What's In Your Advertising Toolbox? Part 1

By Tim Bossie
Posted Sunday, August 8, 2004

Part 1 The Basics

Advertising is much like woodworking or mechanics.

Unless you have the right tool, the project you're working on is made significantly harder.

As hard as we try sometimes to make the handle of a screwdriver into a hammer, it just doesn't work.

The same way with advertising. Using the wrong tool, or advertising material, can lead to disaster for your online business.

Online advertising, for the most success, has to be done a certain way. Different ad materials are used for different circumstances to elicit varied responses.

This has to be done to ensure a number of things.

1. Minimize advertising budget
2. Generate more revenue
3. Provide for repeat visits and sales

Your advertising campaign is the only way you're going to achieve these three main points. And using a screwdriver handle as a hammer isn't going to get the job done.

The Basics

Just like woodworking, or mechanics, you need to start out with a basic set of tools. When I first started working with wood, I had the very basic.

A pair of homemade sawhorses, a skill saw, some chisels and basic handtools. This made for some very rudimentary projects, but as my skill grew (and my wife's tolerance), my list of tools started growing.

With advertising you, too, will also start out with a very basic set of tools to kick start your online business so you can venture forward and 'purchase' other forms of advertising materials.

You start your marketing toolbox out with only two tools, or advertising materials.

Ezine And Solo Ads

In order to establish a firm foundation to build future advertising success, and reach the three main points mentioned earlier, you have to use these very basic, but indispensable, advertising tools.

Ezine ads are very short, 5 lines, ads that get to the main point of your product. Solo ads are longer, some up to 500 characters, that give you a lot more room to be more creative, list more benefits, and create an atmosphere of "I gotta know more about that!".

Without using these tools in your campaign the rest of it goes nowhere. Like trying to fasten together two pieces of wood without any glue, screws, or nails.

The catalyst, so to speak, of your future advertising.

The Role of These Tools

A very large misconception today is that ads are used toactually sell your product. That if you don't make any sales from an ad, it's a failure.

This is a very common misuse of this advertising tool that has lead to the failure of many online businesses.

The reality of it is, there are two distinct roles that ads have that don't involve selling anything, except for more information about your product.

1. Deliver Targeted Visitors To Your Site

The ad body itself, like stated above, is not to sell your product, but to sell your website.

Before you can concentrate of selling your product, you need to turn the person reading the ad into a visitor. The actual selling part is the job of the sales letter you have as the body of your webpage.

But, these just can't be any Joe Schmoe visitor. They need to be targeted AND in the mood to buy. By using an ad that will instill an emotional desire and is specifically targeted to people interested in your product, your job is done.

The visitors will start pouring into your website.

2. Kick Start Other Forms Of Advertising

This is where experience and a little bit larger toolbox is called into action. Because I have some unpleasant news for you.

Not everyone who hits your site will buy your product or use your service.

For that reason, you need to have in place a variety of other materials to keep your URL, and product info, in front of that visitor without having to spend more money advertising.

Your hard working ezine, or solo, ad is the way for these other pieces of your advertising campaign to start doing their job.

Start your advertising with these two tools and you'll be adding to your toolbox in no time!

About the Author
Tim Bossie is the owner of Northern Pine Marketing Services and specializes in writing original and creative solo ads in just 2 hours! Find out more about this incredible service by going to (http://www.guaranteed-ads.com/hot.html) Plus, check out his brand new ebook, "How To Achieve High Profits With Solo Ads!" that details the 7 Important Building Bricks of a successful solo ad at
(http://www.guaranteed-ads.com/solobook)