This can be particularly difficult to sort through, especially if you’re fairly new to it all.  There’s also the added complication of people you know giving you advice, however well-intended it may be, that’s simply not in the best interest of your business or marketing venture.

Below is a short list of some of the marketing tactics that simply don’t work well enough to be worth your time.

Contests – Although they may seem like a fun way of attracting potential customers to your site, the truth is most people just aren’t interested.

There’s also the fact that many people are leery of web contests because of the potential for scams and viruses.

Then there are also the potential legal issues involved in running a contest, which could be very costly and time consuming.  All-in-all contests are simply not the way to go.

Banner Ads on General Sites – Most banner ads you see are on general sites and not worth wasting your time or money on.  They simply won’t pay off.

The only banner ads I’d recommend are those that are linked to search terms on major search engines.  These will generally provide you with the kind of results you’re looking for.

Free Trials – These are only effective if you have a truly great conversion campaign to support them.  Most people will take the free trial and never buy after that unless you have a solid conversion campaign to follow through with.

This can be a very time-consuming process and may take many months before you ever see a profit.

There are many other marketing tactics out there that are not worth giving a second thought to.  However, don’t be discouraged by this.

There are an equal number of effective marketing methods that will provide you with the traffic you need to see a profit in your venture.

Just remember to do your research before you jump in to a marketing campaign to save yourself from spending time and money on a method that’s not suited to your needs.