e-Business-Formula Internet Marketing Discussion Forum

[Kevin Robb]

Advertising has always been a contentious issue, should I do it?, how much is to much?, how do I measure it's success if any?

There are also many more questions that have to be considered when deciding on an advertising campaign be it online or offline.

Given the immense amount of competition these days for the consumers dollar and the fact that they get bombarded on a daily basis by multiple different forms of advertising it begs the question...

What advertising is most effective right now for both online and offline products and services?

Your comment would be appreciated.

Cheers


Kevin Robb

[kellylowe]

I think, in terms of online advertising, that the most effective form of advertising today is PPC, followed by forum posts, followed by writing and distributing articles, followed by ezine advertising.

Offline, I really have no idea what would be considered the MOST effective, since I don't do any offline advertising at all.

[Kevin Robb]

Kelly,

In regards to PPC...What service are you using and are you happy with your return on investment ?

Obviously Google Adwords is the most popular but I understand that some of the other providers offer a good service that in many cases is a better investment.

Your comments please.

Cheers

Kevin Robb

[kellylowe]

I haven't used any PPC - but I have clients who do! And they are REALLY happy with it!

I have one client that refuses to use Google, and only uses Overture (yahoo search marketing). Yet, he is the only one who uses that. The other clients that speak so highly of PPC all use Google.

I can't tell you what their ROI's are - because I don't know. I just know that they are very happy.

I recently did an article on the 'most popular' PPC search engines, however. What I found is that google offers the best deal, in terms of the cost of getting the account set up, and account management.

In terms of cost to setup and account management, the runner's up (according to my research) are:

Overture (yahoo search marketing)
FindWhat
LookSmart
Kanoodle

Does anyone have any experience with the runner ups? Does anyone use PPC services that aren't listed here?

[Chris (cat)]

Try http://www.web-traffic-toolz.com/marketingblaster.html

Good ROI


Cheers, Chris
Anam cara

[Teena]

Hi Kelly,

Just out of curiosity, what do you use?

You mention Pay Per Click as the best way, but say you don't use that.

I'm looking into advertising online and am benefitting greatly from all these opinions and tried-and-tested options.

Many thanks,
Teena

[kellylowe]

Hi,

I don't use any PPC. I just have clients who do, and they are very happy with it. I've also done ALOT of research on it for ebooks and articles that I've done for people.

I have websites that I want to promote through PPC, and I'm pretty sure I will be using Google for that...I just have to find the time to finish getting the sites done, or ready, before I invest my money.

What I've learned from my research is that it is not a 'set it and forget it' thing with PPC. There seems to be a science to it - choosing the perfect keywords, bidding the right prices, and so on and so forth. I have clients who spend 90% of their time with their PPC campaigns - DAILY - tweaking and fine tuning...and it works very well for them. Keep in mind that these are clients that profit from Google Adsense ads, affiliate programs, and their own products - using Google Adwords campaigns.

Does that help you?

Kelly Lowe

[Teena]

Hi Kelly,

Thanks for your quick response about PPC.

[quote]Offline, I really have no idea what would be considered the MOST effective, since I don't do any offline advertising at all.[/quote]

Wow that's fantastic!

Just out of curiosity, what do you use for advertising your own online business, Kelly? Or do you not need to advertise?

Cheers
Teena

[kellylowe]

At first, my only form of advertising was my signature file in forums and email discussions. I once tried ezine advertising, but it didn't go very well. Other than that, I haven't really had to do any advertising. Most of my work comes from regular clients, and referrals from those clients.

I supplement that by taking some work through the freelance sites - mostly Rent A Coder. No advertising is required there - I just bid on jobs that I would like to have - and I get several repeat clients that way as well. I get invitations to bid on jobs often from people I've never worked for through the RAC site as well - it always surprises me, because the 'resume' I have posted on my profile is about two sentences long...but I have a high rating, and great reviews from past jobs.

I do quite well - considering that I don't really advertise. I won't give you figures, because I think that is distasteful - but I can tell you that my income is much more than we need to pay the bills - I own a small trucking company with my husband, and the work that I do online brings in about the same amount of money the trucking business does each month - and sometimes even more.

My problem this year is that I often have more work than I actually want. The problem with bidding on jobs through a freelance site is that you know how many jobs you need, and how many jobs you can handle - but you don't know how many bids you will actually win. You can't bid on three jobs and expect to get all three of them....so you bid on five or six jobs, in hopes of getting three. That often backfires for me, however, and I end up winning all of the jobs that I bid on for the week....and then I have more work than I wanted, and I have to work longer hours to get it all completed on time.

I guess the moral of that story is that success comes at a price

But, all-in-all, it's not too bad for someone who doesn't advertise!

Kelly

[Teena]

Congratulations Kelly! And thanks for sharing this, it helps to understand how others get clients.

Sounds like perseverence, hard work, and always doing a great job have paid off - and *word of mouth* is a great way to get recommendations.

I've never looked at Rent A Coder, so I'll go check that out.

Have a gorgeous day Kelly, thanks again,
Teena!

[kellylowe]

Did you get signed up at RAC? If so, how is it going for you?

Aren't you a writer? Let me know if you need anything!

Regards,

[Teena]

Hey Kelly,

Thanks for checking back on me ... yes I did check out RAC - wow! Great opportunities.

I haven't bid on any projects yet but certainly will. And yes, I am a writer, an I.T. techie girl, web designer, database designer [and more], and on the other side of my brain I am an artist and textile designer. Makes for interesting days ...

Cheers
Teena