Keep It Basic and Profit More
The question has been asked.
And asked.
And asked.
And.... you get the idea.
I knew it was a problem for many people. I know it's hard to
find concrete information that actually helps. I didn't know
that it was causing problems with roses too.
"How do I start advertising?" "What is the best way to
advertise?" "Can you show me what exactly I need to do to
advertise my website?" No matter how you ask it, the question's
the same. How do you advertise your website for the most
traffic, most profits, and least cost?
Recently I received an email with the strangest subject; "Help
my roses!"
I was intrigued, so I opened it and I'm glad I did. It was from
a woman who has been involved with affiliate marketing for
roughly a year now and, sadly, wasn't any better now than when
she started. As a matter of fact, she was spending so much time
on the computer trying to find affordable, but responsive
advertising, that she had neglected her rose garden.
The poor flowers didn't have a chance against the allure and
pull of advertising for a profit.
Basics Are Powerful
When I answer these questions, the response is always the same,
"Yes, but isn't that just basic stuff?"
It's a funny thing about advertising. New, shiny, glamorous, and
technical can't beat basic. The same techniques that worked one
hundred years ago still work today and should always be the
cornerstone of your advertising.
It's like woodworking. I have a brand new planer that I can put
my pieces of wood into to make it to any thickness that I want.
But, when it comes to shaving a little bit of wood off a corner,
or targeting one specific area on the wood, then my old, basic
hand planer is the tool that works best.
Target, Target, Target
When I asked the woman with the neglected roses what she was
doing for advertising, her answer was the same as everyone
else's. "I take the ads that the affiliate program supplied me
with and I buy ezine ad space."
I still cringe when I hear someone say that. It's really no
wonder that so many people fail at successfully advertising
their affiliate sites.
There are a few problems with taking the supplied ads and buying
ad space;
Those ads are guides to get you started, not something to rely
on forever.
If you're using those ads, then everyone else is also.
You can't seperate yourself as an "expert" if you're doing the
same as everyone else.
The market is already saturated with those supplied ads and
people are "turned off" from them.
Just buying ad space is not putting your ad where it needs to be.
Do you really want to succeed at affiliate marketing? Then throw
those supplied ads away and narrow your ezine search to those
whose readership (their subscribers) are a perfect target for
the product you're selling.
That's the secret. That's the magic formula. There is nothing
glamorous or technical about it. It's the same technique that
has been in use since the dawn of man.
The Right Tools
It's been my experience with affiliate programs that the tools
that have been supplied always worked real well for the initial
traffic... and maybe some sales.
But, after that initial burst, they just didn't work anymore. I
had to come up with my own. After a lot of research and trial
and error I realized that three very basic advertising tools
worked best.
--- classified ads
"What is the best software to blast my classified ads out
with?", the woman with the roses asked me. "None of them", was
my reply.
Classified ads, ezine ads, small text ads... whatever you want
to call them have an important and distinct place in your
advertising. But, not with some software that "blasts" it out to
thousands of so called classified sites.
These are your work horses. This is where you start to lay the
foundation of your online business. These little gems of
traffic, when submitted to the right places can produce
tremendous amounts of first time visitors. This is what you
want.
Create an ad that is creative, provocative, stimulating then
manually find ezines and websites where you can submit them. I
recommend contacting at least five to ten different publishers
and site owners a day to secure positions. And not just any
ezines or sites. Only those that target the same audience that
you need to buy your product.
--- solo ads
Here is where the framework of your online business is built.
You've got a nice foundation of first time visitors coming to
your site, but now it's time to build the frame.
Those first time visitors are probably going to leave. It's hard
to imagine, but that's what happens. They saw your site, saw the
products, maybe signed up for your opt-in list (you have one
right?), but they will leave.
Solo ads are the brick to the head that triggers their memory,
gives them more information, instills emotional desire, and
transports them to your site ready to do a little more than sign
up for your list. They will want to spend money.
I like to think of these ads as not really ads at all. Kind of
in between a classified ad and an article. A classified ad's
sole purpose is to sell the reader into visiting your site.
Fast, and maybe a little hyped copy, hits the reader and before
they have time to think... they're at your site.
A solo ad follows that up with an assault on their emotions.
The best way to use these is to place them in the exact same
ezines that the classifieds ran in. And if you can, have the
website owner dedicate a complete page, on their site, to your
solo ad. And, you can always send it to the ones that already
signed up for your list.
The two types of ads must work together. They are not seperate,
but have the same goal. Targeted traffic.
Note: for more information on solo ads check out my ebook
--- articles
Here is where we actually build your business. Classifieds are
the foundation, solo ads are the framework, articles are the
completed building.
Articles that deal with your topic, and are read by a targeted
audience, can build your business faster than anything else.
This is where you ultimately seperate yourself from other
affiliates or competitors.
Establish yourself as the expert. Why spend so much time using
tools and materials from other people, giving them the "expert"
status, while you spend all your time advertising their product?
Write your own article. Submit it to ezines, and websites, that
deal with the topic. Cash in.
It really does work that way.
Nothing, not even a free ebook, can build a tremendous amount of
consistent traffic like an army of articles circulating around
the Internet.
The secret of course to articles is to be dedicated to it.
Release at least one a week and more if you can. This way you;
keep publishers supplied with fresh material
establish yourself as a resident expert
create an environment where people actually want to buy from you
lay the groundwork for your own products Caution!
Just like ads, a super duper, shiny new software program that
automatically submits your article to hundreds of different
ezines and directories will do nothing for you. I'm a firm
believer in doing it yourself. And this really applies to
articles.
Do you really want your article sent to an ezine that deals with
home repair if you article is one on fishing? I don't either.
Search. Search. And search some more.
What Happened To The Roses?
It gives me great pleasure to report that after taking my advice
and following this simple three step advertising plan, my
distraught client now has beautiful, healthy roses. Why?
Because, instead of spending all her time wondering why her
advertising isn't working, she knows exactly what to do and can
enjoy her work. Thus, giving her roses the attention they need.
You don't need to worry about advertising if you have the tools
you need. Automatic submitters and ads supplied by affiliate
programs will hurt your business instead of helping it.
Develop these three basic tools and you'll have an unstoppable
advertising campaign that will always work.