The desire to attract millions of visitors to a website daily is a common aspiration, yet it's not an everyday occurrence. The belief that banner ads and internet advertising are ineffective is widespread, but is it accurate? Despite their vast resources, why do many multimillion-dollar websites fail after investing heavily in advertising? The internet, with its vast user base, can be a labyrinth of confusion. Many people expect immediate results, and if they don't get them, they move on. There are no second chances. Your strategy must work instantly, or your advertising business could dry up. However, this simplistic view overlooks a complex formula that has stood the test of time: test, test, and test again.
A typical campaign sent through postal mail could take anywhere from three months to a year before completion and results start to trickle in. This time frame includes the creation of the ad copy, testing a list, possibly testing a different ad with the list, and finally launching the campaign. This duration is a full life cycle for some internet companies. The full results can take months before they are completed and straggling respondents abound. Throughout an offline (postal mail) campaign, much painstaking time is given to the layout, the content, and the audience for an advertisement. The sluggishness of a postal campaign could be a godsend to advertisers. For the time it takes to test a list, you could brainstorm new ideas for the campaign. That time is invaluable for making changes, and moving with the current market.
Let's examine a campaign run through an internet newsletter. I'll use a recent campaign I ran in a sweepstakes newsletter as an example, because it highlights the difference in time frames between internet advertising and postal advertising. I used a company in Sweden. The results poured in within the first week. Even four weeks after the mailing was done, more customers came from this one mailing! Composing the advertisement took just as long as any other company. The testing, deployment, and results took about four weeks. Most internet campaigns will finish receiving results in 9-10 days. The swiftness in which I could perform tests, allowed me to make changes to my ad copy and stay ahead of the market. I was also able to personalize my ads with a far greater depth than through postal mail.
The benefit of the internet is quicker results from testing. The once yearlong campaign can now be tested and executed in as little time as two weeks via the internet! From day to day, market fluctuations change prices and debut new products. The internet allows quicker rollouts of new products, along with faster dissemination of sales information, and Beta testing. The implications are enormous, but with all the speed in the world, we car drivers know patience is still needed on any highway. Traffic jams happen, and making rash decisions or turning a blind eye can cause serious physical and financial damage to ones' self and others. Time must still be taken to come up with catchy slogans, attractive graphics, and action driving descriptions of great products. Minus these elements, one could mail to 180 million people and be out of business in a few months.
