Are free advertising boards a waste of time?
Not if you are consistent.
Of course everyone will admit that all these free advertising boards floating around the net can benefit the board owners but what about the free posters? In short, the free poster has nothing to loose and if they stay consistent and reply to those re-post notices you can absolutely build some side traffic to your site.
These boards certainly can't generate enough traffic to be any sites primary source of advertising but there are a few techniques you can try in order to improve your results:
1. First of all - read and obey the board terms! This has to be one of the most common mistakes when it comes to failed board campaigns. Don't use a frame breaking script or pop-up windows. Your ad won't be of any use when it's just going to be deleted by the board administrator.
2. Never use deceptive titles or subject lines. I see this all the time and I have to laugh at the sheer ignorance of these posters. As the administrator of a few boards myself, I simply delete these post as soon as I find them. As a fellow site owner looking for ways to promote and make a profit, when I find these same ads I would never give them the time of day. Why would anyone? They just lied to you to get you to look at their ad. If any one thing screams, 'Amateur,' it has to be these types of childish and deceptive tactics.
3. If it's allowed, try to post several ads using different wording on each board and watch which one gets the most attention. On the boards I run, you can post as many times as you like as long as you use a separate email address for each post.
4. Deception is wrong but there's nothing wrong with being a little creative. Don't get me wrong, the line should be clear and I'm referring to creative attention getters rather than the actual verbiage used. Here's a few examples but if your not sure if your allowed to use these then always check with the board administrator first. These are actual examples that caught my eye:
--> This ebook is completely free! <--
**W@W!
L@@K
=====> Psst!
F R E E S I T E T R A F F I C
Here's my favorite:
(¯`'•.¸(¯`'•.¸ Your ad title! ¸.•'´¯)¸.•'´¯)
Wow, look at this one:
»§«·´¯`·.,¸¸,»» Your Ad ««,¸¸,.·´¯`·»§«
What types of boards are there?
There are several types we are testing and newer ones are sure to pop-up soon.
The most popular type seems to also be the most effective. These are boards that you can post a text ad free for a pre-determined period of time, usually 5 to 10 days. Then your ad expires and you are emailed the option to re-post your ad free for another cycle and you can simply keep re-posting to keep your ad on the board indefinitely.
Of course, it's still a better deal to for the owners and administrators. That shouldn't stop you from posting on any of the but it should make you take a look at owning your own board. Here's why:
The list:. As the owner, you'll build an invaluable list. Be sure you don't violate their privacy and never spam and you'll find many of these contacts will be the people you'll be working with on future ventures.
The banners and ads:. As the owner, you'll also have you ads and sometimes even your banners in front of everyone that visits the board. This benefit alone can pay for the board many times over depending on what and how you're promoting..
The emails:. And finally as the owner, you're the one sending out those confirmation emails and the expiration emails. And guess what's included in these emails. That's right, your perfectly worded advertisements. And they'll see it over and over as long as they continue to post. That's why as a board owner you want to make your board as effective as possible. Always promote your boards to keep fresh traffic coming in.
Brian Hawkins - Entrepreneur, Internet Marketer, Online business consultant, Author. Site owner and administrator of several sites including: http://www.extremesitepromotions.com/ and http://www.csc4u.com/
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