Advertising is what I do

For nearly 5 years, advertising has been my life.
Traffic exchanges cover the bulk of that, but all other forms of online advertising are a major staple as well.  For those with little startup capital, traffic exchanges are great.  Most of them can be used free of charge.

We all know nothing is totally free though, don't we?  Where one doesn't spend money, they spend time.  Either way, something must be given.  Time or money.  That is up to the individual to decide.

Over the past year, social networking and social bookmarking has erupted on the net.
Great! More free advertising for the internet marketer.  More effective advertising for the marketer.  There are more networking and bookmarking sites now than most (including me) can keep up with.  The beauty of that is, not is it less boring than all that endless clicking (which I still do when I can make time for it). 

By choosing to network, even if it is for money, the online marketer often notices a large increase in hits to his/her sites or blogs.  Provide a good free service, and the likelihood of repeat traffic increases drastically. 

This all leads back to the old offline saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know."

When I first starting trying to earn online back in early 2003, I thought, "this is perfect. No phone harassment!" Come to find out, many affiliate programs teach cold-calling as a way to follow up leads.  I soon found out that line of work was simply not for me, as multitudes of other marketers do.

Thus, the hunt for other ways of making contacts (the word "leads" just grates my nerves).  Like many others, I tried chat rooms.  Rarely did I find other business-oriented people in chat rooms.  Ok, so that didn't work either.  On with the show.

The search for advertising began.
Traffic exchange, link exchange, free posting, safelists, and classified ads entered my life...yet my pages were not making any sales.  Not long afterward, I figured out that some of the actual advertising I was using actually paid me.  Sure it was pocket change, but that pocket change added up while I discovered that my niche was advertising itself.

As my referral bases built, I kept in contact with my members, often making offers to help them promote free of charge.  At this point, the webmaster at my favorite paying exchange sat up and took notice of me.  I'll be dipped!  I had a mentor!  Great, exactly what I needed: Someone with experience that cared if I succeeded or not. 

While learning the ropes I learned why my pages were getting amazing traffic but no sales.  My pages were generic affiliate pages.  What I needed was my own style, or rather, unique pages that attract the attention of viewers.  Pages that only offer a small amount of information that encourage the viewer to click through to the main sales page and read more.

As time grew on, I learned how to do things like make webpages and banner advertisements for myself and my customers.  Skills.  When one doesn't have a lot of working capital, skills are crucial.

Now, nearly 5 years later, I run 5 traffic exchanges and and advertising portal service, all sites offer free and paid advantages to suit each customer's needs.  Integrating my work with social networking and bookmarking was the smartest thing I have done so far.  My sites are being seen and used by people who have never heard of traffic exchanges.

The best part?  Over the years, I have met some really great, intelligent people.  Some who have taught me a thing or two, and some that seek my advice or skills. 

Anyone who hops online thinking that they need no one's help is in for a big surprise.

This is Shannon Whitehead, professional advertiser, signing out.
www.sjopromotions.com

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