Plunder!

Jon C. Coward, VP of Internet Marketing Strategy

The Internet is free… so why do people think it’s free to get on there and plunder? Wouldn’t everyone do it? Well the fact is almost everyone is trying to plunder the Internet and now you have to pay your turn unless you get lucky. For every success story there are million of failures. Hence this is where a professional can help make you a success story too.

When it comes to advertising online, the Field of Dreams days of just “build it and they will come” are over.  Now it’s build it, build it right and continually market the hell out of it. You need a solid campaign that is ongoing. Too many people think that they launch an online campaign and it instantly becomes a money machine because <fill in name here> did it. If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it. And therein lies the problem… everyone is doing it – nay, ATTEMPTING to do it.

The internet is a place you can no longer afford not to be on. Your competitors are there (well the smart ones). But don’t be fooled into thinking that are making money hand over foot. Many people see their competitors online, then start their own campaign and get upset because untold riches are not flowing in. They assume their competitor must be doing it right. They want what they think the other guy has. It’s the same type of greed that ruled pirates… Plunder! Plunder! Plunder!

Stop and take a look at what you are getting and what you expect. As the AdzZoo CEO always quotes, “Inspect what you Expect.” There is this client who I will not mention who is unhappy because he has only gotten two new clients from his campaign this month. He thinks his campaign is a failure. He also thinks his $300 was wasted this month. Did I mention that the two clients netted him over $2500 profit? How is this campaign a failure?  Simple… unreal expectations… the plunder mentality!

Okay, that may be an extreme example. Here’s a more realistic one. A client spends $500 and nets $250 profit. Did he lose money. My math says NO. Unless you are selling a product that people buy once and never tell anyone about, those $250 worth of clients will come back and spend more. They might even tell a friend who might tell a friend.  If this business were to calculate the lifetime value of new customer, they would see they are still ahead financially. Also… what about those customers who saw the ad a few times, didn’t need the product now, but when they did need it, the brand was firmly entrenched in their mind as they looked online or through another source.

The internet is there for your taking. It is still ripe to plunder… but know you are not plundering a cash cow. You are plundering the smartest marketing channel ever built to date and plundering for a reasonable amount of riches.

Tagged as: advertising, advertising campaign, adzzoo, internet advertising, investing, marketing, online advertising