PPC or pay per click is the most widely used paid advertisement option on the Internet. Small and large businesses as well as individual marketers are able to market their products and services in a very cost-effective way. Advertisements placed in print media, radio and TV do not give any guarantee of traffic conversion. In these types of advertisements, the advertiser never gets to assess the impact of advertisement. Such methods proved ineffective because the advertisement is watched by thousands or even millions of people but only a few of them buy that product. That is not the case with the targeted PPC advertising. This advertising method is so popular because of various advantages that it provides to businesses of all types and sizes.

Genuine Potential Customers
The first advantage with the targeted PPC advertising is that only people who are really interested in the advertised product or service click it. This means, the company receives only those visitors who are really interested in the company’s product. Such visitors can be converted easily into customers.

Cost-Effective
Compared to other advertising options like TV and print media ads, the targeted PPC advertising provides value for money. The advertiser has to pay only for genuine visitors who are really interested in the company’s products. Every penny spent is worth it because it results in gaining customers who need that product and are ready to spend money for that. Profit is lot more than the money spent on PPC advertisement.

Track Performance
The money spent on targeted PPC can be tracked for effectiveness. An ad solution provider provides all types of data analysis tools. This helps assess clearly if the advertisement is proving beneficial for the company. The analyzed data can be used to plan the advertisement strategy properly. Things that are working can be continued and strengthened, while ineffective promotions can be discontinued.

Dynamic Advertising
PPC advertisements take care of various permutations and combinations of the keyword. This eliminates the need for the advertiser to come up with the perfect single keyword. The advertisement shows up for different combinations of the main keyword.

Control Budget
With the help of targeted PPC advertising, a company can spend only the right amount on the advertising. Besides, the money is spent on advertisement that provides targeted customers and clients. This helps plan and manage the budget properly and efficiently.

Connect with the Right Customers and Clients
PPC advertisement is not clicked on by people who are not interested in that product or service. The company receives only genuine customers and clients. If these customers turn out to be long-term buyers then the advertiser keeps making money for years to come from a lead that cost only a few pennies.

Increase Brand Value
The targeted PPC advertising helps increase the brand value of the company. People rightly assume that if a company is capable of paid advertisements then it must have some substance. They also understand that a company spending money on advertisement has the financial wherewithal to provide all types of support system to make the purchase hassle-free for the customers.

Having a home based business has the potential to be a wonderful opportunity if you possess or learn the following attributes. It is best if you analyze yourself and face up to your individual circumstances and what your unique situation may be. You have the highest potential to succeed if you possess or learn the following attributes.1) You have to be bold enough to let your client’s know you will be working from your home. Most often because of the nature of your business they infer or know. If not, they need to know up front. Before they hire you, they can voice concerns and you can discuss them or better yet, they may have the kind of personality that does not mind working around the situations that may present themselves with your situation. This may be the very case, the more unique your skills and the more demand for your skills.2) You need to have the personality that can focus and stay on the task for your work, even if things are not perfect in the kitchen or the rest of your home. You need to commit to putting in the hours that it takes to make your home-based business work and work other tasks in after business hours. If you are easily distracted, this has the potential to cause problems and interfere with your success.3) You have to know when to go to Plan B. If you thought you could work with the children in your home and that is not working, the sooner you acknowledge it and do something about it, the better it will be for your business. You may need to have the children in child care for 4 hours a day, if that is what it takes to make things work.4) You have to set business hours that fit for you and stay with that commitment. If things easily “get in the way” you will end up not making a successful go of it. The working hours you have set need to be seriously “written in concrete” to allow your business to survive. Sure, there will be happenings with the children that require your time, but if it occurs frequently, things will not work out successfully for a home-based business.5) You have to use your time wisely. Most likely, the motivating force behind your decision to have a home-based business is to have more time with your children and family. When you are working during the business hours you have set, it is important you make the time work for you. Analyze your demands and work as efficiently as possible. Learn to do things more efficiently as you see what works and doesn’t work with your home – based business. Utilize all the resources around you and involve older children in those tasks that meet their maturity level. All will work for good.6) You have to stick to your goals. In the beginning, you will certainly have frustrations until you work out all the wrinkles. Remember the reason you wanted a home – based business, the clients that made it possible, and all the other goals you’re working on that have brought you to this point.This is a great opportunity! If you keep working at it and possess a positive attitude and tweak those things you need to make it all work out, your efforts will be crowned with success!

Fundraising Auction Tip: You should always provide potential bidders with a printed Auction Listing of both your Live and Silent Auction items at any Fundraising Auction. A printed Auction Listing is vital for several reasons:

An Auction Listing informs bidders of the order of sale, and what is coming up next. If you keep your bidders guessing, they will simply not bid.

If bidders are not 100% certain of what they are bidding on, they will not bid. A printed Auction Listing should answer any and all questions about what is being sold in order to encourage bidders to bid as much as possible.

Bidders often need time to plan their bidding strategies, especially on multiple and/or larger value items. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Couples often need time to consult with each other about what they are willing to spend on something. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Potential bidders need to know the specifics, the benefits, and the restrictions on any item they are going to bid on, especially on travel and/or other higher value items. A printed Auction Listing should answer all of their questions, in writing.

After bidders see that they have lost an item to another bidder, a printed Auction Listing makes it easier for them to re-strategize on what else they can bid on.
Printed Auction Listings generally come in 3 forms:

Printed in the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-inserted into the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-delivered to all attendees, or left on each dinner table in the room.
Auction Listings cost practically nothing to produce and they can make the difference between the success and failure of a Live and Silent Auction. You should never conduct a Fundraising Auction without one.

A Case Study

Let me share a real-life experience with you. Once I was hired to conduct a Fundraising Auction for a nationally renowned organization. The event was held in a major hotel, in one of the country’s largest cities, with several hundred “black tie” participants attending. It was an extremely professional event, with the music, singing, lighting, speeches, and awards all perfectly timed and choreographed. Everything was done to perfection… exception the Fundraising Auction.

Although I had signed an agreement to serve as their Auctioneer nearly one year in advance of the event, no one bothered to contact me for any advice or help. Approximately one week prior to the Auction date, I contacted the group to see if they had replaced me with another Auctioneer. But they said that I was still their man.

Upon arriving at the event I asked for a copy of the Auction Listing. I was told that there were none. I’m not sure whether they felt that the Auction Listing wasn’t necessary, or whether someone forgot to have them printed. This was never made clear. When I asked what I was to use at the podium, I was told to copy the list of Live Auction items from a committee member’s computer. It took me about 30 minutes to copy three pages of hand-written notes in order to prepare for my role as their Auctioneer.

I knew that they had created a PowerPoint program showing the various Live Auction items. When I asked whether the PowerPoint slide order corresponded to the order of sale I had copied from the committee member’s computer, I was met with a blank stare. The committee member left to check the slide order, and returned to let me know that the slide order did not correspond my notes, and he provided me with the correct slide order… hand-written on a paper napkin. This forced me to re-arrange my three pages of hand-written notes before taking the podium.

There was a Live Auction Table with descriptions of the Live Auction items that were to be sold, but the table was not clearly marked, and it received significantly less attention than the Silent Auction Tables, which were clearly identified. Since the Live Auction Table was located adjacent to the “Raffle Table”, it appeared that most people thought it was part of the raffle and therefore paid very little attention to it.

According to the event program (which did not include an Auction Listing), I knew approximately when I was to begin the Live Auction. At the designated time the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the Live Auction to the several hundred people in attendance, and introduced me as Auctioneer. As I approached the podium I realized that photographs of award winners were still being taken… directly in front of the podium where I was to stand… which required me to stand aside for several minutes until the photographers were done. Can we say “awkward moment”?

As the photographers cleared, I approached the podium and began my Live Auction introduction. Approximately one minute into my introduction, the “Raffle Committee” approached the podium and stopped my Live Auction Introduction in order to pull the 8 or 9 Raffle Winners. These drawings lasted about 5 minutes. Upon it’s conclusion I was allowed to resume the start of the Live Auction.

When standing at the podium two intense and extremely bright spotlights were pointed directly at the podium. The lights were so bright that I literally could not see the center 1/3 of the room. I could see the tables on the right, and on the left, but was totally blinded when looking straight ahead. It took perhaps five minutes before the spotlights were turned off.

While at the podium and describing Lot #1, I had to ask someone to start the Lot #1 PowerPoint Slide… because apparently no one was assigned that job.

So with only the Auctioneer’s verbal description, and a PowerPoint slide, it appeared that few people in the room had any idea about what we were selling… or when we were selling it… until it was announced by the Auctioneer. As a result, bidding was extremely light and the final results fell several thousands of dollars short of where they should have been
The learning experience is this:

The Live Auction is where you place your better items, and where the real money should be made at any Fundraising Auction. Let bidders know as far in advance as possible what you will be selling, and the order of sale, so they can get excited about the Auction, and plan their bidding strategy accordingly.

Auction Listings are absolutely vital to the success of both Live & Silent Auctions. In my opinion, revenues at this Auction fell thousands of dollars short of where they should have been, because no Auction Listing was provided to the guests.

If bidders are not perfectly clear on what is being sold, including both the item’s specifics, benefits, and restrictions, they will not bid.

When you have a committee of volunteers, especially volunteers having full time jobs and/or very busy schedules, the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can help to keep the committee on track.

And once you retain the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer… use the services that you are paying for.