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Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:24 am Post subject: Pixel Advertising - Fad or Not?
Pixel advertising seems to have caught the imagination of a lot of people. There are scripts to run a site for sale, pixel ad sites popping up all over the place, and I've even seen a pixel-ad MLM.
I never really bothered to look, until the question came up in a forum - "how effective is pixel advertising"? - and the answer is "not very". I conducted a highly unscientific test by going to Google and typing in 'pixel ads for sale' - and got: Results 1 - 50 of about 1,110,000 for pixel ads for sale.
About one million people, all competing to copy Alex Tew's idea.
What most of them are overlooking is that Alex got about 5 million dollars worth of free advertising by being featured on CNN, ABC, NBC, and the CDC for all I know.
Yes, you can play with a pixel site, but you won't get the free media exposure. Which means you'll have to buy the millions worth of advertising Alex got for free - and spending 5 dollars to make one isn't my idea of running a business.
The trick here is to learn the real lesson - if it's offbeat enough that "Good Morning America" picks you up, you can make money with just about anything.
And then you get to stand around laughing at the copycats who don't grasp the "good Morning America" part of your success story. Thing is - as entrepreneurs we should be looking for a way to do something different, that's "Good-morning"-worthy, and that people will give you money for.
But as for the advertising? I would rather spend some money on a good classified ad in the Post or the Times than on any pixel ad site - because I *know* people read the Times.
Coincidentally, a few days earlier Jason Lewis sent me an article he wrote titled "How To Make Money From Latest Craze Products" - by creating products that complement the latest fad. He used the pet rock from 1975 to illustrate his point.
The story about the pet rock and the knockoff stuck with me, and I've often thought that such fads repeat every 5-15 years. Then, while discussing pixel ads and things that were offbeat enough to get on "Good Morning America", it struck me that we should be due for a revival of the pet rock about now. If you can get the deal with the trademark holder, that is. And even if you can't, there ought to be something in that vein hitting the market for collectibles about now.
Now, the rights to the pet rock are probably sown up, and as throwaway ideas go, it serves best as an example. The idea was original in 1975 - today it's at best a revival, at worst a cheap copycat knockoff.
But a "Pet Rock Revival" is certainly goofy enough to get on TV - and provided you have the deal with the trademark owners in place, they won't be covering your court case on the evening news later that day. Personally, I live on the wrong continent to do anything with this - the pet rocks were never big in Europe. So if you can pick up the idea and run with it - more power to you. Ideas are cheap - turning them into money is work.
The real question you should be asking yourself though isn't "what can I copy from these specific examples?"
It is "what can I create that will catch people by the imagination?"
That's what will get you 5 million dollars worth of free advertising from the media and make you into an overnight success.
Oystein Lund runs the Advice Libraryand frequently gets inspired by the authors who post their stories there. Visit http://www.AdviceLibrary.com today, and get inspired too!
(Note - Hey, Nancy? What's wrong with this article? I'm terrible at editing myself, so I KNOW there's gotta be something wrong here. I just don't know what it is ) _________________
Just read it. Your article has original, thought-provoking content; presents and develops its theme well; and includes a supported POV.
I couldn't find anything wrong with it at first glance. If, however, you have reservations about various aspects of your article, I'd be glad to shoot the breeze with you.
_________________ Nancy/kappixteam http://www.kappix.com
Please review Kappix http://www.hedir.com/groupthink/viewtopic.php?t=13511
It feels a bit disorganized - there's an abrupt jump from the pixel stuff to the pet rock via Jason Lewis, and the transition feels a bit awkward and forced when I read it now. almost as if there's really two articles there that's collided head-on, and this is what's left after the EMT's scraped up the leftovers
I'm also not 100% sure about the tone - it's all over the place, really. I was trying for a 'petit' essay style, but that's pretty difficult to get totally right. It needs to be extremely consistent in the word choice/metaphor department, and when I look at it, I can't say that I feel I got it right. _________________
Examining your article more closely, I do have some initial comments. I'd begin by describing the Alex Tew phenomena to illustrate your main thesis statement and to give uniformed readers, like myself, just a bit of background. Your lead in deals with pixels, which led me to think that was the topic of your article. As pixel ads isn't the topic but rather an instance of your thesis statement, I'd rewrite the intro using pixel ads to desribe the phenomena/trend you deal with.
Interesting article. I tend to agree with it: pixel ads are a complete waste of time and money.
I never liked the idea when I first heard about it, and I don't now. Why would most people intentionally visit a site that will be nothing but paid advertisements? Then again, if TSC is a legitimate network and has been around for years... _________________ HEDir's Prince of Cool
The tone of your article is not removed like that of an academic expository essay. It uses first person narrative, giving it a more personal flavor. It similates stream of consciousness albeit controlled. The transitional word "Coincidentally" works perfectly in that setting.
If it's a formal register/tone you'd like then my previous suggestion might be a preferable way to begin the article.
the title suggests something a bit different than some of the issues you raise. You can either revise it or revise the article so it reflects and focuses on expectations the title raises. I think you might like to ask yourself what it is you wish to convey, write it down in one clear sentence and let that guide you.
I don't know who your intended readers are so I can't say much more. Don't wanna ramble.
Mmm, the 'petit' essay is .. sort of like a newspaper opinion column, only a bit more literary aware. It's not intended to be an academic paper, it's more of a bite-sized opinion pice.
I think ... it's the disconnect between the title and what I've written that's been bugging me. The title is the question I started with- which is answered in the first couple paragraphs, and then segues into some thoughts on what's wrong with the bandwagon some people are trying to jump on.
Hmm. Apparently, I have the wrong title for the right article? _________________
Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 5:09 pm Post subject: Latest Blog Post : Blog and earn!
I have submitted it to digg and reddit, expect good traffic _________________ http://www.idealwebtools.com/blog/orkut-banned-india/ - Orkut getting a ban in India, why? Is it fair? Politicians not liking it as some voices are raised against.
Heh, I think I've figured out what was bothering me.
The title.
It should be "Marketing in an Attention Economy - What Fads Can Teach You" and the summary/subhead should be "Pixel ads and the pet rock - what do they have in common?" _________________
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