Sunday, November 23, 2008

The Advantages Of Free Vs Paid Online Advertising

By Kylon Trower

The bottom line is that you absolutely have to market and advertise to have success in the online world. If I were to break it down, I would say that seventy to eighty percent of your time should be focused on these activities. The age old question is which is better, paid or free advertising?

Just so that we are clear, I don't believe in free advertising. It's not that you can't advertise your business without pulling out your credit card but you can't advertise without paying a price. It's either time or money and ultimately both have a price you'll have to pay.

Now that you understand that there is no free lunch you must make careful decisions as to how you will either spend you time or your money. The first question is how much is your time worth. The next question is how comfortable are you with doing certain things on your own.

There are upsides and downsides to any form of advertising that you do which is why your main focus should be on effectiveness. By this I mean it must work and produce the desired result. Advertising for advertising sake is a recipe for disaster and will leave you burned out and broke.

Let's look at the upside when it comes to free advertising first. Free advertising gives you hands on experience and the necessary background to make more informed decisions when you decide to use paid methods. It also allows you to get a feel for the marketplace and become an expert in areas which drives up your perceived value in the online community as well.

With paid advertising on the other hand, there are also some strong arguments as well. Typically with a paid advertising you can consult with vendors to determine the
expected outcome based on their experience. It is leveraged so it saves you time that can be used building your business in other ways.

That brings me to my last point which is tracking. Regardless of the type of advertising you are doing, make sure you are using some type of tracking system to measure your results. Without tracking it is almost impossible to know what's working and what's not in your ad campaigns. You could end up spending good money on bad ads and not spending enough on your good ads.

When all is said and done I suggest doing some research to find out which method is right for you. Trying out more than one method is fine but be careful not to become a jack of all trades and master of none. Try to become proficient and achieve results with one form of advertising before jumping to the next. Ultimately, this strategy will prove most beneficial to your long term success. - 15431

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