THERE ARE NO SIMPLE ANSWERS

The how much to spend and where to spend it questions have no easy answers.

Depending on your type of business, many people suggest that *how much* should be equal to anywhere from 4% to 10% of your gross receipts.

The quandary is that a business cannot survive without a fresh flow of incoming customers. But, a business can seldom generate a fresh stream of customers without spending money to get word out about their business.

THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

Have you ever paid for advertising and sat back to await fresh flow of customers, only to find yourself sitting and sitting and then sitting some more?

Don’t feel bad about that. It has happened to many of us before.

See, knowing where to spend advertising money is not enough to get job done.

Where to spend money only begins to highlight other issues connected with advertising:

· Marketing Plan · Advertising Strategy · Headlines, Ad Copy and Visual Presentation · Tracking Success of Your Advertising Campaigns

THE MARKETING PLAN

The Marketing Plan is used primarily to identify your own products and services, costs, strengths, weaknesses and strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

To learn more about constructing your own marketing plan, visit Small Business Administration website for a comprehensive study of elements of a Marketing Plan:

http://www.home-business.com/nav/articles/links/sba_plan.html

ADVERTISING STRATEGY

It is important to understand what you expect to gain from your advertising.

Do you simply wish to get your name known so that when your customer will need you, they will think of you first? Or, do you wish to get your customers in your front door on Saturday?

Do you want your customers to come in and take a look around to discover next object that they cannot live without? Or, do you want them to come in and buy a specific widget?

2. Submit your affiliate program to directories that list affiliate programs.

These directories attract lots of people interested in joining affiliate programs, and will increase your sign ups by giving you good ongoing promotion of your affiliate program.

3. Pay your affiliates well for promoting your products.

Offering your affiliates a high commission rate for their referrals of your products will increase number of affiliates that join your affiliate program and also help you to better compete with other businesses for affiliates.

To make your affiliate program even more appealing to your visitors, pay residual commissions if you sell a product or service that your customers pay for on an ongoing basis such as webhosting or access to your private members only site.

In addition, you can increase your sign ups by making your affiliate program two-tier, where your affiliates earn commissions on their own referrals and also on referrals of affiliates they've personally referred to your affiliate program.

4. Track sales you get from your affiliates fairly and accurately.

Track phone orders and mail in orders. Only offer payment options to your customers that your affiliates will get paid a commission on if they refer that customer to you.

In addition, pay your affiliates promptly for sales they refer to you. Don't make your affiliates wait months to receive their checks from you or set minimum payment requirements that are too high for majority of your affiliates to meet.

5. Provide your affiliates with resources that they can use to get more sales of your products such as ads, banners, button ads, and sample recommendations.