Questions #5 in 10 Questions to ask yourself about your advertising campaign
Here we are the mid point of this series on questions that you need to ask yourself about your internet advertising campaign.
If you missed any of the previous posts you can check them out by starting at the beginning.
We’re at question number 5 and this one has the ability to stop people dead in their tracks. Often when I ask this question to my clients the first thing I hear is, “Ummm…”
How much am I going to spend this week on my advertising campaign?
That’s right. We’re talking about spending some money.
Once I get past the “Ummmm…” answer I then begin to tell them that they have control over how much or little to spend on their advertising. The key to begin with when first starting out is not to overspend.
A lot of people will shoot right out of the gate with thousands of dollars in their first month of advertising a site. A lot of advertising can be done quite inexpensively and have great results. Use these methods and work them to full advantage.
I have a form that I use to break down my planning and expenses associated with each. (I’ll be uploading this with the last post in this series for you to download.) The form is very simple but very powerful. I just have a list of the advertising strategies I use and put a projected cost next to it.
Figuring out how much you’re going to spend on your advertising for the coming week can be as detailed as you want it to be, but I like to keep it as simple as I can. Yes, this is apretty important, and pretty hard, thought process, but I don’t want to complicate it either. Money is a hard subject to talk to yourself about. You just don’t want to spend it. Especially on your advertising costs. Although, it does get easier as you see that you’re making a profit. The key to the whole ad budget is to keep the profit margin growing while trying to actually decrease your spending. That’s why you really need to be brutally honest with yourself here.
The previous questions should lead you to this point. You know what goals you want, what’s already worked, and how your plan is going. You take all those factors together and then you sit down to crunch the numbers.
Don’t just plug numbers in
There is a very easy temptation to just plug numbers in. Don’t do it.
Take some time and think about what you’re spending and where. Make a list of where you would like to place your ads (this might take a little research), what keywords to use in PPC campaigns, or any outsourcing you’re going to do. Keep track of it and then formulate your plan.
Don’t skip this question or just breeze through it. It’s too important. This is why I keep it simple. There’s already too much at stake here (like a growing income) to complicate it and begin to dread the process.
