Word Count:
1020

Summary:
Finding a balanced approach to your advertising dollars is critical for small business owners. This article identifies techniques to assist with that balance.

Keywords:
offline advertising, online advertising, advertising for small business, internetmarketingusa, internet marketing ideas

Article Body:
You now have that website up and running. You have a great product. You are all set to start taking orders and making those trips to the bank to make deposits! And then you wait, and wait, and wait some more! Unless someone can find your site, you will have a very long wait! That is where the value and benefit of advertising comes in. Advertising is what brings potential customers into your “virtual business door”. As a business owner, every dollar you spend is a dollar right out of your pocket. This affects your profit margin and revenues. This can be especially difficult if it comes at a time when you’re trying to grow your business. If you’re going to succeed, you have to pay close attention to your bottom line and look for creative, innovative ways to cut costs while still getting what you need.

That old saying that it “takes money to make money” has never been truer than when it comes to promoting your business. And when it comes to spending money on advertising, how do you make sure that your advertising is working hard enough, without spending a fortune that consumes all your profits or even worse money that far exceeds your business revenues?

Thanks to the Internet, you’ve got lots of options for finding cost-effective advertising that does what it’s supposed to — bring targeted customers who are hungry for what you’re selling, right to your door. But don’t forget about cost-effective offline methods as well. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

Always make sure you focus your advertising dollars on your target market. The tighter your niche, the better your chances of finding the customers who are looking for exactly what you’ve got to sell! So rather than going wide, and trying to sell to everyone, narrow your focus, and then, if possible, narrow it some more! Figure out who your “ideal” customer is, and then create an advertising campaign for them. Once you know who you’re selling to, look for media that targets that demographic. Depending on your product or service, think community and neighborhood newspapers, high school sponsor advertising, chamber of commerce directories, etc.

If your ideal customers aren’t defined by a specific geographic location, look at regional or specific demographic publications. Perhaps a regional paper runs an annual issue that focuses on an issue or activity that reaches your target market. Use local cable television to broadcast your ads only in certain markets. You’ll get cheaper rates and a more focused demographic.

Always ask for a discounted rate. (Many publications offer an “agency” discount of up to 15 percent. If you are acting as your own in-house advertising agency, you might qualify for the special rate. Sure, you might be turned down more often than not, but make it a habit to ask. It will be worth it every time it works for you.

Some monthly magazines offer discounts for multi-ads placed over a 3, 6 or 12 month time period. Most publications have a different rate schedule for different types of advertisers — so depending on your product or service, you could qualify. And if not, sometimes just asking for the discount will give it to you.

Buy leftover space or airtime. This is advertising that the publication, radio or television station hasn’t filled by their usual deadline. Of course you’ll have to take the spots that are available, but again, depending on your business and the product or service you’re selling, that inconvenience could still be worth the discount and the exposure you’ll receive.

Use classified ads. They’re not just for employment offers any more. You’ll find classified ads in magazines and newspapers. Before writing your ad, go to your local library, and look through the back issues of the magazine or newspaper that you’re considering. Look at the ads that catch your eye, or that are repeated month after month. Those ads wouldn’t be in there each month, if they weren’t making the advertiser money. Use those ads as springboards for ideas when you’re ready to start writing your own classifieds.

Test your ads. Start out with the cheaper publications, so you can find out what’s working and what’s not. Play with them, and tweak them. Once you’ve got an ad that works, keep using it. You can run it more than once, or in more than one publication at a time. When it quits bringing in customers, or you start noticing a drop in effectiveness, then it’s time to change it.

Do you own a retail business? If so, check into co-op advertising funds that may be offered by your vendors. Co-op programs provide joint advertising for your and your vendor, and you’ll get a portion of the cost of the ad reimbursed because the ad mentions the vendor. (Note: most Co-op programs have strict guidelines, so check with your vendors and make sure you’re following the rules).

Barter for goods and services. This can be especially effective with radio stations and local papers. See if you can provide your products or services in trade for the cost of advertising. (Also called “trade” or “In-kind” ads, the radio station or publication gives you the ad in exchange for products or services of equal value, and then uses those products or services as part of a promotion or contest for their listeners or readers). This can also be a great way to get additional free publicity, so if you decide to try this method, get creative and think outside the box!

Don’t forget or be afraid to recycle the good ads in other advertising medium. If you’ve got an ad that’s especially effective, looks great (or more importantly that is profitable), by all means reuse it in a circular, brochure, handout, flyer or direct mail piece. Use the graphics on your Webpages if available.

In summary, your goal should be to find a balanced mix of online and offline advertising. This will go a long way towards getting the greatest bang for your advertising buck! With a little creativity you will be maximizing your profits while minimizing your expenses.

The first strategy for success is found in the way you view the advertising campaign’s purpose. A good advertising campaign needs to do three things. First, it needs to collect data on the market. Who is buying. What is hot, and what is not.

Second, it needs to collect vital information about the people who make a purchase from your website. This can be compiled into a profile that helps you determine how to best reach your target market. It is a market research tool that helps determine what types of advertising works, at what times of the year.

Third, it should ‘brand’ your name and logo. A successful advertising campaign will imprint the company name and logo onto people’s subconscious. This increase their ‘decision to buy’ response when they visit the website

For example, online shopping increases dramatically just before Christmas, but only if the payment gateway is fast and easy to use. However, if the user must leave the website to use the payment gateway, like paypal.com uses, then the statistics do not change. However, the payment gateway does not effect sales in the summer.

You’ll notice that no aspect of an advertising campaign is to sell the product ? that is your website’s job. A successful marketing campaign manager never measure’s an advertising campaign’s success based on sales.

Large corporations will tell you that a successful advertising campaign may run for months before the results appear on the income statement.

The advertising campaign should be reviewed often, and compared to new methods, in the hunt for new ‘hot markets.’ However, hot markets burn out very quickly. The whirlwind of change that continuously sweeps through the marketplace is a powerful balancer. It gives small businesses an edge over the elephants that move slow and react to change in months, not weeks.

This is true, but there needs to be balance. Always keep 80% of the marketing budget in the tried and true marketing methods ? even if they do not offer the big rewards. The other 20% of the marketing budget is free for exploration of new advertising mediums. Don’t discount anything. Look at the fortunes made when youtube.com and myspace.com skyrocketed to fame. For a few months, advertisers were raking in millions.

It is also important to keep a finger on the pulse of the population. There is a time to brand your company, and a time to break away from the pack and create a new image for yourself like Calvin Cline did with their underwear commercials.

The important thing to remember is to focus. Calvin Cline didn’t try to sell underwear to all age groups, they focused on a narrow niche. Work at home and small business owners need to learn this lesson ? niche marketing is the secret to making millions.

The potential is expansive. Clever competition and new technology should be seen as marketing tools, not threats. Staying on the cutting edge is all about innovation and creativity. Money is no longer the #1 element to success. Many small businesses are becoming international on small budgets.

Generally speaking, the price of a product or service is directly related to quality. Higher priced goods are better quality, while poorer quality fetches a lower price. Past experience can lead to prejudice, status can determine value, and both can hike costs.

No one should have to settle for second-best because of budget constraints, especially small business owners. Fortunately, there are creative ways to get both great quality and affordable prices. If you have a product to offer, but don’t have a large advertising budget, there are different ways to get the effective advertising you need.

Shared Advertising
Sometimes other businesses are willing to share advertising expenses with you. By sharing your resources, you’ll both target more customers for less money. Don’t worry if the products or services cater to the same market, although naturally the ad will be more effective for both parties if it’s targeting a shared market. As long as both products offer different benefits, and you are not direct competitors, this method can work very well. You should be able to differentiate your product to make it address a particular need. Remember that the sole purpose of this ad is to get exposure for your product. The principle of shared advertising is one of the oldest in the books, perhaps as old as trade itself. The Internet is a great resource of shared advertising. By placing your advertisement on another individual’s or company’s website, and returning the favour, both parties will receive double the exposure and frequency of hits. Again, shared advertising is most effective if it appeals to the same target audience. It goes without saying that an ad for senior’s health products may not get great results if paired with a punk rock clothing store.

Small businesses often encounter big budget blocks when dealing with ad agencies. It’s a catch-22, because you can’t make money until your product has been advertised and sold, but the agency won’t advertise your product until you have the money to pay. There are no guarantees in advertising, because so many variables determine whether or not a product will sell. When your advertising budget is limited, you can register with a joint venture facilitator to be matched to another party with similar needs.

Trade Advertising
Also called “bartering”, trade advertising is exchanging your product for advertising space. Bartering for ads can give small businesses excellent opportunity and value beyond what they could normally get, even with a bigger budget.
Advertising on the radio, cable and your local newspapers or magazines can give a definite perceived value for your product; but by trading your goods or services, you haven’t spent a bit of cash. Many station managers and publishers, especially local media, need products or services that you may be able to provide. It’s a win-win situation.

Even more value can be found in an endorsement agreement. Convincing a radio or television host to endorse your product is the best form of advertisement you can get. You will provide the host with your products or services up to an agreed amount, and he or she will say wonderful things about your company on the air. You can’t put a price on this type of broadcasting power. If you don’t have a formal agreement in place, you can often gain an on-air “thank you” just by dropping off some sample products. For example, if you’re in the restaurant business, drop off some sandwiches or pizzas for free on-air kudos. Some stations or publishers will offer trade at full face value, others will consider a half trade-half cash agreement, and some might not barter at all. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Getting started is the toughest part of owning a business. You need to be able to expose your product or service to as many people for as little cost as possible. Trade and shared advertising are two ways to take advantage of big opportunities for your small business.

Magazines and other print publications have an ad to content ratio to maintain for legal reasons, and sometimes an issue has a blank space just waiting for an interesting press release (content) to match the size of an ad that they want to squeeze in for maximum revenue.

I once developed a free ad campaign for a manufacturing company on a product line that hadn’t changed in 30 years. How do you say something new about a dinosaur? Forget features and focus on the benefits.

Research and create a directory of publishers in your industry, and then contact them for the proper editor responsible for reviewing press releases for your line. Their web site may have what you need, otherwise these editors will tell you what they want, the format, and requirements for accompanying photos. Make a database from your list, and then get ready to send them a press release every month (forever).

Develop a dozen press releases about the benefits of 12 different products with professional quality photos. Divide your database of publishers into 12 groups, and then rotate press releases so all 12 go out to someone every month, and track your system carefully so each editor gets a different release each month for a year.

You can start all over a year later with the same press releases or develop new ones if you are introducing new products. What happens next?

Eventually you will be published. Most send you bingo cards to report interested readers, and then it’s time for followup. My system generated 100+ leads a month, so be prepared with a good followup system and don’t let the bingo cards get stale.

For most small business owners a single employee can handle the mailing and followup once the press releases, quality photos, and phone routine or form letters are ready. With discipline and patience, it will work!

One final note, do not overlook smaller publications. Any printed media remotely associated with what you do is worth the small cost of a monthly press release.