The Power of Persistent Ad Testing

Learning from Children: The Importance of Testing

Children, in their journey of growth and learning, are constantly testing their boundaries. They are curious about what they can and cannot do, and what is acceptable or not. This is a lesson that we can apply to the world of advertising. Every day, we are bombarded with hundreds of ads on the web. While some are effective, many fall into the category of mediocrity, and some are downright terrible. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as these ads are part of a testing process to determine what works and what doesn't.

Common Mistakes in Advertising

Many advertisers put up an ad without any idea of whether it will be effective or not. They let the same ad run for a while, then wonder why they didn't get the results they expected. Often, they either blame the publication for not generating business for them, or they give up entirely and go out of business. Others run an ad once, and when they don't immediately see results, they react in the same way.

The Power of Repetition

Research has shown 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, it's likely that your ad is not effective. Instead of giving up or blaming the publication, it's time to revise the ad.

Strategies of Successful Marketers

Successful marketers have one thing in common: they are constantly testing the effectiveness of their ads. One particularly successful marketer I know often runs more than one ad in the same or similar publication at the same time. She lets each ad run five times, always keeping careful track of the drawing power of the ads, and keeps the strongest and changes the weakest.

Tracking Ad Performance

This marketer uses a simple yet effective method to track the performance of her ads. She uses a different email address and website address for each ad. Both websites are identical but have different URLs. She got her websites from a low-cost web space provider where she not only reserved the name of her site but also got web space for less than the cost of her ads. There are several low-cost web space providers, such as Bitshack and Esosoft.

Maintaining a Professional Image

She uses a popular ISP, but doesn't use that address in her ads. She believes, and I agree, that an ISP email address does not project a strong "business image". Your choice of an ISP is important if you hope to do business on the web. Be sure yours provides an industry-standard POP3 email capability. While AOL is great for many things, it uses its own proprietary email system and isn't, in my judgement, the best choice for running a business.

The Power of Persistent Testing

In conclusion, the key to successful advertising is persistent testing. By continuously testing and refining your ads, you can find the winning combination and harness the power of the web.