10 Ways to Advertise Online (And Where You Can Get Started)

Most business owners fully understand that not advertising is the surest way to kill your business.

However they are also bombarded by so much information and so many choices they quickly lose track of what options are available to them.

There are a number of cheap and easy online advertising options available to you.

 1. Ezine Advertising

Ezine advertising is one of the best ways to reach your future customers because it is often inexpensive and flexible as well as offering you the option to match the ezine audience with your product and ad. It also often offers a double benefit--your initial ad plus longevity in the ezine archives.

 2. Text Links

This simple tool is often overlooked by many. It is simply one of the least expensive and yet most powerful advertising option available. You can often buy text links for under $10 and the link will not only promote the specific site or page you choose but also connect it with the specific key words that will benefit you the most.

Text links also provide a double bonus. You can attract immediate traffic from the host site as well as achieve better search engine ranking which will further increase traffic.

 3. Pay Per Click Advertising

Just like it sounds pay per click advertising is simply paying for specifically targeted traffic. You can monitor and control these advertising programs very closely and tweak your ad copy and the key words that you are sponsoring. This can be a very expensive option but doesn't have to be if you plan carefully and watch closely.

 4. Email Marketing

Despite ever-increasing vigilant attempts to stop spam, we all know that email marketing is still alive and well. While it is foolish in the extreme to risk your business, web host, or internet connection, by sending out spam you can still use email marketing as a way to reach out and touch your customers and your future customers.

You just need to make sure that no one receives mail except the people who ask for it. People are still willing to sign up for mailing lists--especially if you have something to offer them in return for sharing their email address. Sponsor a contest; give away an article, ebook, or tutorial; or offer a discount and you will have people sign up willingly.

Then if you don't abuse the mailing list you will have the opportunity to reach them again and again!

5. Banner Ads

Banner ads have a bad reputation. In part because of the proliferation of banner farms that killed all the banner swap programs (or at least made them completely ineffectual). Also we all have memories of those hideous banners flashing across the top of so many web sites.

Banners have come along way since then and a cleverly designed banner can be a real asset to any advertising campaign. Also don't forget that you don't have to use one of those big giant banners that span the width of the screen. You can use smaller simple ads that can fit easily into the sidebar or special box on a web site so they can suit the design and work more effectively.

It is also important that you pay close attention to what sites you will choose for displaying your banner. IE. A site about web development for your web hosting service ad or a site about parenting for your ad promoting your potty training book.

Many text link and pay per click advertising vendors also offer the option of banner ads. Similarly many ezine and newsletter publishers sell space on their sites.

 Sell Your Knowledge

These next five advertising methods are all free or relatively inexpensive because you are trading something of value -- your knowledge and expertise -- in return for advertising.

 6. Publish a Newsletter

Creating your own regular newsletter or ezine offers you all the advantages of ezine advertising and email marketing offered above.

7. Publish a Blog and RSS Feed

While publishing a newsletter or ezine isn't that difficult it is much easier to create a blog and make its content available via RSS feed. This can offer you the benefits of regularly updated material for your web site which will be attractive to visitors and search engines alike. It will also help establish you as an expert in your field.

I personally like using WordPress on your own site but many web hosts now offer blogging services and there are many free blogging sites around where you can create a blog on their site.

 8. Write Articles

Take some of the material you have generated for your newsletter and/or blog and share it with others. Make it available in one of the many free content directories available on the web. This not only helps to establish your credibility but the contact info you provide in your resource box (which will run every time someone else publishes your material) will bring in both direct traffic as well as search engine attention.

9. Create an Ebook

Once you have enough material generated from your newsletter and blog then you can package it into a convenient Ebook and give it away. Make sure to collect names and email addresses and offer a coupon or discount to bring people back to your site!

10. Post in Forums

If you have the time you should start your own forum but even if you only have a few minutes a week to spare for this effort then it can be well worth the effort. Don't offer blatant spam posts but find a forum where you have something to offer. Make sure that you include an appropriate url and description for your forum signature and you will attract the double benefit of traffic and search engine attention!

No successful advertising campaign embraces one single method of advertising and no single method of advertising works for everyone. Advertising cannot be treated as a one-size-fits all proposition. However you know what your business needs and can offer--mix and match methods and make sure to track your results--to optimize your choices.

The 3 Most Important Things You Must Do to Keep Your Opt-in List

Having an opt-in list is not just for sending subscribers your promotional newsletters or catalogs. Your opt-in list should be used to build a relationship with each and every person who joins your list, but you must do your part to
show respect to those who do decide to subscribe.

As with everything, there are numerous things you need to consider in order to avoid some complications associated with email marketing. While there are so many ways you can get people to subscribe to your list, there are also a few things you must do to avoid those same subscribers from wanting to be removed from your list.

On top of that, you also want to avoid any problems with the law and/or your internet service provider or ISP . There are now quite a few laws and regulations in place that are designed to help protect the privacy of the internet users from spam and unwanted emails. The use of Email in business has become extremely popular because of the low cost and many company's have seized the opportunity by flooding people's email accounts with nwanted promotional mail.

But, with an opt-in list, you don't need to worry about sending unwanted emails because people have chosen to subscribe to your list; they WANT to receive the newsletters and promotional materials from your company. They have consented to being on the list by subscribing themselves.

There are times when an email account has been provided by someone other than the real owner so don't forget to put an unsubscribe link in every email you send to your opt-in list. This will help to avoid any confusion and offer
an easy way for your subscribers to opt-out whenever they want.

It is important that you keep your list clean and manageable by using the many tools provided by either your software of choice or the email/autoresponder host (like <A class=LinkerWord href="http://www.aweber.com/?209794" target=_blank><A class=LinkerWord href="http://www.aweber.com/?209794" target=_blank><A class=LinkerWord href="http://www.aweber.com/?209794" target=_blank>Aweber</A></A></A>) you use for your opt-in list.

Don't worry, the investment you put into your email marketing campaigns is well worth it as you gain a much wider and far more targeted audience that will in turn increase your sales and bring in the profits you are looking for.

So now you need to ensure that both your business and yourself are protected from those potential problems associated with email marketing and stay in the good books with both the law and your ISP . Keep your operation legitimate and clean.  Your reputation as a legitimate business person and a legitimate website or blog depends on your being a straight and truthful
marketer.

Here are three things you MUST DO to keep your email marketing on track and out of trouble:

1) Take notice of those unsuccessful sends. These are the emails that bounce. Bounced emails, also known as undeliverable messages, are those messages that, for whatever reason, were not successfully received by the intended recipient.

There are different reasons why emails bounce. It could be because the server was busy at the time of your send but can still be delivered later. Or it could be due to the recipients inbox being full. And then there are those emails labeled "undeliverable" that are going to bounce no matter what simply because of an invalid or misspelled email address or because an email address was abandoned and erased already.

Manage your list by flagging those accounts that bounce.  Erase email addresses from your list so that you have an accurate statistic and record as to how many are actually receiving your mail. You should also check the spellings of the email addresses in your database and watch for things like .con instead of .com or misspelled host names like hotmial instead of hotmail or even those addresses mixing up the @ sign possibly with the ! or #.

Another way to avoid misspelled or incorrect addresses on your list and ensure those that you are adding to your list ACTUALLY subscribed themselves, is to use the Double Opt-in method. This method sends a confirmation link out to anyone who subscribes and will not activate their subscription in your database until they personally have confirmed their
email address. Now you will have served two purposes...you have double checked the email address is legitimate and ensured that the person who subscribed truly does want to receive your emails.

2) Always provide "unsubscribe" methods and options on your website and include unsubscribe links in every one of your mailings. When someone on your list sends a request to be unsubscribed, always take it seriously and remove them immediately.  (If it's sent personally to my main contact email, I always email them back letting them know they have been unsubscribed
then save both theirs and my emails in case of further dispute) . If you don't take them off your list and you keep sending them your emails, you are now sending them spam mail.

When you are reported as a spammer, you and your business can get into a lot of trouble. You can be reported to the authorities and maybe blacklisted by many internet service providers. You will lose a lot of subscribers this way and many more in potential subscribers.

3) Avoid any pornographic or shocking and disturbing content in your newsletters. You can't know who the person reading your email is and what may offend them. Keep your emails clean and family friendly at all times. Controversial issues should also be avoided. If you focus on the nature of your business and stay clear of anything that could potentially be considered harmful or offensive you should avoid any problems.

So, keep these 3 tips in mind when preparing your next email. Build a strong and healthy relationship with your readers, show them the respect they deserve and you'll find yourself growing a very successful opt-in list full of people truly wanting to read your emails and purchase what you have to offer.


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