Chapter 10
Advertising and Publicity: The Basics
In This Chapter
Branding your business for success
Finding free advertising for businesses on a budget
Making the most of mailing lists and word of mouth
Placing banner ads
Every month — sometimes every week, it seems — the Internet spawns a new superstar. As I write this, the stars of the moment are featured in the “Two Girls and a Puppy” Facebook page. After losing their dog to cancer and asking their reluctant father for a new one, he challenged them to get a million Likes on a Facebook page. They posted a cute photo that had a simple message, a call to action, and provoked emotion. Within just seven hours, they managed to achieve their goal. (The puppy followed soon after.)
An article on Entrepreneur.com called “What Makes Your Video Shareable — and Viral” identified some traits common to things that get a lot of attention on the Internet: They generate emotion; they involve something that is startling and attention getting. The article suggested that to get attention, you need to “1. Be true, 2. Don’t waste our time, 3. Be unforgettable, ...
Get Starting an Online Business For Dummies, 7th Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
