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Choose a Business Degree for a New Future |  |
It Pays to Advertise: Developing Advertising Strategy for Ecommerce
by Edward Castro
edward.castro@hqpublications.com
Business Programs Columnist
According to Jupiter Research, online advertising spending is expected to nearly double by 2009 to $16.1 billion, which represents a much higher portion of the total advertising strategy budget for these companies.
A small business marketing strategy needs to succeed despite having significantly less money to throw at marketing problems. One way to ensure your advertising strategy is on target is to learn as much as possible about advertising in general and ecommerce strategy specifically. For most of us, this means going back to school.
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Ecommerce Advertising Strategy Education
Arguments can be made both for and against going back to school while trying to run a successful ecommerce Web site. A lack of time, money, or patience can make further education impossible. Of course, those obstacles can be addressed by choosing the right program.
For anyone looking to develop a successful ecommerce strategy, online education is a natural fit. Courses are delivered on demand and can be done according to the student’s schedule. With popularity increasing, online courses are also becoming cheaper, which makes them even more attractive for busy individuals.
Learning How to Succeed
Not all advertising programs are the same. Advertising strategy for the small business owner requires a broad understanding of advertising and marketing. Make sure any program you choose includes courses in advertising principles, copywriting, design, media, marketing, and consumer behavior.
As you can see, the knowledge needed to develop a successful small business marketing strategy includes knowledge of doing everything yourself from creating the ads (copywriting and design) to targeting the message in the appropriate channel (media, marketing and consumer behavior). With a degree in advertising you become a one-stop-shop for all your companies marketing needs.
The Basics
Short of going out and getting a degree in advertising or marketing, there are a number of ways you can increase the potential success of your advertising strategy. Here are a few tips:
- Search Engine Marketing: Paying for a small text ad when visitors search for certain keywords is effective, but costly. Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting when you sign any contracts.
- Contests: Offering visitors and customers an opportunity to win something is a great way to get an email list for newsletters and special promotions.
- Newsletters: Send registered visitors and customers special offers, newsletters and updates about your products, services or new offerings.
- Content-For-Link Swap: Offer other site owners free articles that subtly promote your goods or services in exchange for a link back to your site. Everybody wins in a “content-for-link” swap.
- Customer-Focused Communication: A customer-focused e-mail promotion to a targeted list of potential visitors is a great way of developing loyal relationships. Make sure you work with a reputable e-mail list provider to avoid a reputation as a spammer.
The Bottom Line
A small business marketing strategy or advertising strategy doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be well planned. While advertising school isn’t the only way to learn how to develop an advertising strategy it does offer the most complete knowledge of marketing and advertising principles. As with most things in life, the more you know, the better off you are.
About the Author
Edward Castro has extensive experience as a creative media writer. His client portfolio has included such notables as Hewlett-Packard, Sony Computer Entertainment, Shockwave, AtomFilms, GameBlast and Mervyn’s California. In his current position, Ed is developing the marketing strategy of an Internet start-up company specializing in Japanese trade goods.
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