These are the first type of programs I recommend, because I have had the Best success and more targeted hits directly related to these types of programs. Some of them are a lot of work and some are easy. Deciding which ones to use is going to depend on what you are trying to promote and how much ‘spare’ time you have.Instant Buzz (IB)
The first one I want to share is Instant Buzz (IB). There is not another FREE advertising program I found yet that I like more. It is uniquely original. I haven’t seen any other program out there that is like it at all.What is it?
It is a Free Advertising Program and Support Community.How does it work?
This program has three ways to earn Free Advertising for doing what an average person does everyday on the net. You may use all three options or just one. It is your choice.When you join you are asked to download a program that will install in your browser bar. It is small and runs right under any other browser bar programs or your address bar - depending on what you have loaded. While you surf your normal sites it will post a small one line advertisement on the bar. I have found it to be completely non-intrusive. You earn Free advertising just for letting it run. You don’t have to click on any of them and it won’t direct you to pages you don’t want to go. I just runs and you earn Advertising credits. Your ad is then shown on other people’s browsers as they surf.
That is the first part of the program. The second part is for your website. You can ad a small floating ad on your webpage/pages to earn free advertising credits - You should have seen one when you came on this page - if not refresh and you should get it. It can be closed out quick and easily. Now again, no one has to click on it for you to get the credits, all they have to do is come to the page you have it displayed and you get earn credits. The floating ad has two ‘ads’ on it, one for instantbuzz the other another members ad. In return for every credit you earn you get your ad shown on other people’s sites. You obviously have to have your own website that you can ad codes to use this (if you do not have one check out the webmaster section for Free options).
The last way is the most effect it seems, you run a small ad in the top of your email browser - so every time you send an email someone else will see the ad. But that also means for every credit you earn from sending emails, when someone send their email out - your ad will be send to their contacts.
Besides the Great Free Advertising you get with this program they have a wonderful community center. This area has several different forum/discussion boards. These are NOT free for all and loaded with a bunch of junk, they are closely monitored and have specific purposes. I have received some wonderful help with different areas I needed advice on, relating to internet marketing or webmaster stuff. There is one section just for great Freebies and another for Special promotions just for Instant Buzz (IB) members. Most of this is good stuff and not just hype and junk. The monitors are pretty good about making sure it is legitimate stuff that has a purpose. These forums are not really areas to ‘advertise’ but they do allow you to put your links in your signature as long as you are not just posting to promote your stuff.
Is it an affiliate program?
Yes which means not only do you earn free credits for the pages you surf, the floating ads on your site and the emails you send but you also earn them for anyone who joins under you.How do you join?
This is an invitation only program. If you were to go to the website you would not be able to just join. You must either be invited through a special invitation sent by a member, or you can get your invite by clicking on the IB portion of a floating ad, or an email ad. This helps level the playing field sort of speak so people are not able to just use a ‘link’ to get people under them except during special promotions. If you want to join now you can either email me for an invitation or refresh this page and click on the IB portion of the ad.Any hidden fees or ‘exclusive’ members upgrades?
No hidden fees at all. When you first join you are asked if you want to upgrade as an exclusive member - I can not remember the cost to be honest. But as far as I am aware, this is the Only chance you will get to upgrade. Once you are a Free member you stay a free member.The main thing I noticed that exclusive members get is the option to use HTML in their ads. There may be some other benefits but I didn’t join that way so I can’t tell you to be honest.
Yahoo Groups & Interests
Before you join any yahoo groups or set up a profile, I highly recommend you start a junk mail account to link it to. There are several programs that harvest emails from these groups and you will end up with a lot of junk. You obviously will have to sift through it or you may miss a legitimate contact - but I would definitely use a junk email for this.Groups
As many of you know there are thousands of Yahoo groups. Each for its own purpose and target. The best thing I have found with these is to find active very active groups. It is best to find ones with large numbers or newer ones that seem to be very highly interactive. Some of are specifically for advertising your business. I’m not so sure how many of these actually get read unless the moderator indicates you have to receive individual or daily emails. Instead you can stick to groups that are targeted to your customer base. Then find posts that you can ‘ad’ to the general conversation in a productive knowledgeable way and leave your link and ‘title’ in the signature. Maybe even a small quote that is related to your business. Build a good reputation in the community then after some time you ask the moderator if you can offer a ‘special’ promotion that would just be for the group. Make up a special deal that would get customers to your site or business without hurting you financially - sometimes just a discount is good, or free sample. If you have an ebook that relates to your business that is always a good freebie for some people as long as it isn’t one that Everyone already has. You can also look for targeted Areas for local groups. From the town you live in to the state to the area of country to the county. Often times there are great groups that target your area.Another option is to start your own group. Make the ad just say something about the product or service without ‘giving away’ that it is a business. Or have it be an open group to discuss information that relates to your business. This gives you the open forum to post your ad. You will get more people to join however if you make it more of an informational group than just an advertisement for your business. Maybe write a few articles to post to build a reputation about your knowledge.
Interests
Set up a Yahoo profile (with your junk email account). Include your web links on there, and find all the interests that relate to your business. As if you are real adventurous and have some time one of the best responses I ever got was when I went through interest groups and send out personal messages to people on those groups. It is very time consuming but one of the most effective responses I have I have found to date. You obviously will have to keep checking that yahoo messenger account often to see if anyone has contacted you through there. The easiest way to do this is to type a personal message (not just an ad but something personal like: I got your name off of ‘-----‘ yahoo interest group. I ‘-------------------‘ and thought you might like to chat sometime - or perhaps check out my website at www....). Then copy and paste it in each persons message box. Now it will take even more time, but you may want to check out their profile to see if it hints around about other things. So you can see if they really are someone you think might want to do business with you. Obviously if their under lets say, Nutritional Health and you sell a certain product line then you click on their profile and see they sell a competitors product line they may not be the people you want to target.Other Groups
There are several other Groups, Forums, etc. that you can use similar promotional options with. ICQ, MSN, General Forums etc. But from personal experience I have found the best response and reception from Yahoo members.