Word and Web Wiz: TIPS / ARTICLES

To Ad Or Not To Ad?

By Larry L. Nichols
WordandWebWiz.com
Copyright © 2003 - 2007
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

So, you finally have your brand new website up and actively blazing away on the internet. Congratulations!

You also now know that its time to turn a large portion of your attention to the design, development and publication of a truly great newsletter, because you’re smart enough to read and research the net, quickly learning cold, hard facts about the wicked ways of the www (wild, wacky web) and successfully doing business online.

The old cliché’, “Build it and they will come,” is a giant crock of cold pudding when it comes to web marketing and you are wise enough to see your need for a really well written, promotional, back-end sales supporting, mailing list growing newsletter. Hey, good for you!

OK…so now what? You need to truly, honestly face yourself and answer a very critically important question, with absolute truth, sincerity and veracity. Does the mere act of getting your website officially launched online somehow suddenly, “magically” transform you instantly into a competent writer / editor of a premium quality, regularly published periodical?

Does driving a car automatically turn someone into a competent mechanic? Does having a thermometer and stethoscope grant anyone license to practice medicine? Does merely owning a wallet give someone the experience necessary to be a really good corporate banker or business manager? The answer is an emphatic NO!

So you’re definitely going to need some experienced, outside help to effectively figure out a few very important things about exactly what you are going to do with your newsletter. It’s a great tool if you know how to use it. Unfortunately, you first have to decide precisely what your intended goals, objectives, and needs are, before you start using the tool, or you’ll end up expending a lot of time, money, effort and energy, without really getting anywhere, other than simply going in circles.

One significant thing that, sooner better than later, after many mixed signals and suggestions “pro and con,” that you’ll have to stop and decide upon is: Should you offer to sell advertising from other businesses within your site and newsletter to help support the costs of running the site and newsletter?

Many people recommend this practice, telling you that it’s GOOD because then it’s like “THEY” (the other businesses) are basically covering the costs of your site and advertising so that YOU are now getting, at least partially, a “Free Ride,” perched comfortably on the coat-tails of the other business’s financing, experience / expertise and reputations.

But do you actually know for a fact if these other businesses have a truly reliable and “POSITIVE” reputation online, adequate financing to make good on their financial promises, and legitimate, successful experience and expertise, in other words, do they REALLY know what they are doing?

Remember, by allowing these other businesses to advertise to YOUR readers in YOUR newsletter, you are not only tying your reputation directly to theirs (praise or guilt) by association, but there is also a very good chance that YOUR potential clients and customers might end up going over to THEIR businesses and give THEM the very sales that you have worked so hard with your website and newsletter to promote, and that could and probably should have been YOURS!

So then you think, well, perhaps I’m a lot better off creating all of my own products and services, to deepen and expand upon my company’s “branding message” and “back-end” sales as I work to develop my long term, trusted relationships with my loyal and dedicated (Hmmm) subscribers? The question is; do you honestly have the expertise, “know how” and ability to do ALL of that successfully on your own?

Maybe you’ll begin to think that the answer is perhaps “a little bit of both,” where you expand your services and products, but still take on some limited advertising from elsewhere, just to create a balanced approach that helps to ensure that you capably cover your ever-exposed, financial “Proverbial” in the complex and complicated process.

Wait, ………maybe the answer is simply to do NEITHER, thereby, effectively proving to your much respected and valued readership that you have an unquestionable, uncompromising commitment to the highest possible level of integrity and absolute determination to remain 100% “Commercial Free.” That would surely impress all of your level headed, discernibly cautious readers, wouldn’t it?

Ah-ha, perhaps the answer is to simply charge people a fair, reasonable subscription fee for the newsletter. They’d probably much rather pay you your fair dues, than get trapped having to look at a bunch of silly ads anyway, right?

This is generally just about the point where you head begins to feel as if it is going to literally explode and you officially start to wonder in earnest, “Yikes, do I really know what I’m doing here, this whole newsletter writing / editing /managing / promoting / marketing stuff is really tough, can’t somebody who knows what they are doing, please “HELP ME?”

Relax my friend, help has arrived. Here’s question #1 to ask yourself. In this crazy modern world, spinning hectically in a state of absolute sensory overload, a constant confusing cacophony of commercial crush and clutter, do YOU like it when you on occasion, find something that truly interests you and gets your attention, only to discover that it also is loaded with advertising, seeking to send your mind and consciousness, yet elsewhere? Does that make you happy or mad?

My basic take on the topic is this. You simply work way too hard to build, maintain and expand your business, gain customers, develop trusted, long-term business relationships with your loyal clientele and newsletter readership, to just go and intentionally send your valuable audience off and away to someone else’s website, where they may spend their limited funds and never return to your business again.

Face it, that’s precisely what these advertisements really are doing. They are basically turning directly into the smiling faces of the nice people who have opened their mind and interest up enough to come se what you are all about and decide if they are going to do business with you. With these ads, you are basically greeting them at the door and telling them to get the heck out of here, and instead go do business with this company or that one.

It’s like carefully, meticulously courting your mate for months, maybe even years and then suddenly, when they have been fully and successfully wooed, asking them if they would like to go date a few of your friends for awhile, but to be sure to come on back for a true, deep trusted relationship once they are done with your beloved.

It’s really kind of sick and definitely a serious, “insultuous” slap in the face to your interested visitor. Why would you want to work so hard to get them to your website and / or newsletter, and then once they get interested and come visit you, so send them away, by seductively enticing them with the allure of another? That’s just plain stupid!

I understand that some of the most popular “so called” “GURUS” will assure you that it's completely fine and dandy to include some high quality, relevant ads from other individuals in your newsletter or on your website, as long as the services or products are really, really good and not directly competing with what it is that you do.

You know what I say to those “so called” Gurus? WAKE UP and pull your fat heads out of … the sand! Here’s a little lesson from “MONEY 101.” Any customer’s “expendable income” is just that, their personal “expendable income.” It’s how much money they have available to them to go out and spend as they choose.

Now if YOU sell big screen televisions, and you promote, market, and advertise like crazy to get people into your store, but inside your store, you decide to post notices requesting your potential customer to please go visit the nice people across the way who sell boats, or cars, or pools, or time share options on some nice resort condos, guess what?

Once they have decided to go ahead and spend their “expendable income” on a boat, car, pool or condo, ……… duhhhhhhhh, ……… hey, ………. it seems they no longer have that money available to buy your big screen TV!

Wow, thanks Gurus!

So what have we learned here? We’ve learned that “EVERY” single business on Earth is a competitive business, looking to convince the entire world to spend their expendable income at “Their Place” and “NOT YOURS.”

If McDonalds get someone’s last $10.00, it’s NOT just Burger King, Carl’s Jr. and Wendy’s that lost out, it’s also every single bookstore, music store, grocery store, flower store, pharmacy and world wide business including “YOU,” that also didn’t “get the sell” and make any part of that expendable $10.00.

Do you see what I'm saying here?

Basically, in reality, every business on earth is a direct competitor for that expendable income. Is it wise to work so hard to get interested visitors coming to check YOU out, only to send them away to do business with someone else?

That’s for each and every one of us to decide for ourselves. I think you now know what I think, but what’s really important to YOUR business is what YOU think!

PUBLISHING GUIDELINES:
This article may be reprinted without modification, provided that the copyright notice remain completely intact. Email notification of your intent to publish would be sincerely appreciated.

http://