Don't Waste Time Advertising
By Gail Hornback   ©2004 All Rights Reserved

As the publisher of three weekly ezines, I have the job of managing the submission of all the advertising, which includes classifieds, sponsor ads, and solo ads. I continually wish, for their own sake, that these advertisers could see their ad in the context of that big picture.

If they only knew how many ads we receive for the same exact "opportunity", just with a different ID number in the URL. Yes, that's right, not even different wording. Many are obviously using an ad that has been provided by the supplier of the product or service. Sometimes I find it hard to run the ad, knowing that it is a waste of time, not to mention a waste of money! Even though, as a publisher who offers the service of supplying advertising space as part of my business,I realize that it is not up to me to make those judgments after receiving the ad. I often feel an obligation to contact the person running the ad, to let them in on my insight. But, the time spent on that would be so consuming, that it would obviously not be advantageous for my own business. So, I am hoping that this article will be a service to both of us!
Advertisers, take note!!!! Learn from these observations from the "inside": 1. Beware of the saturated market. Many (if not all) of the "programs" that catch your attention are old news. In fact, the truth is, only the originator and the first few "sign-ups" in any program will be the ones that benefit. And that benefit will be fairly short lived. And then they have to move on to the next one. I'm not necessarily talking here about "affiliate" programs of legitimate tangible products or services that are of value to the consumer. But programs that are based on a "down-line" of sorts. 2. No matter what you are advertising, create your own ads!! You're not a writer, you say? You don't really have to be. Yes, most good affiliate programs give you resources to use, including pre-written ads, letters, etc. But you don't have to copy/paste them word for word. Use them as a guide line. Even go to the site of the product, and take a line here and there that you feel promotes the product well. Mix it up, and create an ad that people won't recognize immediately when they see the first few words. (Trust me - I see it all the time. We run 10 classifieds per issue in our ezines. Recently I had THREE of the exact same ad in that issue's set of 10 ads.) You're taking your chances. A really busy publisher can not always take the time and effort to hand-place repetitive ads. 3. Choose affiliate programs wisely, and spend time accordingly. Do as much research of the product as possible before you spend lots of time and/or money promoting it. Don't react to the hype of an ad that you see about the product. Use the product yourself, if possible, before you become a spokesperson for it. Many products and services offer a free trial period that is perfect for getting to know the product.This only makes sense, anyway. A product that you use, and find value in for yourself will be EASY to promote. You'll find that writing your own ads for a product you use and believe in will be a cinch! 4. Ultimately, of course, create your OWN product or service. Affiliate programs are a great way to build various profit streams. But you certainly will not build a living off of any one. Your ultimate goal should be to create your own product, and get others to be YOUR affiliate!! I am always open to your questions about anything I've mentioned above. If you have any questions regarding a program that you see, an affiliate program of a product, or questions about building your own Ebusiness, please feel free to write me! mailto:gail@webworksathome.com

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GAIL HORNBACK is owner of WebWorksAtHome.com, (http://webworksathome.com) and co-owner of CM/YMTC EPublishing,(http://coyote-art.com), publishers of "Easy Guides". You may get your free, co-brandable copies at http://webworksathome.com/easyguides.htm

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