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How To Plan Your
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I am often asked, “How do I know that I am getting the most
bang for my buck when running an ad in any particular
advertising vehicle?” The answer here is that it depends.
There are many factors to consider in determining if you are
on the right track. Following are some tips that will help you
1. Determine Your Ad Campaign Goals
What is your goal for your advertising campaign? Are you
trying to create awareness? Do you want to generate traffic
to your website or store front? Do you need X amount of
leads to come from your campaign? Do you want to create a
certain amount of sales for a new product or service?
Determine what you need your ad to do for you then design
your ad with the goal in mind.
2. Determine Your Budget
When I ask my clients about their advertising budget, I am
often presented with this blank stare. It is very important to
determine what the advertising budget is throughout the
course of a year, and stick to it! Break out your budget and
determine what you can spend per month. It’s common
sense, I know but many people don’t do this in their
business. Then go back to determine, based on upcoming
events, what advertising needs to take place and when.
Remember that it’s okay to mix in other marketing vehicles
such as internet ads, workshops, article marketing or public
relations. These activities do not take a chuck out of your
budget to implement.
3. Have Your Target Market In Mind
Who is your target audience? Where do they live? Where do
they work? What is their income bracket? What is their
marital status or age group? What are their habits? The
answers to these questions will greatly help you determine
which marketing vehicle to use based on their demographics.
For example, if you find that most of your customers are into
skiing, then you may want to advertising at a ski resort, in a
ski magazine, exhibit at a conference or tradeshow that
targets skiers or advertise on a billboard next to a ski shop.
4. Give Your Ad Time
So, how much time should you give your ad to do its job you
ask? Again, the answer is, it depends. Monthly and quarterly
marketing vehicles will require longer lead times than a local
newspaper or radio. Plus, consider your campaign goals. Is
your goal to create awareness, then you‘ll want to plan and
run a continuous, steady, balanced campaign. If you are
running a special during a specific holiday season for
example, you’ll want to run intense, concentrated
campaigns. For instance, for a landscaper running an
aeration promotion during the fall and summer months, he’ll
run more frequent ads for a few weeks rather than months,
and then move to a more steady and poised pace during the
summer and winter.
Keeping in mind that people need to see and hear your
message several times before it sticks, different messages
also resonate with different people. However, if your ad is
producing little to no response, the advertising vehicle may
not be to blame. Your ad may be the cause. Check that your
ad has a compelling offer. Do you have a call to action in your
ad? Is it too wordy where your audience glazes right over
it? Do you have a catchy ad tagline? Remember, you have
seconds to catch the attention of your audience. Are you
trying to sell all your products in one ad? Keep your message
to one subject and focus on one goal in each ad. Most
advertising vehicles will allow you to change your ad at any
given time. Test your ad for best results.
5. Measure Your Ad’s Effectiveness
Keep track of which ad in what marketing vehicles are
producing the best results. If you have a coupon running in
various media, put a code at the bottom of each ad that will
tell you where that coupon came from when a customer uses
it. Have a slightly different offer in different media mixes to
determine how a customer found you. Note: Different offers
can also effect how will your ad is fairing. If you have one ad
offering a percentage off versus a specific dollar amount, the
results can differ dramatically. Above all, ask your customers
how they heard about you.
5.5 Also, determine your cost of reaching your customers.
Using the cost per thousand (CPM) method, multiply the cost
of the ad by 1,000 and then divide that number by the size of
the audience (your ad representative or advertising agency
should be able to give you this information). To illustrate, if
your ad cost you $650 to run in your local newspaper and
their reach is 22,000, then the cost to reach your customers
is ($650 x 1,000 / 22,000) $29.54. Comparing the CPM
across various marketing vehicles will help you place your ad
accordingly.
By following these simple guidelines, you’ll place yourself in a
more favorable position to meet your goals, stay on target
while producing results, without extending your marketing
budget.
And now, I’d like to invite you to download the How To Boost
Your Revenues In A Slow Economy. This teleseminar will give
you low budget marketing strategies that can be
implemented into your current marketing efforts, giving it the
boost your looking for to create a successful business. Click
here to download today.
bang for my buck when running an ad in any particular
advertising vehicle?” The answer here is that it depends.
There are many factors to consider in determining if you are
on the right track. Following are some tips that will help you
1. Determine Your Ad Campaign Goals
What is your goal for your advertising campaign? Are you
trying to create awareness? Do you want to generate traffic
to your website or store front? Do you need X amount of
leads to come from your campaign? Do you want to create a
certain amount of sales for a new product or service?
Determine what you need your ad to do for you then design
your ad with the goal in mind.
2. Determine Your Budget
When I ask my clients about their advertising budget, I am
often presented with this blank stare. It is very important to
determine what the advertising budget is throughout the
course of a year, and stick to it! Break out your budget and
determine what you can spend per month. It’s common
sense, I know but many people don’t do this in their
business. Then go back to determine, based on upcoming
events, what advertising needs to take place and when.
Remember that it’s okay to mix in other marketing vehicles
such as internet ads, workshops, article marketing or public
relations. These activities do not take a chuck out of your
budget to implement.
3. Have Your Target Market In Mind
Who is your target audience? Where do they live? Where do
they work? What is their income bracket? What is their
marital status or age group? What are their habits? The
answers to these questions will greatly help you determine
which marketing vehicle to use based on their demographics.
For example, if you find that most of your customers are into
skiing, then you may want to advertising at a ski resort, in a
ski magazine, exhibit at a conference or tradeshow that
targets skiers or advertise on a billboard next to a ski shop.
4. Give Your Ad Time
So, how much time should you give your ad to do its job you
ask? Again, the answer is, it depends. Monthly and quarterly
marketing vehicles will require longer lead times than a local
newspaper or radio. Plus, consider your campaign goals. Is
your goal to create awareness, then you‘ll want to plan and
run a continuous, steady, balanced campaign. If you are
running a special during a specific holiday season for
example, you’ll want to run intense, concentrated
campaigns. For instance, for a landscaper running an
aeration promotion during the fall and summer months, he’ll
run more frequent ads for a few weeks rather than months,
and then move to a more steady and poised pace during the
summer and winter.
Keeping in mind that people need to see and hear your
message several times before it sticks, different messages
also resonate with different people. However, if your ad is
producing little to no response, the advertising vehicle may
not be to blame. Your ad may be the cause. Check that your
ad has a compelling offer. Do you have a call to action in your
ad? Is it too wordy where your audience glazes right over
it? Do you have a catchy ad tagline? Remember, you have
seconds to catch the attention of your audience. Are you
trying to sell all your products in one ad? Keep your message
to one subject and focus on one goal in each ad. Most
advertising vehicles will allow you to change your ad at any
given time. Test your ad for best results.
5. Measure Your Ad’s Effectiveness
Keep track of which ad in what marketing vehicles are
producing the best results. If you have a coupon running in
various media, put a code at the bottom of each ad that will
tell you where that coupon came from when a customer uses
it. Have a slightly different offer in different media mixes to
determine how a customer found you. Note: Different offers
can also effect how will your ad is fairing. If you have one ad
offering a percentage off versus a specific dollar amount, the
results can differ dramatically. Above all, ask your customers
how they heard about you.
5.5 Also, determine your cost of reaching your customers.
Using the cost per thousand (CPM) method, multiply the cost
of the ad by 1,000 and then divide that number by the size of
the audience (your ad representative or advertising agency
should be able to give you this information). To illustrate, if
your ad cost you $650 to run in your local newspaper and
their reach is 22,000, then the cost to reach your customers
is ($650 x 1,000 / 22,000) $29.54. Comparing the CPM
across various marketing vehicles will help you place your ad
accordingly.
By following these simple guidelines, you’ll place yourself in a
more favorable position to meet your goals, stay on target
while producing results, without extending your marketing
budget.
And now, I’d like to invite you to download the How To Boost
Your Revenues In A Slow Economy. This teleseminar will give
you low budget marketing strategies that can be
implemented into your current marketing efforts, giving it the
boost your looking for to create a successful business. Click
here to download today.
For Email Marketing you can trust
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