So some extra money has come your way and you know what you want to do with it: advertise. You’ve heard somewhere, at some point, that advertising will make you money. But are you sure that that is the best way to spend your money? Here are just a few things you should consider before spending your hard-earned money on advertising.

Word-of-Mouth Business

Every business is different. Some businesses get a ton of clients simply by having other clients refer them to the company. Some, on the other hand, don’t have that benefit and must seek out every customer on their own, whether due to an insufficient referral program or a small customer base. If there’s a lot of word-of-mouth referring going on, you can afford to hold off on the advertising for now.

Ad Quality

If you have the money to create an ad that has been well-researched, is clever, and appeals to the target audience you have in mind, then you’re well on your way to an effective, worthy ad purchase. However, if you only have the cash to afford the ad space and not a professionally designed ad, you may find yourself in trouble. What your ad looks like really does matter, and no amount of money can change that.

Commitment

Having a product that takes a while to process isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean you’re in it for the long haul. If your sales cycle is long, or your services are costly, it may take more than one view of your ad for someone to trust you enough to try you out. If your packages start at a thousand or two thousand dollars, obviously it may take longer for you to get business than for someone who has packages that start at fifty dollars.

So in the end, advertising is completely up to you. However, it’s important you look at the big picture and not just at how much advertising will hurt your pocketbook.

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