If you want to be in business you need to get comfortable with making sales and selling stuff. It’s the cornerstone of any business.

A business needs to sell something to make money, there is no other way.

The goal is to set up a system to sell a dollar for more than a dollar to make a profit. The accumulated profits is what you, the business owner get in return for all the hard work.

The very first step is to build this profit-making system into your business from the very beginning.

How do you do that?

Try to understand what product or products you would sell. Then build a system that incorporates these product(s) into everything you do with our website.

Tip: Understand the type of product (or products) you will sell – while choosing your business idea. Before deciding on the final nook. (Read about this here.)

Next is to build this product into our content. Or create content around your product. Write detailed information about your products – how to use this product? Why you should use this product.
(Read about this here.)

What is advertising?

Advertising is a way of getting potential customers to see your product. Or a tool to put your products and services in front of buyers.

Advertising is an Investment

The first thing you need to know about advertising is it’s not a business expense, it’s an investment.

An investment that should give you a return over and above the original investment cost.

So it is important to track, test and measure every campaign. Without tacking, testing and measuring, you can’t find out what works best. Thus you won’t know if you received a return from your dollar spent. (More on the later.)

How much should you spend?

As much as you want, because it will generate a return.
Mainstream accountants will recommend the following: business-to-business (b2b) 5% of revenue, the consumer (b2c) 10% of revenue, and start-ups up to 20% would be appropriate. Add another 3-5% to the above if you want to accelerate growth.

We recommend your budget is 100% devoted to digital marketing. Online customers is what we are looking for.

The fundamentals of advertising

Before you sit down and write any ad, you need a fundamental understanding of the following.

Who is your customer? (to whom are you selling)

Where do your customers hang out or go to look for information?

When you reach them, what is it you want them to do?

…and, how are you going to get them to do that?

Who?

Who are you targeting? You need to be specific. (Customer avatars)

Where?

Where will you find these people? This helps you find the best advertising medium. (competitor analysis and niche research)

What?

What will you show them so they will respond to the pitch? (A.I.D.A)

Attention (show you understand the problem)

Interest (wow.. show you have the solution)

Desire (what it’s like NOT having that problem)

Action (show what to do next to fix the problem)

How?

How are you going to get them to take action? (Call to Action)

Types of Markets

Local – Relate to something local. Appeal to the customer’s sense of loyalty if you want them to buy your products. People you’re selling to have loyalty for that town or area.

Buyer Intent – Muscle into an existing market. The customer looking for “X”. A committed buyer. How to get them to buy from you instead of the competitor. Describe the benefits of dealing with you. This should be easy if you have done competitor analysis research.

Pre-Sell – Educate the buyer about your product. Why they need it and why getting it from you is essential. By educating the consumer you reduce any fears. You don’t need to convince them, you clarify things and they then sell themselves.

Get to the Point

Have you heard of “TL;DR”? To long don’t read, is what it stands for.

The problem today is media bombardment. If there is too much text, people won’t read it. They become blind to it and have short attention spans. Don’t cram too much into your ad. If your ad doesn’t get the message across, it will fail.

For an ad to be effective, you have to get people to read it and understand your message. Otherwise, you won’t get them to take any action.

Communicating to them in the fastest, clearest way possible. If the message is not spelled out to them, they won’t be able to understand it and won’t take action.

Be very specific about what you selling and to whom. Sell one thing at a time and lay the ad out for that product. And that product only. Cover one key product or one key aspect of your service in each advertisement you run.

You don’t want to give them too much information. The less you put in your ad, the less confusing it will be for your prospect. The less confusing the better chance of success.

Ask! …would I respond to this ad. Does the ad have an exciting headline? Does it promote something big?

The Universal Laws in Advertising

We first need to understand the foundation of great advertising.

An intimate knowledge of your target customer.

Engaging ad copy that draws in your viewers.

(possibly) images that integrate well with your copy

Ideal placement

If you’re not yet an expert on the steps above, take the time to master and understand each before you dive into paid advertising.

The best approach is to lay all this out in written content on your site.

Test, Test, Test
Measure, Measure, measure