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What Is an Online Advertising Network and How to Utilise a CPM and CPC Advertising Network

Utilizing the Different Online Advertising Network Formats for Your Business

The Internet has become increasingly complex over the years, so much so that today, it has almost become a necessary household tool that’s being used by almost everyone.

And, with the evolution of the Internet, also comes the evolution of online advertising. Today, online ad networks come in different formats and vary on how they serve advertising content to users, and it is a business owner’s responsibility to know and understand more about these formats, in order to find out which one is best used for a given marketing strategy.

CPC Advertising

CPC stands for “cost-per-click” advertising, and is arguably one of the more simple advertising formats to use. It’s a format that generates revenue for the publisher when the user gives a single valid click-through on the advertisement hosted. CPC ads usually come in text-based and rich media formats, and the most effective ads utilize some form of “call to action” to be noticed.

Utilizing the service of a CPC ad network is effective when the business is attempting to generate new leads, as well as driving new and potential customer sales. Hence, it is best utilized by publishers who have lower amounts of web traffic.

CPM Advertising

CPM stands for “cost-per-mile” advertising. In this format, the advertisers pay the publisher a set amount for every thousand actions a certain ad receives. CPM advertising is quite similar to CPC, but on a much larger scale. CPM advertising networks usually cater to publishers who receive a large amount of web traffic prior to their approval, due to the volume of potential leads that this format generates. CPM advertising networks are best used when the product being advertised is now receiving a growing amount of product exposure or recognition.

CPA Advertising

CPA stands for “cost-per-action” advertising, and is a commission-based advertising format in which the publisher receives revenue when a user clicks AND buys the advertised product or service being served. The amount of revenue the publisher receives is a percentage of the total price of the product being purchased. CPA advertising networks, or “online affiliate networks” as they are commonly called, are preferred when the business wants not only to increase their potential leads, but also their sales.

What to Use?

Deciding on what advertising format and online ad network to use largely depends on the capital available for the business, as well as the quality of the product being published. For newer brands who are taking some time to build their reputation, a CPC advertising network is preferable. Once the brand has generated enough leads, and has build up a very strong reputation level, switching to a CPM advertising network should now be considered to avoid running low on capital when the ads have a higher click-through rate. Finally, once the product and brand has established a very firm foundation for its reputation, a CPA advertising network should be used.

Of course, limiting yourself to one ad network certainly isn’t going to get you anywhere. In order to truly succeed, utilizing all of these in conjunction with each other is the best strategy to generate the maximum leads and revenue possible.

Starting a Small Business! Avoid these Four Major Entrepreneurial Mistakes

It is with much hope that every entrepreneur sets off starting a Small Business. Making money was his main objective. Failure was never in his mind but things don’t seem to happen the way he had planned for. Even the hope for Survival seems to have disappeared and Failure haunts him at every turn. Why does this happen and happen so often to numerous small business entrepreneurs?
The four major mistakes often made by new small business entrepreneurs are:1. Improper or No Research:The most fundamental thing to do before starting a small business is to do a market research to find out whether there is sufficient demand for the product or products you have to offer.
Perhaps the reason for the failure to generate the funds is that there is no market for your product or the market is saturated. The need for your product in your area of business activity should be your prime consideration before starting a small business. Only if there is sufficient demand for your products, you will be able to generate the funds necessary to help you run your small business, survive and succeed.2. Improper or Under Funding:Quite often the urge to start a small business is so great that the very vital aspect of funding is not given due importance. Businesses are started on a shoe string budget and shops open with very little stock and offices with insufficient equipment. To ensure the purchase of stock and equipment it is absolutely essential to have proper funding in place before commencing your business. Furthermore your business might take several months to start making a profit and hence funds are necessary to help your small business survive and keep your morale up during these early months.If you don’t have sufficient funds of your own, it will be wise and proper to obtain a loan before starting your business. This could be obtained from your bank or you can seek the assistance of the Small Business Administration which offers numerous loan programs to assist Small Businesses.
It is important to note that the SBA acts primarily as a guarantor of loans made by private and other institutions.Taking huge loans out of proportion to your needs can also be detrimental to your small business since provision has to be made for higher interest payments.3. Insufficient Advertisement and Promotion:No Business can be successful unless the public is made aware of the existence of your small business and its products. The best of equipment and stocks cannot generate sales unless the public is made aware of it. Hence advertising your small business and the products before the commencement of your business and thereafter should be a major consideration. Failure to do so has been the cause of failure of several small businesses.4. Unnecessary expenditure:One of the major causes for the failure of a small business is the improper handling of the funds. Extravagant expenditure at the initial stages such as the purchase of expensive cars, equipment and expensive business lunches completely out of proportion to your needs can eat into the capital and leave your small business with very limited working capital. Hence proper and wise handling of funds especially at the early stages can make all the difference between success and failure.Conclusion:Failure to avoid the above mentioned mistakes for one reason or the other can be detrimental to the progress and success of your small business.
Securing the services of a consultant to help you plan out your small business before starting will be a wise move to ensure success.

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Auction Listings Are Vital to the Success of Fundraising Auctions

Fundraising Auction Tip: You should always provide potential bidders with a printed Auction Listing of both your Live and Silent Auction items at any Fundraising Auction. A printed Auction Listing is vital for several reasons:

An Auction Listing informs bidders of the order of sale, and what is coming up next. If you keep your bidders guessing, they will simply not bid.

If bidders are not 100% certain of what they are bidding on, they will not bid. A printed Auction Listing should answer any and all questions about what is being sold in order to encourage bidders to bid as much as possible.

Bidders often need time to plan their bidding strategies, especially on multiple and/or larger value items. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Couples often need time to consult with each other about what they are willing to spend on something. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Potential bidders need to know the specifics, the benefits, and the restrictions on any item they are going to bid on, especially on travel and/or other higher value items. A printed Auction Listing should answer all of their questions, in writing.

After bidders see that they have lost an item to another bidder, a printed Auction Listing makes it easier for them to re-strategize on what else they can bid on.
Printed Auction Listings generally come in 3 forms:

Printed in the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-inserted into the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-delivered to all attendees, or left on each dinner table in the room.
Auction Listings cost practically nothing to produce and they can make the difference between the success and failure of a Live and Silent Auction. You should never conduct a Fundraising Auction without one.

A Case Study

Let me share a real-life experience with you. Once I was hired to conduct a Fundraising Auction for a nationally renowned organization. The event was held in a major hotel, in one of the country’s largest cities, with several hundred “black tie” participants attending. It was an extremely professional event, with the music, singing, lighting, speeches, and awards all perfectly timed and choreographed. Everything was done to perfection… exception the Fundraising Auction.

Although I had signed an agreement to serve as their Auctioneer nearly one year in advance of the event, no one bothered to contact me for any advice or help. Approximately one week prior to the Auction date, I contacted the group to see if they had replaced me with another Auctioneer. But they said that I was still their man.

Upon arriving at the event I asked for a copy of the Auction Listing. I was told that there were none. I’m not sure whether they felt that the Auction Listing wasn’t necessary, or whether someone forgot to have them printed. This was never made clear. When I asked what I was to use at the podium, I was told to copy the list of Live Auction items from a committee member’s computer. It took me about 30 minutes to copy three pages of hand-written notes in order to prepare for my role as their Auctioneer.

I knew that they had created a PowerPoint program showing the various Live Auction items. When I asked whether the PowerPoint slide order corresponded to the order of sale I had copied from the committee member’s computer, I was met with a blank stare. The committee member left to check the slide order, and returned to let me know that the slide order did not correspond my notes, and he provided me with the correct slide order… hand-written on a paper napkin. This forced me to re-arrange my three pages of hand-written notes before taking the podium.

There was a Live Auction Table with descriptions of the Live Auction items that were to be sold, but the table was not clearly marked, and it received significantly less attention than the Silent Auction Tables, which were clearly identified. Since the Live Auction Table was located adjacent to the “Raffle Table”, it appeared that most people thought it was part of the raffle and therefore paid very little attention to it.

According to the event program (which did not include an Auction Listing), I knew approximately when I was to begin the Live Auction. At the designated time the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the Live Auction to the several hundred people in attendance, and introduced me as Auctioneer. As I approached the podium I realized that photographs of award winners were still being taken… directly in front of the podium where I was to stand… which required me to stand aside for several minutes until the photographers were done. Can we say “awkward moment”?

As the photographers cleared, I approached the podium and began my Live Auction introduction. Approximately one minute into my introduction, the “Raffle Committee” approached the podium and stopped my Live Auction Introduction in order to pull the 8 or 9 Raffle Winners. These drawings lasted about 5 minutes. Upon it’s conclusion I was allowed to resume the start of the Live Auction.

When standing at the podium two intense and extremely bright spotlights were pointed directly at the podium. The lights were so bright that I literally could not see the center 1/3 of the room. I could see the tables on the right, and on the left, but was totally blinded when looking straight ahead. It took perhaps five minutes before the spotlights were turned off.

While at the podium and describing Lot #1, I had to ask someone to start the Lot #1 PowerPoint Slide… because apparently no one was assigned that job.

So with only the Auctioneer’s verbal description, and a PowerPoint slide, it appeared that few people in the room had any idea about what we were selling… or when we were selling it… until it was announced by the Auctioneer. As a result, bidding was extremely light and the final results fell several thousands of dollars short of where they should have been
The learning experience is this:

The Live Auction is where you place your better items, and where the real money should be made at any Fundraising Auction. Let bidders know as far in advance as possible what you will be selling, and the order of sale, so they can get excited about the Auction, and plan their bidding strategy accordingly.

Auction Listings are absolutely vital to the success of both Live & Silent Auctions. In my opinion, revenues at this Auction fell thousands of dollars short of where they should have been, because no Auction Listing was provided to the guests.

If bidders are not perfectly clear on what is being sold, including both the item’s specifics, benefits, and restrictions, they will not bid.

When you have a committee of volunteers, especially volunteers having full time jobs and/or very busy schedules, the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can help to keep the committee on track.

And once you retain the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer… use the services that you are paying for.

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