-----

Internet Coaching Library > eMarketing Coaching > Site Links

The Fallacy of Free Advertising

by Angela Wu

The temptation to turn towards free marketing resources can
be an irresistable call, particularly to beginners on tight budgets.
However, 'free' isn't a good bargain if it doesn't give you *results*!
You still 'pay' for free advertising in terms of wasted time and effort.



There are many effective ways to promote your business free.
However, let's start with a brief look at a few of the less-
effective methods. Although the rare person might get
results that justify their continued use, most people find
them to be a waste of time. These include:

• Free classifieds in newsletters. Some editors offer a
  free ad to new subscribers in an effort to build their
  lists. Unfortunately, if they're getting a lot of new
  subscribers, they're probably also getting a lot of
  free ad requests -- which means your ad is likely going
  to get crammed alongside several others. As you can
  imagine, readers often ignore 'classified ad' sections
  such as these.
  
  
• Free classifieds on websites, or 'Free-For-All' (FFA)
  sites where you can post your link. Most people go to
  post ads, not read them. How often do YOU go to these
  sites to read ads? Enough said.
  
  
• Free banner or link exchanges. You know the type: you
  place a snippet of HTML on your website, and the links
  or banners are automatically rotated through everyone
  in the network. These are not usually targeted enough
  to give good results.
  
  
• Traffic-generating programs. You join a 'network' and
  'share' traffic -- on your site, typically a popup or
  popunder window (advertising another member's site) is
  displayed as your visitor enters or leaves your site.
  Other members display your ad in a similar way. A
  popular example are the 'start page' or 'exit page'
  programs. Sure, this can give you traffic... but the
  most important thing is, does it give you *results* --
  subscriptions to your newsletter, for example, or sales?
  The conversion rate is typically negligible or low for
  these types of programs.
  

Now onto the good stuff... here are several excellent free
marketing methods that have the potential to yield great
results:

• Targeted Link Exchanges.
  
  Place a link to another related site on your own, and in
  return, ask them to reciprocate. Do it consistently and
  you will eventually have a wide-ranging network of
  targeted, relevant sites on which you are linked.
  
  Your 'link popularity', as it's called, is used by many
  of the major search engines to help determine how well
  your site is positioned in the results. Plus the more
  links you have, the more places people can find you. You
  essentially 'share' another site's traffic.
  
  
  
• Build and Use Your Own Opt-In List.
  
  There's nothing like your own newsletter to develop a
  relationship with your visitors. Make it your goal to
  provide quality content and you'll have loyal subscribers
  who trust you.
  
  Granted, hosting the list isn't usually free (although
  there are still a few free list hosts such as Yahoo!
  Groups, https://groups.yahoo.com/ ). Still, once you have
  your own list of targeted, interested readers, you also
  have your very own marketing tool -- you can promote
  your products or services to this list, plus use it as
  'leverage' for potential joint ventures (see below).
  It does take time to build a quality list, but it can
  be extremely profitable in the long run.
  
  
  
• Search Engines and Major Indexes.
  
  Web surfers regularly use search engines and indexes
  to pinpoint exactly what they're looking for. Although
  more and more search engines and major indexes are now
  charging for reviews and/or listings, some of them
  (such as Google, https://www.google.com/ ) are still free.
  
  It takes time and effort to learn how to properly
  optimize your site for the search engines. It's no good
  to be #138475 out of 1437593 search results; no one will
  ever find you! Learn more about search engine optimization
  at https://www.searchenginewatch.com/ .
  
  It's well worth the time and trouble to get properly
  positioned -- if you get a good listing, it could mean
  a steady stream of targeted traffic.
  
  
  
• Free Publicity.
  
  Imagine getting a radio or TV interview, or a write-up
  in a popular magazine whose readers are your target market.
  It's great exposure, and best of all, it's free! Many small
  busineses simply can't afford the advertising rates... and
  even if you could, publicity is even better because the
  radio show, TV show, or magazine provides credibility to
  your offer.
  
  (There is no such thing as a free lunch, you will wind up
  paying for it sooner or later.)
  
  
• Referral Marketing.
  
  Encourage happy customers to tell their friends about
  your business. This is a great way to build your customer
  base, year after year, through the power of the 'snowball'
  effect -- a happy customer tells a friend, who tells a
  friend, who tells a friend...
  
  Referrals also tend to be easier to convert into paying
  customers because your product has been 'endorsed' by
  someone they know and trust.
  
  You can offer incentives such as discounts or a free gift
  to encourage referrals. Regardless of whether or not the
  referred party makes a purchase, be sure to thank your
  customer for the referral -- reward his behavior and
  he'll be more inclined to repeat it.
  
  
  
• Write and Distribute Articles, Reports, eBooks...
  
  Create useful free content and include a brief blurb
  about your product along with a URL. Encourage people
  to pass it around. Indicate that websites and newsletter
  editors are welcome to offer it as a gift, bonus, or
  premium to their vistors, subject to your publishing
  guidelines.
  
  If you do this consistently, you can eventually have
  thousands of links back to your business all over the
  web! And the more people pass it around, the more
  exposure you'll get.
  
  You can do this with practically anything: articles,
  columns, lists, reports, eBooks, software, worksheets...
  use your imagination!
  
  

• Joint Ventures.
  
  Approach complementary businesses with win-win proposals.
  A simple and common 'JV' is an ad swap: you each publish
  one another's solo ads to your respective lists. You both
  avoid paying out-of-pocket expenses and have the
  opportunity to reach a new group of targeted prospects.
  
  Another 'twist' to this common JV is to send endorsed ads
  to one another's lists. Review each other's products and,
  if it's worthy, mail an endorsed message to your readers.
  Endorsements usually outperform 'regular' ads because it
  comes from someone the readers trust (the editor).
  
  

The beauty of the Internet is that it allows you to run a
business with very little money. The 'secret' is knowing
which of the available free resources are worth your time!

Copyright © Angela Wu 2016.

---

About the Author:
Angela Wu is the editor of Online Business Basics, a practical guide to
building an Internet business on a shoestring budget. If you're tired of
hype and just want solid, down-to-earth information, then visit us now
and in moments you can have access to loads of instantly useable
tips, specifically chosen for beginners!

---

››› Go to the Previous Article

››› Go to the Next Article