Have you started your 2008 Marketing Plan yet? If you are lucky enough to actually have a marketing budget, you need to plan where to spend it. Most startups do not bother with such nonsense, there are more important tasks to complete. It is nice to have an established (working) plan so you can see the differences as the year progresses. Where should you spend that marketing money?
Banner Ads - Banner Ads are a branding tool in the current environment. There are some placements that show a real return but the majority don’t. I would hold off on banner ads until you have exercised other options. Pros: uh…branding? Cons: Expensive per the traffic generated.
Pay Per Click (PPC) - PPC is great because you only pay for the traffic you receive and the searcher is looking for your products solution. This is a great route if you are selling a product or service. Pros: Targeted traffic, control on cost and message. Cons: Certain industries are expensive.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Use SEO to increase organic search traffic. It is free (in the terms of traffic) but takes time to establish. The key here is to hire a consultant early and learn their process and replicate it for future sites. Pros: Free traffic. Cons: Takes time to establish traffic, SEO consultants can be expensive.
Blogs - There are two types of blog articles, paid and free. Pros: Doubles as an SEO tactic, free traffic. Cons: Some articles you have to pay for, bloggers can get your product features wrong.
Grassroots/Guerrilla Marketing - Guerrilla marketing is often free or cheap. This includes submitting to social news sites, forums, blog comments, Linkedin Answers. Pros: Free (or cheap). Cons: Time consuming, not always effective.
Affiliate Programs - Have someone help sell your product. Pros: Product sold through many sites. Cons: Cost money, often smaller margins.
This is just an overview of the marketing channels to concentrate on. Different channels work better per your industry and product. Now I have to get back to finishing my 2008 marketing plan before 2008 comes around.
