Advertising your online business is one of the biggest challenges that you, as an internet marketer, will face. The big question is always, ?How much money and time is it going to take to run an effective and successful business that will earn a good profit?? Many people will even shy away from internet marketing and business in general knowing that it will probably cost a fortune to advertise. Others will think that because their business is online, rather than the traditional offline, brick-and-mortar business, it won't cost as much to advertise. Here's the first installment of two explaining what it takes to advertise an internet business successfully:
When you have a good business idea and a business plan in place, the first thing to do is tell everyone you know about it. Tell your friends, your family, your relatives, your colleagues, and everyone you can comfortably tell about your business. When you tell one person, think of it as not only telling just one person, since each person will likely tell everyone they know in turn, and the news will spread. If one person is not interested, then maybe someone they know will be interested. Word of mouth can be a very powerful thing, and takes no extra money or time at all!
Next - and a frequently neglected form of advertising in the internet world - is to advertise your business offline. This includes advertising in the classifed business sections of local newspapers, in magazines, with flyers, posters, and business cards. The internet is filled with prospects looking for this and that product or service online, so they see hundreds of ads all mixed together. It can be more effective to have an offline ad that stands out from the rest and grabs people's attention. It costs very little in both money and time to advertise offline. A newspaper ad may be $30.00/month, and you can use your word processor to create flyers and business cards.
A good way to advertise online is by using ezine solo ads. This means paying $30-$200+ to have your advertisement posted by itself in other people's newsletters. Some newsletters have a huge subscriber list, so your ad can potentially reach thousands of people in one shot. A solo ad is more effective because it is the only advertisement that these subscribers will see in a day, so it captures their attention and they may click through to your website products and services. The advantage of ezine solo ads, while the cost may be higher, is that it is very quick and easy, so it can be a huge time-saver!
You may want to try Google Adwords, which can get thousands of targeted visitors to your site in no time when they search for the keywords in your ads that you bid on, and click on your ads which lead to your website products and/or services. It can be expensive, especially if you don't know what you're doing, so you want to make sure you read up on it closely, such as reading Perry Marshall's Definitive Guide to Google Adwords ($49), so that you come up with the high demand, low cost keywords you need to run successful ads without losing your money. Some people swear by this method alone, but be careful!
The most important thing is to keep track of your money! Knowing where your money is being spent, and how effective those expenditures are in generating revenue will often mean the difference between success and failure. At the very least, keep track of your cash flow on a regular basis - cash in, and cash out. No business on the planet can survive without knowing what their financial status is at all times.
Keeping records is a big pain...but not keeping records is an even bigger pain. When tax time rolls around and you need to figure out what kind of profit your business has generated, you will understand this completely. There are software programs available that will assist in record keeping for your business, or you can use spreadsheets to do it manually.
Record every expenditure related to your business. Website subscriptions, hosting services, educational materials, stamps, envelopes, paper, printer cartridges, etc. Keep track of the miles you drive related to your business; it is a tax write-off. Running a legitimate home-based-business will entitle you to deduct a portion of your housing expenses, whether you're an owner or still renting.
Revenue is NOT profit...I see so many ads on the internet and have heard so many sales pitches talking about the money these guys are raking in, complete with screenshots of their accounts to prove they are getting rich. What you don't see in these ads is what it took to get that revenue in the door. For example, if I pay $5,000 for an ad campaign and invest 100 hours of my time, and my sales revenue from that campaign come to $5,100...I just spent 100 hours of my life working for a dollar an hour. You get the picture.
Speaking of profit, the government is going to want some of it. When you get past the break-even point and start generating profits, make sure you tuck a percentage of it away in an interest bearing account so you can pay your taxes when they come due. Too many small businesses have had to shut their doors because they end up scrambling to find the funds to pay their tax bill when the time comes.
Your business revolves around information. Your financial records, business contacts, websites you've bookmarked, etc. Protect it well! Store the information you receive and generate in relation to your business in more than one place. I recommend at the very least that you get an external hard drive and do a weekly backup of the data vital to the running of your business. There are also services available, some free, where you can store critical files. You can also burn the information to a CD and keep it at a friend or relative's house.
Your most important physical asset is your computer. Safeguard against accidental or deliberate damage to that asset by investing in the proper protection. Buy a surge protector for your computer, preferably one with a battery backup built in that will allow you to shut down gracefully in the event of a power outage. One can be purchased for less than $100, and will potentially save you a lot of grief. And get a good anti-virus program! I personally recommend PCcillin by Trend Micro...I've used both of the other, more popular brands and have had my computer infected with viruses that I didn't even know existed.
Manage your time effectively and you will experience much less frustration in the overall management of your business. Schedule a timeslot for every business related task and stick to it as closely as possible...including the administrative tasks discussed here. It may seem like it takes a lot of time away from doing the things that will generate revenue, but in the long run the time you invest now will more than pay for itself.
Both Liane Bate & William Cox are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Liane Bate has sinced written about articles on various topics from Make Money Online, Your Online Business and Marketing. Liane Bate started an internet marketing business within 24 hours of joining the Plugin Profit system! Visit: