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EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING The Value of Planning Advertising comes in many different forms: word of mouth, print ads, radio, and television. The Internet alone has many different platforms, including having your own website, banner ads, links, blogs, e-mail blasts, and social and business networks. Opportunities to spend advertising dollars come at you from every direction. You, as the media buyer, have to decide which way to best spend your money. Marketing differs from advertising in that marketing encompasses everything you do to promote your business, from the greeting on your voice mail to making the personal effort to tell two new people every day about your business. Advertising is marketing that costs money, and proportionately, the more effective your other marketing efforts, the less money you will have to pay for advertising. Unless you have unlimited funds, it's important to take as many steps as possible to ensure the success of your advertising by following a few simple guidelines: • Plan your advertising budget. • Choose the right venues for spending your money. • Develop an advertising schedule. • Be consistent. • Stress your professionalism. • Track returns on your advertising investments. PLAN YOUR AD BUDGET Most marketing books advise that during your first year or two in business, you should spend 30 percent of your budget on advertising. That's a big chunk of money most people would prefer to keep in their pocket. Especially when just starting out, nearly one-third of your budget might not cover a year's worth of ads in the newspaper, particularly in metropolitan areas where advertising is more expensive than it is for those in rural areas and small towns. Advertising expenditures decrease with time as word-of-mouth referrals become your primary source of business. After five years, advertising should account for no more than 5 percent of your budget. More importantly, by utilizing as many no-cost and low-cost methods of promoting your business as possible, that 30 percent could be substantially reduced from the very outset. Performing community service, actively taking part in networking opportunities in your area (such as participating in chamber of commerce events), utilizing all the free Internet networking opportunities, and bartering for advertising are just a few ways to save money. When it comes to my own budget, I have gone against the advice of marketing books by using the residual method. That means my bills are paid first; I budget for advertising with what's left over. My philosophy is if I'm out of business because I can't pay my rent and utility bill, no amount of advertising will help. I don't put advertising on credit cards; I don't want to be paying for the ad in Sunday's newspaper (plus interest) a year from now. That policy keeps me from going in debt for something intangible. Decide realistically how much you can afford to spend each month, put it in writing, and avoid impulse spending. Refer to your budget to make the judgment call of whether you can really afford a particular option. CHOOSE THE RIGHT VENUES There are many choices when deciding where to spend your money. Partner advertising opportunities abound on restaurant menus, drugstore prescription bags, grocery carts, benches at the bus stop, and dozens of other places. Don't choose an advertising medium just because it's cheap. If your child begs you to buy an ad on the Little League calendar, of course you're going to. But if it's not your child who's asking, consider that the only people apt to see that calendar are the other parents with kids in Little League. connect with your colleagues on massageprofessionals.com 23