Good Business Sense For Online Business Is In Advertising

Advertising is expensive, especially for home based small businesses. However, advertising is at one of its most affordable points right now, thanks to the economic downturn. Both advertising and media companies have been forced to reduce their prices, which have opened many doors for home based small businesses.

There’s no reason for home based small businesses to be down in a down economy. In fact, it’s been the inventiveness of entrepreneurs and small businesses in the past that have spurred on economic recovery. The key is learning to “sell out” and by this we mean working to expand your business and market in every way possible while carefully monitoring costs, retaining talent and maintaining customer service. It’s a strategy of growth based on looking for new business opportunities instead of government handouts or loans. Advertising opportunities are abound!

No business buys a solution for a problem they don't have. And yet, most business to business marketers jump right into features and benefits, without taking the time to understand if the person on the other end of the conversation/call/letter believes they even have a problem. The challenge is this: if your home based small business online/ firm doesn't think it has an operations’ problem, you won't be looking for a solution. You won't wake up in the morning dreaming about how to solve it, or go to bed wondering how much it's costing you to ignore it.

And so the marketing challenge for the home based small business operator is to “sell the problem”. (Interesting paradox: a lot of people aren't willing to embrace that they have a problem unless they also believe that there's a solution... so part of “selling a problem” is hinting that there's a solution that others are using, or is right around the corner).

Imagine, for example, getting the data and publishing a list of the top 50 firms, ranked by efficiency of space use. All of a sudden, the bottom half of the list realizes that yes, in fact, they have something that they need to work on. If you knew that your firm was paying twice as much per associate as the competition, you'd realize that there's a problem.

When a prospect comes to the table and says, "we have a problem," then you're both on the same side of the table when it comes time to solve it. On the other hand, if they're at the table because you're persistent or charming, the only problem they have is, "how do I get out of here."

When Gerald Roush died, he left behind the Ferrari Market Letter . This newsletter, had nearly 5,000 subscribers, paying him $130 a year for a subscription. The newsletter was a bargain. It chronicled the pricing, whereabouts and details of just about every Ferrari ever made. If you were a buyer or a seller, you subscribed. If you wanted to run an ad, you were required to include the car's VIN, which added to Roush's voluminous database. The Roush effect involves extraordinary domain knowledge, a market small enough to understand and diligently earning the role of data middleman.

The players in the market want there to be one clearinghouse, one authority to connect the data, see the trends and publish the conventional wisdom. It might be a newsletter, a conference or an online database… the role is indispensable. You do not need examples to persuade you to try this.

A very large percentage of advertising that you see out there doesn't even carry a headline. By headline I mean a benefit rich offer that grabs you by the throat. It doesn't matter what format your advertising takes - postcards, letters, print ads, radio or TV ads and even web sales copy. When you understand this then you begin to realize that should use 80% of your marketing time and energy getting your headlines perfect.

Creating great headlines takes practice, patience, and a fair amount of creativity. I have found a software program that does the hard work and allows you to create power packed headlines in seconds. You can do the work yourself but this makes it much more fun. The program is called Headline Creator Pro. I use it daily! The headline is the first thing that your reader or prospect sees…. And in that moment (about 5 seconds) your reader decides whether or not to read any farther.

So first and foremost your headline must grab your reader's attention. If you don't grab them by the throat and hold them right away, you never will. While many small businesses believe online advertising is "effective," 69 percent recognize there are customers they simply "cannot effectively reach through the Internet." Small and medium businesses are increasingly comfortable using the Internet to conduct business. Of those surveyed, 78 percent make business purchases online, 72 percent track packages, 64 percent book travel and 52 percent email customers. Nearly half take customer orders and pay bills online.

"The survey findings clearly illustrate two important trends happening within the small and medium business market. The first is there is strong pent-up demand for affordable advertising. The second is they are using the Internet to improve the way they operate, save money and streamline business tasks.

Taking Advantage Of All The Low-Cost Advertising Opportunities Available

For this reason, these companies are now more willing to work with home based smaller businesses. The best part is that home based small businesses pay less for services. Many of these services include advertising opportunities that most small businesses could only dreamed of in the past. Before the recession, advertising space could run as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fortunately today, this same ad could cost be as low as $500.

Fortunately, these low-cost opportunities exist online too. Advances in technology have helped businesses obtain more information regarding user demographics, habits, interests, and more. As a result, businesses can offer more customized ads, which help them reach their target market. Google Adwords and Facebook ad campaigns are both viable online opportunities. Each of these platforms allows users to set up their campaigns based on their budget. In addition, users can make adjustments on an as-needed basis.

Mobile advertising is another affordable area for home based small businesses. Marketing projections are that mobile advertising market will expand up to $3.1 billion dollars by 2013. With platforms such as Google Admob and Apple’s iAd, it seems likely that this prediction will come true. Lastly, social media provides many advertising opportunities for home based small businesses. Sites such as Twitter are giving home based small businesses better results than traditional platforms are. Foursquare and the newly introduced Facebook Places are also allow businesses reach their target through special discounts and giveaways.

These location-based services have experienced tremendous growth recently. So, it's not so hopeless after all, is it? Can you think of any other areas of advertising that small businesses can take advantage of right now?

·        www.adtrendsinc.com There are a lot of new trends in optimization and usuability that are very interesting.

·        When marketing online, searching BigDaddy.com can get a top position instantly.

·        Another new way to marketing online is with the search engine Xista.com. It has great instant inclusion.

·        SurecliX is a concept in online and Internet video advertising. The system allows site visitors to choose to view a video advertisement if they so wish. It is permission based and guarantees advertisers that their ads have been viewed from beginning to end.

In 1920 majority of shareholders sold their stake in Ford because they insisted the auto industry had reached its peak. Many are saying that Online Advertising has reached its peak already. Major trends follow the S-curve where it takes 50% of the time to reach 10% of the market and the same amount of time to reach 90%. With that logic, online advertising is now at 8-9% of all marketing budgets. It would be a strong indicator then in the next 10-12 years it will be 90%. We are about to witness a major shift and transfer of wealth. Which side will you be on?

Interesting indeed! The public is tightening its mental filter to continue to block abusive over rated internet marketing. Spinning/dancing/color-flashing ads may have reached their peak but not advertising as a whole… If you want my eyes, produce a good product, promote it cleanly and respect me as a customer. I hold your future in my pocket.