
stories for special events and openings.

The important thing to remember about Press
Releases is that it must be constructed in the
form of a news story. Even if you are a sole
proprietorship, quotes from you should be written
in a third person format: John Doe said, "Your
quote here."

A Press Release should pack the most important
information at the beginning of the copy, and
leave extra details towards the end.

You should always provide the reporter who gets
the task a simple and easy way for him/her to
contact you directly. Often the reporter will
want to contact you to get details that will
enhance their take on your story.

NON-PRIMETIME ADS ON RADIO AND TELEVISION

Believe it or not, some of the best rates for
radio and television are on the overnight and
non-primetime venues. These target times are not
a total waste as they can easily keep the
infomercial people in business.

These off-hours are just less populated than the
primetime hours.

Don't be afraid to check your local radio and
television rates for non-primetime hours to see
what bargains may exist. With television,
primetime is 7pm to 10pm. With radio, primetime is
8am to 5pm. This sure leaves a whole lot of hours
available to advertise your home business at
discount rates!

IN CONCLUSION

When it comes down to it, there is a lot to
understand about advertising, but when you have
the basic knowledge down pat, everything will
fall into place and bring more dollars to your
bank account.

About The Author:
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