Advertising Without Breaking the Bank

Networking can make the best advertising!

2008-08-06T14:24:00.005-05:00

Sometimes the best advertising campaign you can devise is one that includes networking with other small business owners with the same target you have.

I recently started building more MomPacks, which is an idea created by MomPack. It is an excellent resource for work-at-home moms and small business owners. My goal is to fill my packs with as many fillers as possible and have them ready for a consignment sale mid-August. In making this packs, not only do recipients get others' information, but I will also have my business name on the pack topper and business information contained in the packs.

These packs are fun to receive. You open them up and get to look at all the neat information that, sometimes, you've never seen before.

I've heard some people say they've never gotten business from the packs. Some have had successes. The way I look at it is that if you spend $30 on making and shipping fillers for these packs (which range from business cards, post cards, and small catalogs) and you get ONE sale from that investment, you have a potential to turn that sale (no matter how big or small) into something MUCH more. That's one new person to add to your list of potential repeat customers, and that is worth its weight in gold in these hard economic times!

Finding others like you, like what MomPack is all about, will open up so many new doors for ideas and potential customers. Please, if you are serious about your business, visit MomPack and become a member of their Yahoo group. It's worth every minute you can spend with the group.

Will be back soon!

2008-06-23T07:20:00.001-05:00

As many of you know, I haven't been blogging because I am on maternity leave! My twins were born on 6/10 and I plan on taking the rest of June off from working (for the most part).

More topics will be posted SOON!

Start a Newsletter!

2008-05-28T16:04:00.005-05:00

If you own a business, you need a newsletter. Plain and simple. It doesn't have to be complicated or extravagant, but it does need to exist!

One thing I've learned from hosting contests at Mommy Loves Freebies is that many small business owners do not have a newsletter for their website. When I encourage them to go ahead and start taking names for a potential newsletter, many are surprised by the positive response. Even specialty shops for items that are for special occasions get newsletter sign-ups.

Another thing I've learned from my own experiences is that having an incentive to read the newsletter really pays off. Those who subscribe to The Parent Station's Newsletter can reply to the newsletter for Prize Bucks that are redeemable at Mommy Loves Freebies. This at least gives me some indication of how many people are paying attention to the newsletter. If you can offer some sort of incentive to your readers, DO IT!

Be sure you visit the Newsletters topic at WAHStation to read more about creating and making the most out of your newsletters.

Affiliate Advertising

2008-05-23T14:05:00.006-05:00

For those of you who've signed up with multiple affiliates, you are probably wondering how to go about getting those affiliates advertised. After all, you need to advertise them in order to draw in orders and revenue. This can be an extremely daunting task considering the fact that most of you with affiliates have more than a few you'd like to make money from. Here are a few tips as to how you can do this in a very cost-efficient manner.

Step One - set up a central website to promote your affiliates.
Although I highly suggest you not use a free site service like GeoCities, if this is your only means of getting things up and running, it would be a good way to start. The point of this site is to make it a catch-all for all the products and services you promote. Say your name is Susie, you might want to consider setting up a site called "Susie's Emporium." On that site, you will have your businesses categorized by what they sell... from cosmetics to stuff animals. Then, go out and promote YOUR website.

Step Two - take advantage of free link submissions.
Submit your link for your central website AND your affiliate websites to as many sites as you can. If a link-back is required, let the website owner know that in the case of your affiliate, you can't link back from that site, but you do have a site for links and that you'd be happy to link to their site from yours. In my case, I completely understand this trend and in my free link exchanges, I don't mind doing this at all!

DO NOT make the mistake of feeling like you have to spend money to advertise each affiliate you represent. The money you spend will most likely go to waste because in normal circumstances, you will not make enough referral sales or commissions to recoup the cost of advertising each individual affiliate.

There are a few more things you can do to help promote your affiliate. If you enjoy writing, think about writing some GOOD free content and submitting your articles to places like ezinearticles.com. If you represent a cosmetics company, we all know how popular minerals have become. Write an article about the benefits of or the trend of mineral make-up and in the author resource box, put your name with the affiliate name and link you represent.

These are just a few ways you can promote your affiliates without breaking the bank. In fact, the only thing you should be spending on this is time... not money! Good Luck!

The Ups and Downs of Free Banners

2008-05-15T10:27:00.002-05:00

Free banner design and the use of free banners could be your best bet when trying to advertise online without spending too much money. However, there are some downfalls for the use of free banner services or premade banners.

First, if the banner you are using has the free banner service's name or website address on it, and something like "Free Banners" - it can potentially take away from the validity of your business, the seriousness of the advertiser, and ultimately CLICKS on that banner. Many of these services offer you the chance to pay a very low fee to remove that information from the banner. If this is how you want to advertise, I HIGHLY suggest you shell out a couple of bucks (truly, I believe it may be only $2-$3) to have that tag line removed from your banner.

If you choose to purchase pre-made (pre-designed) banners and add your business name and/or tag line to that banner, you need to make sure you are purchasing a set that isn't just "pretty" but applies to what you are doing, what you are selling, and what audience you are trying to attract. For example, just because you like roses doesn't mean you should pick a pretty banner with roses on it for your Candle business. Pick a banner with candles! Make sure the design and/or images on the banner compliment the business.

Remember, when it comes to representing your business online, especially through the use of graphics, your money can go a very long (or very short) way. Yes, I know you'd rather NOT spend money on advertising, but don't be frugal at the expense of your ad campaign.

As for our ad services, I offer free personalized banner design for those who need it, after they've purchased advertising from me. Although it won't be animated or super-duper dazzling, I'm not going to offer you a piece of junk, either! Remember, those banners are going to be displayed on my site! I WANT them to be appealing and work for you!

The Three Month Rule

2008-05-13T11:55:00.002-05:00

From my own research outside of the stats I collect on my sponsors' ads, I've learned that it takes an average of three months of advertising before you see results. This seems to be some sort of standard in the ad world... because it applies to print and online ads. This is why most of the low-cost advertising at Towle Creations is in three-month bundles.

I've also seen that my sponsors' ads tend to follow the same trend (at least, in the stats I am able to collect). I relate this trend to how I react to advertising on the TV, too...

Many times I catch myself seeing a commercial and it doesn't really register. It might be quirky, strange, bizarre or out of place... either way, I really don't pay much attention to it the first few times I see it. It's when that "click" happens (what causes it, I'm not sure - when it happens, again, not sure) that I actually WATCH the commercial and say "Oh! That's what that commercial is all about" or "That's what the commercial is for..." It is at that moment that it has registered and my decision is made as to whether or not I care (I will either search out the product, or not... you know what I mean).

I think banners online work the same way. Whether they are in rotation or are static (in their own dedicated spot), people glaze over them for a while and then one day a CLICK happens - they've actually paid attention and clicked on your banner.

This three month rule isn't always three months. It could be three days, three weeks.... but for a cumulative effective ad campaign, you should invest at least three months worth of time (and money) for one ad campaign. If you like it, then renew! If not, then try another banner or give up the ad completely.

Yes - try another banner. I said it. Sometimes that first three month test-run can be ruined by an ineffective banner. OR, say you signed up for six months or longer on your ad campaign. Make sure you have the option to change your banner at least every three months. That way, you renew interest to those who've seen it, caught the eyes of those (perhaps) that didn't have interested before, and reminded those who pay closer attention to banners that you are still active and want their business.

Bottom line, my suggestion is to ALWAYS invest at least three months of time in your ad campaign on any one site. I honestly believe you will get more for your money that way!

Banners [should] Say it All!

2008-05-08T08:25:00.002-05:00

Your banner can be the make-or-break point for a potential customer. Since I deal with a LOT of sponsors with banners, I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Heck, since beginning my own advertising campaigns, I've had my own really bad ones and really good ones. It takes time to learn what works and what is just a flop (visually and effectively).

A good banner tells the person who sees it what you business is, what you sell, or gives them a hint at what your site offers. If you sell cloth diapers, your banner should have cloth diapers on it or at least the word "cloth diapers." Say your banner has a cute baby on it, some funny font, your business name, and some flowers. Does this tell ANYONE that you sell cloth diapers? Nope! Of course, if your business name is "Rachael's Cloth Diaper Store," that would be one thing. But if you have a name like "Rachael's Boutique" then it doesn't say anything about what you sell. The point - make your banner effective by effectively showing what you sell either with words or pictures.

Free Advertising Groups ~ A Tip: Don't be Obnoxious!

2008-05-07T10:00:00.004-05:00

Today's tip is with regards to how you advertise on Free Advertising Groups.... DO NOT be Obnoxious!

What do I mean by Obnoxious? Overuse of special characters: # ~ ! $ % ^ * .... and so on.

Here are a few example of ways you SHOULD NOT title your email posts to these groups:

~^~^~^INFO YOU NEED~^~^~^READ ME~^~^~^
%*%*%* THIS BIZ ROCKS %^%^%^%^
~&~& Come SEE MY SITE ~&~&~

Perhaps I am the only person (although I seriously doubt it) that is very annoyed by these kinds of messages.

You can make a statement without being obnoxious. Here are some suggestions for how the above titles COULD have read:

Important Information You NEED!
AWESOME Business Opportunity!
Vist My Site! www.site-name-here.com

So, what is the bottom line? Special characters don't really do anything to draw attention to a message. On topic and to-the-point email titles are much more effective!

Should you advertise on a brand new website?

2008-05-05T08:39:00.003-05:00

Deciding whether or not to advertise on a brand new website can be a difficult decision to make. There really is no simple answer - no clear cut yes or no. However, I am fairly certain there are some guidelines you can follow to help you decide if you should invest in ads on a new website or not.

When to say NO... When to say YES
When looking at a new website with lots of open ad spots available for purchase, do a little bit of research.

Who is the website owner?
If you can't find this information within a few clicks from the home page, you are looking at someone who is newer to the business of running a website. Don't invest in a newbie - you can't guarantee they know what they are doing. That means there's a chance that they aren't going to know how to drive traffic to their site and that means your chances of getting clicks on your ads are very limited.

Is the website a part of a family of other websites?
My sites aren't the only ones that are inter-linked with each other. Many, many sites have one site for one thing and then a "sister" site that focuses on something else. If you can look at the other sites and visually assess their success, then you have your answer. A good way to do this is to use the Google Toolbar with the Page Rank indicator. If the other sites have page ranks, then you know what Google thinks about them. The higher the page rank, the better (in Google's mind). The highest available is 10/10.

Now at this point, who the webmaster is and what other sites the new site is linked to pretty much go hand-in-hand. They are both very important points to do your research on. Both points establish history. If you can't find anything on a webmaster, if they own other sites, or if they've done this before, walk away. There are countless scammers out there, waiting to take your money and run. Don't fall into this trap even if the investment is minimal!

On the other hand, if you see a new website with an established webmaster/owner and the prices are affordable, then go for it! Snatch it up before the prices increase. If the site does better than the website owner thought, the prices could go up and you've then missed out on a good deal.

Also, don't go against your gut! If you feel in the least bit suspicious, walk away.

Speaking of new websites, I've got a new one myself :) You can purchase ads on the site right now for great prices... just click on the banner ad spot and you will be taken to the ad/purchase page: http://www.WAHMsThatBlog.com

Donations can be an excellent way to advertise!

2008-05-03T09:55:00.004-05:00

I've seen both sides of the donation world - from the sponsor's point of view and as the site/business owner's.

Mommy Loves Freebies is a website I started for the sole purpose of taking donations for the purpose of promoting WAHMs. I had taken donations in the past on previous websites, run contests, and awarded prizes. My system worked for a while, but I saw a few flaws and decided to approach them a new way... and that's how Mommy Loves Freebies was born.

I am going to explain to you WHY Mommy Loves Freebies (MLF) works and perhaps when you read this, it will help you understand if making a donation to other contests or contest sites is a good, bad, or worthwhile idea.

The point of MLF is to not only provide free stuff to our participants, it is to promote WAHMs and Small Biz Owners. The sponsor donates to MLF with the promise to follow-through on their end of the bargain (mailing the product to the winner). In exchange, I set up a contest page where the participant enters their information into a form. While filling out the form, the participant has the chance to sign up for our newsletter AND the sponsor's newsletter and/or mailing list (if they have one). When the participant opts-in to a list, I forward the appropriate information to the sponsor. THESE ARE LEADS for the sponsor! And coming from someone that tried an MLM business in the past, these are the kinds of leads biz reps need to keep their business growing!

In addition to what I've already mentioned, MLF adds two banners of the sponsor's to the contest page and a picture of the product being given away. These give those stimulating visual representations of your business that you want to be seen! Even if they don't click on the banners, the participant has a visual association between the business, the product and ad banners.

After contests are run, leads are sent and a winner is randomly chosen, I keep in contact with the sponsor and the winner to make sure the transaction is moving forward. I encourage sponsors to contact the winner directly to verify shipping information, make selection on color/size/etc. (when necessary) and this serves as a way for the winner to experience the level of customer service a sponsor is willing to give their customers. Good service = high potential for repeat business.

After the winner has been given time to receive the prize and spend time with it (whatever it may be), I contact the winner for feedback on the sponsor and then that feedback is posted on the Winner's Feedback Pages. Along with the feedback is a banner - once again giving that visual representation to go along with the feedback ... hopefully making a positive association!

So, here's a recap of what a sponsor gets in exchange for their donation:

Representation of their product
Banner advertising on the contest pages
Possible leads for newsletters and/or mailing lists
A change to serve a customer with the best possible customer service a sponsor can offer... which could lead to repeat business
Lifetime advertising via feedback posted on the site

So who wins with donations?

The winner does! It's completely free to her! She didn't pay any shipping charges and the only thing she spent was time to fill out a contest form and read a few emails.

I do! I've gained traffic on my site, potential loyal participants, and the chance to get that traffic to overflow to my other sites linked from Mommy Loves Freebies.

THE SPONSOR! That was a pretty good list of benefits the sponsor gets from making a donation. And the best thing is, the donation doesn't have to cost a lot. People love to win just about anything and it is entirely up to the sponsor to decide what would be a good way to get someone to love their product or at least share it with others.

So, what kind of situations should you avoid when considering a possible donation to a site? Ask yourself what you are going to get out of it. Are you getting a link on a page with a bunch of other sponsors? Is the link going to be SEEN by anyone... really? Will you be highlighted in any way to set yourself apart from other sponsors? Will you be able to make direct contact with the winner? What is the long-term benefit of your donation?

If you can't answer those questions, or if the answers don't seem very promising, step away and find another donation opportunity.

Be discriminating when choosing contests and giveaways to sponsor. Make sure you get something out of it, too. Remember, even though you are dishing out money, donations still cost something to you. Product, shipping and time. All of which are valuable - so treat it like it is money coming right out of your pocket.

A good donation makes for a great advertising opportunity. Seek them out! Get your product into the hands of a potential customer! It is WELL worth it when done right!

Interested in making a donation to Mommy Loves Freebies? Follow this link to read my donation terms and then if you agree, you can submit your donation consideration:
http://www.towlecreations.com/donation-terms.php

When You Purchase an Ad Space, Use it!

2008-05-02T08:20:00.002-05:00

There's nothing like absolutely free ad revenue. I have more than a handful of sponsors who've purchased ad space and never fulfilled their end of the agreement. I've emailed them, even gotten some response, and they drop the ball... never to be heard from again. I try again to email them, and again and again... you get the point.

People, when you purchase ad space, use it! What good will it do you to just give money away to people? Well, making a donation is one thing - it makes you feel good and usually helps the other party. I'd love to think of myself as a charity. Go ahead, send me your money. With twins on the way, I could REALLY use it! But when it comes to purchasing ad space, not only are you wasting your money, but it is extremely aggravating for an anal retentive over-organizer like me that has all these "pending" files that just don't go away!!!

Please, if you read this and you know you have pending ad space, please, please, please contact me!

Ways to Get FREE Advertising

2008-05-01T13:45:00.004-05:00

Free advertising is out there. Not all of it will be considered "great" but when you are looking to get the word out about your site, business, blog, etc., you need all the help you can get.

Link Exchanges
Some of you may not consider a link exchange as free advertising, but that is exactly what it is. See a site you like? Look for the text links section of that site and learn how you can submit your link.

Some of you can't reciprocate links. For example, if you are a consultant for a company and your only website is a company website, you won't be able to reciprocate a link from that website. However, a smart consultant has a blog and she is blogging about things that align with the products she sells. That smart consultant can link back from her blog!

Some websites will only link to you if they have a reciprocated link. Do what you can, when you can and as often as you can.

I offer many free link exchanges with my websites. I am flexible and would like to get a link back to my site(s). It isn't mandatory... but when it comes time to edit my links and get rid of dead ones, the sites that don't (but could) link back are deleted. Check them out:
http://www.towlecreations.com/free-link-exchanges.php

Free Advertising Groups
As mentioned in a previous blog post, you can get free advertising by joining free advertising groups. Are they effective? Ehhh.... that's debatable. I do believe that some free ad groups are effective, but for every effective one, there are countless ones that are NOT effective. But the good news is that it doesn't take a lot of time to send out your ads through a free ad group.

I've got some information about Free Advertising Groups and how to "do your thing" with these groups at WAHStation: http://www.wahstation.com/Free-Advertising-Groups.php

The WAHStation also has its own Free Advertising Group:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/wahstationads

Banner Exchanges
Who says you have to pay for banner space ALL the time? If you find a site that would be worth your time in doing a free banner exchange, find the "contact us" link on that site and try to barter with the site owner for a banner exchange.

Here are some pointers so that you don't waste your time on a banner exchange:

Don't offer banner space high up on your site if the other site isn't willing to do the same. Each banner should appear in the same general area on both sites
Don't expect a higher page ranked site to exchange banners with a very low ranked site. It isn't beneficial (in my opinion) for the higher ranked site to exchange banners with a lower ranked site.
When you write to the site owner, tell the owner about your site visitors (pointing out that they would either share the same interests or your site products compliment the other site's products, etc), and why the exchange would be beneficial to THEM.

I would also suggest that you be picky and don't exchange too much or too often. You don't want too many banners on your site in too many different places. Either keep them to a predetermined section or create a banner rotation for banner exchanges.

Search Out Free Ad Availability
When you network with others, many times new owners of new websites will offer free advertising to a limited amount of people. They do this for various reasons, but these would be good wagons to jump on if you can. If you are a work-at-home mom, I highly suggest joining MomPack and the MomPack Yahoo Group. That alone will help you boost your networking and free ad options.

Join My Towle Creations Ad Specials Newsletter!
Yes, it is time for me to plug myself! Towle Creations offers a newsletter to those seeking discounted advertising deals. When I offer a new advertising deal, I email my newsletter subscribers. Also, on the 15th of each month, I have a drawing for FREE advertising. You have to be subscribed to the newsletter in order to win. You can opt-out at any time.

Don't Waste Your Ad Dollars!

2008-04-30T13:43:00.005-05:00

I'm not going to say that I have the definitive answer on advertising. I've learned what does and doesn't work for my sponsors and for myself. However, there are a few things that I would never spend one penny on for advertising.

Solo Ads on Groups
There are services where you pay a flat fee and are guaranteed that your ad will be broadcasted to hundreds or even thousands of online groups. These are the same kinds of groups you find on Yahoo. Why, why, why would you pay someone any money for something you could do for yourself in just minutes a day? Plus, on top of that, the ad you are paying for is coming from an email address that has nothing to do with your business. One of the benefits of advertising for yourself is taking advantage of all the aspects of spreading YOUR business information out into the internet world. Plus, I've seen solo advertisers that put THEIR ad before yours! Another reason to NOT use these services!

If you want to advertise through groups like Yahoo, sign up for the groups yourself. In fact, visit http://www.wahstation.com/Free-Advertising-Groups.php and read the details on how to go about doing this for yourself. Yes, it takes some time to get things started, but once you've joined, the hardest part is over! So, go promote yourself FOR yourself!

Paying for Banners on a Top Sites List
Personally, I rarely if ever visit a top sites list. When I was really into digital scrapbooking, I used the top sites lists on those websites to find other sites with the same kind of product I was searching for. I also used a couple of top sites lists for cloth diapers when I first started looking into purchasing them for my twins. See the correlation? They were both very specific items I was searching for. That is what top sites lists are good for.

However, I just don't believe in the idea behind top sites lists that cover a huge range of websites. There are some that sell advertising on their top sites lists where sites range from graphic design to children's apparel and more. Yeah, they may all be work-at-home moms, but if I were surfing a site and came across a top sites list like that, I would immediately click away from it and take note to never go back. Why? Because it's a cluster of info with no real purpose other than to list a bunch of banners that have nothing to do with each other.

Okay, a little harsh, maybe... but certainly something for you to think about. If you want to be listed on a top sites list - keep on topic and don't pay for the listing! Anyone can make a top sites list - which means, anyone can take your money for ads and it produce for you absolutely nothing at all. My suggestion is to simply stay away from paying for spots on these lists.

Remember, a penny saved is a penny earned! That goes for advertising too. Like I said, I am not the encyclopedia for advertising dos and don'ts, but I do believe I have enough common sense to not do some things and put effort towards others. These are just my opinions, and they may not be 100% right, but perhaps I've given you something to think about!

That's Right... Advertising Doesn't Have to Cost an Arm and a Leg! Really!

2008-04-29T15:07:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Advertising Without Breaking the Bank!

I am a work-at-home mom that has pretty much started from scratch and has done something spectacular ... at least, I think so!

I started a website, http://www.theparentstation.com/ as a way for my online buddies and me to keep in contact with each other through a phpBB based forum. That was in August 2003. Now, more than 4 years later, not only has that site grown to HUNDREDS of pages of content, but I've started other websites that are family friendly and useful for work-at-home parents.

As a way to keep my site up and running, I first started taking donations. Someone then suggested I sell advertising to keep the site going. And so I did. Pretty cheap advertising... but I just needed enough to make sure our hosting bill at the end of the month was paid for. As I added content to the site, I added affiliates and more advertising opportunities. And then more, and more and then even more as one site turned into two, and then three and so on.

It got to a point to where I had to start a website dedicated to selling advertising on my other websites. That is how http://www.towlecreations.com/ was started. I needed a centralized management site for selling ads on all of my websites and to share information with my sponsors.

In all of this creation of advertising, I've learned what works, what doesn't work - and what should and shouldn't even be attempted!

Towle Creations offers VERY AFFORDABLE advertising to small business owners and work-at-home parents. My goal is to make money to host my sites, and pay for my time spent keeping these sites going (and traffic flowing). But I also know how when you are at home with the kids, trying to make money with your own business, an MLM business or affiliates, you simply don't have an advertising budget. If you do, it certainly isn't very large. So, that's where I come in!

VERY AFFORDABLE advertising means exactly that... something that isn't going to break the bank or make you regret spending what money you did. I literally sell advertising for as low as $3.50 and as much as $170. I price my advertising according to how much space I have, the demand for that space and how much I spend on hosting each month. Yes, the amount of money I spend on hosting as increased ten-fold since I started The Parent Station so many years ago!

Another part of defining VERY AFFORDABLE also means that it works. Now, I can't guarantee clicks or business for any one's ad campaign, but I can surely try my hardest to help my sponsors pick the right ad package and banner for their needs. As I write this blog, it is my understanding that an average banner click-through rate on the internet is about 0.5%. That's right, half of one percent. That doesn't sound like much, but if you have 500 banner impressions, that means you get about 2 to 3 clicks from those 500 impressions. For a really busy website, that could mean a LOT of clicks per day on your banner!

The last time I pulled stats on my banner rotations (just rotations), our click-through rate was upwards of 0.79%. In my opinion, that's pretty good considering it is ABOVE internet average. In addition to that, some of my sponsors are getting as much as a 2+% click-through rate from their rotations on http://www.wahshopping.com/. Yes, two percent! That's 4 times the internet average! And it isn't just that site that is doing well. Other parts of our sites are doing really well, too! So I am THRILLED because this helps my sponsors just as much as it puts money in my pocket!

So, I guess you could say that even though I sell advertising, I can see the advertising world from a sponsor's point of view. I see the need for spending as little as possible and getting the most possible from an advertising campaign.

As I make this blog into something more, I invite you to visit my sites and stay tuned for more information on how you can advertise (with me and others) without breaking the bank - AND supply you with the know-how in telling the difference between a site you should and shouldn't advertise with!

Until then... good luck on your advertising campaign!