Marketing is a key part of obtaining online sales and it costs money to do it correctly. If you are smart, you want to avoid making mistakes that cost you money without bringing sales. Here are some mistakes that both novices and veterans still make.
Advertising without a targeting plan
Advertising is great but only if it reaches and speaks to the people who are likely to buy your product. Do you know who your target market is? Can you describe that market? Do you know how to find that market on the Internet?
Until you have a very good sense of who is likely to buy your products, your advertising budget will not be sufficiently targeted to be optimally effective. How do you figure it out? Here are two possibilities; there are many more.
Poll your existing customers. Collect demographic info on your customers. Ask them questions about which websites they tend to visit and what else they have purchased online recently. Use that information to develop a profile. That profile will point you in the direction of websites that you should link and advertise on. Ask how they found your site. Use that information to evaluate your current advertising and other marketing efforts.
Read marketing research. If you know that your clients tend to be in a particular age group, read about that age group's purchasing preferences and what kind of marketing they prefer.
Failing to analyze your advertising data
Once you have committed to a plan of advertising, you must commit to analyzing the data you receive then acting on the information. Test different strategies for attracting traffic and converting traffic to sales. Drop ads that do not work. Increase the presence of ads that do work.
Using ad types that are ineffective
All the consumer research suggests that pop up ads are annoying and they simply would not work. Plus, there are many pop up blockers in place now so it is much less likely that your pop up ad will even be seen. So why are some retailers still using pop ups? Either they have found some circumstances where they actually work or they are not paying attention to their advertising strategies.
Poorly designed ads
Your ads need to be designed well to work. The research continues to show that while web marketers love glitzy Flash ads, consumers do not. Keep your ads simple to read and to the point. You should certainly make them distinctive with colors and strong language and fonts but not so overpowering that the message is lost in the presentation.
Be sure there is a call to action. Some ads are so subtle and sophisticated that the consumer can miss the point. If you want someone to come to your site and buy something, tell them then show them how to do it.
Poor Placement
When you purchase advertising on a Web site or in a newsletter, be sure you understand where and when your ads will appear. Make sure your ad appears as it should, appears where you wanted it to, and when you expected it to run.
Follow these tips and your advertising dollars will be spent much more effectively.
Advertising without a targeting plan
Advertising is great but only if it reaches and speaks to the people who are likely to buy your product. Do you know who your target market is? Can you describe that market? Do you know how to find that market on the Internet?
Until you have a very good sense of who is likely to buy your products, your advertising budget will not be sufficiently targeted to be optimally effective. How do you figure it out? Here are two possibilities; there are many more.
Poll your existing customers. Collect demographic info on your customers. Ask them questions about which websites they tend to visit and what else they have purchased online recently. Use that information to develop a profile. That profile will point you in the direction of websites that you should link and advertise on. Ask how they found your site. Use that information to evaluate your current advertising and other marketing efforts.
Read marketing research. If you know that your clients tend to be in a particular age group, read about that age group's purchasing preferences and what kind of marketing they prefer.
Failing to analyze your advertising data
Once you have committed to a plan of advertising, you must commit to analyzing the data you receive then acting on the information. Test different strategies for attracting traffic and converting traffic to sales. Drop ads that do not work. Increase the presence of ads that do work.
Using ad types that are ineffective
All the consumer research suggests that pop up ads are annoying and they simply would not work. Plus, there are many pop up blockers in place now so it is much less likely that your pop up ad will even be seen. So why are some retailers still using pop ups? Either they have found some circumstances where they actually work or they are not paying attention to their advertising strategies.
Poorly designed ads
Your ads need to be designed well to work. The research continues to show that while web marketers love glitzy Flash ads, consumers do not. Keep your ads simple to read and to the point. You should certainly make them distinctive with colors and strong language and fonts but not so overpowering that the message is lost in the presentation.
Be sure there is a call to action. Some ads are so subtle and sophisticated that the consumer can miss the point. If you want someone to come to your site and buy something, tell them then show them how to do it.
Poor Placement
When you purchase advertising on a Web site or in a newsletter, be sure you understand where and when your ads will appear. Make sure your ad appears as it should, appears where you wanted it to, and when you expected it to run.
Follow these tips and your advertising dollars will be spent much more effectively.
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