Tuesday, June 29, 2010

6 Tips to Better Banner Advertisements


Let us face the fact that banner advertisements are everywhere. There are plenty of online marketers who utilize the power of banner advertisements. Plenty of online marketers have recognized the potential of using banner advertisements to promote their business.

However, there is always a difference between banner advertisements, some are affective some are not. Better return on investment and website traffic are the things that you get if you have an effective banner advertisement. That is the reason why it is important that your banner advertisement stand-out amongst the sea of banner advertisements.

But the question is, “How can I make my banner advertisement stand-out?” As an online marketer of course we would like our banner advertisement to stand-out,; we want our banner advertisement to generate a high click-through rate and we also want our banner advertisement to create an impact on our prospects. But how can we do all these things if we do not know “how-to”.

To avoid making a mistake in banner advertising and loosing advertising money in the process let us go over some basic things. To make an effective banner advertisement we should know the basics and the important points that make it effective.

Effective Banner Advertisement Tip #1: Remember the K.I.S.S (keep it short and simple) rule

The first thing that you need to know when it comes to banner advertising is that you need to keep it very simple and short. Why? You only have a few seconds of your prospect’s attention so you should get your message across using a few words as possible. Keep in mind that not everyone reads super fast, so if your banner advertisement’s message is long then chances are it will not be read in its entirety.

A banner advertisement can be said as successful if the viewers remember it and if it makes an impression on the viewer.

Effective Banner Advertisement Tip #2: Present something that your prospects find interesting

As always people cannot overlook something that is interesting. That is the main reason why we need to present something that is highly interesting to people otherwise they will not read the banner advertisements that you produce.

So, it is not true that people do not read advertisements; the thing is that they only read advertisements that that they find interesting. I mean personally, would you really take the time to read something that you do not find interesting? Answer: Of course you won’t.

Effective Banner Advertisement Tip #3: Why should people click? Give them a reason to

The third tip to an effective banner advertisement is give people a reason to click. People will only take action if they are convinced enough or if they are moved enough with your banner advertisement.

Attract people by producing convincing banner advertisement that will compel them to take the action you want. People react favorably to banner advertisements that will give them something in return, like some special discount, free gift, etc. Keep in mind that banner advertisements that give something for free get a very high click-through rate which is the goal of banner advertisements in the first place.

Effective Banner Advertisement Tip #4: Make sure that you follow-through

Guiding people straight to your website is a good way of branding which can be achieved through banner advertisement. However, if you presented some sort of promotion for people who clicked your banner advertisement then be sure that you have a follow-through system in place.

Allot a webpage that will explain in detail how the promotion works and what should be the next step. It would be advisable that for each banner advertisement (if the promotion is different) you need to produce one webpage for each.

Effective Banner Advertisement Tip #5: Be sure that your banner advertisements are targeted

The success of your banner advertising campaign is not just measured by the CTR or click-through rate we also have to take into consideration amount of qualified prospects that the banner advertisement solicited.

A banner advertisement that is targeted on a specific audience yields better results than banner advertisement that caters to everyone on the internet. One of the best ways to make an effective banner advertisement is to select your target audience.

Effective Banner Advertisement Tip #6: Test your banner advertisement before launching it in full

The last tip to make an effective banner advertisement is to test it before launching it to its 100%. As an internet marketer you should know by the now the importance of testing the waters before investing heavily.

Same thing goes with banner advertisement; you need to experiment with various banner designs, layouts, etc. to estimate the appeal of your promotional offers and the type of message that brings a high-interest customer. Most of the advertising networks that you will see allow marketers to conduct series of test runs.

I sure hope that these tips that I have cited today will help you to create a more effective banner advertisement. If you have any other tips that I was not able to post here, feel free to share it with everyone. You can write your comment/s below and share your knowledge with everyone.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Building a Website


As an online entrepreneur we all dream of building a website. Building a website will do wonders for our online business but of course you need to apply the right strategy when building a website.

Building a website is an investment because you have to use some of your capital. So it would be advisable that before you go ahead and start building a website that you know the right things. Building a website that is efficient means you make sure that your website is flexible which will assist you in growing your business in the long run.

So here are some tips to help you out in your goal of building a website that is effective.

Building a Website Tip#1: Reconstructing your website

A website as we all know is one of the best methods to expand online presence. We must understand that before we go about building a website keep in mind that your website is a marketing tool and just like any other marketing tools that we use it is constantly changing.

Building a website is not the same as publishing a book wherein the contents are as is. This is the reason why experts advise online entrepreneurs who want to start building a website to avoid set website packages this is just their (web developer) way of making sure you become dependent / rely on their services constantly.

Building a Website Tip#2: Websites are forever changing

As what I have said earlier when building a website you need to keep in mind that it is always changing. As of the moment you might have a working website that contains 5 pages however in time you need to make certain changes to the website, product, promotions and so on.

As of the moment you are paying to build the basics of your website. But in time you need to keep in mind that you are going to spend some money to reconstruct your website so be ready to shell-out more money when it comes to building a website that is effective and a website that will help you grow your business.

Building a Website Tip#3: Make sure that you are building a website that is SEO ready

Search engine optimization is one important thing that you need to look into when you are building a website. So make sure that you are building a website that is SEO ready. The mistake of many entrepreneurs is that they did not equip their website with SEO capability as a result they spend more money rectifying the mistake.

Keep in mind that your website plays an important role in business success. So you need to be able to build a website that can be changed, a website that lets you add pages, edit the contents and upload files. And because you have these needs, the best solution is using some type of content management system.

Building a Website Tip#4: Keep in mind that you need something that functions

As what people say “content is king,” rings true for our third tip. Online businesses should be able to control the content of their website. When building a website you do not need to use all the latest technology what you need is a website that functions accordingly.

In short I am talking about a website that lets you change the text on all the pages, lets you add photographs to your web pages and a website that lets you embed codes from other sources.

Keep in mind that building website is not synonymous to buying a box with 4 corners. A box is somewhat limited while a website is not. You are using your hard earned money on something that is flexible and something that is subject to change.

Building a Website Tip#5: Know the basics of how-to add images

With the technology we have today one does not have to be an expert or a guru in HTML or even however if you have plan on adding images to your website that you need to know the basics on how things work.

Building a website requires work of course and it would be to your best advantage if you know something about how to add images, resizing, cropping, etc. Using an image program to resize or crop images before uploading it will help you understand how size and image are related to each other.

So one tip that you can use is learn the basics of images (resizing, cropping, etc.) before you start building a website. Knowing and understanding the basics will give you better chances of being successful when it comes to managing the visual facets of your website.

To end this post I just want to leave you with a reminder when it comes to building a website, keep in mind that websites are forever changing, it goes with the flow of time and the needs and wants of the customers. So do not be boxed in to what is being used today, be open-minded and explore the various facets of your website and make it better.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Affiliate Merchants - 5 Advantages of Being an Affiliate Merchant

Affiliate programs come in various shapes and sizes. There are plenty of affiliate program scattered in the internet. There are two people who work in an affiliate program the affiliate merchant and the affiliate representative. Both affiliate merchant and affiliate representative have one goal and that is to earn money.

Affiliate merchants may be investors, product creators or service providers. Having the capability to market your product / service to a large number of people is a dream come true for any entrepreneur. However, if you are a new merchant affiliate then it can get a bit overwhelming and at the same time exciting.

In order to start-up as a merchant affiliate you may want to join an affiliate program but you also have the option to start your own affiliate program. Starting your own affiliate program or joining existing affiliate programs as an affiliate merchant has advantages.


Joining an affiliate program as an affiliate merchant will allow you to focus more on producing more quality products, it will also allow affiliate merchants to keep current products of the highest qualities, and generally focus on running your online business.

In our article today we are going to discuss the advantages of being an affiliate merchant.

Affiliate Merchant Advantages #1: Systems are more secured

Nowadays when everything is advanced and sophisticated affiliate merchants can now feel safe from fraudulent affiliates. In the past affiliate merchants are always worried about wasting their money on senseless advertisements that will not yield the results that they want. Back then affiliate marketing was based on cost-per-click or systems in which websites were paid out based on the number of visitors but of course some people found a way to manipulate that.

Nowadays as an affiliate merchant you are now secured. You need not pay anyone anything unless of course they were able to make a sale of your product or service. As an affiliate merchant you do not have to worry about wasting your precious money on people who does not deserved to be paid.

Affiliate Merchant Advantages #2: Presentation will be professional

Affiliate programs exist for the mere fact that it aims to market, promote, network, etc. By doing business with a reputable affiliate program you can count on your product or service to be promoted or represented in a professional manner. Using reputable affiliate programs will increase the popularity of both the affiliate merchant and the product and services that are offered.

Make sure that you choose an affiliate program that markets the same line of product as yours but of course these products should not be in a direct competition with your products/ services.

Affiliate Merchant Advantages #3: You get a chance to have a lot of marketers

If you plan on being an affiliate merchant then you should also know that you can now have affiliates who will market your product for you round the clock. To better promote your products / services be sure that you provide affiliates with the necessary tools and kits to help them sell better. Of course if your affiliates sell then that means success for you as an affiliate merchant, right?

People who want to be affiliates of the affiliate merchant need only to sign-up with websites like Click or Shareasale, PayDotCom after which they can start selling whatever product or service they have chosen. Now to ensure that affiliates do the right thing affiliate merchants can provide them with the best tools to work with, which includes graphics, pre-made ads and product overview such as articles and a series of email auto-responder messages that the affiliates can use.

Affiliate Merchant Advantages #4: Less hassle

With the technology that we have now affiliate merchants do not have to be overly involved in marketing their product or services. Tools are now available at the disposal of affiliate merchants which makes life easier for them.

There are people who we call affiliate managers who can also aid the affiliate merchant in managing the program. These people are professionals trained to handle internet marketing. Again, affiliate managers will make everything easier for the affiliate merchant because he will handle everything that is associated with the program. Top of the line programs and knowledgeable affiliate managers make an affiliate merchants life so easy it is a dream come true.

Affiliate Merchant Advantages # 5: Not as tiring as other marketing strategies

Admittedly at first affiliate marketing can be a bit overwhelming for both affiliate and merchant. But once you get the hang of it will be a breeze or as they say “a walk in the park.” Why? With affiliate marketing once you get the hang of it there is very little work involved especially for the affiliate merchant.

While your affiliates set-up everything you as the affiliate merchant only has to concern yourself with paying money when your affiliates make a sale on your behalf. This type of benefit cannot be found elsewhere which makes affiliate marketing very unique.