- Define the goals of your
advertising campaign.
That may be to produce 100 transactions. It may be to generate 1,000 visitor
sessions. It may be to produce 500 leads. Whatever it is, clearly define
your objective.
- Identify the most effective
sites for achieving your goals.
Sites that are most relevant to your product or service will, more than
likely, be your best bet; but also consider larger sites or networks that
can target the audience you're trying to reach. They can be very
cost-effective. If you have multiple products or services that appeal to
various target markets, you'll have to consider sites that reach all those
various segments.
- Craft your message to fit
the needs of the audience you're targeting.
That comes down to understanding the audience of the sites you're
advertising on. The message you use on a technology site to appeal to
technologically savvy customers won't have the same appeal for visitors on a
small-business site.
- Formulate the specific
promotional messages that correspond to your goals.
Those promotional messages should concentrate on the major selling points of
your product or service and have a strong call-to-action. For instance, "Get
a FREE Trial Issue to Entrepreneur magazine. Sign-Up Today and
Download Our FREE Report, '23 Tips for Closing a Sale.' Click here for your
FREE Trial Issue!"
- Make the desired action
clearly visible.
That doesn't mean
the desired action should necessarily blink, bounce or do flips, but it
should be visible within an accepted format for the media you're using. In
the case of the Internet, underlined text links, "click here," text entry
boxes and pulldown menus are all ways you can make the desired action
clearly visible.
- Use rich media to expand
your message.
Static ads can be
effective, but they're one-dimensional in terms of response. Animated ads
can be effective, but like static ads, they're also one-dimensional in terms
of response. Use HTML, DHTML, Javascript, layered ads, etc. to add more
depth to your creative and expand the capabilities for response.
- Maximize the use of your
space when using rich media.
If you have limited
space in your ad, use HTML to create an animated message in one portion of
the ad and a pulldown menu or text entry box in the rest of the space,
depending on your goals. With DHTML, you can use simple scripting to take a
confined area and have it expand upon mouse over or click, giving you more
room to communicate a desired action such as a sign-up form, quote check,
etc. As more and more sites start to provide larger ad units for
advertisers, use the space to your advantage by including simple Javascript
forms to promote a desired action or have text links that depict categories
potential customers can choose from. There are numerous resources on the
Internet to help you understand and build rich creative through the use of
scripting. One such resource is
Builder.com.
- Don't restrict the response
when using rich media.
Each portion of your
creative should have a function. For instance, if you're using an HTML ad
with a pulldown menu, make sure the other portions of your ad have a
function such as a link. Having just the pulldown menu active restricts the
ability of your potential customers to respond.
- Design the ad so it looks
like it belongs on the sites where you're advertising.
For instance, you may want to use the site's font faces in your text, color
schemes in your background, font color choices overall, and emulate images
where appropriate. Try to conform to the environment so potential customers
visiting the site don't gasp in shock when they see your ad.
- Produce multiple versions of
each ad.
Create three or four
versions of each ad, changing the promotional message, call-to-action, font
faces and color schemes. This is especially important if you're doing price
testing or gauging reaction to specific promotions. By splitting your
advertising buy among the various versions of your creative, you can then
start to optimize your buy based on the message that works best.
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