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Does Paid Advertising Work?

There are really just two kinds of advertising – that which you pay for and that which you get for free.

Before going deeper into the subject of free advertising, it is worth to consider also paid advertising: does it (still) work? At the beginning of the advertising age, people used to watch with interest the commercials, pay attention to them and even discuss them with friends and family. Or so we’re told.

Today advertising is everywhere so much that is blending into the landscape. Have you ever clicked an online banner or heard a radio commercial that made you run to the next store and buy the advertised product? Probably you haven’t or you haven’t that often.

Paid advertising on one hand is quick, on other hand is not so effective as it used to be and not that reliable: people don’t trust advertising, they are most influenced by what friends and family recommend.

This is why free advertising, based on personal connection to the customer, is a better way to promote a business.

Free advertising techniques

Word of mouth has the biggest effect on a business. Today’s best techniques in free advertising include:

• Social Bookmarking
• Social Networking: Facebook, MySpace, forums, YouTube
• Blogging
• Article Marketing
• EBay
• Classified Online Ads

Social Bookmarking

Social Bookmarking means spreading the word about the sites that are worth a read.

Digg: “Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by users.”

Delicious: “Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. With emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet.”

Reddit: User-generated news links. “Reddit is a source for what’s new and popular online.”

StumbleUpon: StumbleUpon brings the sites you like based on your interests. “StumbleUpon helps you discover and share great websites.”

Article Marketing and Blogging

This is the best way to show you are knowledgeable in your field of business. Readers will keep you in high regard and you will gain their respect and confidence. Share tips and promote your article with the social bookmarking sites for the best results.

Social Networking: Facebook, MySpace, forums, YouTube

This is the new way to connect to people. The goal is to reach as many people as possible. But this is not spam, use social networking for spam and you will get a bad reputation. In Facebook and MySpace make friends in the groups that are your targeted clients and make the best page about you.

Here is a link to a very good tutorial for networking on Facebook.

In forums involve yourself in conversations regarding your particular business, be helpful to people and have in your signature a link to your blog.

For Youtube, make videos showcasing your products or giving tips related to your business and always have a link to your main site/blog.

Ebay

As Ebay has millions of visitors each day, it is a good idea to sell your products on it, even if you have your site. Use the page “About Me” where you can describe yourself, your business and where you can put links directing users to your main site, blog and articles. This way you are not only selling your products, but as well benefiting from the Ebay traffic.

Classified Ads

Everybody knows Craigslist. By writing a clean, professional and add, you have the best chances to attract customers. Here are some tips:

• put your ads in the right category
• write compelling titles
• add pictures
• respond fast
• add link for your main site/blog.

Conclusion

The key in advertising is to create and sustain a personal bond with your customer. The free advertising techniques described in this article open a door for businesses to create this type of relationship.

It doesn’t cost you money, but it costs you time. It is well worthed as on-line free tools allow large scale personal interaction that was once impossible. It allows you to share your insight and promote your business and, at same time, allows clients to ask questions, make comments, follow your articles, form communities, become and stay involved.