The Value of FREE in Internet Business

Cathy Wagner DO YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR?
I have heard the saying "You get what you pay for,"
but I don't think that theory applies to Internet
Marketing. Yes, there is tons of free advertising
available on the net and there are millions of people
using free advertising to promote their businesses,
but is it effective? I think when you try to judge the
effectiveness of Free Online Advertising, you have to
take into consideration all that you can get for free.

PLACING FREE ADS
· For one thing, placing free ads will help you learn
whether or not marketing online is for you at all; if
you hate placing ads, find other work.

· Placing free ads can teach you about writing ad
copy; if you can't write copy that gets someone's
attention on a free site, you definitely should not
pay for ads.

· Free advertising also teaches you to read the terms
of service before you sign up for a service; most of
us have unknowingly agreed to receive mail from
thousands of FFA network members everyday.

FREE RESOURCES
You can, in fact, get a crash course in a whole new
career with very little out of pocket expenses. The
key here is using every free resource available to
you and paying very close attention to your results.

· You will need web site statistics, this is your best
way to know if your ad is effective. If you don't get
statistics with your free web site, you can still get
free statistics- by following simple instructions to
insert a bit of code onto your site.

· Ad tracking statistics are another great free value,
especially if you have an affiliate site that does not
offer web site statistics. You can use these to test
different ads at the same location, different types of
ads (like a banner versus an email ad), as well as the
same ad at several locations. They can even provide
different URL's to help you place your ad more than
once on an ad site that only lets you post your URL
once.

· Use all of the free advertising tools available to
you. Most people do not realize that there is more to
free ads than FFA links and Classified ads. Today it
is possible to use banner advertising, email
advertising and viral marketing totally free. Always
start with free before you invest in paid advertising.

BEGIN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
It is possible to begin to build a business on the
Internet with no or very low investment. There are
many free tools and resources available on the
Internet, the hard part is taking the time to find
them. Don't even think about spending a lot of your
hard earned money until after you have learned to get
some visitors to your site. Until then, do and learn
as much as you can for FREE!

About the Author

Cathy Wagner creator of
http://www.onestopinternetbusiness.com has grouped
not just a few marketing recommendations, but an
incredible list that is unmatched by any other single site.
You will find a very comprehensive overview of internet
marketing, along with the best and most cost effective
marketing sites, tips, tools and techniques.