* The Internet Marketing Reporter *

A COMPLETE FIASCO

by Theresa Cahill
Copyright 2004
All Rights Reserved

I thought long and hard about writing this article
because I'm merely reinventing wheels that not only
have I written about before, but others have also.

Yet, it is one of those "marketing themes" that
bears repeating - so what the heck :)

Ezine advertising. Anyone who's reading currently
understands the concept of ezines in general and,
perhaps, why people advertise inside them.

What prompts me to write is a message I recently
received which reads:

"I tried your ads and it was a complete fiasco,
and I don't like to repeat fiascoes."

Not surprisingly, I'm not surprised.

This person unfortunately has no idea what ezine
advertising is or what it does for one online.

Ask any die-hard marketer and they will tell you
the amazingly simple "magic" answer to advertising:

"Do it. And keep doing it over and over and over..."

Is your classified ad or your solo ad, in and of
itself, suppose to make you a sale? No!

Is it intended to get a reaction? YES! You most
definitely need a website visit or a requested
email.

So why do some marketers get results and many do
not.

Let's face it, we all see ads day in and day out.
Some catch our attention and entice us to cli'ck
through, while others are so much pie-in-the-sky
we'd never take even a small peek.

Are your ad words important? You bet!

[For example, if I'm doing my job right, you've made
it this far reading this article. I've got your
attention and, with luck, will keep it for just a
few more paragraphs.]

Everyone says so and everyone is right. It's WHAT
your ad says that entices the cli'ck through. It
does not, and should not, be structured to try to
"get the money right now."

That's what your website and mailtos are for - the
link you want them to clic'k!

Can everyone write a good ad? Most definitely no.

But... the most important question to ask yourself
prior to throwing in the towel is, "Have I tried?"

One run of an ad that fails to generate any interest
is not a failure.

Two runs... no sales? Have you failed? No!

Three, four, five...? Still nothing? Give up? NO!

At this point (but hopefully before this point), you've
got to ask yourself:

"What's wrong with my ad?"

A: Something, or they'd be clicking, right?

Two things to avoid are an excessive use of caps and
exclamation marks. A few years back the use of
both did make for a semi-successful way of catching
someone's attention, but not anymore.

I think we can all safely say that most of us skip
right past most of "those" types of ads, don't you?

Which leads to...

"Is it incredibly unbelievable?"

A: Is your ad so unrealistic that even you know you've
gotten su'ckered into an impossible-to-achieve program,
but still wonder why others won't follow along?

Quit wasting your time and/or money. Drop it like a
hot potato and go RESEARCH a good, solid, reliable,
long-haul program to promote. A good starting point
for your research would be looking up the domain
ownership, etc., at http://www.whois.net.

"Did I write it from a 'benefits-packed' viewpoint?"

A: People want to know what's in it for them. When it
comes to advertising, they really don't care a fig for
what you get out of it. And that IS the right attitude,
especially if you're asking them to part with cold hard
cash.

The hardest, but best-producing, ads to write require
sufficient intrigue to get the click and are 100%
BELIEVABLE. Then, for heavens sake, have a professional
enough looking website at the other end that explains
the program in detail. The website also must have contact
information, well beyond just an email address.

[I personally will not order from any website not
willing to tell me who they are and how to get a
hold of them other than by email... and neither
should you! Heck, even test the phone number first
just to be sure.]

So, was this persons' ad a fiasco? Yep!

Are the ezines to blame for his/her failure? No.

Was it the ads fault? Most likely, but even then I
give it a no.

Is it the advertiser? ... Yep

Will this person succeed? Who knows, but it's
going to require a lot more effort than he/she
sounds willing to put forth.

The worst mistake ever propagated on the net was
that there is "quick cash!" to be had just for
the grabbing. Give me a break...

Marketing is hard work. There are very few, if
any, true miracles online. Don't let anyone tell
you differently.

Do advertise on a consistent basis. Do keep your
ad out in front of others for the long haul. Do
write articles, provide feedback to ezines, join
forums, ask and give advice, etc.

Make yourself (not just your ad) known to others.

Work at it within a budget (fr'ee or otherwise),
but work. Then you'll see results.

=========================================

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Theresa Cahill is the owner of My Wizard Ads
(http://www.mywizardads.com) and would like to offer
you two fr'ee reports: "Just the Basics... Please"
understanding the features already on your computer
that will make your life easier, and "How to Get the
Most from Your Ezine Subscriptions". Both in PDF
format for all platforms.
http://www.mywizardads.com/basics.html