Category: Advertising

Should You Click an Ad to “Support” a Blog?

Interesting discussion happening in the Comments field at TechSoapbox. It was prompted by a post on Seth Godin’s blog that reads, in part:

If every time you read a blog post or bit of online content you enjoyed you clicked on an ad to say thanks, the economics of the web would change immediately. You don’t have to buy anything (though it’s fine if you do). You just have to honor the writer by giving them a click.

Ahmed of Techsoapbox takes issue with Seth’s approach, calling it “cheating”. Seth doesn’t post comments on his blog, but Ahmed does — and it’s producing an often-thoughtful, sometimes-heated conversation.

For the record, I lean toward Ahmed’s side, but not strongly. The pay-per-click model only works for the advertiser if the clicks come from genuine prospects. If the advertiser has to pay for a bunch of extra clicks from folks who aren’t truly interested, the advertising will ultimately cease.

On the other hand, some of the “support clicks” could come from people who might need the product or service, but who would otherwise not have paid attention to the ad. So the support clicks might create a positive ROI after all.

The results of Seth’s approach will ultimately depend on how relevant the ad, and the offer, is to the lives of the readers. Which sounds a whole lot like every other form of advertising.

What do you think? Feel free to weigh in in the comments section below.

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Request your free copy of my white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call me at 503-323-6553.

Does This Customer Survey Have Value?

Customer surveys can be a terrific way to check on your sales and customer service efforts — not everyone will fill them out (and those who do may not tell you everything you need to know), but in some cases you’ll have the opportunity to correct problems you didn’t know you had.

This only works if you act on what you learn.

A survey we recently received in the mail has the potential to be teaching tool, or a complete waste of postage. Updates will follow. The history:

In June, we needed a new backyard fence. This post has more details. The short version is that my wife called three well-known companies. One never returned a phone message, although they did send a postcard promising that someone would call. A second company sent a salesman who took measurements, promised to return with a bid, and was never heard from again. Only the third company followed up with a quote, and that company got our business.

[Roland Young of Rick’s Custom Fencing & Decking deserves credit for his follow-up, and for doing a fine job on the fence. A radio campaign would be an excellent way for Rick’s to tell the world about what they do, and I invite them to call me at 503-323-6553. But I digress.]

The company who never returned our call just sent us a survey. The cover letter is signed by the president of the company. It says, in part:

Our business is based on referrals from the clients who contact [us], and we want that experience to be positive. So that we can ensure that we’re doing a good job for clients, we ask for feedback to see how we are doing. It would help us a great deal if you would complete the questions on the back and return this form at your earliest convenience in the enclosed self-adressed envelope.

Our initial reaction upon opening the envelope was amusement. After having completely dropped the ball, how could they, with a straight face, ask us how they did? But I now think this was a smart move. They don’t what happened, because we never told them — all we did was spend our money with someone else and move on. The survey represents a system they’ve set up to make sure they find out about things like this.

So we’re going to fill it out and send it back. We will be candid about our experience. Our answers may help them plug a hole in their sales funnel, and improve the results of their advertising — but only if someone reads it and acts on what they learn.

Stay tuned for updates.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog.

Request your free copy of my white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call me at 503-323-6553.

When Current Events Spoil Your Ad Campaign

Last week in Canada, some poor guy on a Greyhound bus was stabbed, beheaded and partially consumed by a fellow passenger.

Under the best of circumstances, this would be represent a marketing challenge for Greyhound. What makes it worse, according to the Consumerist, is the nature of the company’s recent billboard campaign.

How would you like to be the guy who came up with that idea?

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog.

Request your free copy of my white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call me at 503-323-6553.

Portland Small Business Advertising Seminar

Just a reminder for those in the Portland area — the Portland Business Alliance Cornerstones for Success event is this coming Thursday, August 7 from 4-6pm. It’s at the Portland Business Alliance, 200 SW Market Street.  You can find out more, and register online, here.

Once a month, the Portland Business Alliance puts on an educational forum for small and medium-sized businesses called Cornerstones for Success. The topics change each month, but each one is chosen for its relevance to the challenges faced by local merchants.

On Thursday, August 7, the subject is “Advertising Avenues”. I’ll be on the panel along with Craig Brown of KGW-TV and Brian Johnson of The Oregonian. We’ll be talking about how a business with a finite budget — like yours — can effectively deliver a persuasive message to the people who could become your customers.

It takes place from 4-6pm at the Portland Business Alliance, 200 SW Market Street. You can find out more, and register online, here.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog.

Request your free copy of my white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call me at 503-323-6553.

The Evolving Apology

“When you lay an egg, stand back and admire it!” ~ Dale Carnegie

When things go wrong in business, it’s tempting to pretend it’s not happening, and hope folks don’t notice. According to Church of the Customer, J. Crew has taken the opposite approach, admitting their problems fron-and-center on their web site.

More interesting, perhaps, than the initial apology is the fact — pointed out by a commenter on the Church blog post — that the apology has since been shortened, with executives’ names removed. See the original apology here… and the condensed version (as of 8-4-08, anyway) here:

Which version is more effective?

Discuss.