It’s an easy mistake to make when you take into consideration the “minefield of misinformation,” and wild promises of instant gratification that are forever rampaging through cyberspace.

So what does it take to “make it” on-line?

I bet many of you have brooded over that question quite a few times, and there is no easy answer.

Is there really some secret formula that only a few worthy souls know about?

That’s an easier question to answer…”NO!” There is no secret formula, although many marketers can make you believe that they hold the key for the door to Richville.

And there in that short statement lies your answer to why many fail on-line. Can’t you see it? It really is staring you in the face.

Ok! here it is…”marketers can make you believe.”

It’s a no brainer really, but it is a fact that the elite few who make it on-line, understand marketing in all it’s various forms. They know the tips, tricks and triggers to get you to dip into your pocket and rip out your plastic.

So what exactly is marketing?

Well marketing can be described as a range of functions or activities that are used to promote a product or service through advertising, while continuing to meet the needs of your customer base.

So our mission is to try and uncover…

The Secrets of Promotional Advertising

To understand marketing, two other factors need to go hand in hand, these are; promotion and advertising. These terms can be easily confused, and are different sides of the same coin. The objective behind promotion is to keep the product in the mind of your customers, while advertising is the method of introducing the product to the potential customer.

Before starting any promotional advertising campaign there are various questions that need to be answered. For example;

What is my target audience?

What are the benefits of my product?

What image do I want to create?

What is my USP? (unique selling point)

What is the best media to reach my target audience?

Advertising if not done correctly can be expensive, especially to a company in it’s infancy. So a strategic plan needs to be implemented “straight off the bat” for any kind of success.

When all possible questions have been answered, the next step is to write the ads. Writing ads is a skill in itself, and a badly written ad can hurt your business more then not having any ads. The two words you don’t want your customers saying when reading your ads are…yeah, sure!

I’m in no doubt that you’ve all seen the outlandish claims, for example…

Make $2000 a day working at home in your underpants! Your response…”yeah, sure.”

If only things were that easy, we’d all be retired millionaires.

Now I don’t want to go into the intricacies of sales copy (that’s a different article entirely) but like many of the class A copywriters, you have to learn to get inside the head of your potential customers. To do this, you have to understand your target audience, their needs, hopes and fears. Choosing the right words at the right time to emotionally charge your ads is essential.

Once your ads have been written, the next obvious step is to get them in circulation. There are many ways to advertise and start getting traffic on the internet, such as; PPC, classified ads, press release, article marketing, blogging, submit your site to related niche directories, social networking sites. The list goes on and on, and at the end of the day it all comes down to personal preference and the size of your budget.

Every advertising campaign should also include promotional incentives to increase sales. Such incentives should include; gifts, samples, discounts, promoting with or through other businesses.

The internet offers your business a vast array of low cost opportunities to be able to meet and satisfy your customers needs. Identifying those needs is what sets successful businesses apart from the rest of the crowd. Understanding that each promotional advertising campaign you undertake must be tailored around the product.

Although it will take a lot of time and patience, promotional advertising is all about increasing your visibility, while branding your image in a positive light. By offering your customers a consistent image of your business and product will pay huge dividends in the long term.

So I hope this has given you a better insight into the true power of promotional advertising, even though it just scratches at it’s surface. By learning effective advertising and promotional techniques, you could literally sell sand to the Arabs because you make them believe in you, and that is what marketing a product is all about.