Branding With Banners

You might have heard that banner advertising is dead. Nothing could be further from the truth! If you can find a banner exchange that gives you a decent ratio you can begin branding of your site, and branding may be the one thing you MUST do to get and keep business.

Banner ads and banner exchanges are great tools for branding your site. Even better, most banner ads can be shown for free through banner swaps. It isn't necessary to purchase ads to have a successful branding campaign.

You must however, remember the most important part about using banners for branding --The Brand! Never create a banner, button, or other graphic to submit to any exchange be it banner ads, reciprocal links, etc., that does not have your name, logo, or tag line (Slogan) on it.

Try to get two of the three on it if you can, and always have a call to action on the banner; such as, "Click here!", "Sign up today!", or "Limited Time!" to get the viewer to click on the link and visit your site.

Whether they purchase or not is not important - well, not the main thing -- getting your brand (Site, name, product, etc.) in front of the potential customer is the goal for a first time viewer of your banner.

The whole idea behind branding is getting your name or face out there over and over again so people who are surfing see you everywhere they go!

Are you more likely to purchase a product from someone you have never heard of or someone you know has been around a long time because you remember their name, logo or tag line? "Surely they must be legit, or I would not see them advertised everywhere!" is what you want people to think whenever they see your ad or are at your site and getting ready to make a purchase.

The biggest mistake people make is expecting a huge click through rate on a banner the very first time it is put out there and then quitting when that does not happen. Don't think of banner ads as a one-time thing. People rarely click on a banner the first, second or even third time they see it.

Think of a banner ad as your big golden arches. The first time you see it you ask, "What is it?"

The second time you see it, you remember, "Oh yes that's that hamburger place."

And maybe the third time you see it you say, "Hey, I think I will try one of those hamburgers!"

Hopefully, by the third, fourth or fifth time someone sees your name or logo on a banner ad they will "Try your burger" too!

Here are some resources to give you a start:

Banner Exchanges:
----------------
This list updated 4/16/05

The one I recommend is BannersGoMLM.
(http://www.bannersgomlm.com)
They give you a 1 to 1 ratio and you can earn banner exposures
based on the credits earned by people who sign up through you.

Some others you can try out are:

BannerSwap (http://www.bannerswap.com)

Offers a 1:2 ratio and supports following banner dimensions:
468x60; 500x350; 160x600; 88x31; 468x60 Flash Banners

Exchange-it (http://www.exchange-it.com)

Offers a 2:1 ratio; 468x60 banners

WorldBE ( http://www.worldbe.com)

Offers the top 50% performing members an exchange ratio of 1:1.
The next-best performing 25% of members receive a 4:3 exchange
ratio while the last 25% receive a 2:1 exchange ratio.

123Banners: (http://www.123banners.com)
Offers a 2:1 ratio; 468x60 banners

Link Buddies: (http://linkbuddies.com)
Established in 1997!

Click Through Ratio* Exchange Rate
Top 1% of all LinkBuddies Members 1:1
Top 10% of all LinkBuddies Members 4:3
Top 25% of all LinkBuddies Members 3:2
Top 75% of all LinkBuddies Members 2:1
Top 90% of all LinkBuddies Members 5:2
Bottom 10% of all LinkBuddies Members 10:1

All LinkBuddies member needs to achieve 100 impressions within two weeks to be eligible for sliding exchange rates.

Provides you an easy-to-use three step wizard to create up to ten
banners. 468x60 banners

Online Banner Creation Sites:
----------------------------

Free:
----

Here are some places you can create banners (and buttons and other linked graphics) "on the fly" so to speak. The ones I have listed here are free, there are tons more that have annual fees. Some of the ones below also offer a "for fee" version. Be sure to read all of their rules for using their services and finished banners - usually called "Terms of Service".

Creative Connectivity: (http://www.crecon.com/banners.html)

The original one I have used for years until I got the nifty little software program from Xara.

Banner Creator: http://www.bannercreator.nu/ main page the banner generator is here: http://www.bannercreator.nu/banner-maker.html

Banner Forge http://bannerforge.com All the standard sizes plus a 120x240 vertical size.

Fee:
---

These sites charge an annual or per banner fee, but you usually get a larger choice of graphics and a better customization service. Some are do-it-yourself and others are professional services that have graphic artists create your banner for you.

Be sure to read all of their rules for using their services and finished banners - usually called "Terms of Service".

http://www.quickbanner.com Nice looking banners of all sizes. Flash and other advanced banners starting at $14.95. You can still get some .GIF banners (468x60) and buttons (88x33) for free.

Cool Banners: (http://coolbanners.com): Fees range from $50 for smaller button-type banners to $300 dollars for interactive html banners.

Strategic Solutions: (http://www.ss-banners.com/ ) Standard size banners (486x60) as static, html, animated or flash. Prices range from $75 - $300 plus a "rush fee" of $200 for 24 hour turnaround.

Where to Place Your Banners:
----------------------------

You know where to start, now you have to decide where to put those banners you are swapping. It is better to link to a sub page than your homepage so target the offers on your banners (Not leaving off your logo or name though!) to specific pages on your site.

Do you offer a newsletter?

Great! Put that information on a banner and link it to your sign up page.

Do you sell software?

Put that on a banner and link it to your software description / order page. And so on until you have people coming in from all over.

If you have created your site correctly with links to all the other pages easily accessible on every page, then visitors will find your other content even though they did not come in from the "front door".

----NOTE----
Don't forget to put a sign up form on every page for your news- letter and a link for swapping links or classified ads. If you do not know how to do this or don't have a newsletter or swap links page set up find the tutorials you need to set them up at http://treefreepublishing.com/articles/
----NOTE----

Once you have your banners out there, don't slack off! Go back to the exchanges you joined and see how the banners are doing. If you have one that is doing nothing and it has been up for awhile (giving it a chance to be seen several times by surfers) pull it and put up another one instead.

Try animated against non-animated, bright colors against flashy fonts, etc., until you find that perfect set of three or four banners that work well for you consistently.

Once you have your select banners, rotate them amongst the different exchange services. A banner that isn't new on Banner Exchange A can be swapped to banner Exchange B and start out new again! After that, move it to Banner Exchange C, until you rotate it back to where you started- and guess what? Enough time has passed that you can use it in Banner Exchange A again and it is fresh all over again.

Ok, now that you are all ready to brand yourself- get out there and start submitting your banner!

"Techie" Teri Mramer is the busy web master at TreeFree Publishing, your home for all electronic publishing services and do-it-yourself publishing resources. http://treefreepublishing.com and... The Editor of Epublishing Express- The only ezine that teaches ebook and ezine publishing with screenshots and multimedia how-to videos! http://treefreepublishing.com and... Also author of "Easy Web Site Audio!" The Easy Web Site Audio tutorial! e-Manual comes with 15 how-to videos. Add audio to your web site in about an hour! http://treefreepublishing.com

weekly home cleaning Highland Park ..

In The News:

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Archer Aviation has acquired Hawthorne Airport for $126M to launch an LA air taxi network ahead of the 2028 Olympics, featuring AI-powered eVTOL operations and next-gen aviation tech.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Fake AI apps disguised as "ChatGPT" and "DALL·E" are flooding app stores with dangerous malware that steals data and monitors users without detection.

Fake buyers demand specific vehicle reports from unknown sites to steal credit card information from car sellers, but warning signs can help identify these scams before paying.

Branding With Banners

Web Site Promotion