Using "Free"Advertising

Using "Free" Advertising

Researched & Written by Karen Barnes
(Staff writer of the IAHBE. To learn more about the IAHBE, click here.)

Q: I keep reading about people who say "free" advertising works and others say it doesn't. Does the so-called free advertising work or not? Also, what do they mean "free?" It takes time to do this type of advertising doesn't it?

A: I have seen questions just like this one all over the Internet. Yes, free advertising does work and it works well for many people who use it. For those who say it doesn't work truly don't know how to use this form of advertising to its total advantage.

Using free advertising takes time, and a lot of it, to make it work properly. You as an advertiser, of free advertising, need to be dedicated, persistent, and driven. You will need to do a lot of research and testing on every aspect that can be used in free advertising. This is what takes the most time.

When those who are familiar and know how to use free advertising properly call it free, they mean they are not spending money on their advertising and making a profit while doing so. So they have turned their blood, sweat, and tears into a way of watching their business budget in a way that most overlook. Your advertising budget can eat away a lot of your business profits faster than any other business bill out there is you don't watch out. If you've got more time than money, free advertising should be considered.

Q: What exactly does it take in detail to really make free advertising work for me as a person who has limited money resources with which to advertise? I know you mentioned research, dedication, persistence, and to be driven above. Could you elaborate more on this please?

A. To make free advertising work on a limited budget. Do not expect it to happen immediately (the first day or two). You will need to place a minimum of three hundred ads a day to make any headway. (Yes, I did say three hundred and it is a manageable thing to do.) The more ad sites that you have on your list, the better your chances are, as it takes anywhere between five to seven times for any prospect to see your ad before they take action on it.

Research. Do a little research every day to add more ad sites to your list, and while you are looking for at them, check to see how many other people are advertising the same type of product as you are. This is especially important if you are a member of an affiliate organization. If you see more than five or six ads of the same thing as you are advertising, move on to the next ad site. You will also need to research which ad headlines and text bodies are working well for you by keycoding your URL somehow. By keycoding your URL, you will be able to track your ads better.

Dedication. You have to be dedicated to placing ads everyday in order to pull in more business. Set a time aside for you to do this everyday no matter what. You also have to have the dedication to keep on looking for new ad sites to add to your list everyday. Be dedicated to your business and to yourself. After all, you are the owner of your business.

Persistent. Be persistent in everything you do with your business. Your ad placing, your research, the knowledge of your business (keep up on any changes that will be happening in your industry or company). Don't let one No throw you off track. As you will get nine No's before you get one Yes.

Driven. You will need to be driven to keep placing ads on free ad sites. The more you place everyday, the more you will succeed.

Q: Should I use my personal e-mail account when placing ads?

A: No way!!! Open a free email account with Hotmail, Yahoo, or any other free email service, because you will receive tons of spam into your email account from placing ads. There are a lot of people who will harvest your email account, email you to pitch their own business without even really looking at yours, or both.

Q: Are there any other cost effective ways that I can use to promote my business online?

A: Sure there are tons of free marketing sites out there. I will list a few here:

Traffic Exchanges. It is best to use the manual exchanges that have you click on a number or symbol instead of the auto traffic exchanges in which you open the window and it surfs while you are doing something else. With manual traffic exchanges, the person has to view your site from 20 to 30 seconds before they can move on to the next site.

Free Safelists. With Safelists, you will need an eye-catching subject line when you submit to them, in order to get the recipient to open the email you have sent out. Safelists are easy and safe to use. The members of the safelist have opted in to the list to receive emails about products and business and are spam free. You will need to become a member of the safelist in order to post. Free members usually can only post their emails to the list every seven days.

Free E-zines. There are free ezines to which you can post your ads as well. With these, you will need to become a member or subscriber and can post your ad usually once a month.

These are just a few examples of other free advertising means along with posting to free classified ad sites. Once you get the hang of using these four means of advertising—free classified sites, traffic exchanges, free safelists, and free ezines—you can spend more time researching new sources or outlets for these marketing tools.

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Thank you for visiting :o)!

Joan