I kind of knew it was coming.

Last week I announced that I was going to be doing a special series of articles for the subscribers of my email newsletter – Marketing Success and Profit. I am still going to be doing this special series of newsletter issues, but just a few days late.

I’ve been fighting a flu and serious migraine headaches since the weekend and just can not seem to get over them. Until today, I thought I was going to have to finally just chop my head off and be done with it. However, it looks like I am starting to feel better (at least I can look at the computer screen without squinting) and back to a normal schedule. At least I hope.

Anyway, what this means is the 10 Daily Steps To More Web Traffic will be starting on Monday of next week. But, this is also a blessing. I have decided to add a few more components to this special series. Things like;

- special downloadable pdf with the entire series in it. (this will cost $47 after series is over for non-subscribers)
- special audio that will only be for subscribers only.
- special discounts on services to take advantage of the daily steps.

If you want to get in on this special series that I will be starting on Monday, then go to the sign up page and get in on the journey.

Duct tape. I can’t think of any other indispensable item. Well, maybe my Blackberry, but that still can not do what duct tape can do. In the world of internet marketing and advertising we do not usually think about duct tape. But, there are times when you might have to make some slight repairs – or even major repairs – to your advertising in order to make some mid-course corrections.

This is quite common in first time advertising campaigns. Sometimes you have either centered on the wrong keyword phrase, the wrong angle, the wrong audience, or the landing page just is not producing very well for you. There are several reasons why an internet marketing campaign is not working. Sometimes it takes a complete overhaul. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of duct tape.

Fixing Your Online Marketing With Duct Tape

I was talking with a new client yesterday about their current advertising campaign. I like to get a feel for what they have done, what they are doing, and what they would like to see before I start making any plans. Sometimes I only need to add a little content. There are other times when I need to sit them down and plainly let them know their advertising sucks. Thankfully, I did not have to do that this time. All this person really needed was a little duct tape. Some holes in their advertising had to be plugged up and a few changes here and there.

However, it wasn’t until I noticed this post at Gizmodo about a plane that was fixed by duct tape after a bear mauled it that I began to put it into an internet marketing aspect.

My first reaction was the same as the author of the post. I just did not believe it. But, it is just too far out there to not be true.

Not only was the plane repaired with several rolls of duct tape, but it was flown back to safety. In the realm of stories, this is one that I really wish I could have been a part of and could tell to everyone every chance I got. Just for the fact that fixing a plane with duct tape beats out anything else ever made with duct tape. Ever.

Then my mind turned to internet marketing. What a great analogy for the little fixes that are needed with a failing online marketing campaign.

Little Fixes – Big Results

This is the plane before it was duct tape-ified. Before the problems were fixed. Your online marketing campaign might not be as badly damaged as this one, but the results are the same. It just will not fly.

Internet marketing, especially affiliate and network marketing, is a pretty fickle monster. There are times when anything will work. It does not matter what you have for copy on your landing page, the webpage visitors will sign up for your mailing list, and buy the products. There are other times, when a small trickle will do what you want them to. Then, there are times when it is as if a bear has mauled your plane.

In every case, though, it just might be that a small fix – a duct tape fix – can drastically improve your response rates. A small change to a word in the heading of your landing page can capture the emotions causing higher results. A different picture can give the same response through visual means. Adding a video can make your page personal.

But, what about the actual advertising campaign itself?

Instead of fixing the webpages, you might have to change some of the actual advertising materials. You might need to focus on a new audience for your content. A slight change in the focus of your articles can make a big difference in getting click throughs. Your email ads might need to be sent to a smaller niche. Or, you could add something like a multi part email course, or social networking avenue.

The point is this…

If you find that you are not getting the response that you would like to see in your advertising campaign, look at using some duct tape.

New Year’s Resolutions are a dime a dozen during the change from the old year to the new one. Of course, they are usually the same old ones. Lose weight, quit smoking, be more giving, be a better spouse, and on and on. One of the things that most resolutions have in common is that they are ill fated to last.

Why?

Mostly because there is no real commitment to it. It is just something that is made up on the spur of the moment to make sure you have done the “resolution” thing. Coming into 2010 I did not make any New Year’s Resolutions. Rather, I made New Year’s Commitments. These commitments are birthed out of desire and necessity. Instead of going into a long ramble about what I am doing, I thought I would put down the main points of the ten most important new year’s commitments that every internet marketer should make.

Internet Marketing Commitments For A New Year

1. Define your goal! Whatever you do, do not head into this new year without a sound, detailed goal on paper. Be as specific as you can be and plan out your entire year. This is not a list of things you would like to accomplish – more, it is a list of what you will accomplish. Many people think it is good enough to put down a wish list. What they would like to do, if they could. I believe there is much more power when you write a list of the things you will accomplish. Sure, it is still a wish list, but you have a different mindset about it.

2. Make A Schedule! Every successful internet marketer has a set schedule that they adhere to very rigidly. There will be times when you will have some distractions – this happens at any work site – but, you must have a schedule of when you work, what you plan to accomplish, what you do on specific days, and even when you will participate in social media and networking.

3. Make Social Media A Priority! Following on the heels of the last point, social media, and social networking, is the way that marketing it moving to at a very rapid pace. If you are already involved with social media marketing, that is great! But, you will have to step it up in order to keep your brand, your website, your services, your product, you yourself in front of the millions of eyes that are out there. The real important part is not to be just involved with Twitter or Facebook, but to expand your horizons with YouTube, and becoming very active specific niche sites.

4. Do Something New! One of the worse things you can do with your online business is always do the same old thing. Believe me, I know. The first few years of my business I didn’t want to try new technology, or new ways of doing things. I wanted to stay with what was comfortable. Today, it is much different. I make it a point, every day, to learn a little bit about something new. To catapult your business much farther than ever before begin doing something new. Make videos, do a podcast, go to seminars, set up your own webinar, it does not matter what you do, just do something new.

5. Create New Content Each Week! Content is still what is going to win the day as far as organic search traffic, viral exposure, and winning the hearts and minds of the people of the Internets. Every week should have some time set aside for creating new content. This content does not have to always be in the form of written. It can be videos, audio, email series, ebook, or anything else that people can grab, use, and give to someone else (or let them know about).

6. Focus On SEO! While you are out doing your socializing with social networking, you must also give SEO (Search Engine Optimization) a major part of your attention. Learn about what makes the search engines love your site and work at it until you get higher and higher rankings.

7. Start A Newsletter! We have all heard that many people think that email is a waste of time. However, many big name marketers are starting to run a separate email newsletter besides their RSS feed. By integrating a newsletter into your marketing efforts you have another platform from which to give out your content. It is not just an advertising medium. It is a content medium. Start and build an email newsletter for a much larger Internet footprint.

8. Focus In On Mobile! This is a two part commitment. We can not deny the fact that the world is going mobile. Mobile phones are no longer just for making phone calls. Accessing the web, answering emails, sending pictures, and making videos are all done with mobile phones. If you want to stay competitive you need to be available anywhere, anytime. Focus on how to move your business towards being more mobile in this new year.

The other part of focusing on mobile is to make your website more mobile friendly. This is one of the things I am working on for my websites now. You can either add a plug in for your Wordpress site, Wordpress Mobile Edition is a fairly decent plug in, or you can have it built into a downloadable application. The plug in would be much easier.

9. Commit To Building A Business Instead Of A Quick Buck! The one thing that I have seen the most is that most of the people who are getting involved with internet marketing today are looking for a quick dollar. They join one MLM after another in search of the one BIG opportunity that will earn thousands of dollars each week. However, always looking for the ONE BIG THING will not work in the long run. Building a business – a brand – will. Commit to this year of building your authority, your brand, and a long time online business.

10. Have Fun! Least, but certainly not in importance, is to have fun with your online business. Uptight internet marketers who walk around with a scowl on their face, stressing out about their business, and just not being very friendly to anyone are just not fun to be around. Look at your internet marketing like a journey, or an adventure. I look at my online business as an Indiana Jones movie. I never know what will happen next, what treasure will be uncovered, or who I will meet. I have a lot of fun. Probably more than I should. Make it a commitment this year to have fun with your internet marketing adventure!

Internet marketing is more than just throwing up a few banner ads and buying some PPC ads. Much more. Commit to these ten things and you will a drastic improvement in all areas of your online business.

And remember… have fun!

The biggest reason people go to the ‘net is for information. This information is in the form of articles, or web page content, that populates websites. Gaining a piece of that traffic is the number priority of any online marketing business. Article writing, then, is a huge part of what you do as an internet marketer.

Here is a quick little presentation video that explains quite well the reasons why you want to use these articles and how to write them.

Article Writing Tips

Here’s a quick list of 60 online advertising tricks I’ve learned over the last 13 years of online marketing and setting up marketing campaigns. There is no particular order, just some of the do’s and don’ts I’ve come across along the way.

Do….

1. Be persistent in continuing to learn advertising and marketing.

2. Find a proven marketing coach to help you.

3. Learn, and practice simple copywriting as soon as you can.

4. Be familiar with different advertising tactics.

5. Use articles for website promotion.

6. Write and submit a consistent 3 to 5 articles a week.

7. Be an expert author at EzineArticles.com.

8. Submit articles to individual ezine publishers.

9. Get started with social media marketing.

10. Start a blog dealing with your niche.

11. Be a consistent participant in forums.

12. Comment, comment, comment on other blogs in your niche.

13. Provide quality content through weekly ezine or newsletter.

14. Send traffic to landing pages for capturing email and preselling visitors.

15. Be active on Twitter

16. Learn solid pay per click strategies.

17. Spend time optimizing webpages for higher search engine rankings.

18. Use an email signature in all your emails.

19. Seek out relevant sites and ask to exchange links.

20. Spread some ‘link love’ in your own articles and blog posts.

21. Give away a lot of free information in reports, ebooks, and email courses.

22. Keep landing pages up to date with relevant information and web copy.

23. Always test new copy, landing pages, headlines, and ads.

24. Participate in webinars, internet radio shows, and teleconferences.

25. Hold contests to increase web traffic.

26. Focus your advertising on one single action.

27. Go Viral in your advertising.

28. Have a plan and work diligently on it.

29. Use email ads in relevant ezines for targeted marketing.

30. Think of how you want to be thought of (brand) and build your online presence from there.

31. Experiment with buying targeted ad space on relevant websites.

32. List your website with all major search engines and directories.

33. Work hard in creating effective, stirring, and “pullable” headlines and titles.

34. Keep a ’swipe file’ of other advertising to learn from.

35. Create a social media landing page.

36. Do budget your advertising dollars to spread out over several areas.

37. Write guest posts on other blogs.

38. Form partnerships with other people within your niche.

39. Use social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon and Digg for further exposure of your site.

40. Have a multi-pronged attack in your advertising.

41. Use coupons and time limits as incentives.

42. Write and submit press releases on newsworthy events in your business, or affiliate company.

43. Use offline advertising methods (business cards, newspaper ads, etc.) to promote your website.

The Do Nots

44. Get discouraged if you don’t see overnight millions.

45. Write over-hyped sales copy for landing pages.

46. Get started with PPC advertising without really studying it first.

47. Just post your own links on Twitter.

48. Only participate in forums when you want to advertise your website.

49. Only publish your newsletter when you want to sell something.

50. Use pre-written, company supplied landing pages and ads.

51. Comment on blogs with “Great blog!” and leave it at that.

52. Spam publishers and site owners with your content on a daily basis.

53. Focus only on selling a product.

54. Limit yourself to just one advertising method.

55. Waste your money with safelists and paid “guaranteed” traffic sites.

56. Jump into social media marketing without a plan.

57. Use only free blog hosting for your blog.

58. Spam your ezine subscribers with daily issues or ads.

59. Try to do everything yourself.

60. Present an answer to your target audience’s problems.

The Biggest Marketing Do Of Them All

You can really get lost in the do’s and don’ts of advertising website and kind of lose the fun of it. (Yes, advertising and marketing is fun!)

You can also get so wrapped up in what you should and should not do that you kind of get frozen and don’t know where to go. But, I think I can lessen the anxiety a little bit with the number one marketing “do”.

Just do it.

You simply won’t achieve any type of traffic to your website if you don’t do something. Get started slowly and begin to build as you learn, work with someone, and see some results. But… you must do it!

What about you?

Do you have any tips for the “do” and “don’t” list? I’d love to hear them. Why not jotting it down in the comment section?

Recently I wrote a quick post about what I believe internet marketing is. In that post I did a two things. First, I defined internet marketing as…

Internet advertising is being a loud voice to your market where you solve their problems with your products or services and build continuous, long lasting, and mutual relationships.

The next thing I did was lay out a quick formula that I think simplifies, and brings that definition, down to its most basic form.

Internet Marketing Formula = P + R = T

In that formula is the basic ingredients for your success with internet marketing. Doesn’t really matter if you’re into network marketing, affiliate marketing, adsense marketing, or marketing your own product or service. If you’re doing it online (or offline really) then these three variables are the main ingredients for your success formula.

But, what does it mean and how can you use it in your own marketing strategy? Just like any other type of algebraic equation, you plug in the numbers you know and solve for the one you don’t.

P = Problems

Or you could also substitute the words ‘need’ or ‘want’ here too. However you phrase it we’re talking about the things, solutions, services, goods, and/or information that people need or want. This is your contribution to their life.

You find out what people need, what they are struggling with, what they are buying now and you offer it. When I first started with copywriting and providing advertising services it was because of two things. First, I knew I wanted to help people. Second, I saw an overwhelming need for a real, personal, low-cost, and creative advertising service. I saw the problem and provided a solution.

Most advertising campaigns are built on trying to get the most traffic to a website so you can monetize that traffic in some way. When you build your advertising around a problem, or a want, or need, that traffic is already pre-sold into buying. Much more effective.

R = Relationship

Think of your favorite places to shop. Think about the people you buy things from. What makes that place, that person, so special?

It’s the relationship you have with them.

I’ve been teaching my clients this for a long time. This is something that I think a lot of affiliate marketers miss out on when they try to go for the quick buck. Long lasting relationships are a very powerful, and beneficial, tool in online marketing. Really for any type of marketing, online or off.

The recent boom in social media and the emphasis on building relationships people are finally realizing this for the first time.

When you think about it, building relationships with the people who visit your site is really one of the most important things you can do. Everything you use should be geared towards creating a foundation for future repeat business and referrals. Social media enables you to put more personality and build those relationships.

If you’re wondering how to build those relationships, here’s just a few different ways:

1. Weekly email newsletter
2. Videos
3. Blog posting and commenting
4. Connecting on Facebook and Twitter
5. Joint Venture partnerships

When you take the time to cultivate these relationships you are in effect stretching your advertising dollars. People want to do business with people they know, like, and respect. They will also refer that person to others.

A lot of my business comes from repeat clients and the people they refer. Relationships is a very powerful variable in the Internet Marketing Formula

T = Traffic

The end result of working with the first two variables is traffic. Every person online wants their share of the billions of people who actively surf the internet. This is the answer to our equation.

When you add both the problems (needs, wants) and the relationships you have built and are building the outcome is traffic.

You can’t have one and leave out the other. The formula isn’t P = T, or R = T. They are not equal or compatible.

P + R = T is the equation to have cemented into your mind as you begin planning, evolving, or implementing your advertising campaign.

Sample Internet Marketing Formula In Action

To get a perspective on what a marketing plan would look like using the P + R = T formula here’s a mock example.

Joe has started a new website focusing on movies. He wants to get traffic that will do a few things while at his site.

1. Sign up for the RSS feed.
2. Interact with comments.
3. Click on product links from Amazon.
4. Click on other related ads.

So, let’s work the formula.

Problem, Want, or Need

Joe sees an opportunity to provide real movie reviews, news from someone who really loves movies to an audience that isn’t as internet savvy and more wholesome. He sees that bigger movie sites are geared more towards a younger crowd.

Joe builds a site with this problem in mind and writes articles and posts directed at this type of audience. He is putting his personality into the posts in an effort to be real, and hopefully people will trust when looking for real movie news and reviews.

Relationship

Joe is thinking this site needs to be more like a family instead of random traffic from search engines. So, he is building relationships on StumbleUpon, Digg, Twitter, Facebook and in movie forums. He is also setting up a weekly email newsletter with special information on movies, dvd releases, and other information.

Another major component to his relationship building is going to be found in the comments on his blog and the comments he leaves on other blogs. He interacts with the people who leave comments on his blog so that they will want to come back. And by commenting on other blogs he is extending his reach to a bigger audience and engaging in the conversation going on there.

One more relationship builder that Joe is going to use is writing articles for article directories. These articles are going to be different from movie reviews and be like ‘10 Best Family Movies’, or ‘What Movies Should You Watch This Summer’. This will provide a jumping off point for people to get to know Joe. The perfect relationship builder.

Traffic

By concentrating on the problem (real, relevant movie reviews from someone who truly loves movies) and the relationships (through interaction and information) his traffic will begin to build over time and actually multiply at a good rate.

P + R = T

The Internet Marketing Formula isn’t some kind of gimmick or get rich quick scheme. It is a process by which you can “plug in the numbers” to help you create an effective internet marketing strategy.

I often tell my kids when they get stuck on an Algebra or Geometry question to do just that. I tell them to remember the formula they had learned to solve the problem and “plug in the numbers”. That’s what I’m telling you now. Use this formula and “plug in the numbers.”

Over the years I have been able to put together quite a list of places I have used to help advertise websites. Some of them have been pretty good, some just plain bombed. Some of them I have had to take off because of the changes in online marketing and advertising they just don’t work anymore. Some are timeless and will work anywhere, anytime.

So, without further ado…

25 Advertising Strategies For Traffic, Authenticity, and Sales!

Top Ten

1. Article Marketing – This is the way to market anything on the internet.

2. Become active in social networking – The way of advertising on the internet is changing and the quicker we adapt, the better it is. Social networking is very powerful in terms of creating buzz, elevating your authority, and driving traffic.

3. Optimize your webpages – Google, MSN, and Yahoo still reign supreme in the traffic department. Make sure your pages are optimized for higher rankings.

4. Build a list – Today the emphasis is on RSS syndication, but a list is a list is a list. Build one.

5. Start a blog – You need a place where people can get to know you, read your content, and feel comfortable with you.

6. Leave comments on other blogs within your niche – Not a quick “Nice post”. Leave an actual comment on the post about what you liked, how it helped, other relevant resources, or even what you don’t agree with.

7. Join social networking groups – Websites, such as Facebook have a place where you can create groups that deal with a certain topic. Of course, if you don’t want to create one, you can join one. A great place to answer questions, join discussions, and even do a little self promotion.

8. Get started with Google Adwords – Pay Per Click advertising is a great way to advertise if you do it right. Make sure you spend some time learning how before you jump into it.

9. Start making viral videos – The video explosion is something that marketers should be taking advantage of more.

10. Join forums dealing with your niche – Not only is this a great way to learn, but it’s a great way to connect with others and promote your authority on a topic.

The other 15

11. Submit your blog to blog – Two of the best places to submit your blog are MyBlogLog.com and BlogCatalog. There you list your blog, or blogs, and find others within the same topic. It’s kind of like a social network for blogs.

12. Give great content to your newsletter subscribers – It’s one thing to build a list, but you need to keep your subscribers. Provide great content and you will.

13. Exchange links with other site owners. – When you come across a website similar to yours go ahead and email the owner to see if a possible link exchange could happen between your two sites.

14. Have fun with BTR radio – BlogTalkRadio is a way to have your own radio show right over the internet. It’s also very social. You can either have your own show, participate in ongoing shows, or both.

15. Pay for advertising space on other websites that cover the same topic as your website. Of course, there is a cost involved here, but if you have the combination of right site, with right graphic and text, you’ll see some great returns.

16. Buy advertising in ezines. – Often referred to as solo ads, you can do pretty well with these types of ads. You do have to be careful because of all the spam, but as in advertising on websites, the right combination can bring great returns.

17. Give away free information – Sometimes all it takes is a notice that you’re giving away a free report, or ebook, and you’ll have a landslide of traffic. Put together a content rich package and your authority is multiplied exponentially.

18. Join with other marketers – Combine your product with another marketer’s product for a double-whammy joint venture and you get double the exposure.

19. Create content on Squidoo or Hub Pages – A great way to both advertise and drive traffic, and build revenue is to create content on sites such as Squidoo or HubPages.com. People can join your fan base and read your articles when new ones are completed.

20. Don’t neglect an email signature – A great way to advertise your site is to include a short signature that is on all your emails. It can contain your company, url, phone number, and any social networking url’s.

21. Write a press release for major announcements – Just because you are an affiliate for another company doesn’t mean you can’t write a press release concerning some development in a product or the company. Then submit the release to PRWeb.com

22. Have a contest. – People love to win stuff. Set up a contest for your email subscribers, RSS subscribers, commenters, web visitors, whoever you can think of.

23. Write a guest post for other blogs – Blog, or website owners, do like to take time off. But, they need to keep the content flowing. They do that with guest posts. Check out a few blogs, interact on them, and then write a post and see if they could use it.

24. Upload your content to Scribd.com – Great way for content providers (reports, videos, articles, ebooks, online magazines, etc.) to get that content out is by uploading it to Scribd.com.

25. Get on Digg and StumbleUpon – Social bookmarking websites provide great exposure for your website, blog, and content. When you are dugg or stumbled, other people associated with the person who initially bookmarked it will also see your content. Then it begins to grow from there.

25 Ways To Advertise Your Site. Can You Add To It?

Here’s your chance to try out on of these traffic generators now and list some of the ways you’ve been successful with driving traffic to your site, building your authority, and making sales. List them in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you’re doing!

I was on the phone today with a potential new client and after some “get to know you” type conversation he asked me a question that kind of stumped me. Not because I didn’t know the answer, I just wasn’t expecting it.

“What is internet advertising?”

I just took it for granted that the person who was going to hire me to work on his advertising campaign knew what internet advertising was and what it was all about. Silly me.

After explaining what it is that internet advertising is, and more importantly, what it is to me, we began to talk about goals, focus, costs, and putting a plan together. But, the question still rattled around in my mind. “What is internet advertising?”

Internet Advertising Defined

Success in internet marketing begins with what you believe that internet advertising is. Sometimes where you start isn’t always where you should start.

While I was explaining this internet advertising thing, I kept coming back to one thing over and over.

Internet advertising is being a loud voice to your market where you solve their problems with your products or services and build continuous, long lasting, and mutual relationships.

Take a minute to think about that for a second. I have been.

I’ve been thinking about it and the more I think about it the more I like it. In fact, let me rephrase that. I love it.

It think this is exactly what internet advertising, or any type of advertising, is.

Online Marketing Equation P + R = T

The ultimate goal to advertising a website online is traffic. That’s the T. Traffic is your income source. Without it, you’re not really accomplishing anything. But, the starting point for so many people when it comes to defining internet advertising is just the traffic. When really… that’s the ending.

You need to be a loud voice amidst the other clamoring voices to offer solutions to problems and to build relationships. So, it takes problems (P) plus relationships (R) to bring in the traffic.

What do you think?

I’ll be broadening out this definition in the days to come as I think about this some more. But, I was also wondering what you thought.

What do you think internet advertising is?

Think about it and drop your thoughts into the comments below. I’d love to hear them and hopefully begin to put together a grand definition as to what internet advertising is… in it’s simplest form.

Effective website advertising, when done correctly, is a thing of beauty. In fact, it is almost like watching a perfectly choreographed play in sports that is run to perfection and wins the game. Flawless. Perfect. Without any glitches or mistakes.

In online advertising there are several factors that you must keep in mind and focus on to ensure the perfect advertising campaign.

And before you begin asking if you can possibly have the perfect advertising campaign , let me tell you upfront; It can happen. It has several times for people who have launched a brand new product and have seen hundreds of thousands, and even millions, of dollars in profits in one day.

Effective advertising is a culmination of several factors all working together. Some at precise times and others on a continuing basis. Now, to make this process a little bit "user friendly" and not to overwhelming here are ten of my best tips for an effective advertising campaign for your website.

1. Have a concrete, but flexible advertising plan. Effective advertising is not a mistake. It is something that is cultivated, thought about, planned for, and even foreseen. You should be able to see where you are going (what you want from your efforts) before you even get there. So many people throw up random ads here and there, buy ad space in various newsletters, do some link exchanges, write a few hap-hazard articles, and even do a hit or miss PPC campaign.

Failure to create a concrete plan will result in spotty, if any, results. However, you must also keep in mind that the plan should also be flexible enough to make slight changes here and there when you see something is, or isn’t, working.

The best way to create a plan for your online advertising is to just do it. You could follow a certain advertising how-to in creating your plan , but it isn’t going to do you any good unless you sit down and do it.

I always begin creating plans with a blank piece of paper . The power of a blank piece of paper is unlimited. In that piece of paper there are no restrictions, no boundaries, no preconceived misconceptions. Your opportunities are limitless.

Want to begin your effective advertising plan off on the right foot? Sit down and create a plan.

2. Have a multi-pronged advertising attack. A lot of times when people begin to think about advertising they do one of two things. First, they get so overwhelmed by the many ways of advertising that they freeze and don’t do anything at all. Or, two, they close their eyes, pick one of the methods, and throw something at it. As you can probably guess, neither one of these approaches does much to the overall effectiveness of your ad campaign.

An effective ad campaign incorporates several different advertising methods, and materials, so that a maximum number of people will have contact with your link. Fortunately, that is so much easier now with social media marketing. An ad campaign that uses email ads, articles, blog posts, blog comments, forum postings, twitter tweets, facebook notes, and several profiles on other social networking sites is like having a huge bat signal flashing everyone to your website.

3. Create conversational style advertising materials vs. hard sell. One of the things I’ve been telling my clients for years to do is to write conversational style ad materials. For example, let’s say you want to send an email notice to your list or a list you bought ad space in. Instead of writing this over the top, super-hyped hard sales letter your marketing materials should engage the reader in a conversation.

Response rates increase sharply when your advertising is conversational. The reason that social networking is so powerful is because of the conversation. How do you engage in a conversation in a one dimensional ad?

Simple. Create it like you’re sitting across the table from the person reading it. Write it like you would a letter. Leave room for the person to answer questions in their mind, respond to statements out loud, and be led to click on your link.

4. Always keep a main point in focus. A focus is the end result you want to happen because of the advertising. Throughout your advertising campaign there should be one central theme or focus. Keep in mind your focus must be consistent through the entire campaign. Your emails, newsletter issues, landing pages, ppc ads, ads on blogs, comments, social networking should have the same focus. The end result you want to come through should be the same. New RSS subscriber, new email subscriber, buy a low priced report, join free membership portal… whatever your focus is, keep it consistent.

5. Have at least three different sets of advertising materials with different goals. As an athletic coach I always go into a game with a few different game plans just in case our original plan doesn’t really work for our team. In basketball, for example, I usually have the team drill hard on four to five plays we can use during the game. To me, advertising is much like playing sports. And having several different “plays” that you can run is key to an effective ad campaign.

With several concise, and focused, advertising “sets” (this is just a way to say that each on is distinct and should be regarded as separate) you are able to do a few things.

Have three different goals each corresponding to a completely different landing area on your website.

Create new opportunities to connect with people depending on your focus.

Test to see which “set” is more effective and put more energy there.

Find out why some “sets” aren’t working and make changes.

6. Become friends with others in your niche. Effective advertising has always been through word of mouth and alliances with other people doing the same thing. For instance, a hunting guide I know that shows his clients where the best hunting grounds are so they can go home with their trophy buck told me a few years ago that at least half of his new clients come from referrals by other guides.

Internet marketers often feel that everyone else is their competition and should stay away from them all, or in extreme cases, talk bad about them. When just the opposite is true. You should create friendships, alliances, joint ventures, mutual advertising, or anything else you can think of with others within your own niche.

Selling ebooks? Great! Create a friendship with someone else who sells ebooks much like yours (Facebook and Twitter are great for this) and refer traffic to them. In turn, they do the same for you. This will, and can, work for anything you’re selling online.

7. Concentrate on social media marketing. Advertising on the internet is constantly changing and social media wouldn’t have been on the radar of advertisers five years ago. Or even two for that matter. But, today’s age of relationship building and emphasis on transparency and authenticity, social media marketing has become one of the most effective traffic sources.

Starting out slowly with the most popular, and easiest, social websites like Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon can get you started with networking, relationship building, and a great source of traffic.

8. Learn the fine points of blogging and article marketing. Effective marketing on the internet means information. The easiest form of information is the written form. No specialized software needed. I do realize that to say that writing is easy would not be accepted by those who find it a struggle. But, if you take time to learn about blogging and article marketing, then it does become easier.

Writing for the web is the way that you become known. It is the way that people get to know you, see what you are about, find out what you know, and then be drawn into your website. Articles are a very powerful way to do that. If you did nothing else, but write articles and blog a few times a week, you would begin seeing large amounts of traffic and long term, repeat customers.

9. Add new advertising “avenues” each week. This is where a lot of people begin to lose steam a little in their advertising. It is easy to see how this can happen, but you must keep moving ahead rather than staying static. Here’s what I’m talking about.

A lot of times people will just pick a few different ways to advertise and stay with them forever. They don’t venture out and try anything new. More than that, sometimes people will find a forum, some blogs, a social network and do the same thing… stay there instead of actively looking for new places. Effective advertising means that you never stop looking for new places to be active in. New forums to participate in, blogs to comment on, social networks to socialize on should always be found.

I try to find new places on a weekly basis and begin working with them. This helps me not only be a part of different conversations, but also spread out who I am and what I do.

10. Get away from it. Effective advertising means a fresh outlook. This fresh outlook energizes you to continue advertising and not get burned out or turn it into a despised activity. Getting away from the computer, your business, any type of marketing at all will only give you a greater desire to accomplish more when you return. One day away is not going to kill you. Some might disagree and think you need to be advertising 24 hours a day. While that might be productive it is counterproductive to your effectiveness.

Just get away from it every once in awhile. Take a day off. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Enjoy your family. When you get back to work the next day you’ll accomplish more and enjoy it more.

Quick…

What is the most important part of your overall advertising campaign? Huh, huh??

If you want a better return on your advertising dollars then the answer to that question would be return visitors. Period.

Unfortunately, that concept is pretty underestimated. It seems, especially in the realm of network marketing and affiliate marketing, that the emphasis is on the quick sign up or the instant sale. I have several people contact me each week to write an email ad or two and always say something like, “I need this ad to pull like crazy to make me money in the next couple of days.” Ok. But, what about next week? Next month? Next year?

Long term is the new short term.

Most of the time I respond with something like, “I can write a great ad that will send traffic, but you should have something on your webpage to capture their interest and compel them to come back.”

That usually brings us into a conversation where I explain the importance of return visitors as opposed to just a one time shot in the fish pond.

In my previous post about how much money you should spend with your online advertising, I briefly touched in this topic but would like to shed a little more light on this. I truly feel, because of past, current, and future conversations with would be advertisers that this topic is widely underestimated. It’s just not in the realm of thinking.

I want to get something off my chest… every single advertising campaign you create must have long term effects. It simply must. Short term thinking, or advertising for a quick buck, will cost you more money in the long run. You actually lose profits.

Think of return before initial.

Before you ever put pen to paper, or keystroke to word processor, think about the return visitors before you begin pandering to the initial visitor. Here’s why.

When you begin to put the return visitor into your mind you will begin to formulate a plan, or a blueprint, on how to get people to return to your website or page. You will begin to see things a little differently. You’ll see them from the visitor’s perspective and not from a seller’s point of view. There is a big difference there.

When you’re seeing things through your seller’s eyes you just want the visitors and a quick profit. However, the visitor wants an experience. They want something they can engage with. They can feel emotionally drawn too. A website that will connect with them, pull them in, feel relevant to them, and give them a reason to come back will reap more benefits (profits) than one that focuses on a quick sale. That’s what you create when you begin with the repeat visitor in mind rather than the initial visitor.

Give them something to remember you by.

How do you do that? How do you get people to return? Give them something to remember you by.

Another benefit of thinking of the return visitor first is that you can begin to also plan out the incentives you will need to get people to return. In the online world there are several ways to do that.

You could…

give away a free report,
get them to sign up for an email newsletter,
download a free ebook,
entice them with a regular daily article,
get them to sign up for your RSS feed on your blog,
have a weekly podcast,
create your own online radio program,
ask for them to friend you on facebook,
produce a live video stream,
or even join your forum, or your own social network.

When you think about it, the possibilities are endless and only limited to your own imagination and creativity.

The key though is to make it your own. Be unique and give them something to remember you by. A big thing was, and in a lot of cases still is, popular was to give away free stuff that was rebranded. For example, ebooks that would contain your own affiliate links and even web page information. But, it wasn’t yours. It was someone else’s stuff. Someone else gets remembered.

Advertise multiple times for a one time cost.

Every fourth of July in my hometown there is a little carnival that comes and sets up at the park. There are some rides, food booths, displays, and even daredevil shows from time to time. I remember a time, when I was young, when you had to pay for each ride. It got quite costly and my parents would set a limit on how many rides I could do on. So I had to choose wisely.

But, after a few years they would have a set price to get into the fair and then you could ride all the rides as many times as you wanted to. I was in heaven. One ride in particular, The Flying Bobs, was, and still is, my favorite. Every year, I make a point to ride it until I get sick.

I got to ride my favorite ride as many times as I wanted for just one price. When you advertise, and set up your website, for the return visitor you’re riding your favorite ride for just one price.

Everything your visitor downloads, signs up for, watches on video, listens to in a podcast, or sees in your social network advertises your website to them for no additional cost. You don’t have to get them to click on an ad somewhere, or read it in an email, or see your banner on a website. They just stay in contact with you through your own materials and productions.

Your advertising costs stay low, or the same, and you’re actually receiving more traffic, more sales, long term clients, and people who are ready to recommend you/your product.

Think repeat visitors and create accordingly.

Your next ad campaign will have much better results if you think with a long term mindset. Think of return visitors and then create your plan accordingly.