Each type of the above advertising methods has got its own merits and demerits. You need to explore and find out which one best suits your Business.

Search Engine Marketing

Search Engine Marketing is a great source for promoting your products or services as it is highly targetable. You can target keywords (search phrases) that are related to your products/ services. When a search-engine user searches for a particular keyword which you are targeting, your advertisement would show up as “Sponsor Ad” in a highlighted box.

It is also feasible to receive free traffic from Search Engines. If your website is optimized for Search Engines and has the right content your site may rank higher in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). You could also seek the service of a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) professional to work on this.

Email Marketing

Email marketing refers to the process of promoting your products thru email. You can buy advertisement space from newsletters which have a huge number of email subscribers. Email ads may not be much effective as there are lots of unsolicited emails delivered to an email user.

Affiliate programs
Affiliate programs are the great choice for any wise Businessman. You pay commissions only when a sale occurs. There are lots of affiliate programs which can help you to sell your products.
 
Banner Ads or Link Sponsorship
Unlike the affiliate programs, you pay only a flat rate of amount to display your banner advertisements/ Textual Link. You need not pay any commissions if the visitor who came thru the Banner Ad buys your product.

Advantages of Online Marketing

As said earlier, Online marketing is cheaper compared to some of the other types of Advertisement. It is cost-effective as it is highly targetable. It is easy to track the performance of your online advertisements and to calculate the ROI (Return of Investments). It has the potential of promoting your products to global audience.

Disadvantages of Online Marketing
Online marketing may not be suitable for everyone especially if you don’t own a website. Say for instance it would be more effective when you place a hyperlink to your website from the Banner ad rather than just phone numbers. Search Engine marketing may be very expensive if the target keywords selected by you have huge competition. If you use Affiliate programs you may have to sacrifice a portion of your profit as you pay the commissions. If you price your product including the commission to its actual price, it may be overpriced and difficult to sell.

Here are items you should have on your opening checklist. Add additional items that would be appropriate for your own business.

Before you start checklist

• Have I focused on a specific product or service? As a general rule, specialists outperform non-specialists. Think about this in any field: retailers, real estate and food (where did you buy your last take-out pizza or chicken)? For example, if you open a doughnut shop, it would not be a good idea to sell ice cream during summer months when the doughnut business slows down. If you do both, you will lose the identity of being the very best in either one of them.
• Will further specialization or focus improve my prospects for success? The more specialized, the better.
• Will my business be home-based? Online? Storefront? Franchise?
• Have I acknowledged my competition and limitations? It may be hard to compete with Wal-Mart or Home Depot. These “category killer” discount chains have powerful buying power and efficiencies of scale. Does your marketing plan serve a special niche?
• Do I understand the difference between finding a market “niche” and going against what the public wants? For example, if you build a house for sale, stick with a floor plan that most buyers are seeking rather than trying to be uniquely different.
• Do I have a one-year cash flow projection prepared to ensure there will be ongoing liquidity? (Refer to Session 8).
• Do I have the necessary e-commerce tools in place? (Refer to Session 10).
• Are all insurance policies in force?
• If I plan to sell on credit terms, is my credit rating policy in place to avoid taking on customers with poor credit ratings? The last thing you need is to have customers who don’t pay on time, and good customers will respect you for this policy.
• Is my business plan complete and in written format? Does it include pre-opening, first year and long-range planning? It will play a key role in securing investors and will help uncover any weaknesses in the planning process. (Review Session 2, The Business Plan and use the free templates to prepare your plan.)