Step 4: Advertising (Free, Paid & Funded)

Lets get this one handled first because whether you like it or not, you have to advertise or you will not survive in the modern online world. Now you have three choices here:
1. Free Advertising
2. Paid Advertising
3. Funded Advertising

Get Good Ad Copy: The first thing you need to do is create powerful ad copy. Your message must grab the viewer’s attention (powerful headline and sub-head). It must identify a want, need or a solution to a problem they have.

You are either giving someone something they want or need (not what you think they want or need and there is a difference) or you are providing them with a solution to a problem they have.

If you have completed step two of this series of articles you will have identified a need or want in the marketplace and then researched your competition and selected some powerful keywords.

Tip: If you cannot write good copy, get someone who can! This is critical to your online success. There are numerous places like elance.com and rentacoder.com where you can advertise your project and let other people from around the world bid on your job… and it won’t cost you the earth.

1. Free Advertising: This one is going to take some work on your part but if done correctly can generate massive traffic in the long run. So where do you start? Well one of the easiest ways is to post your ad onto free ad networks (just do a Google search for free ad networks and pick the top ones}

One we use and have had success with is US Free Ads particularly if you select the featured ad option.

Another couple of ways is to use free banner exchanges and advertising co-ops. Once again do a Google search for them and pick the top ones. You will probably find some of them will also show up when you do the free ad networks search.

2. Paid Advertising: This one requires you to open your wallet/purse so make sure you do your research first and, this includes reading the terms and conditions and learning how each system works.

This is extremely important when dealing with pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns like Google Adwords because if you get this wrong, it can cost you a lot of money. Make sure you are aware of the approximate bid price for all the keywords you are planning to use so you can set your daily budget.

Remember to do your keyword research first, it is no good getting a good bid price on a keyword that does not get any searches (refer to the research module in step 2)

3. Funded Advertising: This is where you set up system where potential prospects sign up to your list to receive a free gift. This can be in the form of a free e-book, software or product, the choice is up to you, just make sure it represents value to your prospect (make it worth opting into your list for)

This is how it works; you present a compelling free offer in return for someone opting into your list. After opting in, your prospect is then sent to a landing page where they are offered an upgrade or another compatible product at a special discounted price. Ideally you want to keep the price of this upgrade or product under $20.

You must give them the option to decline the offer (but if it is compelling enough they won’t). When they opt for the upgrade or product or, decide to decline, they are then sent to the download page to collect their free gift.

Now here is a crucial key, which if you do not utilize will cost you dearly, you must follow up with a thank you email congratulating them on downloading the free product and/or upgrade and offer some advice on how to get started using the product.

You continue with follow up emails, once a week or every few days, with powerful useful information, based on their need or want which you have now identified, that will take them a step closer to their goal (not yours). You can subtlety offer them additional products in these emails but DO NOT bombard them with offers or you will lose them… and fast.

The key here is quality content that they can use to further their goals. By doing it this way, you will build a relationship with them and they will learn to know, like and trust you. Then, when they are ready, they will start asking you for advice on the best products to use for specific projects. This is where you become the hunted instead of the hunter and this, in Internet and Network Marketing, is a powerful position to be in.