FART-ing on the Internet
(and other stinky little tricks)
By Paul Needham
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Why FART? Some do it to get noticed or to draw attention to themselves.
Is it possible to F.A.R.T. on the Internet? Of course it is!
Confused? Don't be. I am not talking about anything other than Internet
banner advertising. So lets forget about telling any more silly jokes, and
get down to business. Believe it or not, the FART strategy can start driving
traffic to your website today. Here is how to make it work for you.
Earn Free Advertising
If you haven't already, join a "banner exchange service" and start earning
free advertising. These services are great - and most of them are completely
free. We run a small and friendly one called the LinkMedia Free Exchange,
which is becoming very popular.
Here is how it works: As a member of the LinkMedia Free Exchange, you
will receive free banner advertising on other member sites. In return, you
will display banner ads on your site. This exchange of advertising helps
increase your exposure. Get more information and join right
here:
http://www.linkmedia.com/jackpot/
You may have already heard of the biggest banner exchange, called the
LinkExchange. Check that out too:
http://www.linkexchange.com/ (You
can join more than one!)
Designing Your Banner Ad
The next step is to prepare the banner advertisement that you will run
on the banner exchanges - for free. You should have a good graphics program,
like for example Paint Shop Pro. (Check out The Zap Online Store if you need
a copy fast - you can download from
http://www.thezap.com/store/)
When designing your advertisement, it is important to remember to:
make it F.A.R.T.
Fresh
Attractive
Response-oriented
Targeted
Fresh: A good banner exchange service will allow you to change your banner
ad image whenever you want. This is very important because people get bored
of seeing the same old ads over and over. Keep your banner ad fresh and people
are more likely to click-through to your site.
Attractive: Nothing is worse than a dumpy old banner ad. Use bright colors
to attract people's attention. A good banner exchange service will also let
you use animated images - which research shows can actually double the chance
that people will click on your ad and visit your site!
Response-oriented: The best banner ads always attempt to elicit a response
from the viewer. You can do that by:
a) asking a question. (eg. "Do you need a vacation?")
b) including a button on your ad.
c) using the words "click here"
Believe it or not, people are twice as likely to click on an ad that
says "click here".
Targeted: Always target your market. You want your banner ad to appear
to people who are most likely to be interested in your product. Make sure
that the banner exchange service(s) allow you to target your ad by subject
area. Also, it should be clear from your ad what your company is offering.
Sometimes it is fun to use a mysterious looking ad - but you may be attracting
people to your site who are less likely to be your target market.
F.A.R.T. Freely
Banner exchange services are a great way for even small businesses to
take advantage of the power of banner advertising. Free advertising is wonderful,
but don't get lazy and forget to make your ads F.A.R.T.
Remember to keep your ads Fresh, Attractive, Response-oriented, and
Targeted.
Paul Needham, Asst. Publisher, Inet Mailer
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The HOTTEST Marketing
site on the net !
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