Innovative Advertising Techniques

Giving "Get Well" Cards to Get More Business

2008-07-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

Of course you've heard that business is tough these days, and more than a few businesses are suffering. Well, here's your chance to play doctor: Send local businesses a note, a postcard, or a regular card designed like a Get Well card showing them how they will get better and thrive once they use your services or products.

If that's a little to forward for you, you can still send a Get Well card with advice on how they can improve their business's health. Of course you'll have your contact information on each card. You would have a better chance of them holding on to your card if it has useful and unique advice.

KICK ME: Free Advertising for Print Advertising

2008-04-22T11:17:00.001-07:00

How would you like a quick and dirty way to get your message out there? Here's one way: remember that childish prank of secretly taping a piece of paper to some one's back with an insult or "Kick Me!" scrawled on the back? You know how attention-getting that is, right?

Why not have your marketing message placed on a plain piece of paper and have you and some cohorts walk around with these signs taped to your back? Two things to make sure of though: first, don't make it look like an advertisement. Just a quick note printed on the paper with a phone number or a website address. You want the words on the paper to be not that bold so people really have to get a close up look at it.

The second thing is make sure it's not placed on the back to squarely. You want to make it look like someone snuck it on.

Oh, and probably a third thing you'd want to do. Make sure you bring enough scotch (cello) tape with you. There will be plenty of goodSamaritans out there who will remove it for you.

How to Make Your Advertising EXTREMELY Effective – Without Spending More Money

2008-02-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

If you're not happy with the results of your marketing and advertising efforts, it might just be how you're presenting your business to the world. Everyone knows that most people suffer from “ad blindness.” This affliction affects people who are constantly exposed to advertising (HINT: that's practically everybody). Someone reads a magazine, surfs the Internet, scans a newspaper and their eyes skip right over all the ads. I do; don't you? Thousands and thousands of dollars, euros, pounds, rupees down the toilet. So, what can we do? How can we promote our businesses and our websites and have the most eyeballs stuck to them? I'll tell you, but I think you already have a hint at the answer.

Just two things really. Camouflage and Content. The first was explicitly explained by American copywriter Eugene Schwartz. Camouflage is the designing of your ad to make it look like part of whatever it's part of. If you're advertising in a magazine, you make your ad look like an article. If you're advertising in a newspaper you make your ad look like an article. Obviously, some businesses do that because you'll see the word “Advertisement” in small letters printed somewhere above the ad. You'll also notice that these same ads are in these media over and over again. And you know, as well as I know, that businesses don't keep advertising that way in such expensive media unless what they're doing is working.

It's the same with websites. Most people who are searching for something online are searching for information. They're not looking for a sales letter; they're not looking for a flash video of your product. They want content. Helpful, useful, easy-to-read, problem-solving content. It's your job to present your products and services in an interesting and informative way without resorting to hype and ad-speak.

What will happen when you start doing this is you'll find that people are sticking around your website longer. You'll get more emails and phone calls asking for more information. You'll be painting yourself as a true expert and leaving your competitors who refuse to give up the hype and the empty “We surpass any and all your expectations!” and start making real money.

Creating Banner Ads That Still Get Click Throughs

2008-01-31T05:09:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows that free banner ads are not very good ways of advertising. Website visitors have what's called “ad blindness” where they don't even realize there's a banner on the page. Some advertisers have come up with the idea that if the banner flashes, shakes, or otherwise distracts, it will get more clicks. What has been your experience with those banner ads? Have you thought, “Yes, I want to see what this company is offering!”? I didn't think so.

There are some companies, however, that use banner ads that get above average click throughs. What they have done is quite simple: they created a graphic that looks like a text link or drop down box.

Like this:

Or this one:

Ideally, the banner background should match the website's background color. You might want to use a GIF or PNG format with a transparent background if you don't have any say in the color.

These banners can be created quite easily in any graphics program like Photoshop, The GIMP, or even MS Paint. You could even create them in an HTML editor, take a screenshot, and then crop them when you're ready to use. Doing it this way makes it easier to test the various wording.

Another thing you should keep in mind when using banners is the name of the banner file. Avoid using words like “ad” or “banner” or “advertising” in the file name The reason? Firefox. This browser has all sorts of ad blockers and ANY file with those words will be made invisible.

Involvement Devices for Fun and Profit

2008-01-28T03:43:00.000-08:00

As you know, it's incredibly difficult to keep any visitor on your website for more than a few seconds before they hit the “back” button and move on to somewhere else.

You need a way (or ways) to keep people on your site for as long as it's necessary to sell them.

How well do you keep people on your site? Take this quiz to find out:

============================================================

Your website is full of interesting content that informs rather than sells.
YES
NO

You help solve your visitors' problems rather than just brag how you're the
leader in your field.
YES
NO

You use involvement devices to lure, hold, and convince your products are just what your prospects need.
YES
NO

============================================================

If you answered Yes to even one of these questions, this blog post is for you.

The above is an example of an involvement device. It could be in the form of a quiz, a checklist, a widget, online survey, online presentation, multi-media presentation, or any other sort of device where visitors can click around or fill in the blanks. But in all cases, it has to advance the sale.

You could add some sort of third-party widget to your site, but that's not really recommended because they're giving you the widget in order to promote their site.

At the very least, you could embed a YouTube video on your site where you are explaining/describing/showing off your product or service (if you do that though, make sure you put your website address towards the end of the video so people who come across your video on YouTube might be interested enough in visiting your site).

No Bagel! No Bagel! No Bagel!!

2008-01-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

FOR BRICK & MORTAR BUSINESSES. You know how strikers who are picketing always attract attention? Why not apply the same method to your business? Get a bunch of employees, friends, temps to carry picket signs outside your establishment. This is only good for a short time before the novelty wears off.

Free Mobile Billboard

2008-01-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

Why not turn your car into a spokesperson for your products and services? You could get a complete paint job or you could go the cheaper route and just put on a magnetic sign, an ID plate, or even a marquee LED display for your back window.

If you go this route, don't do what I've seen so many other do: just put the name of your company and phone number or website address. Do what the most successful direct marketers do: write up a compelling headline to target your market AND offer a tasty benefit for your viewers. Then add your phone number or website address.

No, advertising on your car in not terribly innovative. But it is free. And you might like to offer your neighbors, family, and friends some cash to put ads on their cars, too.

Create Free Colorful Online Presentations for Your Website

2008-01-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

How would you like to be able to stuff a small area full of all sorts of information about you and your business? One way to do that is to embed a slide show right on your website.

As you probably know, Zoho and Google Documents (docs.google.com) allow you to create and show presentations right online. But what you might not know is that you can embed these presentations right into your website.

When you have finished creating your presentation here's what you do: In Zoho you have to click on the Publish button, then Make Public, after you do that click on Embed in Website/Blog. You'll be given the code to place on your website. For Google Docs click on the Publish tab over on the right. After you do that, you'll find the embed code under "Mini Presentation Module."

Here's a simple example I have on my copywriting website, Compelling-Copywriting.com:

Weird eBay Advertising

2008-01-20T12:23:00.000-08:00

Need some publicity and an original place to put one of your ads? Why not try eBay? Lots of people are offering their heads, bellies, and other parts of their bodies where you can place your ads, often in the form of a tattoo.

Head over to eBay and go to their Everything Else category. From there look for Advertising Opportunities. Once you've gotten to that category, you'll have to wade through a lot of crap to find someone offering a part of their anatomy to you to advertise on. You'll also find some postings for placing your ads in fairly normal areas like walls and such.

If you can't find anything, try placing free ads on Craigslist looking for a willing billboard.

"Once you start using these advertising techniques, you'll be delighted"

2008-01-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

Let me shake your hand. Out of all the billions of webpages, you've made it to this one. Thank you. In the posts to follow, I'll be giving you all sorts of information on innovative internet advertising, online advertising, and cost effective advertising that will keep your business in that hard to keep top-of-mind position so many companies strive for yet never reach.

What will be coming to you in the days, weeks, and months ahead will be unique ways to get your products and services into the minds of as many propects as you can for the least amount of money. Some of these techniques are some closely guarded secrets of successful companies. Some of the techniques you will never have heard of before. And that's important because what you'll be getting is fresh, useful information, a lot of which you can start using immediately.