Five Common Advertising Strategy Mistakes To Avoid by: blog-editor2, January 20, 2011 1. Not Developing a Brand It doesn’t matter how creative and ingenious your advertising strategy is if you have not made the effort to develop a unified brand. Proper branding includes having a matching business name, web domain name, logo, and an easily recognizable and memorable vanity number. Don’t just have them either; make sure you use them! 2. Failure To Test Whether your advertising strategy includes direct mail, telemarketing, or Internet marketing, those who do not test and ignore their metrics are asking for failure. You may need to temper the figures with a little common sense and insight into future trends, but the numbers do not lie. Use blocks of toll free numbers for split testing various elements of your campaigns and hone them. 3. Not Maximizing ROI Many marketing channels and ideas that you can include in your overall advertising strategy may work, may generate leads, and may even bring in money. However, just generating some income is no longer enough to survive. You must strive to seek out those channels that provide maximum advertising effectiveness and the highest possible ROI for your marketing budget. 4. Working Harder Rather Than Smarter Too many entrepreneurs and managers fail to harness the power of building blocks that can be re-purposed. This strategy means having to do a fraction of the work for much larger results; not only can it improve your advertising strategy profit margins, but it can enable your organization to reach more prospects for less money and grow faster than you ever imagined. This process can mean utilizing content more wisely and re-purposing article content for blogs, videos, and social media, or outsourcing your call center agents and using them to spin off new products and services. 5. Not Seeing The Full Potential "If you are going to think, you might as well think big." Thinking big certainly doesn’t take any more effort. However, too many business owners and managers still fail to see the full potential of their businesses. With a little wider vision applied to an advertising strategy, and just a little more effort, the exponential rewards can make all the difference in being a one man band or the next Facebook. Read More
How to Find Affiliate Programs That Make Money by: blog-editor2, January 19, 2011 With so many affiliate programs available online, how can you find the best ones for you? In this article, we’ll give you the lowdown on how to find affiliate programs that really make money. It is a straightforward process that can take you down the road to earning big bucks! Check Affiliate Database – Companies like Clickbank enable you to find companies that offer commissions based on your sales. In the case of Clickbank, they only list digital products. This setup means that a percentage of the sale goes directly to you with little or no waiting time. Amazon Associates – Amazon.com bases its success on the number of affiliates it has on its system. Their links are incredibly easy to set up for any website or blog. In addition, the astonishing number of products on the site ensures that whatever your niche, you can promote something. Little-Known Affiliate Programs – While all other affiliate marketers are joining the bandwagon with the big names, lesser known companies are carving out niches of their own. A lot of people make good money by joining these sites, for the main reason that a limited number of marketers are selling the same product. The first affiliate programs you join aren’t necessarily the best. That is where testing comes into play. Join a number of affiliate companies to determine which products/services convert and which do not. Image Credit: © Matei Gheorghe | Dreamstime.com Read More
The Best Way to Utilize Multiple Domain Names by: blog-editor2, January 18, 2011 Is it a good idea to have multiple domain names? There are actually pros and cons to this move, but it all depends on the context of your strategy. Let’s take a look at some considerations you need to take into account to make a decision: Multiple Entry Points – One of the main benefits of having multiple domain names is gaining a number of entry points. If your company focuses on the homemaking niche, for example, you can have sections about housecleaning, refurbishing, etc. Creating additional domains on these niches can also be beneficial (for linking purposes). Search Engines – It used to be a common spamming technique to purchase hundreds, even thousands of domains, that all reference the same site. These sites were indexed and added to the ranking. Although this strategy worked for awhile, search engines are now cautious about such techniques. As a result, it is more important to be careful about what you put into your sites; and make sure the content is not similar. Typos – Common typing errors can yield to significant search traffic once you consider that you’re catering to a global audience. Remember to use 301 redirects to ensure that these misspellings aren’t listed in the search engines results page (SERP). Protection – Once your company becomes more renowned, it will need to battle opportunists who seek to benefit from your success. In this regard, it may be a good idea to purchase the .net, .org, and .us extensions among others. Read More
Why You Should Not Create Your Own Advertising Strategy by: blog-editor2, January 17, 2011 Business columns and business coaches often dedicate much of their time to telling entrepreneurs and business owners that they must be revolutionary in their advertising strategy and be unique if they want to win. However, the reality is that as an entrepreneur or marketing executive, achieving a successful advertising strategy can often be a difficult tightrope walk between doing what is working for others and offering a unique proposition. There are two problems with developing your own advertising strategy from scratch. First, it can mean ignoring the facts and figures and the tried and true methods that are working in the current market. Choosing just to learn from your own mistakes rather than others is costly and can result in losing any lead time you had on your competitors. Secondly, creating an advertising strategy that is too far away from the norm can be confusing to prospects and consumers, not only reducing your advertising effectiveness and the ROI of your marketing budget but alienating many viable customers. In order to develop a truly successful advertising strategy, you really should take the best of both worlds. If a certain marketing strategy, channel, or platform is proving to be incredibly profitable in your industry, you shouldn’t ignore it. Consumers will be looking for some of the similar attributes in order to find your product or service and judge it’s value and credibility. However, at the same time you need to be different enough from your competition to differentiate enterprise and stand out from the crowd. The perfect example is books. While self-publishing is becoming more popular than ever and has turned out many of the best sellers in the last couple of years, it remains an independent way to produce books; nevertheless, authors can definitely benefit from promoting their books on reputable sites like Amazon or by using Facebook likes and a familiar blog or website format for promoting it. What will you take from the proven and comfortable way of doing business in your industry and what will you do differently to develop the ultimate advertising strategy? Image Credit: © Ali Mazraie shadi | Dreamstime.com Read More
Domain Name Lookup, What Not To Overlook! by: blog-editor2, January 14, 2011 Domain name lookup may be very fast and relatively easy these days. However, there are some important factors critical not to overlook if you really want your venture to be successful. For a start, you need to ensure unity of your branding when performing domain name lookups. This means making sure that your new web domain name matches both your business name and toll free vanity number as well as your verbal branding. Unfortunately, all too often entrepreneurs and managers overlook this point and only realize their mistake once they have registered their business name, leaving them with the choice of refiling or being stuck with a fragmented and inferior brand. So make sure you check the availability of all three important brand elements when doing your domain name lookup. Other business owners and executives give up when they do a domain name lookup and find that their top choices are already taken or in use. Do not settle for a substandard domain name without going further. You can take advantage of professional search and negotiation services that can track down the owners of your preferred Internet domain names and negotiate on your behalf to get you the best deals. Other factors you should be looking at when doing your domain name lookup and reservation include the length of time your are reserving it for, the history of the domain name, and acquiring multiple variations. Many SEO experts claim that the length of time for which you reserve a domain name can have a big impact on how your website is viewed by search engines and can have a significant effect of your rankings. It is worth taking a quick look at businesses that may have recently used the same name since you do not want to adopt someone else’s bad reputation. Lastly, the more variations you get of your web domain name, the better protected your position will be and the better your marketing will perform. Read More
Five Ways This Year To Maximize Your ROI With Toll Free Numbers by: blog-editor2, January 13, 2011 1. Get A Premium Vanity Number Maximize all of your advertising effectiveness this year by getting a premium vanity number for your business. Toll free numbers can make a direct and dramatic improvement on your response rates and conversion ratios as well as helping to improve retention and limiting charge-backs. 2. Shared Usage For those wanting to harness the power of your industry’s best toll free numbers, taking advantage of shared usage can mean all the benefits and power of a world class business phone number while maximizing your ROI. Shared usage for toll free numbers means a fraction of the expense while competing alongside the top players in your field and enjoying maximum exposure. 3. Testing Acquiring blocks of toll free numbers will enable you to test all of your marketing channels and hone them for maximizing your marketing ROI. Not only is improving your profit margins and getting the most out of your marketing budget great for your own wallet, but it will ensure your business makes it through these tough times, allow you to take advantage of new opportunities, and will help you emerge as a leader when the economy picks up. 4. Streamline Your Operations Take advantage of the best toll free number routing options to streamline your organization and reduce overhead. In the new global economy, trends and business models are changing dramatically. Don’t get left behind. Optimize your call centers, use office space smarter, and tap into the best talent pools through outsourcing. 5. Join An Affiliate Marketing Program Toll free numbers may be one of the best tools you can use for your business in many ways, and they are more in demand than ever. So why not tap into this market and create a profitable new revenue stream by partnering with a toll free service provider through an affiliate program? Read More
Affiliate Marketing Tools by: blog-editor2, January 12, 2011 One of the major differences that quickly distinguishes companies that offer quality affiliate programs and are dedicated to the success of their partners is the affiliate marketing tools they provide. A company that has taken the time to develop affiliate marketing tools demonstrates its belief in its product or service and also says a lot about how much care and dedication it has committed to its own offering. At a minimum, this offering should include affiliate marketing copy that can be used on websites or in newsletters or other promotional materials. Email copy is also essential for quickly and easily enabling affiliate marketing partners to spread the word about the new addition to their product lines to prospect and customer databases. Affiliate marketing tools offered by businesses that are linked in to the latest and most effective online marketing channels should also include items like blog posts and Tweets that not only spread the word among your current and past customer base but can help you attract more traffic to your blog and website and generate more new prospects that may not only acquire your affiliate marketing items but your core services or good as well. If a company isn’t providing up-to-date marketing tools, it may be a red flag that what it wants you to promote isn’t up to date either, or it isn't expending the time and resources it should for staying on top of the market. If you are going to expand your revenue streams, you want to be working with the best in the business since the company's products are a direct reflection on your own brand. Look for a partner that has gone the distance and created banners and image ads as part of its affiliate marketing for you; you should be able instantly to plug into advertising campaigns and begin reeling in revenues right away. Some cutting edge businesses like leading toll free service providers have gone as far as developing sticky widgets and other tools that can add incredible value to your website presence to help you retain web traffic and keep them coming back. Read More
What is a Super Affiliate? by: blog-editor2, January 11, 2011 As the name suggests a "super affiliate" is a high performing affiliate who has a reputation for generating a superior amount of business. While affiliate marketing programs have boomed in the last few years, many companies have also had a rude wake up call. Building an affiliate network can be extremely profitable and add the leverage and volume you need to take your business to new highs; however, as with any other form of marketing, if it is not done right, it can be very disappointing and time consuming. Despite affiliate and partner programs being all about volume, the one major differentiating factor between those that are succeeding and those that have failed is the attention to quality. Anyone can set up an affiliate program overnight and even amass hundreds of affiliates and publishers in an incredibly short period of time. However, if the right system is not in place and the affiliate publishers who are supposed to be out actually promoting the product or service are inexperienced, then you may find you are spending all of your time fielding questions and messing with fraudulent commissions, and in the end, you could make less money than if you just did it all yourself. However, armed with an effective and reputable affiliate marketing network and platform, you will find it is much easier to attract super affiliates who have proven they can produce and need little or no hand holding. Simply give them the tools and let the revenues start rolling in. Commission Junction has emerged as the leader in affiliate marketing platforms, maintaining a reputation for quality and high rolling advertisers and publishers. To be considered at a "super affiliate" level with CJ, which it calls a "CJ Performer," you must have earned at least $10,000 per month for the last three months through its system. That may not sound like a lot, but with an army of super affiliates promoting for you, you can be sure that your affiliate program will be a success. Image Credit: © Andika18 | Dreamstime.com Read More
Definition of Advertising by: blog-editor2, January 10, 2011 “Advertising” is usually confused with marketing, promotions, sales, and public relations. But what exactly is it? Basically, advertising is about bringing a product or service to target market's attention. It is focused on getting customers' attention in order to increase awareness of the brand (or product, service, or idea) in question. Advertising comes in different forms: brochures, television commercials, online ads, signs, direct mails, and even personal contact. To get a better understanding of what is advertising, it may be best to look into the definition of other terms with which it is usually interchanged: Promotion: After gaining brand awareness through advertising, promotion acts as a stimulus for further demand. It involves ongoing advertising, sales, and public relations activities. Marketing: When you think about marketing, keep the 4P’s in mind: product, place, promotions, and price. These are essentially all the aspects involved in marketing. Loosely, marketing involves analyzing customer data and competition. It positions the product in the market through “price” and “place” distribution. Public Relations: Public Relations is all about creating a public image for the company. It usually involves building a relationship with the media to get newspaper mention, magazine recommendations, and television slots. Sales: Cultivating prospective buyers (referred to as leads) is the focus of sales. It conveys the features and benefits of a product and service. The sales plan for one product may be different from another even within the same company. Read More
The Downsides of Branding by: blog-editor2, January 7, 2011 The benefits of branding are well-known, but the disadvantages are often overlooked. Business owners invest a lot of time and effort into the design and marketing of their brands. A strong brand name can easily be remembered. However, cost remains a barrier to branding. A lot of costs are involved in developing and promoting a brand (hiring a designer, printing new business cards/letterheads, etc). Aside from these, intangible downsides exist that you should be aware of, including the following: Impersonal: Many branded businesses struggle to get the “hearts and minds” of their customers. They lose their personal touches because they are now catering to a larger market. In addition, a poorly implemented strategy can lead to a feeling that your business is losing its touch. Fixed Image: Once you think of a branding image, it is important to stick to it. Although advantageous over the short- and even medium-term, this inflexibility may become a hindrance once you want to expand. That’s the reason why global companies develop different brands for different niches. If the brand becomes too big, it may hinder your ability to sell products. For example, a renowned soap brand will find it hard to sell condiments to its present customers. Timescale: It is generally accepted that people need to see a brand at least three times before your message penetrates their consciousnesses. This need is costly and may involve a significant amount of time before it takes effect. Image Credit: © Abdul Qaiyoom | Dreamstime.com Read More
