Ad Exchange: Free Advertising With Complimentary Businesses (Part 1)

With an ad exchange, you place your partner's linked ads in your emailed newsletters, websites and blogs. They do the same for your ads. You can also exchange ads that can be displayed in each other's offices.

The bottom-line beauty of this tactic is it shouldn't cost you anything extra. That's right. It's free advertising.

You can reuse the ads you already have. There are no additional advertising fees or expenses.except perhaps an initial investment of your time to set up the arrangement.

Build a trusted network
The hardest part is the initial set-up. You can start with just one advertising-exchange partner and add more as you go along, but you can assert more control over the quality of this network if you start with a slightly larger group of three to five exchange partners.

Convincing partners to join will be the easy part. How many entrepreneurs like you would salivate at the prospect of free advertising?

The challenge is in finding the right partners. Here are a few tips:

• Complementary. You're looking for partners not competitors. But not just anyone. Find partners who compliment your business, and each other. Start by thinking of companies who regularly refer business to you. Real estate agents and mortgage lenders are obvious choices for P&C agents; but estate planners, accountants and tax preparers may be better choices for life insurance agents.
• Trusted entrepreneurs. Invite partners you trust, preferably people you already know. You don't want your advertising tainted by potentially bad or distasteful content.
• Internet presence. Your partners should already have a website and actively marketing on the internet. A business with a long-established website and regular email broadcast is a much better partner than someone who recently threw up a site just so they can say they have one.
• Client list. This network is a joint venture; and the main capital investment each partner brings to the table is their client list and public trust. The partners don't release the actual client lists. But they should have roughly the same number. It's not fair if you bring a client list of 100, while another person only brings five.
• Agreement. Finally, you (or your attorney) should prepare a simple memorandum of agreement to put all partners on the same page.

Now when someone comes to your website, they'll see your partners' linked ads. But visitors to their websites will see your ad.

Similarly, when you send out your e-newsletter, you'll include your partner's linked ads. They do the same for you.

Keeping It Going
Once you have it started, you and your partners should meet or conference at least once a quarter to agree on any tweaks.

Other business owners may want to get in on this network. However, too many partners in the exchange may be more than you can handle. Too many partners can make the exchange unwieldy. After the fifth or sixth partner, the law of diminishing returns may kick in.