In today' s modern, sophisticated and fast world, online classifieds have become a medium of communication among the internet users. On one end it is informative and on the other end it is convenient and cost effective. In this scenario, the online classified websites have occupied one among the top ranking sites on the internet due to its vast popularity among the users.
Today there are n number of classifieds sites on the internet and some of them are not only useful but are also impressive giving its users a chance to place ads in different categories such as jobs, real estate, for sale etc. Where as newspapers has limited approach to people compared to on line classifieds where it can reach the millions of people at single click.
This can be said as one of the major reasons for the recognition of the classifieds sites. The responses one receives through placing their ads in classifieds sites is far more than compared to news paper ads or print media ads. Due to these effective responses, the classified website industry has grown at a very rapid phase and has acquired as one of the popular sites among all the various categories of websites on the internet today. Keeping in view of all these positive happenings it is beyond any doubt that the online classified industry is booming day by day and is very near to occupy one of the top positions among all the categories of websites on the internet.
So every time you think of placing an ad just go for some free classified sites. I am sure that you will be satisfied as never before with the responses you receive and also you will save your hard earned money.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Online Advertising vs. Promotional Products
1. PPC - Search engine (AdWords, Overture etc.)
At the search engines you pay for every click a user makes on your ad. I will give you a small example to show you the advantage or disadvantage of pay-per-click and promotional products.
A click can cost you up to $100 in the worst case. The average cost per click is mainly 1 to 2 dollars. When you have a monthly budget of $1000 you will get up to 1000 unique visitors.
Invest $1000 in promotional products and you will get for example 2000 pens with your logo or internet address imprinted on it. Send these pens to your possible customers or give it away at trade shows. Now anytime these people use the pen they will see the logo of your company.
When these people one day need products you have in your online-shop they will get reminded of your company. If they visit your site now this can be seen as a “virtual click”. This can be up to 2000 “virtual clicks” and visitors for your site.
2. Banner advertising (pay per impression)
You can compare promotional products with banner advertising. Your logo, internet address or product will be placed on an area with a typical size of space. The advantages of promotional products are the better “click-through rates”.
The user will see the logo of your company every time they use these products. This is like a banner impression at websites. Normally a user will see your banner one time when they visit a website. At promotional products they will see it every time they use it.
Why shall I use promotional products?
1. The user will see your logo as long as they use it
2. High “virtual click-through rate” and ROI(return on investment) when you give it to the right user groups (Trade shows)
3. People like to receive them.
Why shall I not use promotional products?
1. The conversion rate can be near zero if you give the products to the wrong user group
2. High investments for several expensive promotional products and campaigns
At the search engines you pay for every click a user makes on your ad. I will give you a small example to show you the advantage or disadvantage of pay-per-click and promotional products.
A click can cost you up to $100 in the worst case. The average cost per click is mainly 1 to 2 dollars. When you have a monthly budget of $1000 you will get up to 1000 unique visitors.
Invest $1000 in promotional products and you will get for example 2000 pens with your logo or internet address imprinted on it. Send these pens to your possible customers or give it away at trade shows. Now anytime these people use the pen they will see the logo of your company.
When these people one day need products you have in your online-shop they will get reminded of your company. If they visit your site now this can be seen as a “virtual click”. This can be up to 2000 “virtual clicks” and visitors for your site.
2. Banner advertising (pay per impression)
You can compare promotional products with banner advertising. Your logo, internet address or product will be placed on an area with a typical size of space. The advantages of promotional products are the better “click-through rates”.
The user will see the logo of your company every time they use these products. This is like a banner impression at websites. Normally a user will see your banner one time when they visit a website. At promotional products they will see it every time they use it.
Why shall I use promotional products?
1. The user will see your logo as long as they use it
2. High “virtual click-through rate” and ROI(return on investment) when you give it to the right user groups (Trade shows)
3. People like to receive them.
Why shall I not use promotional products?
1. The conversion rate can be near zero if you give the products to the wrong user group
2. High investments for several expensive promotional products and campaigns
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Not Being Advertised...How the Advertising Business Has Changed Over Time
There are three words which often bother me. " I remember when….." When my peers and friends use them, I always feel like telling them to switch gears and think about today and tomorrow, not yesterday. They seldom comply. Now, having been invited to write about how the ad agency business has changed since I was in it on a day-to-day basis, I suppose I have to "remember when."
If you remember when Channel 10 did a live, (LIVE!) daily, (DAILY!) Network (NETWORK!) show, you're probably as old as I am.
If you remember when ad agencies relied heavily on Type Shops for fast, efficient service, you are probably in your forties.
If you remember when word processing people were called typists and when they used a thing called carbon paper, you are probably in your fifties. (Side effects from typewriters and carbon paper were messy erasures and blue-stained fingers.)
And if you think FedEx, cable TV, B101, All News All The Time, Video Conferencing,
and Satellites have always been there, I'm jealous for not being your age.
In the ad business, the only thing that's certain is that what's certain today will not be certain tomorrow.
Which brings me to the agency business and some significant changes that have taken place in my career-lifetime.
Whereas client/agency relationships changed focus from print to broadcast over many years, the changes now move with lightening speed. For example, when UHF television came along, it was big news because viewers in this market could see six stations instead of three. Now, who can keep track of all the video available with cable and internet access for movies and on and on. How will agencies have to adjust? Who knows? We do know that the media challenges that face agencies are already causing several significant changes.
First, some are not fighting the media wars. Many are farming out their media requirements. That means they are actually trusting another organization to collaborate directly with their clients. That's something that was unimaginable just a few years ago.
Second, many of the larger agencies now have very robust Media Divisions and those divisions are involved with sales promotion, sponsorship and even some creative tasks.
Many of them actually feel like full service agencies if you study them closely.
Third, agencies must take steps to become more aware of accountability as it relates to their clients' spending. Welcome, Internet Marketing. Just a few years ago, many marketing folks started thinking about one-to-one marketing. Today it's becoming an absolute necessity for agencies to understand Search Engine Marketing, Optimization
and other terms which were virtually unknown just five years ago.
Those agencies which relied on creative radio ideas no longer have a fairly simple pallet to deal with. AM radio was dominant and the change to FM dominance took many years. Now we have two major factors which already influence how radio is utilized by the consumer: Satellite and a little phenomenon called IPod. Cost per thousand is still important but specific, measurable results are more important. That factor is pushing today's agencies into thought processes which require greater strategic ability as well as a keen understanding of how to meld communications for image/brand with clients' demand to see sales figures climb as direct ways to measure ROI. Whoever succeeds in finding the best way to turn IPod users into a demographic group that's available as "media" will harvest big rewards.
Think about how Internet advertising has changed and is changing marketing strategy. That new media increased by 21% in 2004. It's projected to take seven billion dollars away from traditional ad budgets in 2005. Soon, it will be "traditional." Maybe it already is. Agencies must take a leadership role in finding optimum ways to apply those funds.
There are other important topics and terms today which might not have existed for agencies in the past but are core factors today and are likely to become even more important: Broadband, Customer Relationship Management , Video on Demand, Paid Inclusion, Latino Media, Collaboration Extranets, Streaming, High-Definition and even IMAX theaters.
More and more advertisers of all sizes are trying to save money by taking routine responsibilities away from agencies and doing them inside. Many agency executives believe that their real value for clients is their business knowledge and their strategic capability along with their creative execution. These trends in thinking drive change and challenge for agencies. Not only are there fewer employees per million dollars of billing, but there is a large gap between well paid and not-so-well-paid agency employees.
Believe it or not, there was a time when, on average there were ten employees per million dollars worth of billing. Today it's one and a half employees per million. Who knows where it's headed? One of the country's fastest growing agencies, Kalan Thaler Group reports $600,000,000 in billing with only 140 employees. Yes, they must work very hard but they also must be smart, creative and, as they say, "cutting edge."
Why the salary gap mentioned above? Because strategic support is hard for clients to find and comes in expensive packages. Therefore, the agency which probably has the best chance to retain its client is the agency whose client trusts the recommendations that come from the agency. Translated, that means smarts, strategic thinking and courage on top of the usual high expectations about effective, wonderful creative solutions. Translated further, that means expensive brains at the agency, a salary gap between those brains and the other folks as well as fairly low salaries beneath the top thinkers. In a way, the CEO of an ad agency is now responsible for managing salaries in the same way major league teams do it. They place the big dollars where the big benefits are, in star performers.
In summary, the only way to view changes in the ad business is pretty much the same as changes in other businesses. Lee Iacocco, of Chrysler fame, once said , "Change or die!" That's true of our beloved ad business. It always has been. It is now. And it always will be. Figuring out how to be ahead of the curve is the challenge of today's agency CEO. I guess I'm glad that I no longer have to live up to that title and those expectations. Instead, I'm doing my best to provide agencies with ways to get along with fewer employees and, at the same time, to give clients what they need and want: easy collaboration, accurate communications and, above all, efficient and effective use of their most valuable assets,
brains, creativity and time.
If you remember when Channel 10 did a live, (LIVE!) daily, (DAILY!) Network (NETWORK!) show, you're probably as old as I am.
If you remember when ad agencies relied heavily on Type Shops for fast, efficient service, you are probably in your forties.
If you remember when word processing people were called typists and when they used a thing called carbon paper, you are probably in your fifties. (Side effects from typewriters and carbon paper were messy erasures and blue-stained fingers.)
And if you think FedEx, cable TV, B101, All News All The Time, Video Conferencing,
and Satellites have always been there, I'm jealous for not being your age.
In the ad business, the only thing that's certain is that what's certain today will not be certain tomorrow.
Which brings me to the agency business and some significant changes that have taken place in my career-lifetime.
Whereas client/agency relationships changed focus from print to broadcast over many years, the changes now move with lightening speed. For example, when UHF television came along, it was big news because viewers in this market could see six stations instead of three. Now, who can keep track of all the video available with cable and internet access for movies and on and on. How will agencies have to adjust? Who knows? We do know that the media challenges that face agencies are already causing several significant changes.
First, some are not fighting the media wars. Many are farming out their media requirements. That means they are actually trusting another organization to collaborate directly with their clients. That's something that was unimaginable just a few years ago.
Second, many of the larger agencies now have very robust Media Divisions and those divisions are involved with sales promotion, sponsorship and even some creative tasks.
Many of them actually feel like full service agencies if you study them closely.
Third, agencies must take steps to become more aware of accountability as it relates to their clients' spending. Welcome, Internet Marketing. Just a few years ago, many marketing folks started thinking about one-to-one marketing. Today it's becoming an absolute necessity for agencies to understand Search Engine Marketing, Optimization
and other terms which were virtually unknown just five years ago.
Those agencies which relied on creative radio ideas no longer have a fairly simple pallet to deal with. AM radio was dominant and the change to FM dominance took many years. Now we have two major factors which already influence how radio is utilized by the consumer: Satellite and a little phenomenon called IPod. Cost per thousand is still important but specific, measurable results are more important. That factor is pushing today's agencies into thought processes which require greater strategic ability as well as a keen understanding of how to meld communications for image/brand with clients' demand to see sales figures climb as direct ways to measure ROI. Whoever succeeds in finding the best way to turn IPod users into a demographic group that's available as "media" will harvest big rewards.
Think about how Internet advertising has changed and is changing marketing strategy. That new media increased by 21% in 2004. It's projected to take seven billion dollars away from traditional ad budgets in 2005. Soon, it will be "traditional." Maybe it already is. Agencies must take a leadership role in finding optimum ways to apply those funds.
There are other important topics and terms today which might not have existed for agencies in the past but are core factors today and are likely to become even more important: Broadband, Customer Relationship Management , Video on Demand, Paid Inclusion, Latino Media, Collaboration Extranets, Streaming, High-Definition and even IMAX theaters.
More and more advertisers of all sizes are trying to save money by taking routine responsibilities away from agencies and doing them inside. Many agency executives believe that their real value for clients is their business knowledge and their strategic capability along with their creative execution. These trends in thinking drive change and challenge for agencies. Not only are there fewer employees per million dollars of billing, but there is a large gap between well paid and not-so-well-paid agency employees.
Believe it or not, there was a time when, on average there were ten employees per million dollars worth of billing. Today it's one and a half employees per million. Who knows where it's headed? One of the country's fastest growing agencies, Kalan Thaler Group reports $600,000,000 in billing with only 140 employees. Yes, they must work very hard but they also must be smart, creative and, as they say, "cutting edge."
Why the salary gap mentioned above? Because strategic support is hard for clients to find and comes in expensive packages. Therefore, the agency which probably has the best chance to retain its client is the agency whose client trusts the recommendations that come from the agency. Translated, that means smarts, strategic thinking and courage on top of the usual high expectations about effective, wonderful creative solutions. Translated further, that means expensive brains at the agency, a salary gap between those brains and the other folks as well as fairly low salaries beneath the top thinkers. In a way, the CEO of an ad agency is now responsible for managing salaries in the same way major league teams do it. They place the big dollars where the big benefits are, in star performers.
In summary, the only way to view changes in the ad business is pretty much the same as changes in other businesses. Lee Iacocco, of Chrysler fame, once said , "Change or die!" That's true of our beloved ad business. It always has been. It is now. And it always will be. Figuring out how to be ahead of the curve is the challenge of today's agency CEO. I guess I'm glad that I no longer have to live up to that title and those expectations. Instead, I'm doing my best to provide agencies with ways to get along with fewer employees and, at the same time, to give clients what they need and want: easy collaboration, accurate communications and, above all, efficient and effective use of their most valuable assets,
brains, creativity and time.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Nine Features of an Advertising Flop
Another title for this article can be “How to write an ad that will be immediately thrown into a waste paper basket?”. But it is too long. In their business advertisers have to follow some rules to enhance the process of customer’s perception of the presented information. However, they are very often overlooked. It is really very annoying. So I suggest turning everything upside down and to make a flop of your ad take advantage of this “wrong” advice: The first wrong advice. Open your ad with the words “If you want …” The client will hesitate whether he really needs your service or goods. As a rule, he comes to conclusion that he will buy it later, but not now.
The second wrong advice. There should be a lot of cheerful and spicy remarks about the client’s flaws. Start with describing them “Are you going bald?” The third wrong advice: From the very first phrase, let your client understand that your product is the most unique and universal thing. For example, “Our thesis writing service solves all your problems”. The fourth wrong advice. If you are new in the business, there is nothing better than the headline “Company” so and so “presents”. The thought that there is a person who does not know the name of your wonderful firm should never occur to you. The fifth wrong advice. There are so many various prints! It is a crime not to use them. The best variant is to write every word in a different print. Give preference to decorative types, especially it concerns your contact information. The client will spend several pleasant minutes guessing if it is 3 or 9, b or d. To bring your clients complete satisfaction use the smallest type for writing your address and phone number. You don’t want your clients to find where your office is.
The sixth wrong advice. When we are reading the text, we are saying it to ourselves. That is why the larger the print - the more emotional and appealing our ad is. Make your print larger with every new phrase; make the main parts in bold and the more italicised parts – the more impressive your ad looks. The seventh wrong advice. Preach at your customer: Of course you don’t know that… or “You have no idea that…” Let him understand that God deigned to concede him. The eighth wrong advice. Your business is the most important thing I the world and you won’t deal with those who don’t think so. You don’t need their money. That is why don’t take time to explain something. Use many special terms and learned words. Let the client suffer from inferiority complex. Don’t take pains to explain how these goods can help him. He must think about it himself. If he does not know, he must find out it for himself. Any way he has nothing else to occupy himself with. The ninth wrong advice. Don’t divide your text into paragraphs. Your text is as precious as a computer science thesis you defended years ago and the reader must peruse every word. Your text should contain as many subordinate clauses as possible. I even would not write the tenth tip as if you follow these ten ones your sales rates will remain just the same. What can be better?
The second wrong advice. There should be a lot of cheerful and spicy remarks about the client’s flaws. Start with describing them “Are you going bald?” The third wrong advice: From the very first phrase, let your client understand that your product is the most unique and universal thing. For example, “Our thesis writing service solves all your problems”. The fourth wrong advice. If you are new in the business, there is nothing better than the headline “Company” so and so “presents”. The thought that there is a person who does not know the name of your wonderful firm should never occur to you. The fifth wrong advice. There are so many various prints! It is a crime not to use them. The best variant is to write every word in a different print. Give preference to decorative types, especially it concerns your contact information. The client will spend several pleasant minutes guessing if it is 3 or 9, b or d. To bring your clients complete satisfaction use the smallest type for writing your address and phone number. You don’t want your clients to find where your office is.
The sixth wrong advice. When we are reading the text, we are saying it to ourselves. That is why the larger the print - the more emotional and appealing our ad is. Make your print larger with every new phrase; make the main parts in bold and the more italicised parts – the more impressive your ad looks. The seventh wrong advice. Preach at your customer: Of course you don’t know that… or “You have no idea that…” Let him understand that God deigned to concede him. The eighth wrong advice. Your business is the most important thing I the world and you won’t deal with those who don’t think so. You don’t need their money. That is why don’t take time to explain something. Use many special terms and learned words. Let the client suffer from inferiority complex. Don’t take pains to explain how these goods can help him. He must think about it himself. If he does not know, he must find out it for himself. Any way he has nothing else to occupy himself with. The ninth wrong advice. Don’t divide your text into paragraphs. Your text is as precious as a computer science thesis you defended years ago and the reader must peruse every word. Your text should contain as many subordinate clauses as possible. I even would not write the tenth tip as if you follow these ten ones your sales rates will remain just the same. What can be better?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
New way in the press releases writing
Greetings to everybody who writes press and news releases. We'd like to share with you the information you need - new releases files format ROFX.
We are sure this word ROFX (or jokingly rofix) is something new you never heard of before. So, if you have a smallest relation
to press or news releases writing we hope this site will help you very much.
So what is ROFX? It is an abbreviation for Public Press Releases Open Format XML.
What is the purpose of ROFX? To make press or news releases creation comfortable and simple.
In fact, ROFX files are one part of the system intended to make releases posting more progressive. What this means? ROFX - is an XML based file format that helps to organize release information - release content and author's information. It organizes files, the ROFX system is a very comfortable helper to hold them as project. There is a system for ROFX posting, moderation, API for releases sharing with web sites. This API is realized in different languages, so you can use it in your web site engine developed with PHP, Perl or Python.
Another important part of the ROFX system is the ROFX Composer - a Windows desktop application that is used for ROFX releases files composing. This is not only ROFX files editor - the program helps to organize publisher's information and releases themselves. This program is possible to get from the Downloads section. ROFX Composer really works, but there might be some bugs - we very much appreciate all your bug reports. This helps us to improve this program.
All releases in ROFX format are stored in ROFX categories - anyone may surf through this web site and read the releases posted there.
We invite press and news releases authors and web site owners to spread the ROFX format as a comfortable and useful technology.
Visit please our web site http://www.rofx.org and find all information and software.
We are sure this word ROFX (or jokingly rofix) is something new you never heard of before. So, if you have a smallest relation
to press or news releases writing we hope this site will help you very much.
So what is ROFX? It is an abbreviation for Public Press Releases Open Format XML.
What is the purpose of ROFX? To make press or news releases creation comfortable and simple.
In fact, ROFX files are one part of the system intended to make releases posting more progressive. What this means? ROFX - is an XML based file format that helps to organize release information - release content and author's information. It organizes files, the ROFX system is a very comfortable helper to hold them as project. There is a system for ROFX posting, moderation, API for releases sharing with web sites. This API is realized in different languages, so you can use it in your web site engine developed with PHP, Perl or Python.
Another important part of the ROFX system is the ROFX Composer - a Windows desktop application that is used for ROFX releases files composing. This is not only ROFX files editor - the program helps to organize publisher's information and releases themselves. This program is possible to get from the Downloads section. ROFX Composer really works, but there might be some bugs - we very much appreciate all your bug reports. This helps us to improve this program.
All releases in ROFX format are stored in ROFX categories - anyone may surf through this web site and read the releases posted there.
We invite press and news releases authors and web site owners to spread the ROFX format as a comfortable and useful technology.
Visit please our web site http://www.rofx.org and find all information and software.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
New Tendencies in the Art of Advertising
How to sell things has become a science more than an art in the last few decades. Crowds of people of different professions work hard to find the way to be ”different”. They use all their creativity to be appearing.
New tendencies in advertising seem to be based on the idea “the first impact should be long-lasting and conservative”. The more shocking an advert is the easier it remains in one’s mind.
Ideas in advertising often rise depending on the kind of customers you are referring to and based on a complex market analysis.
Some tips for a trendy advertisement :
- Be short! Be creative!;
- try to have strong visual impact;
- put yourself in the customers shoes;
- use “scientific” messages (e.g : use “scientific acne treatment”
instead of “acne problems”);
- use statistics;
- express freely your own personality, beliefs, philosophy and values;
- be funny, even humorous.
One of the new tendencies in advertising is to avoid focusing on a small percent of people. If you are selling an acne treatment product you should not design your advert for the adolescent target group.
If you are advertising a junior product you have to think about how to
convince parents, grandparents and the children themselves to make sure
that a connection rises in their minds so that they will buy your product.
New tendencies in advertising seem to be based on the idea “the first impact should be long-lasting and conservative”. The more shocking an advert is the easier it remains in one’s mind.
Ideas in advertising often rise depending on the kind of customers you are referring to and based on a complex market analysis.
Some tips for a trendy advertisement :
- Be short! Be creative!;
- try to have strong visual impact;
- put yourself in the customers shoes;
- use “scientific” messages (e.g : use “scientific acne treatment”
instead of “acne problems”);
- use statistics;
- express freely your own personality, beliefs, philosophy and values;
- be funny, even humorous.
One of the new tendencies in advertising is to avoid focusing on a small percent of people. If you are selling an acne treatment product you should not design your advert for the adolescent target group.
If you are advertising a junior product you have to think about how to
convince parents, grandparents and the children themselves to make sure
that a connection rises in their minds so that they will buy your product.
Monday, May 23, 2011
New Outdoor Advertising Targets Market Directly
With a shifting technological landscape that has relegated television to background noise, advertisers are re-evaluating their needs and looking for new ways to bring their message to the public. Rather than creating entirely new ad campaigns, it's becoming increasingly important to make the method as memorable as the message.
Wheels America Advertising (WAA) uses mobile billboards to catch the eye of drivers and passersby alike. Vinyl 8-by-14-foot billboards are mounted on specially designed vehicles and backlit for maximum visual impact.
Outdoor advertising, such as a billboard, is effective because it's hard to ignore. According to a national survey, it's also memorable. Capitol Communications Group found that 81.7 percent of those polled recalled images they saw on a moving multi-image sign. This is compared to a 19 percent retention rate for static signs.
By virtue of its mobility, this billboard style, already popular in parts of Europe, can be used effectively by businesses in America's car-dominated society.
Unlike a typical billboard, WAA vehicles with their patented backlit images are able to go directly to their target audience. They can be placed wherever there is heavy foot traffic due to an event - including convention centers, train stations, airports and sports arenas. They can repeat routes, ensuring that an advertiser's message is not only noticed, but that information is retained through repetition.
WAA was established in 1995 in Pennsylvania by Henryk Strzeletz, who, confident of his product's marketability, contacted major advertising agencies from his home in Dallas, Pa., to drum up business. Since then, WAA has grown to include clients from Fortune 500 companies like McDonald's, CBS, Toyota and Ikea.
Wheels America Advertising (WAA) uses mobile billboards to catch the eye of drivers and passersby alike. Vinyl 8-by-14-foot billboards are mounted on specially designed vehicles and backlit for maximum visual impact.
Outdoor advertising, such as a billboard, is effective because it's hard to ignore. According to a national survey, it's also memorable. Capitol Communications Group found that 81.7 percent of those polled recalled images they saw on a moving multi-image sign. This is compared to a 19 percent retention rate for static signs.
By virtue of its mobility, this billboard style, already popular in parts of Europe, can be used effectively by businesses in America's car-dominated society.
Unlike a typical billboard, WAA vehicles with their patented backlit images are able to go directly to their target audience. They can be placed wherever there is heavy foot traffic due to an event - including convention centers, train stations, airports and sports arenas. They can repeat routes, ensuring that an advertiser's message is not only noticed, but that information is retained through repetition.
WAA was established in 1995 in Pennsylvania by Henryk Strzeletz, who, confident of his product's marketability, contacted major advertising agencies from his home in Dallas, Pa., to drum up business. Since then, WAA has grown to include clients from Fortune 500 companies like McDonald's, CBS, Toyota and Ikea.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)