So many people launch their first or second business with the 
misconception that they can survive without advertising. It is 
their fear of failure that almost single-handedly assures their 
failure. They fear spending the money that they need to get and 
keep their business running during those early years of their 
operation.

Let's face it, when you start in business, money is usually 
pretty darn tight. So, you must figure out how to get off the 
ground without throwing your money down the drain. Every single 
red cent is important enough to hang onto with a tight fist.


NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO REINVENT COPPER WIRE

I am reminded of an old joke a friend used to tell about himself. 

My friend had always told me that both he and his brother were 
the inventers of copper wire. He insisted that the two of them 
were fighting over a penny one day and managed to stretch it 
out into the first strand of copper wire known to mankind. 

Indeed, now is not the time to try to reinvent copper wire.


ADVERTISING IS A NECESSARY COMPONENT OF A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

The point of advertising is to notify your customers of the 
existence of your business. It is necessary to tell people that 
you are in business and to tell them what products and services 
you are offering.

Unless people know that you are offering a certain product or 
service at a certain price, no one will knock upon your door 
to buy your wares. 

If you fail to attract customers and dollars, your business will 
die. Therefore, advertising is a must for the success of your 
business. Sure, word of mouth can take you places, but it can 
only take you so far. Advertising is designed to pick up where 
word of mouth leaves off.


ATTRITION IS A DEFINITE FACTOR TO CONSIDER

Attrition is a factor in all businesses. A business is able to 
pick up so many customers and dollars on every advertising or 
promotion venture. Yet, a certain portion of your old and new 
customers and dollars will drop off over time. 

You simply cannot rest on your laurels. You must continue to 
generate new business and new dollars or your business will 
die. 


EZINE PUBLISHING DELIVERS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF COMMERCIAL ATTRITION

If you have ever published an online ezine, then you will have 
seen attrition first hand. 

You can spend all week advertising your ezine and note that your 
efforts have generated for example 500 new subscribers. Yet, by 
the end of the week, your subscriber base has only climbed by 
250 subscribers. What went wrong?

Well, this is how it works. Keep in mind this is only an example 
to make my point, but if you have ever published an ezine, then 
you will know I am right on the money with this observation.

In one week:

· 500 people sign up for the first time.
· 40  of those people unsubscribe after the very first issue 
  because they do not like the content. 
· 30  people quit after the first issue because their only 
  purpose in subscribing in the first place was to get the 
  freebie you had offered to new subscribers.
· 30  of those people unsubscribe because they do not remember 
  subscribing to the ezine in the first place.
· 80  email addresses bounce due to ISP email filters.
· 20  people bounce because they did not pay their Internet bill. 
· 35  people have simply changed their email addresses without 
  submitting a change of address to you. 
· 15  people have quit the Internet altogether.


In the final analysis, 100 of your new subscribers, or 20% of 
your newcomers are gone after one week. Another 150 subscribers 
were long-time subscribers who are gone for other reasons. 

If you make the mistake of stopping your advertising, your ezine 
list will eventually wind down to one subscriber --- you. In 
our example, 150 long-time subscribers disappear every week, 
and there is nothing you can do to stop it. You must absolutely 
keep a fresh flow of new subscribers coming into the ezine in 
order to stay ahead of the attrition curve. 


STAYING AHEAD OF THE ATTRITION CURVE

An ezine or a business, what is the difference? Not much. Your 
business will suffer the same fate as the ezine if you do not 
advertise. I don't know how to make it any more clear than this. 

Yes, you must be careful not to throw your money away on 
advertising that does not generate results. But you cannot 
afford to throw the baby out with the bath water. 

Carefully, pick your advertising, study your results, and put 
your money back into what is working for you. 

In conclusion, you must decide. Do you want to advertise your 
business, or do you want to watch your business die? The 
decision is yours and yours alone. Well, what are you going 
to do?