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 More Traffic PleaseHome > Promote > Search Engines > Tutorials by Aaron West Print and Media Advertising Print and media advertising has paid off very well for many of the larger portal sites. It can pay off for your site as well if you have the cash. Both advertising mediums are very expensive for ad space, and the ad creation can take some time or money. But with this sort of advertising you can reach a large audience that you might not reach otherwise. Print advertising can provide strong results, however you have to be strategic about it. You have to figure out which publications your target audience will most likely read, and then decide which ad will bring the best results for the buck. You also have to design an ad that will attract someone's attention. Remember, designing web pages and designing layout are completely different processes. If you have no graphic design experience, I suggest you find someone that does and have them layout the ad for you, even if you have to pay for it. The conceptual design is still up to you, but the final result should be in the hands of someone more accomplished. Radio and Television ads can be most lucrative to your site, but come at the highest price. If you're able to generate traffic to your site, and start making a little bit of money, put a little aside for advertising. Once you have about $10,000 or so, then the media might be worth a try. Try first with radio. If that pays off, then you can move to television. As with print ads and banner ads, try to find a program or station that appeals to the same type of person you are targeting. If your site is about sports, and you advertise during a gardening show, you've wasted your money. There are other television options other than networks. If your area has a cable access program, advertising can be relatively cheap there, but also reaches a much smaller audience. Another strong way to advertise on television is on your Cable provider's Preview channel, if your cable provider has one. This sort of advertising is less expensive, ranging between $500-$1,000/month for a spot every hour. You can reach millions of people this way, but you have to remember that this medium doesn't offer the ad creativity that the other's do. You usually have to pack your message into a couple lines of text. If this is a viable option for you, check to see if your cable channel offers voice overs. If they do, they are worthwhile, even if at an extra cost. Other ways to advertise I know someone who recently put up a large site who advertised strictly with direct mail. This can be expensive advertising, with the design costs, the printing costs, and then the bulk mailing costs, but it can be effective. He wanted to reach single people in Atlanta, so direct mail was probably the best option for him, although not the cheapest. You can also purchase mailing lists at a reasonable price, and can set criteria for what sort of person appears on your list. Mail advertising annoys people, but they do pay closer attention to it than they usually would. With direct mail, someone has to physically pick up your advertisement, read it, and throw it away if they don't want it. It might cost you 30-40 cents for each piece of mail sent, but every person will read your name. It's up to you to decide whether that's worth it. Bumper stickers are a great, inexpensive way to advertise. They are fairly easy to design yourself provided you have the right software, plus they aren't too expensive to print. Print up about a thousand bumper stickers and distribute them freely to friends, neighbors, coworkers, family members. Every person that uses your bumper sticker will be plugging you every time they get behind the wheel. T-shirts are another good example. If you have a nice shirt design, it will be noticed every time you or someone else wears it. You can also get smaller promotional items at reasonable prices. For example, keychains, pencils, and pens. People appreciate when you give these away free. I hope I've demonstrated how simple marketing your site can be, and hopefully I've opened your eyes to some new ideas. The options are endless. I've named a few, but anyone with a creative mind can come up with many more. Once you've settled on your advertising plan, don't deviate from it. Go through with your plan until you see some results. If the results aren't what you imagined they would be, then switch things around a little bit. What's most important is that you stick with it, and keep on trying to reach your audience. Remember that without a resourceful or entertaining site, everything we just talked about is a complete waste of time. The best way to generate and keep traffic on your site is simply to put up something of quality. If what you have is something people want, then people will be more likely to visit you, and even likelier to visit you again. You have to have a site worth seeing. If you have a good site, and you follow the tips above, trust me they will come. Part
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