Offline Marketing... Unlimited Potential and Opportunity...

I am going to publish the following article in my blog, but before that I just want your inputs and comments...

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Advertising your website online is simple and straightforward. You simply buy traffic from PPC or banners and visitors come to your website. Your website may be a corporate website detailing services, a blog, or even a landing page. The ease of implementation and the tracking ability of online advertising have prevented many webmasters from thinking outside of the box when promoting their websites.

Offline advertising, unlike online ads, takes a lot of work and is also ineffective in terms of tracking the return on investment. While this assessment was true a few years back, the world of online ads is now going through a price war. People are trying to outbid one another by overspending on ads, which means taking a hit in their profit margins. Within this context, there are only a few smart business people who have taken advantage of offline advertising. While offline advertising can be difficult, it can still provide you with valuable prospects and customers for your business at a nominal cost.

One of my friends (who I will keep anonymous) implemented a very successful offline campaign. He was promoting weight loss offers online through affiliate marketing and soon realized that getting leads online was not going to be profitable due to the tough competition. He needed quality, targeted leads at a low cost. He checked out the local exhibitions and fairs in his city and booked a stall in an upcoming fair. He hired two students part-time to put up a product demonstration presentation on a laptop in the exhibit stall. He also handed out flyers to all the people walking by. He later reported that he earned more than $4000 in that weekend alone.

The lesson to be learned is that there are many people qualified to try a product by ordering it online, but they cannot be fished through the internet because they either do not spend enough time browsing the internet or they are not proactively searching for what you have to offer. While these customers may not be eager, active buyers, they still might be willing to buy when presented with an irresistible offer.

When you advertise online, you will have a good idea of the cost per customer acquisition even before you start spending. This is because the internet is a "single place" even if the various businesses are from different parts of the world. The success of your offline advertising campaign is very hard to forecast because there are several factors involved.

My advice to you is to first try out your idea on a small scale. For example, if you are handing out flyers to bring people to your landing page, first try giving out 500 flyers in an area that is both diverse and includes a large number of people in your target audience. Calculate the cost per visitor and then decide whether you want to replicate the process on a larger scale.

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