Archive for the ‘Marketing a Home Business’ Category
August 18th, 2008Marketing Your Website to Moms
Internet marketing do’s and don’ts if you’re hoping to reach parents.
I’m a mom. I’m a stay at home mom. What am I bombarded with daily in my e-mailbox? Ad blasting, get rich quick junk. A large majority of “home business owners and mlm peddlers” must think we stay at home moms are idiots. Do they honestly think we believe we can make $1,000’s of dollars in 48 hours by mailing circulars, answering emails or placing ads? Come on……
If you are trying to do internet marketing to this elusive group of highly intelligent, nurturing and decision making people, then you better listen up! The delete button is oh so handy, and most moms use it. If you want our
attention, then maybe you should treat us like we have a brain! We KNOW about scams, we KNOW the tale tell signs of a scam. Are you promoting your business in the same manner scam artists do? Welp… you could be ticking off a lot of potential recruits/leads.
Use the following checklist to analyze your current internet marketing or web-based promotion campaign.
* Do you use all CAPSin your internet marketing?
-Oh Brother! This is the FIRST thing that sends moms
into a delete frenzy. It’s obnoxious, annoying and
hard to read. STOP IT!
* Do you charge a fee?
- Can you say…..”STAY AT HOME MOM”?? We
don’t bring in an extra income. We take care of our
children. We do not have $13.50 to send along with
a self addressed stamped envelope, you cheap-o!
If you have a REAL opportunity, then you should be
willing to share it for free.
* Do you use exclamation marks all over the place in your internet marketing?!!!!!!!!!!
- We deal with screaming kids all day….we do not need
YOU screaming your opportunity in our faces when we
finally find 5 minutes to sit at our computers. How rude.
* Is your ad/email more than 4-5 sentences?
-Forget it. We barely have time in the day to go to
the bathroom. Let alone read your dissertation on
how to become a millionaire by assembling
hair ribbons!
* Are you vague and impersonal with your internet marketing?
-Geesh…like we can’t tell you cranked up the ‘ole ad blaster
software this morning and spewed your email to us and
5 million other victims. You want MY attention? Then
address me as an individual. Ad blasting does NOT work.
You are mainly blasting to other ad blasters who simply
delete your ad as you do theirs. How insane and worthless.
Get a hobby, you must have too much time on your hands.
* Do you ad blast our boards as part of your internet marketing plan?
-That’s like walking into my house and going to the bathroom
on my carpet. This is sacred ground. You will be ignored,
laughed at, and eventually unable to participate at all.
Ok…so you ‘re asking yourself…..”Well heck…..you moms are
a tough crowd!”
Yep…we are….and we deserve some respect. There are over 10,000 class act mom-sites on the internet. If you want to reach us, then advertise in our ezines or on our sites. Want more bang for your marketing buck? The go to the bigger mom sites with large subscriber numbers and heavy traffic.
Which sites?
MoneyMakingMommy
http://www.MoneyMakingMommy.com
This site has been around since 1999. One of the most respected,
resources for women looking for work at home. Featured in Woman’s World Magazine as a “Hot Site for Moms” and featured work at home site. High subscriber numbers, and subscribers are loyal. Traffic averages over 100,000 unique visitors per month. Ad rates are some of the lowest among similar type sites.
TheWAHMConnection
http://www.TheWAHMConnection.com
Also a respected place for work at home moms and wannabes. The site offers many advertising options.
Internet marketing isn’t rocket science, but there are some rules of etiquette. Just pretend you’re getting ready to use your current campaign on YOUR OWN mom! What would she say?
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September is Great Home Business Marketing Month
Just around the corner leaves will be falling, pumpkins will adorn porches and a chilly snap will be in the air.
I know….right now it’s a muggy 84 degrees and the sun is merciless - but Fall WILL come….and sooner than you think.
Once the kids are back in school and routines have settled for the school year - it’s a great time for moms with home businesses to get their marketing and promotion into full swing.
September is a perfect month to get that effort going.
Other moms have a little more free time with their school age children gone during the day. People spend more time on their computers when the demands of yard work, summer fun and vacations are no longer keeping them as busy.
I notice the biggest influx in advertising AND traffic in September, October, January and February on my work at home site, www.MoneyMakingMommy.com.
So as September nears - home business moms might want to get out pen and paper and start to work on promotion strategies. Are you trying to recruit or sell? Or maybe both?
Are you offering kit specials, sign up bonuses or specials in September or October?
Work on your ad copy. STUDY ad copy. Look at ads online and offline that capture YOUR attention. Chances are they will catch other like-minded women as well.
The biggest mistake I see with ads placed on MoneyMakingMommy.com is that they get too wordy. They give SO much info that the person can make their mind up right then and there whether they are interested. You NEVER even get them to your website because you’ve given it all away beforehand.
Keep your ads short with a hint of mystery. That’s my very best advice.
And remember, advertising doesn’t have to cost a fortune. No matter how big or little your budget, TRACK your ads. KNOW what ads are working and what ads aren’t. That way you can start funneling more budget into what works when you find ads that don’t work and stop running them. If you don’t track your ads - then you might as well just toss that money down the drain. It’s more like gambling, hoping…..wishing. And that’s not a good marketing plan at all.
You might find banner ads do well on one site and don’t do well on another. Or that solo ads offer the exclusivity that you really want and are worth paying more for. Tracking all of this is key to a successful business and giving your marketing dollar more power.
At MoneyMakingMommy.com, our automated ad system allows advertisers to create, edit, pause and schedule ads. It also allows advertisers to check their stats at any time.
This puts power into the advertisers hands - they are in control. I feel this works very well.
However, I do offer solo ads at MoneyMakingMommy.com as well. My subscriber list is over 20,000. These are opt-in subscribers. They are MY subscribers. Make sure you know WHOSE subscribers your solo ad is going to. I’ve noticed a trend of people offering solo ads - yet what they are doing is joining several yahoo groups and then blasting your ad to all those groups. You know what this does?? It makes YOU look like a spammer. It also is a bad return on your ad dollar. I see this all the time on my yahoo group for women in business, TheWAHMConnection.com. I automatically delete anything that even remotely looks like a “spammer” solo ad.
Solo ads are a great way to get the word out on your business - but be choosy, track results.
Being willy-nilly with your marketing dollars will never give you the most bang for your buck - so be smart. Have a plan.
So as the kids head back to school this month with their backpacks, pencils, notebooks and rulers…..you might want to get your notebook and pencil ready as well.
Your homework……
Marketing your home business as savvy as possible!
Good Luck!
$2 Buck Ads - What Is It?
I’ve used $2 Buck Ads for years.
Back in the early days of MoneyMakingMommy.com - I had NO advertising budget. Seriously…..it was tight. I could place some ads or buy groceries - that’s how much disposable income we had. Ordering a pizza was considered a luxury.
So I tried to find super cheap ads……and though they were cheap - they needed to work.
Because lets face it - cheap DON’T mean quality most of the time!
So I came across $2 Buck Ads.
Honestly…..I was skeptical.
I emailed my concerns to the owner Bo Ekvall.
He promptly replied back to me. Answered all my questions. And every time after that when I have emailed him - he has always replied promptly, professionally and kindly.
$2 Buck Ads is a way to get your ad in several online newsletters (ezines). Unlike these solo ad blasts that some people do - where they literally join a bunch of yahoo groups and then blast your ad to them. (This will give YOU a BAD reputation - so steer clear from this type of ad. These people do not even own the lists they belong to - and typically do not have permission to blast ads to them!)
$2 Buck Ads are sent to genuine subscribers that have opted in for the newsletter they are receiving. Quality readers….interested readers. Currently I think there are over 1.5 MILLION potential newsletter readers that could see your AD! I believe this is a culmination of about 74 newsletters lists.
Just think of how much time it would take you to sit there and place your ads at that many newsletters! Not to mention finding quality newsletters to start with.
If you are on a minimal marketing budget, I urge to try our $2 Buck Ads. It’s a great way to ease into online marketing and to get a lot for the small marketing budget you have.
To this day I still use $2 Buck Ads. I have never been disappointed.
