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One of the more frightening realities of business is that in order to make
money, you often have to spend it first. For independent software developers,
the costs of doing business are usually very low. There are often no expensive
offices to purchase or lease, a limited amount of hardware to buy and maintain,
and for most, no stock to tie-up precious capital.
For many developers, the first and most obvious option for productive spending
is advertising. And for the online business, there is no shortage of options to
choose from.
Most websites offer some form of graphic or text advertising, and there is a
bewildering variety of mailing lists, newsletters, and regular mailings. And
that's before you even begin to consider the printed media.
However, before you even start to think about where you want to advertise, you
need to consider why you're advertising in the first place.
For many companies, the aim of an advert will simply be to increase sales and
make more money. Other legitimate reasons for wanting to advertise can include
raising the profile of your company or product, increasing brand awareness, and
testing new pricing strategies or new markets.
>From the outset, it's important that you are clear about exactly what it is
that you want to achieve. From there, you'll be able to choose where to
advertise.
When selecting a venue, an important factor will be how targeted the audience
is, as this will have a major bearing on the price that you should be prepared
to pay for the ad. In general, the less targeted the audience, the less money
you should part with. And even though it's not always the case, you might want
to consider spending a little bit extra for a highly targeted advert.
The next obvious factor is the price.
First of all you need to know how much you will be paying, and whether this is a
flat fee, a cost per click, paying per exposure, or some arrangement.
You also need to consider the costs involved in preparation. If you're using
artwork, you may wish to use a professional designer to create it, and don't
overlook that the graphic might have to be in a specific format. More
importantly, you have to take into account the amount of time that you will have
spend on arranging this.
You also need to consider the time period that you're hoping your advert will
cover. If the ad will be on a website, then you'll probably be looking at days,
weeks or even longer. If so, then you should find out whether you can change the
content of the ads as you go. If this is what you want to do, all the ads should
be prepared well in advance, and the total costs of these should also be
factored into the budget.
A good starting point in finding a suitable place to advertise is to learn from
the experiences of others. As an ASP member, you have access to the private
newsgroups, where other members will often be considerably more open, detailed
and revealing than they might in public.
When you think you've found the right venue, read through whatever information
you can find on their website or in their publications, and only then contact
the person who handles these matters.
Present them with a general introduction to yourself, your products and your
needs, and don't be afraid to ask questions right from the start. Ask about
their terms, payment terms, conditions, and whether they offer any form of
guarantee or minimum response levels. A little bit of optimism never did any
harm!
You'll also want to find out if there are any deadlines or timescales to
consider, and whether they will publish your ad "as is", or reserve the right to
edit it to suit their content.
Bear in mind that whoever you contact is likely to know their audience very
well, so make sure that you ask for any guidance, tips or pointers that they can
offer. Find out who will see the ads, what behavioural patterns you might
expect, what outcome or response rate you might get, and whether they can offer
any helpful suggestions.
Also find out who else has advertised with them in recent months, and ask if you
can have their contact details. Make sure that you chase these up, and ask them
outright about their experiences.
Leave nothing to chance, and find out whether there will be a contract to sign,
and any commitments that may be involved throughout and beyond the advertising
period. It's also a good idea to find out how flexible they may be. For example,
if the ad will run for a number of days or longer, can you change the content of
the ads with little or no notice?
At this point, it's very important to keep in mind that you are the customer.
Don't be afraid to ask questions, don't be worried about bargaining, and make
very sure that you're getting all the information and answers that you need. If
not, move on. There are many other places to advertise.
Assuming that their answers meet your satisfaction, you are then in a good
position to negotiate. The web is full of advertising, but even the more popular
websites and newsletters often find it difficult to sell all their advertising
space nowadays.
You might also want to ask them whether some form of trial period may be
possible. If they're very confident of a high click and success rate, then they
shouldn't object to an ad going out to a smaller test group, or perhaps a normal
ad running for a number of hours.
When it comes to the actual payment basis, the ideal scenario would be a vendor
offering high-quality, targeted advertising, with payment based solely on a
commission basis, with no sign-up fee or base rate.
This is, however, a little on the unlikely side. A more realistic option will be
advertising that is based on a flat fee, most (or all) of which will be paid for
in advance.
When the terms, price and payment conditions have been dealt with, you're then
ready for the content of the ad itself.
The following article will look at the importance of knowing your target
audience, what to include in the ad, and how to know when to call in the
professionals. We'll also be looking at the importance of implementing a good
tracking system, and how to follow up an advertising campaign to gain from your
experiences. In short, we'll be looking at everything else you need to help make
your ad campaign a successful one. Until then, be seen, be sold.
Copyright © 2005 Dave Collins
About The Author
Dave Collins is the CEO of SharewarePromotions Ltd., a well established UK-based
company working with software and shareware marketing activities, utilising all
aspects of the internet.
http://www.sharewarepromotions.com and
http://www.davetalks.com.
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