How To Advertise On The Internet To Get New Clients, Subscribers & Sales

October 4, 2009 By Tuks 0

Whether you’re a Fortune 500 giant, or a work-from-home mom, you’ve simply got to get your ad campaigns right. In this article we’ll be taking an insightful look into the world of advertising your internet business. We’ll look at some advertising howlers and gaff’s from some high profile brand names. We’ll touch upon what types of advertising may return the best bang for your buck. And, we’ll look at the importance of developing a long term, advertising system that gets you positive publicity and continually draws in new visitors, subscribers and clients for your business.

One of the major problems that newer and smaller internet business entrepreneurs find with their advertising efforts is the MULTITUDE of different advertising methods, schemes and (lets face it) scams that are out there. A lot of newbies are sucked into the “magic red button” approach – they waste valuable time and ad budget on “schemes” that promise dramatic results but in fact deliver zero exposure. It’s nice to think that after forking out a tenner, that your site will be placed in front of 1 million targeted buyers…but of course the ROI on that is a big fat ZERO.

Now, if you look up “how to advertise” in Google you’re met with about 166 million results. Is it any wonder that so many inexperienced people try and try to get exposure, traffic, clients…they try so many of the methods out there…they find the results woeful, and sadly quit on their business.

And, it’s not only the “where” of advertising that you’ve got to get right – it’s the “how” too. What medium will you use? How will you portray your ads? Because the “message” you send in your ads will have a big impact upon how you’re perceived by your target clients.

Discover The Best Free & Paid Advertising For Your Business 

(DRR Pro Members – You Get The Effective Advertiser Free As Part Of Your Member Benefits)

 

Even the biggest of companies get their advertising woefully wrong at times….

1. Think You’re The Only One Who Makes Mistakes In Advertising? Think Again…

One of the worst examples of a viral ad campaign I can think of is the “Starbucks viral experiment” in 2006. You see, the big brains at the Starbucks marketing department were reading all about how powerful viral advertising can be. To get a little publicity, Starbucks sent out an email to it’s staff with a “free iced coffee” coupon – the staff were encouraged to forward this to their family and friends, which they did with some vigour.

The viral reach of this campaign went far deeper than the Starbucks marketing men anticipated, because moments after sending the email, a stampede of people started queing at hundreds of Starbucks outlets, all of them clutching a free iced coffee voucher. At this point, I would have thought that Starbucks MBA team would be pleased – here’s a chance to build goodwill and further their client base for the price of an iced coffee. Unfortunately, Starbucks did a U-turn and decided to not honour the coupons.

This tells us 2 things – (1) Starbucks clearly didn’t understand the potential power of Viral advertising or how deep it can potentially reach, and (2) Starbucks employees clearly spend way too much time emailing their mates.

It was a classic example of a disasterous ad campaign. They created a lot of negative PR, and with the abundance of coffee shops around, sent a lot of potential clients to a gleeful and smirking Coffee Republic.

The point that I’m trying to make here is that you must think very hard about your ad campaigns. You need to create a plan on how you’re going to generate the best ROI possible given your budget. You need to be clear on the ad methods you’ll use, and what you expect to generate from each…
2. How To Create An Effective Plan For Your Advertising

My home office is over-spilling with plans. Generally, I create a plan for most aspects of my business and file them carefully so I can refer to them, and change/add notes as required. 

Here are a few things I suggest you include when you create your own “advertising blueprint”…

1. Learn as much as you can about advertising, and start noting down the most effective methods of both zero cost and paid advertising that people in your niche are using.

2. Come up with a monthly advertising budget that you believe you can comfortably afford. If you cannot afford paid advertising then you’ll need to focus on zero cost methods but realise that many of these are time intensive. Then, as your business starts to generate revenues, start investing a percentage of this into advertising.

3. For each method of advertising you identify, create an excel spreadsheet (or manual file if you prefer) and identify a goal for each of these. What is the ad method trying to achieve? A certain level of sales? Subscribers? Traffic? Then, after it begins make sure you can monitor the results. You can do this through software/scripts or by creating individual autoresponders/payment buttons for each specific ad campaign.

4. Understand the concept of business ratios. If you understand stocks then you already know that ratios form the basis of fundamental stock analysis. People look at the figures to see how the company is doing in various aspects before investing. A simple example of a ratio for your advertising is the cost per subscriber…

Cost Per Subscriber = Total Cost Of Ad / Number Subscribers

So, you may find that you’ve placed a banner ad in a forum which costs $50 and yielded 50 subscribers from it’s time. Then, of course the cost per subscriber would be $1 each. That’s why in point (3) we talked about the importance of segregating things like autoresponders and payment buttons – a simple way of finding out how your ad did. This is crucial because it allows you to identify (and reuse) successful campaigns and drop the dodo’s. The above is just one simple ratio you can use – think about others you may wish to analyse (ones dealing with sales revenues, new clients and so on). Ratio’s are key tools for managing and analysing a business – and as the head of your business you should be using them.

Once your plan has been devised, the real fun starts. You’re now ready to put it into place – to start getting new clients, new subscribers and so on for your business.

Find out more about cost effective advertising through The Effective Advertiser (Or get it free as a DRR Premium Member)

Filed Under: Advertising, DRR Featured Resources, Internet Marketing

How To Set-Up Membership Sites With Ease

October 3, 2009 By Tuks 0

If you’ve always been intrigued by the idea of creating your very own membership site from scratch, but thought that it was way beyond your capabilities, then we’ll put that notion well and truly to bed today. And, you’ll get the chance to pick up the brand new “Membership Site Buddy” package at over half off here:

http://www.digitalresalerightspro.com/exclusive/membersitebuddy.htm

Note – DRR Pro members, it’s already inside the new products section…plunder and enjoy!

Now, on with the show…
1. Before We Start…It’s NOT Easy

Before I tell you how wonderful everything is, let me first tell you this…running a membership site is NOT a cakewalk. When peddlers of membership site packages and scripts try and sell their wares they talk about it being easy. It’s not. You need to devote a hell of a lot of time and attention to your membership site to keep it at the cutting edge (I should know, my DRR Pro members site has been going since 2005…and it’s evolved wildly from the innocent and simple little pup it was back then).

So…read on only if you’re prepared to roll up your sleeves and invest a little elbow grease.

2. A Word About The Wonders Of Residual Income…

I respect many mainstream marketers, despite their puzzling decision to treat their clients like children (you know, with the whole “red hot button for profits” type piffle that they keep releasing). I respect them because the majority actually work quite hard at their business – and almost all the very TOP marketers and entrepreneurs understand the value of residual income.

That’s precisely why many of the top ones have their own membership sites. And, it’s not just top business people that “get it” – one of the books I wholeheartedly recommend to my clients is the Rich Dad Poor Dad series by Robert Kiyosaki, and one of the key concepts you’ll learn there is the impact residual income can make upon your personal wealth. In fact, sitting here as an internet business entrepreneur, your wealth potential is far greater than that of doctors, lawyers, dentists and proctologists…simply because residual income is possible for you, and not for them.

You see, as an internet site owner (in whichever your chosen niche may be) you have the delightful possibility of residual income. The chance to be paid on a regular basis after the bulk of the initial work has been done (such as setting up and branding a members site).

Unfortunately for them, after a proctologist is done peering inside someone’s bottom, they get paid once and never again. It’s strictly a one fee per bottom arrangement. And it’s similar for doctors, dentists, accountants and so on… Believe me…if you’re serious about being an internet entrepreneur, the long term trends and potential for wealth are firmly in your favour.

And a membership site will be one of the best residual income generating asset you will ever own.
3. The Key Benefits That Membership Sites Can Deliver…

On the surface of it, you may think that a regular income is the main benefit from running a membership site. That’s certainly one main attraction, but it goes far deeper than that. A membership site allows you to develop a positive relationship with your clients by offering them regular, high quality content/resources that targets their requirements and desires.

A positive relationship with your clients also helps build rapport, credibility and trust – the more you treat your members right, the more they will return to you to for additional products and services.

And, in the future, should you decide to sell your member site it can form the basis of a very handsome payday. An established membership site with a high number of members can be auctioned of for tens of thousands of dollars…and sometimes more.

4. All Very Good…But Take Off The Rose Coloured Spectacles And Take The Following Into Account Before Jumping In

Like I hinted at above, running a membership site requires serious commitment, planning and foresight. Here are a few things you’ll need to consider before deciding if it’s the right business model for you:

a. Which niche will you set-up your member site in? You’ll need to weigh up your personal experiences and passions with what’s in demand and make a choice.

b. What software will you use to power your member site. There are a huge suite of software choices available. Some are pure drivel, others are big ticket options that will set you back three to four figure fees (and often an annual licence/service charge fee). You’ll need to balance the needs of your member site with your budget.

c. How will you market your member site, and get members to join? The pre-launch and launch phases of a member site requires detailed planning.

d. A membership site (unlike creating standard products) requires ongoing maintenance. You’ll need to decide what new content the members will receive, and plan in advance on where you will source these products. If you intend to outsource the content/product development, then you’ll probably need to have a firm grasp of outsourcing if it’s not going to be done by in house staff.

There are a whole host of membership site options out there as far as scripts go. Some are fairly inexpensive – others can cost in upwards of $3,000.

DRR Premium Members – you can login to the members area and download the Membership Site Buddy package – it has pretty much everything you need to set-up, run and grow a membership site – including a comprehensive membership site software script.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Making Money Online

How To Brand Yourself As An Expert In The IM Niche

October 3, 2009 By Tuks 0

When I want cola, I reach for diet coke. When I want trainers, I choose Nike. When my laptop is knackered and it’s time for a new one…I opt for Dell.

The reason is simple – they are leading brands, and many millions of people will choose them because they represent quality, value (and in the case of diet coke, a wonderfully bubbly and tasty low fat soda experience).

So while Dell, Coke and Nike enjoy enviable positions as leading brands, it was not always so. All these companies, and countless others have worked very hard to make themselves automatic choices for the masses.

Closer to home, it’s the same for all the marketing “guru’s” – some of whom are taking home six and seven figure salaries – all of them branded themselves, made themselves the expert in a focused niche…and you can do the same.

What Areas Can You Start To Brand Yourself As An Expert In?
If you’re a newbie or someone who is as yet a fledgling within the internet marketing arena, it’s VERY important that you start to brand yourself. It’s important because when you brand yourself, you’re setting yourself apart from other people in your arena. If you’ve branded yourself as the expert on Web 2.0 traffic (for example), when it’s time for customers to choose between your new course, or some random other, which are they likely to pick? They’ll probably opt for the course built by “that Web 2.0 expert” – you.

Here are a couple of other areas that you could brand yourself as an expert in:

- SEO
- PPC
- Ebay
- Info Product Development
- Blog/Site/Membersite Development
- Article Marketing
- Audio & Video
- Copywriting
- Opt In List Building

And…in fact the list is endless.

The Benefits Of Branding Yourself…

Now the fun part. When you do start branding yourself, the effects on your bottom line can be startling. Here are just some benefits that branding gives:

- You’ll get the cream of clients…people who are willing to spend more to ensure they get what they perceive to be the very best person to do the job.

- Clients will come to you, rather than you having to go to them.

- You’ll enjoy a vivid amount of “word of mouth” business, and your brand will be at the forefront of your clients minds – always.
This ensures repeat purchase.

- All this makes for more business…and how!

DRR Premium Members, you can learn more by seeing the Brand Dynamics course that’s in the members area.

Filed Under: DRR Featured Resources, Internet Marketing
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