Advertising: How to Decide if it's Right For You

Advertising is a hot topic among online shopkeepers: Should I do it? Where? How much should I spend? My ad didn't work – Is it because of my products or where I placed the ad? Today's post is the first in a four-part series that aims to answer your questions on the ins and outs of advertising. Watch for the second post in the series, How to Evaluate Advertising Opportunities, on Monday, April 19th.

While using social media is a convenient and free way to increase traffic to your shop or site, you may start to wonder about whether to pay for direct traffic through advertising.

Advertising generates a lot of questions among creative entrepreneurs because it's  tough area to navigate. What's the best way to make it work for your business?  If you are thinking of advertising as a way to increase your image, traffic and sales, here are 5 questions to ask yourself:

1. Am I using free marketing tools effectively?

Handywoman pendant necklaces, courtesy of H00ked

Before considering advertising, there are many tools you can use for free, like a blog or Facebook. If you know how to juggle social media, you could see new sales, improve branding and form great relationships. Often, however, one of the mistakes novice business owners make is not using these tools effectively. For instance, Twitter should be used for networking, rather than trying to drive traffic and increase sales. That's not to say that it doesn't help people accomplish the latter goals, it just takes time to build solid relationships first.

Of course, one plus with advertising is that you don't need to spend hours forming relationships on Twitter, building trust through blogging or sharing helpful information on Facebook, you simply pay for your ad and wait to see what happens.

2. Is my shop ready to be advertised?

I've run into many sellers who start their business either via online marketplaces or their own website and advertise within their first month. I think this is a bad decision for most, because when you are just starting out, there is a lot of work to be done before you actually want people to land on your website. It takes only a few seconds (sometimes less!) for potential buyers and visitors to form a judgement of your page, and therefore, business savvy. Are you confident that the photographs, copywriting, and branding is professional enough to encourage browsers to buy?

My advice is to spend the first few months in business building inventory, perfecting your photos and revising your copywriting in order to make the best first impression you can. Think of your favorite website or online shop and dissect what makes their site so appealing, and try to emulate that in your own, unique way.

3. Do I have room in my budget for ad designs and campaigns?

Personally, I never had an advertising budget because when I first started out, I was broke. I had spent a few hundred dollars on materials and supplies. Once sales poured in, I still didn't really factor in advertising as part of my budget and really just relied on listing new items, using social media (ineffectively, by the way) and exposure from being featured by others on the web.

To figure out if you have a budget for advertising, take a look at your incoming sales/income and outgoing spending. If you have very little breathing room for advertising fees, take a closer look and figure out if there is anything you spend on that is not providing a return on your investment.  For instance, if you spend money on something monthly and still aren't seeing any boost in sales, why not skip it the following month and use that money to advertise?

4. What are the targets of my advertising spending?

Thirteen Arrows T-shirt, designed by Slowshirts

When you decide to advertise, you need to think of your target first. There is no point in shelling out cash unless you know what you hope to get out of that spending. Do you want to boost the profile of your business or will advertising only be useful to you if it means more sales? Whatever you do, think long and hard about your goals and strategize to make them come true through your ad design and campaign.

5. What would I do if the outcome isn't what I expected?

Sometimes advertising doesn't work. Just like spending hours on Twitter can sometimes not work. There are several reasons advertising doesn't always work. The first reason is that the place you chose to advertise was not where your target market lives. Or perhaps the ad design and campaign was not effective enough to speak to those targets.

Another thing to consider is how long you plan to invest in advertising. It can take weeks and even months for blog readers or shoppers to take notice of your ad and actually click. Why? Say a shopper regularly frequents a "handmade finds" website and for months she notices your ad for pretty dog collars. She never clicks or takes a major interest because she doesn't have a dog. But if she ever gets a dog or knows someone who has one, you can bet she will mention those pretty dog collars and, bam, that new sale you just got came directly (by her click) or indirectly (by her referral) from your advertisement.

There are loads of things to consider when taking the plunge into advertising your business, make sure you take the time to sit down and plot your course of action to make your campaign a successful one.

Justine Smith is an Etsy success story who used her experience selling online and turned it into a full-time wholesale business. Her real passion is helping handmade sellers find success marketing their craft products. She offers tips on advertising, branding, social media and growth via email through her blog Handmade Marketer.

Main image courtesy of Shutterstock.com