Advertiser Buys

As a business owner, no doubt you’ve often thought about the question as to how much you should spend on advertising, and where exactly you should spend it. For most people who own small businesses, these questions simply give you more headaches beyond those simply suffered in the normal everyday operation of your business.

No Simple Answers

In fact, there aren’t any simple answers as to how much you should spend on your advertisement.

Depending on your business, there are those who suggest that you should spend anywhere from 4 to 10% of your gross receipts on advertising.

Of course, the conundrum is, it’s likely that your business is not going to survive unless you have a continuing flow of new customers. However, it’s not likely, either, that you’re going to get those new customers without spending at least something on advertising and get the word out about your business.

How to Develop Effective Advertising

Have you found yourself in this situation? You pay for advertising and then sit back, waiting for new customers to arrive. The only thing is, you sit and sit and sit, and they never come. Sound familiar?

Don’t worry; that has happened to many of us as well.

What most people don’t know is that you don’t have to just worry about knowing where to spend your advertisement money.

You also have to establish the following about advertising:

You have to have a marketing plan.

You have to have an advertising strategy.

You have to know about headlines, ad copy and visual presentation.

You have to know how to track the success of your advertising campaigns.

Your Marketing Plan

Your marketing plan is used primarily for you, so that you can identify what your products and services are, what they cost, their particular strengths and weaknesses, and finally, what your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses are as well.

Your Advertising Strategy

You need to understand just exactly what you expect to get from your advertising.

For example, do you just want to get your name out there so that customers will think of you first when they have a particular need you can fulfill? Or do you want your customers to come to you on a particular day, like Saturday?

Do you want your customers to come in and simply browse, whereupon they suddenly come upon an object they can’t do without? Or do you want them to come in and buy a particular product?

Do you want enough customers so that you can pay for your ad? Or do you want a customer who will come to you again and again, becoming a lifelong customer who will help pay your advertising costs over the next several years?

Once you know what you want, you can better formulate just how you should do it.

Ad Copy, Headlines and Visual Presentation

Many businesses actually put money into advertising without thinking much about their sales pitch or presentation; simply, the quality may not be as up to par as it should be. If your advertising is not quality, then it doesn’t matter how much money you spend on advertising or on your distribution, for example.

Make sure you test the advertising you plan to use in smaller markets before you put a lot of money into it to go to larger markets. You have to know that your advertising is going to have value before you put a lot of money behind it.

Track the Success of Your Advertising Campaigns

One particularly successful advertising campaign might be that you can tell your customers to save another 10% if they mention your ad. Or, you can suggest that they can register to win a free sample of product if they fill out a form and tell you how about your business. You can also advertise a particular product in your ad and then track how well that particular product sells.

It really doesn’t matter how you track your advertising, as long as you do.

In Conclusion

The best way to spend your advertising dollars is to make sure you target an advertisement specifically to the customer base you want to serve.

If you don’t track your advertising, then you are simply “shooting blind.” This is a waste of your time and money.

Even with more widespread advertising, if you are still “shooting blind,” then you’re only making a bigger mistake. You have to track your advertisement so that you know what’s working well and what you need to change. If you don’t, you’ll simply repeat mistakes over and over again, and further waste your time and money. This can actually make your business fail.

If you only rely on instinct, this isn’t necessarily going to help you; you may be choosing wrong so that your advertising dollars aren’t getting spent to the best benefit. And in fact, you may lose all of your money for no gain.

When it comes right down to it, if you want to make money from your advertising, you need to prepare, plan, track and study your advertising campaigns and see what the results are. Base your advertising decisions on facts and on the results you see. Once you’ve made the right advertising decisions, making profits from your business should come much easier for you.

John Navata has helped thousands of people in over 200 countries around the world start and run a successful home business. Discover 3 easy steps to start your own home business and subscribe to “Residual Wealth Factor System” Free Internet Business Secrets Mini-Course. You’ll receive a complimentary 3 days and 2 nights for two when you subscribe at http://www.YourFamilyDreams.com

In the wake of CBS placing advertisements on eggs (yes, it’s true, CBS is placing ads on actual egg shells), I’ve decided to come up with a compilation of ideas for places to put a company advertisement.

Eggs are the last place that you would expect to see an advertisement. That’s why, if you were to see an ad on an egg, you would stop to take notice. Advertising can work if people stop to take notice, especially if it’s really weird and garners free publicity (like the body part advertising on eBay a little while ago). So, putting a business ad on an unexpected place can do wonders.

With that said, I’ve compiled a list of 20 free advertising ideas for weird places that you can place your company ad. To my knowledge, none of these have yet been done:

1. On top of coffee lids – You don’t expect to see a marketing message staring up at you when taking that morning sip of coffee.
2. On a competitor’s product – This may be difficult to do but if you and a competitor advertise on each other’s products it would even out. This may attract free publicity, as well.
3. Inside the pages of books – Magazines have pages of ads, so why not books? There could be a special advertising section in books. This could provide very targeted advertising.
4. Straws – I’ve yet to see an ad on a McDonalds straw that I drink my Cola with.
5. Songs – We’ve seen product placement in movies and TV shows like Donald Trump’s The Apprentice, but I’ve yet to hear a product placement in a song. Imagine paying Britney Spears to sing about your product in the chorus of one of her hit pop songs that gets a lot of radio play… Hit me baby one more time – in the passenger seat of my brand-new 2008 Audi A4.
6. Beside the “nutrition facts” label of food products – This one might be geared more towards diet or weight loss types of companies. The people that actually look at these labels are probably more likely to notice that type of marketing message.
7. Emergency vehicles – Police, ambulance, fire trucks. That might be difficult to set up, but what better way for, say, a cash strapped police department to find revenue to hire more police officers than to sell some advertising space on their police cars?
8. Moon – I’m sure it can’t be done, and if it can it would cost too much. But, how about an advertisement on the face of the moon?

Check out the lotto winners blog, where you could read about people from around the world that have won big lotto jackpots.

Advertising & marketing is the single most important aspect of the pet boutique business. Even with the most unique, well merchandised store, if no one walks in, you’ll be out of business fast!

Location, Location, Location:
An often overlooked aspect of marketing begins even before you open your doors. The most important element in real estate also pertains to the pet boutique retail business; location, location; location. Even with the most extensive marketing and advertising schedule, if the location is poor it will be difficult to succeed. Before choosing a location or relocation, establish your target market. Once you have established what type of clientele your store will cater to, choose a location that compliments the store. For example, if you are selling mostly food, choose a strip mall location next to a major grocery store with plenty of foot traffic. If you are a high end pet boutique, choose a city location with a large population or a high end tourist destination. Also make sure you are highly visible – in other words not around corner or up a lot of stairs. Trust us – we have made the mistake of having a few stairs leading to our store (in our old location; Tails by the Bay in Sausalito, CA) and lost about ½ of the foot traffic due to stairs. These small obstacles can seem miniscule but can greatly affect your traffic flow so consider every little aspect of the location.

Advertising Mediums:
The various advertising mediums include newspaper, magazine, television, radio internet and phone book. Each avenue has advantages and disadvantages and what works for your store will depend on various issues but the best method to take is to try and see what works for your particular store. That being said, there are different aspects and important points for each medium you should consider. Newspaper advertising can be expensive but look into smaller local papers that have lower prices. These papers are generally read by most of the town and can be very effective with advertising sales, new items or just the store location and general product selection. For higher end boutiques, magazines are a great way to advertise a high end image with a classy high gloss ad. Radio can also be an effective medium as it has more of a personality then a print ad. The radio ad can tell a story about your store and include more information then a print ad. Radio is also very effective to advertise sales and events. Another extremely important advertising tactic is television. Don’t shy away from television due to high cost – in most instances, it’s less expensive then print. Local television commercials can be low as $1-2 an ad on stations such as Animal Planet, Comedy Central and MSN. Also, similar to radio, it’s more effective at showing the uniqueness of the store and will most likely intrigue the customer more then print. Finally, the internet can be an effective advertising tool – make sure you are in all the local “where to shop” listings including Yahoo Yellow Pages and look into websites such as http://www.shoplocal.com and http://www.yokel.com. Also, the internet can be an effective tool to advertise your store events; look into your local event websites in your area. Typically the event listings are free, especially if they are benefiting a local charity. Of course, if you also have an internet website as well as a retail location, internet advertising is the best avenue to advertise your website because the customer is already online shopping for pet items. Which advertising avenue works for you will depend on your specific store so don’t be afraid to try different mediums to see what works best for your unique retail shop. However, don’t switch haphazardly; make sure to give your chosen advertising a chance to work for you. Celia Sack & Paula Harris from Noe Valley Pet Co in San Francisco, CA recommend, “We like the regularity of advertising in the same places over the years, because we believe seeing an ad over time will stick in consumers’ minds. Businesses often make the mistake of offering coupons to see if their ads are working, and when they get no coupons back, they switch to a different medium for advertising. You rarely get coupons back, but that doesn’t mean your ad isn’t being seen.”

Budget:
An important consideration is your advertising & marketing budget. The standard rule for advertising expenditure nationally is 5-7% of sales but this doesn’t take into account your markup or your rent or type of store. A better rule of thumb for smaller retail stores such as ours is not to spend less then 3% of sales on advertising and marketing. Also, as mentioned previously expensive rent for a high-visibility location is often the best advertising as you will need to advertise significantly less then a similar business with an average location. Also, look into co-op advertising with vendors to keep advertising costs down. Or team up with local rescue organizations to host events at your store. Often the free press for helping a rescue group combined with the rescue groups advertising and client base will help with a significant amount of the advertising and marketing cost.

Events:
As just mentioned events can be a hugely successful way to advertise and market your store for little expense. The event itself may not yield huge sales, but the exposure and good will can benefit your store significantly. Try adoption days, holiday events such as Santa paws photos or a Halloween costume contest. Or create a truly unique event that will draw patrons from near and far. To counter act the cost of the event, you can co-op with vendors, event sponsors, rescue groups or other retail stores in the vicinity. Sponsoring local events in your community is another great way for exposure for little expenditure. Celia & Paula from Noe Valley Pet Co recommend, “The best advertising we do is sponsoring and donating to events, festivals, etc. Businesses often don’t see this as advertising, but it is the best kind, because you’re also doing something charitable, and consumers appreciate that you’re giving back to the community.”

By Lori Dotterweich from http://www.tailsbythelake.com

There’s nothing exciting than having a banner airplane fly over a game or a concert or beach to announce your event, political candidate, or product. First and foremost, a banner airplane is naturally attractive. The announcement of its arrival with a buzzing sound surely gets the attention of at least 88% of the crowd.

Aerial advertising is one of the most effectual and novel advertising mediums available today.

Airplane advertising refers to banner towing at the back of an airplane. The banner may be as long as 120 feet with seven feet letters spelling out the message. Once the banner is made, it is dragged into the sky by a hook hanging from the plane. Airplane advertising with bright color and elegance in banners with messages which are small yet catchy and easy to read is a novel way to promote your business.

To advertise on the sky or hire a banner airplane, you need to help of professional and experienced aerial ad agencies. As it takes some time to book your flight and prepare an innovative banner therefore you need to notify them in advance.

Being a business person, you need to create a niche market for your brand. And the key to your businesses success & secure future lies in your effective, integrated marketing strategies. Aerial advertising by expert aerial ad agency enable you to get attention of thousand at a time.

Moreover the quality of pilots as well as the ability of the plane they fly is crucial in this advertisement medium. Pilots must have a good background in the banner towing profession. If your banner is not properly visible in the sky then this novel advertising method is a dampener. So, experienced ad advertising agencies with their best staff can give you the best end result.

Presently, aerial advertising seems the most feasible option for any enterprise that wants to gains the maximum exposure.

Airplane advertising is cheaper than the other more popular advertising types. The company only pays for the moment the message was towed up in the air, according to the most appropriate time. Advertising in the sky is no longer just for small time companies who do not have funds to do full-blown advertising campaign even big companies are drawn towards this.

As it’s unusual and provides a break from the usual, people pay attention to such advertising. They tend to retain it in their memory more than any other types of advertisement, because of its novelty factor.

Also exceptional about this is that aerial advertising don’t invading or force on people’s privacy.

Moreover most of aerial advertising agency charge standard fees which relieve you from surveying too many packages. So, shopping for aerial advertising packages is relatively easier compared to shopping for other advertisement mediums.

Located in New York, Arnold Aerial Advertising provides services nationwide with affordable rates. Michael Arnold is the Director of Arnold Aerial Advertising Inc. They conduct all forms of Aerial Advertising – NASCAR, Indy Car, Spring Break, Concerts, Conventions, Rush Hour Traffic, Football, Baseball, State Fairs, all Beaches, Parades, Cruise Lines, etc. and produce the custom banners as well. They are the only agency that provides all of the three methods of aerial advertising-banner flying, night time electronic flying signs and sky typing.

The effectiveness of advertising balloons is topped only by the relatively new phenomenon of advertising wrapping. Wrapping, which consists of printing advertising on thin material and literally wrapping it around an object to turn it into a billboard, is extremely costly. Advertising balloons, on the other hand, are extremely affordable. Here, then, is the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of advertising inflatables.

Who: Advertising inflatables are relatively inexpensive, and can definitely accommodate even the most modest advertising budget. Advertising balloons allow small- and medium-sized businesses and organizations to compete with their larger counterparts.

What: Advertising inflatables include advertising balloons, advertising blimps, custom balloons and helium balloons. Some are filled with helium, while others are filled using cold-air blowers. Advertising blimps and advertising balloons are typically tethered to the ground or a rooftop, and float up to 120 feet above the ground. Twenty-foot tall dancing balloons, often in the shape of a person or character, are tethered to the ground and are filled using an air blower. Most companies keep a variety of standard advertising inflatables in stock, but they can also make balloons or blimps in virtually any shape.

When: Use advertising inflatables anytime you need to draw the attention of passersby. Advertising blimps are great when you want to attract attention from a distance. If you have a retail store near a highway, for example, a small blimp flying in the sky will grab the attention of drivers. If you wish to attract street traffic, a dancing balloon tethered to the ground at street level will cause heads to turn. Keep in mind, though, that dancing balloons tend to fall over in winds over 20 miles per hour, and are most effective on calm days. If you have a booth at a trade show, you may wish to hang advertising balloons from the ceiling.

Where: Advertising balloons and blimps can be used anywhere you want to stand out from the crowd, whether it’s near a storefront, at a street festival, at a fundraising event, or at a trade show.

Why: Advertising inflatables are an extremely cost effective method of drawing attention to your store, product, or service. For as little as $300, you can have an effective advertisement that you can use as often as you’d like.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Visit this Business and Entrepreneurs Website and Majon’s Business and Entrepreneurs directory.

Irrespective of whether you use the term search engine marketing, advertising, online advertising, banner advertising or pay per click advertising, there is a common misconception by owners of new websites that the best way to get noticed is to jump in with both feet and immediately compete with the big boys of advertising.

This thinking has left many would-be online entrepreneurs frustrated and feeling like their product or service is either inadequate or the cost barrier associated with marketing it is just too formidable. These misconceptions bear very little resemblance to the truth. There are several reasons why new Internet ventures fail to gain the attention they crave. To all the would-be success stories, I offer five pieces of solid advice.

(1-Dont Be Too Eager To Directly Compete With The Big Boys -) Competing with the big boys is definitely the future goal of any business, but it must be done in a smart way. Much like a prize fight, the challenger should have a few victories before declaring an all out battle with the big boy of the industry. If you have a large ego and that statement offends you, you are exactly who needs to hear this.

The big boys are called the big boys because they have a financial advantage. Don’t allow your pride to cause you to make foolish decisions. Be smart. If you cant out bank roll them, out think them and out maneuver them. By that I mean, don’t attempt to advertise on the same websites and in the same way as they do. You probably cant afford it anyway. We choosing your initial advertising spots, choose smaller websites that are looking for advertisers. They are usually much cheaper and allow you to determine what works for your particular product marketing. While you may only get fifty to one hundred visitors per month from a lower traffic website, it allows you to grow unhindered, under the radar of larger more competitive firms.

(2- Avoid Depending On Advertising Auto Pilot Too Soon-) The idea that you can simply set your advertising banner in place and watch the dollars roll in holds true for very few early stage websites and products. That strategy works best once you have created a flawless website sells interface. It needs to be a fool proof and proven path to buying your product.

Despite what you think, you don’t know that you have a smooth buying interface until your customers have tested it. Buy buying interface I don’t just mean credit card processing. It includes the wording and the pages that lead to the credit card processing as well.

Remember, it is not enough for you to be impressed with your web property. Spend time early-on finding out what your customers think. Doing this can prevent lots of frustration and confusion, while increasing your websites ability to make sells earlier. There are web services that allow you to ferret out any problem with your website and advertise really easily. I will speak more about this later.

(3- Avoid Blindly Following Other Advertisers -) Advertising method saturation is when so many people are doing the same thing that only the big guys benefit on a large scale. Dont get caught up in the me-tooism of advertising by only using the advertising methods currently being used by big companies. This has doomed would-be success stories more than anything.

As a particular advertising method becomes more popular, the price of using it typically goes up. This is simply due to the rules of supply and demand. Get a bunch of people wanting the same thing and bid wars begin. You have to be innovative and embrace new types of advertising early. New ways of advertising and marketing spring up all of the time. For instance, advertising in online games like Typobounty.com puts you in a high traffic area with better quality visitors that want to read your entire site.

(4- Initially Focus On Quality Rather Than Quantity-) Quality of visitors is much more important than quantity of visitors. I am not so much referring to the targeting of a particular demographic. I mean a person that is ready to buy and able to buy is more desirable than a click through by someone that has none of these traits. I mean, think about it. The term (visitor) has lost its meaning in online advertising.

Many webmasters believe that every click though is a visitor. Not so fast. Let me ask you a question. If you drove from Galveston Texas to Dallas Texas, would you say that you visited Houston Texas? No! Most sane people would say that they passed through Houston on their way to Dallas. Stopping for fuel does not constitute visiting Houston.

When a potential customer comes to your website, skims over its content, and then leaves, the shear fact that your content didn’t catch their eye and slow them down, fueled their desire to go elsewhere for what they are looking for. Don’t let your website be a gas station for web surfers. The object is to get potential customers to stop and focus on your websites content. Not simply to pass through on their way to buy a product. Incorporating your advertisement into online games gives visitors the incentive to stop and read every word of a websites sales pitch.

(5- Make Every Advertising Penny Benefit Your Business In Some Way -) It is a simple principle of business. In order to succeed at whatever your organizations goal may be, you must take more money in than you put out. Sure, some would conclude that I have simply stated the obvious, but I beg to differ.

If it were obvious, there wouldn’ be so many marketers doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Stop solely depending on the hit or miss arena of pay per click. When your advertising budget is small, pay per click is not your friend.

Early on, find low cost monthly fee advertising opportunities and scoop them up. Game sites like TypoBounty.com allow advertisers to draw attention to their products while simultaneously cleaning up their website errors. So, every visit ends in a sell, helps the site become better or confirms that everything is in order. That is making every advertising penny count towards the success of your business.

John Reed has 15 years business experience and runs XXOT the marketing center for smaller businesses. You can learn more about marketing and advertising without the money drain at http://www.typobounty.com

A hot air balloon has the ability to create a lot of excitement. It can immediately attract and hold a lasting impression on people. Millions of spectators annually attend the hundreds of balloon events nationwide. It is more than any other outdoor summer activity, and that includes baseball games.

An advertising balloon signage in such events can effectively carry your message over the surrounding populace and not just the people on the event itself, increasing the exposure of a brand or company to millions of people more outside, just like a gigantic, colorful, living, moving billboard.

Advertising balloons are attention getters and they are very effective at it. They can also come in many different sizes making them a very flexible advertising medium to work out. Some advertising balloons are made to be as gigantic as possible and can be as big as a small plane.

Some advertising balloons are designed to be tiny on purpose. Some advertising balloons made to float long distances while others are designed as a kind of unique signage and hung in different targeted locations like walls, poles or flagpoles.

On being used as signage, advertising balloons can attract people passing by your location and most likely can be your next customer. That is because advertising balloon signages never fails to draw attention among passersby. They provide a form of effective brand awareness that can remain on people’s consciousness for years and years. The more uniquely shaped they are, the better.

It is therefore no wonder that most popular kinds of advertising balloons today are those that are shaped like different characters. You will see some of these advertising balloons shaped like giant gorillas or even objects. There are some advertising balloons that are formed as popular cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse or Garfield.

These types of advertising balloons are becoming increasingly popular as they never fail to catch the eye of any spectator young or old from down the road. By floating on seemingly endless skies, these large advertising balloons can even be noticeable from miles and miles away, having a wide reaching impact at any one time.

One advantage of following an advertising balloon campaign is that it can be easily managed. You do not have to follow and go through a lot of procedures just to have your own advertising balloon going. All you will need is having your own balloon with your logo or brand made or rented all you are all good to go.

Another advertising balloon advantage that you can enjoy is that they are cost effective. These balloons can be used over and over again numerous advertising campaigns and they are pretty mobile that you may be able to use them anywhere.

And most important of all, advertising balloons have real impact on people that conventional advertising methods often lack. All these make such balloons a very valuable advertising tool that businesses just cannot lay by the wayside.

Low Jeremy maintains advertising-balloons.articlesforreprint.com .This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included.

Advertisements are an essential element to the success of a business. However, many businesses find that they come up short with their advertising strategy. Most of the time, this is due to the fact that the advertising was under budgeted. In many cases, the advertising of a business fails because of the fact that the advertising venues that the business has is extremely limited. There are even cases of advertising failing due to the fact that the business made a common advertising mistake.

When a business develops an advertising strategy and they fund the strategy, they should be able to receive a return on that investment. If the business does not receive a return on the investment, it is important for that business to evaluate the possibilities of why this situation occurred. Many businesses make a number of mistakes when it comes to advertising. These mistakes may include the overall design of the advertisement, the placement of the advertisement, and even the location of the placement of the advertisement.

Many businesses make the mistake of believing that a large advertisement is the most effective type of advertisement. These types of ads may prove to be effective, but there are many different things that a business should consider before placing this type of advertisement. First, every single business has a target market. If your business is planning on developing a large ad, it is imperative that you ensure that it is in an area where your target market will be. For example, an advertisement that promotes the use of a particular type of fishing pole may not be very successful in a woman’s magazine.

If you have a business and you are interested in starting an advertising campaign, it is imperative that you put the proper amount of research into the endeavor. If you fail to do this, your campaign will not be successful. You must carefully research the market that is most likely to take an interest in the goods and services that you are promoting. You then must develop a plan on how to appeal to the senses of this market. Here are some great points that you can base your advertising campaign on:

- Will my product benefit someone?

- How can my product make life easier?

- What makes my product unique?

- What kinds of people would be interested in my product?

- Where do these individuals shop the most?

- What areas does my target market live?

- What income ranges involve my target market?

If you are able to answer these questions as you develop your advertising market, it is eminent that your campaign will be a success.

Your product should solve a problem or fulfill a need for your customers. If it does not, then it is extremely likely, that regardless of the advertising that you do, it will end up a failure. However, if you are able to solve a problem for a customer, or fulfill a need, and you can display this in your advertising campaign, it will probably be successful. For example, if you are selling energy vitamins, you may want to target busy mothers. Your advertising campaign can focus on the hard work and dedication that it takes to be a mother, and just how exhausting it can be. From there, you can show how your energy vitamins can increase a mom’s energy levels and allow them the ability to effectively handle all of their responsibilities.

For this type of advertisement, your company would benefit by placing ads in parenting magazines, and other magazines that are for women. Integrating these ads in commercials that revolve around soap operas, game shows, cooking shows, and similar type of media may be successful as well. Parenting websites and homeschool websites are other great locations for these types of websites. All it takes is a little creativity and knowledge about where your target audience lingers, and your advertising will prove to be extremely successful.

Discover Kevin Sinclair’s system for making profits regardless of whether anyone joins your network marketing business.

How many of you advertise?

If you do advertise, why do you do it?

Most of us think we must advertise to get sales, sales, sales. We think if we don’t spend the money on print, radio, or TV ads – we won’t make any money.

#1 You need sales so you decide to advertise

#2 Once you recover from the shock of the advertising spend, you decide on the media format to use

#3 You place the ad and wait…and wait…and wait

#4 You see an increase in sales and assume the advertising campaign is working. That is what they want you to think!

In order to determine if your advertising is working and is effective, you must calculate your Advertising ROI. To calculate your advertising ROI you simply:

#1 Take the cost of your advertising spend (let’s say $5,000 per week)

#2 Know what your Sales/Service Gross Margin is (let’s say 30%)

#3 Divide your Advertising spend by your gross margin ($5,000/30%)

In this example, you will need to increase your sales by $16,666 dollars per week against an advertising spend of $5,000 per week! You need to ask yourself, “If by using the ad campaign I am planning, is there any way possible I can gain that amount of sales volume.” If you can – then great! Go for it! I am willing to bet that if you do this exercise with all of your ad campaigns, you will realize few of them, if any, provided you with break even results!

Remember, you are in this business to make money! It does not come easy. Advertising is fun. Advertising is glamorous. Advertisers promise you outstanding returns on your spend with incredible traffic. Next time you’re in the market to advertise, resist the lure of the advertising world. Ask your advertisers to share their clients’ success stories. Ask for references. Call the references and ask them if they did an advertising ROI on their endeavor. Finally do some work yourself – put the pencil to paper and calculate your own advertising ROI. If you can’t justify the dollars, don’t do the ad.

Peter Cicero

Peter is the “brain child” behind Legacy 110. He created the Legacy 110 concept to assist others in not just making a difference but in creating a legacy. With his over 20 years of executive level management experience he has performed many successful business turnarounds. His excellent leadership qualities including strategy development and planning along with his “think on his feet” abilities make him the perfect fit to handle any of the your business issues. He operates under the premise of “give him a person or business and he will bring out their best!” Peter also has been coaching and mentoring executives on business and life issues for 20 years. His unique “look inside yourself” approach has transformed and helped others establish personal legacies. In addition, if you are seeking any assistance with your golf game, Peter would be happy to help. As a former pro, he likes to bring golf into all he does.

[http://www.legacy110.org]

http://www.ciceroendeavors.com

In today’s competitive, yet difficult business world there are many options for advertising. Unfortunately, banner advertising might not even enter the picture for business owners looking for advertising options. But it should.

When done well, airplane advertising can be more effective than other forms of advertising, turning a simple ad into dollars and customers for the advertiser. While advertisers often think about radio, newspaper, television and even billboard advertising, they often don’t even consider banner advertising.

And that’s a mistake. Let’s look at why airplane banners create advertising that’s effective in several ways.

Cost

Airplane advertising creates a stronger bang for the buck than other forms of advertising. While you might pay for a radio ad each time it’s on the radio, or a premium for a good billboard in a freeway location, with banner advertising, you pay for the banner once and then only pay a small charge each time that banner is flown.

Today, more and more advertisers are giving up on advertising altogether, but that’s a mistake. Businesses can’t make money and bring in new (and returning) customers without getting the word out. But in today’s economy, it’s essential to get the word out with the most affordable method. Aerial advertising provides that.

Novelty

We are bombarded with advertising each day. We hear it on the radio on the way to work, see it on the television as we watch each evening and read it in magazines, newspapers and on signs. It seems that everywhere we turn someone is trying to sell us something.

Of course, aerial banners are also selling or promoting something, but the method of delivering that message is so novel people pay attention. While you might barely hear most of the ads that are played on the radio and might flip past ads in magazines, when a flying banner is seen overhead, you look to the sky and make note of what you see.

Memory

That’s right, memory. People remember banner ads in a way they just don’t remember most other forms of advertising. This is likely due to two things – the novelty of the advertising and the attention we pay to the ads themselves.

As we discussed above, the novelty of aerial advertising gets attention. It’s not as common to see a banner airplane in the sky as it is to see and hear other forms of advertising, so we naturally pay attention. Aside from the novelty, however, people remember airplane advertising much better than other forms of it. Some studies have shown that most people keep an aerial ad in their minds much longer than they do other forms of advertising, which means people are more likely to act in some fashion that benefits the advertiser.

Although advertisers have many options for their advertising dollar, and most experts suggest that advertisers diversify their methods, it’s a common sense decision to include aerial advertising in the mix.

Arnold Aerial Advertising is one of the many companies that provide such services. Located in New York, Arnold Aerial Advertising provides nationwide service with affordable rates.

Michael Arnold is the Director of Arnold Aerial Advertising Inc. http://www.arnoldaerial.com – They conduct all forms of Aerial Advertising: NASCAR, Indy Car, Spring Break, Concerts, Conventions, Rush Hour Traffic, Football, Baseball, State Fairs, all Beaches, Parades, Cruise Lines, etc. and produce the custom banners as well.