It's so easy to blow through money when marketing a website. If
you're like many new entrepreneurs, you may have already wasted
several hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on marketing
campaigns that didn't give you the results you were hoping for.
So how does one figure out which campaigns are worth the time,
trouble, and money?
You track them. Ad trackers are commonly used to monitor the
results of a marketing campaign. A specialized 'coded' URL
records the number of times people click on the link. You'll be
able to see how many 'hits' and unique visitors you get from
each of your advertising campaigns, and by analyzing this
information, you can instantly see which of your campaigns are
successful -- and which are not.
A hit-and-miss 'strategy' is simply too frustrating, and often
times too expensive! Here are just a couple of examples of what
an ad tracker can tell you:
EXAMPLE 1: Let's say you run the same ad in two newsletters or
ezines. EzineA has 10000 subscribers, EzineB has 50000. Most
beginners naturally assume that a larger number of subscribers
means a better response rate. This isn't necessarily true. What
actually matters is how many people READ the ezine and how
responsive they are! Your tracker will show you cold, hard
numbers of how many subscribers from each ezine respond to your
ad.
EXAMPLE 2: You create 2 different sales pages, each with a
unique tracking link. You can send an equal number of visitors
to each sales page, and let your tracker tell you which one is
converting more visitors into paying customers.
A good tracker doesn't have to be expensive, either. Consider
how much you pay for a single ad whose results you'll have to
guess at... when instead, you could invest in a tracker that
will SHOW you which of your campaigns are giving results. There
are a wide variety of trackers available -- choose one that
suits your needs. A couple include:
* AdTrackz, http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/adtrackz.html - a
simple ad tracker that you can install on your own server.
Available for a one-time fee.
* HyperTracker, http://onlinebusinessbasics.com racker.html - a
much more in-depth tracker with loads of features. Free trial
available.
Tracking your campaigns is also important when you're marketing
offline. For example, let's say you create a couple of
brochures. You can track orders by providing a 'code' on the
enclosed order forms, or if you're directing people to your
site, provide a different URL on each brochure to see which one
is getting the most response. Knowledge is a powerful thing!
By testing everything you do, you'll have solid proof of what
doesn't work, what works well, and what can be improved. You
know which ad campaigns to continue ... and which ones to dump
for something more profitable.
So invest in some a good tracker -- you'll gain valuable insight
into where your sales are coming from, and be able to refine
your marketing efforts and ultimately improve your bottom line.
About the author:
_________
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Angela is the editor of Online Business
Basics, a practical guide to building a business on a shoestring
budget. It features loads of instantly usable tips and tools
that were specifically chosen for beginners! For details, visit
http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html or download the
free trial version of the Online Business Basics manual:
http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/freebook.html
