Internet marketing, a lot of the time really is hit and miss. Always keep in mind that when you promote your site you are, in effect trying to get the word out to the whole world. Not an easy task! How can there NOT be variables when you are advertising to billions? It isn't always where you advertise that makes the difference; it's HOW.

First and foremost, it is SO important to have effective ad copy. Without it, you truly are wasting your time and money. Along with effective ads, it's imperative that you have variety! Don't advertise all over the place with the same ad. The surfer of today seems to get bored very quickly, so it's important to pique their curiosity as often as possible.

Rotate your ads - this means, that if you post to ffa.net with Ad A on Monday, you will post to that site with Ad B on Tuesday. And track your ads so you know which ones are getting the most clicks. Once you know this, you can scratch the less-effective ads off your list, and write new and improved versions.

The time of day you submit can also make a difference. You have to test/track this as well. Try different times of the day, different days of the week, and different ads on each site. See how your ads do when you advertise once a week, twice a week or every day. It's a lot of work!

I have found ffas to be quite effective. Now, before you say "UGH!" let me tell you - ffas aren't the only advertising method that generate mounds of email! If you don't like the idea of submitting to individual ffa pages, try a database submitter, like worldsubmitter.com or mymegasubmitter.com. Your ad can be on thousands of sites in minutes. And don't forget to set up a 'junk' email account BEFORE you post to the ffas, or you will be in trouble!

Next are the safelists. I submit to under 40 safelists daily, but receive over 1000 emails in each of my 7 mailboxes every 2 days! The point is, whether you use ffas or safelists, you cannot escape a full inbox :) Safelist examples are adtactics.com and mbpsafelist.com, and they get pretty good results if your headline is effective. If you can, try a sponsor ad (your ad at the top of every email sent to the safelist) - incredible results, but only for the first 3 or 4 days - I noticed a loss of interest shortly thereafter.

The list goes on and on - start page programs, banner exchanges, reciprocal links, classified ads, ezine advertising - try all of the above. Find the mix that works best for you. And, when it stops working, either drop it entirely or mix differently. Eventually you will find a winning combination.

Elizabeth Piotrowski