It may sound tough, but it really isn't if you just ask yourself a few key questions and then act on the answers as they apply to your business. This is not about your expectations or projections, but about who your optimal customer is and what you can do to bring them to your website



Step one is recognizing who you are marketing to. These questions can help define your optimal customer:

1. Are they male or female?

2. Do they work at home or outside?

3. Are they professional, blue collar, business owner or a stay at home worker?

4. Household income?

5. Can they afford my product/service as a single purchase, occasionally or on a regular basis?

6. Will they purchase my product/service as a gift or for themselves?

7. How much time do they spend online?

8. Where do they shop for these things? Online, in physical stores or both?

Once you know these things, you will have a demographic image of your optimal customer. Now you can go on to the second step, which is choosing where and how to place your ads. There are many possibilities here. A couple of the most popular are site submission and newsletter placement. Whichever you decide to use, make sure the site or newsletter is a good fit for your ad. Look at other ads placed there and make sure competition isn't too fierce and that they complement your ad.

Another really good method is pay per click. Make sure you find a service that allows you control over daily spending. This can be a bit expensive, so be sure to stay inside your budget, which is step three. Tally up how much you can spend on advertising, create a list of good fits and what the cost of each is and cross reference it with your targets for ad placement. Some folks will say budgeting should be done first, but you need to know the costs involved first, so do a little homework here.

Next you want to consider the content of your ad(s). This is where creativity is invaluable. Think about what you are selling and create ?buzz words? that elicit an emotional response in the reader. For instance, if your product is insurance, you are selling security. If the product is weight loss, you are selling higher quality of life. Also, stay away from using me, mine, our, us or I. This is counterproductive and will turn off prospective customers quickly. Make the customer feel like they NEED your product. Lastly, you want to track your ads closely and watch for trends, upswings and downswings. This tells you what is and isn't working. Don't be afraid to tweak your ads constantly to optimize their performance. You need to know this so you can effectively raise sales conversions.

A little planning goes a long way towards your success, so get and stay organized.