We could all take a lesson from children. As they are growing up, and learning right from wrong, they are constantly testing to see what they can do, and what is not acceptable.

I see hundreds of ads everyday on web, and while there are some good ones, most fall into "ho-hum" variety, and some are downright awful. Now this isn't bad, if they are testing to see what is going to work, and what isn't.

Many put up an ad with no idea as to whether it will produce or not. They let same ad run for a period of time, and wonder why they didn't get results. They then do one of two things.

They either blame publication for not generating business for them, or give up entirely and go out of business. Others will run

an ad once, and when world doesn't beat a path to their door, they react same way.

It is a proven fact that an ad must be seen five to seven times before someone can be expected to take action. If your ad is targeted to your market, and you are not getting responses, odds are you have a "crummy ad". It is not then time to quit or blame publication. It is time to change ad.

All successful marketers have one thing in common. They are constantly testing effectiveness of their ads. One of most successful that I know, almost always runs more than one ad in same or similar publication at same time. You could put ads side by side, and not realize they were from same person for same thing. She lets each ad run five times, always keeping careful track of drawing power of ads, and keeps strongest and changes weakest.

Mechanically, her method is really quite simple. She uses a different e-mail address in each ad, and a different website address as well. Both websites are exactly same, but have different URL's. She got her websites from a low cost web space provider where she not only reserved name of her site, but got web space as well for less than cost of her ads. There are several low cost web space providers. I can recommend and - You really should go with one that meets your needs at best price.

Ever try to call a company for information or assistance, and have to fight your way through a seemingly unending maze of instructions from an automated robot. "For this press one; for that press two", and so on. Some companies take you several layers deep in options before you get choice of speaking with a live human being. I understand efficiency involved, but at what cost? Usually it is at expense of doing business with me.

Auto-responders are also great tools, and there are a number of ways to use them to your advantage. If they're set up to provide information about specific things, they can be a great time saver. But when they are used improperly, they can do more harm than good. If I request information and receive an auto-response, fine. But don't send me same information once a week for next seven weeks. All you are succeeding in doing is aggravating an otherwise potential customer.

While I'm pretty tolerant about receiving unsolicited e-mail, (spam) I do find it annoying to get same ad over and over, all sent to a different address at my domain, day after day. It is pretty obvious that sender has software to search web looking for e-mail addresses, and harvesting every one they could find. If you try to respond to their message, it is returned as undeliverable, and in my judgment is not an offer from a legitimate company - another customer lost.

Ever try to get a question answered at Microsoft's web site? They ask you to describe your problem, and then give you an automated answer, which may or may not solve your problem. Efficient - yes, helpful - possibly. Don't get caught up in this trap. Sometimes there is no substitute for interaction with other people.

Yes, Internet is a vast, impersonal place. But if you are hoping to do business on web, you have to inject personal touch. Personalized e-mail can be a great tool in your bag of tricks. If you get a question, take a few moments and try to answer it - if you do, you will most likely gain a long term supporter, and if they're a prospect, a customer.