ADUTAINMENT: Advertising as Entertainment
JellyBasket.com - JELLY by the CASE or as a GIFT BASKET.

Viral Marketing: Internet Marketing Strategies
First of all, I realize that anything with "viral" in the name doesn't conjure up images of something you want close by, but there is a new type of Internet marketing known as "viral marketing" is worth investigating. Despite its unflattering appellation, it is an effective Internet collaboration marketing tool, and one that is important to understand if you want to expand your business.

SIPA's 32nd Annual Conference Showcases Latest Internet Advertising Trends And Email Marketing Through Client Newsletters
The Specialized Information Publishers Association Will Feature Leadership Keynote Speakers (http://www.newsletters.org/Events/Annual/2008/index.htm), Jay Berkowitz, Josh Macht, Bob Bly, Chris Schroeder And Fredrick Marckini On June 1, 2008 In Washington, DC

Viral Video Evolved - Startup LonelyBloggers.com Launches With Viral Marketing Case Study
LonelyBloggers.com is proud to announce a 7 episode, 40 minute viral video series called LBTV that can be watched in it's entirety on YouTube right now. Despite recent reports that a viral video now cost up to $250,000 to produce, LonelyBloggers was able to produce our viral video series with only a $5000 budget. Internet marketers need to understand the growing importance of adding video to your marketing mix as people flock to video sharing sites like YouTube. This means potentially free website traffic as a result, all the time presenting your brand in an exciting manner. Viral Marketing has to be considered as a key part of your future marketi...

Best Email Advertising of 2008 to Be Named by Web Marketing Association
The Best email advertising in 86 industries will be judged as part of the 2008 Internet Advertising Competition awards. Companies or agencies wishing to nominate their work for consideration may do so at IACAward.org (http://www.iacaward.org?gad=CNvQkJkDEgjMICey2iA0NRi6nML_AyCb88Qv) before the deadline of January 31, 2008.

Social Advertising Changing Internet Marketing: Moving From Forced Advertising To Opt-In Ads
SplashCast CEO Helps Define The Emerging New Marketing Field At L.I.S.A Conference - First Forum Dedicated To Social Advertising

Video Email And Its Impact On Internet Marketing
Email is a revolutionary means of communication facilitated by the advances in information technology. With the acceleration of e-commerce as a consequence of these same technological innovations, email is now a significant means of marketing products and services through the internet. Through email, myriad companies and businesses have a convenient means of reaching potential consumers. Through email, marketing copies get delivered directly to a person?s inbox; companies no longer had to wait for consumers to come across their ads in the internet.

Viral Videos: Lethally Effective Advertising Carriers
Are you one of those millions out there hooked on the viral video craze? This article describes the opportunities that viral videos offer to internet marketers.

MJM Internet Adds Internet Video Production to Enhance Dealership Websites With Tactical, Online Video Marketing
Automobile dealership website production firm, MJM Internet, has added Internet video products to enhance their clients' online marketing. Produced quickly, and at low cost MJMI internet video's feature online actors, and dealership personnel. They help bring car dealerships' online marketing to life using the site, sound and motion of video seemlessly added to their websites. Flexible and effective, integrated video should prove to give dealerships a competative advantage.

Consorte Media Announces New Email Marketing and Video Advertising Solutions
New product offerings from leading Hispanic digital marketing company give publishers additional ways to monetize traffic and help advertisers connect with Hispanics online

Internet Advertising: Viral Ads
Viral ads are called so because they are sent through emails, from account to account, spreading like viruses. The negative connotation of the name is merely due to its dispensational nature and not necessarily to any potential ill-effect brought on by its presence or any possible disruptive intent of the Viral Ad?s designer.

Free Web Advertising: Chat Room Marketing Secrets Of Internet Marketing Gurus Exposed
Have you ever been to a chat room?Have you ever posted a message?If yes, now you may learn some free web advertising secrets on how to market your products and services in chat rooms.Chat Room Marketing is the use of online chat rooms to promote your product or service.

How to Incorporate Viral Marketing Techniques to Your Internet Marketing Arsenal
Viral marketing is not the last disease found, nor a virus to your desktop

Mortgage Marketing - Viral-Email, Referral Marketing Strategy
This is a devastatingly powerful way to extend your marketing reach. For this to work right you need a website that promotes your business.

Dealerskins' Digital Video Viral Marketing Project for Auto Dealers Takes Internet by Storm
Dealerskins, (www.dealerskins.com) a division of Dominion Enterprises and a leading provider of automotive dealer web solutions, has launched a video and viral marketing project to promote its highly successful nationwide user groups. The video can be viewed at; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn09XoUySFg It tells the initially sad tale of a dealership Internet sales team, and ends with a strong redemptive finale at a Dealerskins User Group. There is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Glengarry Glenn Ross with a cameo from company founder; well know ...

Viral Marketing - The Future Of Advertising?
To understand viral marketing you need to be familiar with social memetics ? the idea of viral marketing is to create a product or advert that encourages the end user and potential customer to also become your promoter.

Marketing Tips For Small Business – Advertising That Works, Part I

Have you ever seen an ad on television that was beautiful, slick, and stylish but didn't fit the product? How about a magazine ad that, though gorgeously photographed, didn't make it clear what was being sold? Or have you heard a catchy radio ad that neglected to give contact information? If you pay attention, you'll notice these money-wasting advertisements in all types of media.

If a corporation puts out a bad advertisement, the marketing department will have the resources and budget to make a mid-course correction (sometimes). Often the thousands of dollars a small business puts into an advertising promotion are the bulk of the marketing budget for the entire year (usually). There's no money, time or resources for a do-over if the ad doesn't bring in customers. Small business people simply can't afford to spend money on expensive ads that don't work.

Preparing an effective ad is harder than it looks, but even the smallest business can produce an ad that works if some simple rules are followed. Following are four tips you can use to create a great ad for your business, regardless of your budget, marketing experience, or the media used:

1. State the Product or Service Clearly

Make it absolutely clear what product or service you are selling. Keep it simple and honest. Instead of advertising "meticulously crafted, threaded fastening accessories" just say, "best steel wing nuts." Don't make it hard for the customer to pinpoint what you're selling and don't overdo the flowery descriptions.

2. Use a Call-For-Action Phrase

Forgetting the call-for-action is the biggest mistake I see in small business advertising. A call-for-action is a short sentence telling the customer how to get the product or service, such as "call us for a free sample," "order online at www.mywebsite.com," "get Product X at these fine retailers." The call-for-action is important because it reinforces the customer's decision to buy and gives specific instructions. Without a call-for-action, a certain number of customers will change their minds almost instantly, as their attention is drawn elsewhere. Others will ignore the ad unless you make it clear you want their business by telling them exactly how to spend their money.

3. Check for Correct, Complete Contact Information

You must include a phone number, address, and/or website (preferably all three). Triple check to make sure the information is correct. This sounds obvious but consider this real-life case: A plumbing company in my hometown advertised 24-hour service but only put the number of the main office in their telephone directory ad. The office was only open 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. That was little use to someone with a leaking hot water heater at 2:00 a.m. The plumbing company also had a website where, with some digging, a desperate homeowner could ferret out the 24-hour service number... but what customer is going to spend time hunting the number down when he's up to his ankles in standing water?

4. Sell the Benefits

I often see ads that try to sell the customer on the features of a product or service rather than the benefits to the customer. What's the difference? Features describe the product or service; benefits tell the customer how those features will help him or her. Let's take a common product like bread. Say you're selling a special kind of nutrition-packed wheat bread (it was granny's secret recipe). You could list some of the features of this wonderful bread in your ads:

Contains 3 times the usual vitamin D and calcium

Extra potassium

Uses only rolled oats

(That all sounds very healthy, but I don't know how eating more of those things will do me any good. Besides, I like my usual brand of wheat bread. I pass by your delicious, nutritious wheat bread and buy the same supermarket bread I've eaten since I was a kid.)

Now let's state those features as customer benefits:

Builds strong bones and teeth

Helps control high blood pressure

Lowers cholesterol

(I didn't know I could lower my blood pressure by eating a different brand of bread. That's sure sounds easier and tastier than taking supplements. I pick up a loaf, and some of your whole-grain dinner rolls, too.)

Translating the features of wheat bread into benefits isn't that difficult. What if you have a very complicated product or service? Drilling down to the benefits can still be done quite easily. When I get stuck writing up a benefits sheet, I filter everything through this phrase: "What's in it for me?"

These four marketing tips are a great place to start when preparing your advertisement. See Marketing Tips For Small Business – Advertising That Works, Part II, for more tips and insider tricks.

Segarin Monk is a marketing specialist promoting social betterment programs for governments and non-profit organizations. He believes in high-integrity, pass-it-on, pay-it-forward marketing. See more articles from this author at: http://marketingyogi.blogspot.com/