Your ad campaign is a critical part of your business. It is very important to develop a strong, effective campaign that will not spin out of control. To do this you need to plan and execute methodically each step of the campaign. How do you do this? Here are some pointers:

• Plan your campaign: decide where you will advertise and to whom. Allocate a monthly budget that will be used only for advertising, and stick to it. This is often neglected by start up businesses, resulting in financial hardship and loss of business. Many business projects fail from lack of funds. Do not let this be you. Do not starve you business, but be sure to start small and work up.

• List all the places your potential customers can be found. Some examples being: publications they read, websites they visit, and discussion boards. Advertise on as many of these places as your budget allows.

• What sort of ads should you start with? Classifieds are best for “testing the waters.” Take your best 2 and split test in the same publication. Run for about 3 weeks consecutively. People need more than one look to buy. Using the ad that gives the best responses expand it to a Solo ad.

• Assess which publications are giving the best response and make a note of these. Then take your list of responsive publications and place as many solo ads as your budget allows. Run the Solo at least a couple of times for best response. Repeat the whole process for other related products and services.

• Constantly advertise: Make sure your business remains in front of your market at all times. Be sure to advertise at least once per week as budget allows.

• Keep lists of Opt-in prospects. Those people who have specifically asked for more information and those who have bought from you. An example would be your opt-in newsletter and your customers. Never advertise to those who have never asked for information. This will get you in a lot of trouble and can even cost you your business.

• More ways to advertise are to seek out related business websites, swap ads and exchange links. Distributing articles is another effective way of advertising your business.

When you follow a plan, within your budget, you can and will make your ad campaign efficient and successful. It will bring in small returns at first, then will develop into a profitable machine.