How to Win the Advertising and Promotion Game

I am certain that, as a business owner, you have often entertained the question as to how much to spend and where to spend your advertising dollars. For most small business owners, these questions can add to the headaches suffered in the course of normal everyday operations of their business.

THERE ARE NO SIMPLE ANSWERS

The how much to spend and where to spend it questions have no easy answers.

Depending on your type of business, many people suggest that the *how much* should be equal to anywhere from 4% to 10% of your gross receipts.

The quandary is that a business cannot survive without a fresh flow of incoming customers. But, a business can seldom generate a fresh stream of customers without spending money to get the word out about their business.

THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

Have you ever paid for advertising and sat back to await the fresh flow of customers, only to find yourself sitting and sitting and then sitting some more?

Don’t feel bad about that. It has happened to many of us before.

See, knowing where to spend the advertising money is not enough to get the job done.

Where to spend the money only begins to highlight the other issues connected with advertising:

· Marketing Plan
· Advertising Strategy
· Headlines, Ad Copy and Visual Presentation
· Tracking the Success of Your Advertising Campaigns

THE MARKETING PLAN

The Marketing Plan is used primarily to identify your own products and services, costs, strengths, weaknesses and the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

To learn more about constructing your own marketing plan, visit the Small Business Administration website for a comprehensive study of the elements of a Marketing Plan:
http://www.home-business.com/nav/articles/links/sba_plan.html

ADVERTISING STRATEGY

It is important to understand what you expect to gain from your advertising.

Do you simply wish to get your name known so that when your customer will need you, they will think of you first? Or, do you wish to get your customers in your front door on Saturday?

Do you want your customers to come in and take a look around to discover the next object that they cannot live without? Or, do you want them to come in and buy a specific widget?

Do you hope that enough people will come in to buy enough products or services to pay for your single ad? Or, do you expect to gain a lifelong customer who will help pay for your advertising over the course of several years?

When you know what you want, then you will better understand just how to do it.

HEADLINES, AD COPY AND VISUAL PRESENTATION

You might be surprised how many business owners put out advertising without regard for the quality of the sales pitch or presentation. The quality of your distribution outlet or the amount of money you spent to get there will do little for you if the advertising vehicle is a junker.

Test all of your advertising materials in smaller markets before blowing your advertising bank roll on it. You must absolutely know the value of your advertising before putting large sums of money behind it.

TRACKING THE SUCCESS OF YOUR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

Tell your customers to save another 10% when they tell you they heard or saw your ad in such-and-such location. Suggest that they can register to win a free widget if they fill out a form and have them to tell you how they heard of your business. Advertise a specific widget in your ad and track the sales of that widget.

It does not matter how you track your advertising --- just make sure you do it!

IN SUMMARY

The ideal way to spend your advertising budget is to buy a rifle with a high-powered scope and to only shoot your targets in the light of day.

If you are not tracking your advertising, then you are shooting a pellet gun without an attached scope, with blinders on, and shooting in the dead darkness of night.

Even with a bigger gun, the blinders in the dark constitute the single largest mistake made by advertisers. If you are unable to track your advertising to learn what is working well, what is working somewhat, and what is a money pit, then you are condemned to repeat your mistakes over and again.

By relying only on gut instinct, you may be choosing to spend more money in the money pit and to lose all of your money in the process.

When you get down to the nuts and bolts of making money from your advertising, you should plan, prepare, track and study your results. You must have factual information on which to base your advertising decisions. When you are making the right advertising decisions, then making money from your business might just come easy.

Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy

About The Author:
------------------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits. Get Details And Signup Today At: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-6973
------------------------------------------------------------

Finding Your Home Business Niche
When some folks begin to think about a business of their own, they know in that very moment what kind they are going to start. Then, there are the rest of us... [read more...]

Fast Track Your Journey to Online Success
No one has ever logged onto the Internet for the first time and started pocketing dollars in a really short period of time. As with all things in life, there is a learning curve. [read more...]

Starting Your Home Based Business On A Shoestring Budget
Whether seeking a supplemental income or a full-time income, many folks have undertaken the task to discover a viable home based business solution to meet their personal needs. [read more...]

Your Home Business: Turning Pennies into Dollars
Henry Ford taught us that to simplify the manufacture of automobiles, that the best way to do so was to install the assembly line. That one change revolutionized the auto manufacturing industry permitting the industry to build cars at a cost whereas the average person could afford to buy one. [read more...]

Advertising Your Home Business on a Budget
When you are starting out in a new home business and no one knows who you are, one of the greatest challenges you will face is how to drum up new business. [read more...]

Children in the Home Business Environment
Operating a home business is seldom easy and interruptions come in all shapes, sizes and forms. Between the family, friends and neighbors who call or come by, and the telemarketers who insist on ringing your number off the hook, getting through the workday can be a real challenge. [read more...]

Networking Your Home Business within Circles of Influence
When you need an auto mechanic or an air conditioning repairman, where do you turn for help? Sure, some people turn to the yellow pages. But most will turn to friends and family and ask if they know of anyone who can do the work. [read more...]

Understanding the Different Methods of Offline Promotion
No business can survive the long run without some form of consistent advertising. As a result, most business owners will eventually consider using advertising to promote their business. [read more...]

Understanding the Different Methods of Online Promotion
Did you realize there are only three types of online promotion?... This statement may seem odd and even untrue in your mind, but I am speaking in more general terms than you might be thinking.
[read more...]

How to Calculate ROI (Return On Investment)
ROI (Return on Investment) is probably the most important calculation one needs to make to ensure the long-term viability of their business. It is not enough to build in a profit margin on the product or service being offered. One must track with proficiency the amount of dollars being invested into attracting sales and how much ROI those dollars put back into the business. [read more...]

Promoting Your Business with a Copper Wire? Think Again.
So many people launch their first or second business with the misconception that they can survive without advertising. It is their fear of failure that almost single-handedly assures their failure. They fear spending the money that they need to get and keep their business running during those early years of their operation. [read more...]

How To Measure Advertising Success Online
It is easy for me to tell you that you need to track the success of your online advertising. It is also easy for me to tell you that you must do so in order to know which of your advertising is helping you to make a profit, to break even, or to break the bank. Far too many advertisers get caught in the online money
pits in an effort to develop their online business. [read more...]

Follow Our Lead
The Follow Our Lead program is based on empowering people through knowledge and team support along with quality tools and services at affordable prices to give the average person the opportunity to create long term residual income. [click here...]

Global Virtual Opportunities (GVO)
The foundation to every online business starts with great Hosting, incredible marketing tools and systems! Without it, your business can fall apart overnight. If you are a leader in the internet marketing or Network Marketing world then we want YOU on our team! [read more...]

Global Domains International
,Also known as GDI, has exclusive license agreement to distribute the dot WS domains (.WS) which is their main offer to customers. But GDI has actually developed a Multi Level Marketing Strategy to distribute and market these domains. The strategy has worked well, which offers huge potential incomes to members with minimum work and technical knowledge of the internet. GDI pays $1 per signup, which seems to be too little for your effort, but remember GDI pays you on 5 levels, which means that the revenues can add up pretty fast. The cost of GDI is $10 per month. You can sign up for a free trial for 7 days to see if you like it.

Building a "targeted" Email List of Your Own
Building a quality "targeted" list is the most important thing you can do for your business. This is where the game begins... to find leads or to find people to talk to..." [click here...]