Banner Advertising
The word "banner" in Internet terms is
nothing more than a graphic image that
announces the name and identity of a Web
site, along with a brief description.
Banner ads can be an effective way to
expose your business to millions of
prospects. There are two different kinds
of banner ads: FREE ads and PAID ads.
Banner advertising is one of the most
prevalent advertising methods currently
used. Depending on where the ad is placed,
some paid banner ads can be quite expensive.
Generally you pay for the banner ad based
on the likely exposure it will get.
Therefore, high traffic Web sites garner
higher banner ad rates. An increasingly
popular arrangement is to "pay-per-click".
With this type of arrangement, you only
pay for the people that actually click on
your banner to visit your site. This is a
often a much better deal than paying for
people who are only "exposed" to your
banner. Some programs have a fixed cost.
Others let you determine what you pay for
each click.
Like anything else, the key to effective
banner advertising is to put your banner
on web sites that target your market, and
design a banner that compels people to
click on it. There are many sites that
offer free banner generation. Go to your
favorite search engine and search for
"Free banner ad design."
There are tons of other resources available
to assist with banner design. Go to
http://www.webfreebees.net/banner and
contact any of the designers listed. Some
of them will just design a banner and
charge you for the work. Others will agree
to design the banner for you in exchange
for you placing one of their banners on
your site for a specified period of time.
Many free banner ads are also available
in the form of a "banner exchange." The
banner exchange operates under a simple
agreement such as, "I advertise my business
on your site for two months with my banner,
and you do the same on my site for two
months." Ideally, you want to make sure
you are exchanging banners on high traffic
sites.
If one site has a significantly
higher amount of traffic, the exchange
rate agreement might be altered to reflect
this fact, such as a longer placement
duration, etc. This is generally a good
deal for both parties since it generates
additional exposure to your business at
virtually no cost. Just make sure you are
careful not to exchange banners with a
competitor selling similar products or
services, as this might serve to drive
traffic AWAY from your Web site
certainly not the action you desire.
Classified Ads
One of the most cost-effective tools
available is the classified ad. Today
there are literally thousands of places
on the Net to post free classifieds. And
there are numerous ways to find them. Simply
go to Yahoo, HotBot, AltaVista, or any of
the other search engines and type "free
classifieds." Hundreds of different sites
will appear.
Set an objective of how many listings a
day you're going to post. It can be
time-consuming, mindless work, so plan
this in your "idle" time. Most free ads
at classified sites expire after a certain
amount of time, so keep track of which ones
are most effective and keep returning to
renew your ads. Here's some of the most
responsive classified sites I've found.
1. The ZAP Directory -
http://www.linkmedia.com/inetexch/nowhoo/nowhoo.cgi
2. Yahoo Classifieds -
http://classifieds.yahoo.com/
3. Business Solutions Classifieds -
http://www.iloft.com
4. Best Mall Classified Ads -
http://www.bestmall.com/class/submit.html
5. 1AmericaMall -
http://www.1second.com/freead.htm
6. Five Star Classified Ads -
http://www.5starads.com/
7. Classifieds 2000 -
http://www.classifieds200.com/
FFA Links
While searching and placing free classifieds,
you'll likely come across sites that provide
free links, typically referred to as FFA sites,
or "Free For All" links. These are specialized
Web sites that allow advertisers to post short
ads in various categories. The difference with
FFA links is that you typically are only
allowed a few words to describe your site,
but with a simple click, prospects are
immediately connected to your web page.
It's important to choose your words carefully
and include a major "BENEFIT" in your offer,
rather than just a descriptive feature. Examples
include, "Lose 20 pounds in 20 days!" or "Cut
Your Legal Expenses In Half." Lead with the
benefit, follow up with features.
In most cases, once an ad is placed on a FFA
site, the site owner then replies with an e-mail,
acknowledging receipt of the ad, accompanied
with an ad of their own. Because of the massive
amount of link placements, FFA sites continuously
drop old ads and replace them with new ones. So
it's a good idea to revisit these sites regularly
to re-post your ads.
To find suitable FFA links, go to your favorite
search engine and type in "FFA links." You
will be provided with hundreds of different
sites from which to choose. Here's a listing
of some of the more popular sites:
· 1st Link Booster http://www.linkbooster.com/
· FantasticLinks http://www.fantasticlinks.com
· FFA Net http://www.ffanet.com
· FFA-O-MATIC http://wwwffaomatic.com
· MULTILINKS http://www.multilinks.net/index.shtml?10000
· TrafficWave FFA http://www.trafficwave.net/
If you are going to spend the time, effort and
expense required to post online ads, it is
critical that the words you choose pull
the maximum number of responses possible.
Keep in mind that to write ads that pull,
means learning another profession, or at
least learning the bare basics so that
your advertising is not in vain.
Rather than attempting to lay out an entire
writing course within this article, I've
provided a couple of links below that you
can review at your leisure. These sites
offer extensive resources that will allow
you to uncover the techniques and formulas
used by the most successful copywriters.
· http://www.adcopywriting.com
· http://www.getpub.com/writing.htm
About the Author
Archie R. Lawhorne, APR, is an accredited public relations
professional, marketing writer and consultant. Archie's FREE
7-Day MLM Crash Course reveals the proven system that MLM
heavy-hitters use to enroll hundreds of people. For instant delivery,
send a blank email to: MLMInsights@infogeneratorpro.com, or visit,
http://www.profitleader.com, or fax-on-demand, 403-934-6061 (Doc 362103).