Someone (I really wish I could remember who) once said, "Half of all advertising money is wasted. The only problem is we can't figure out which half!"

It's often true. Tracking your advertising is an excellent way to discover which ads work and which ones don't. There are ways of tracking your advertising and marketing efforts to allow you some feedback on their successfulness. Below is a list of ideas that will help you receive information to determine if an ad or line of marketing is working.

1. ASK! It's that simple. When a customer comes into your store, or emails you with a question, ask how they heard about your business. Take notes. After a month, tally up the totals and I bet they'll surprise you.

2. Offer A Discount. I'm sure you've heard radio advertisements that announce, "Tell us you heard it on KNBC radio and we'll give you $5.00 off!" That discount is not just due to the kindness of the business owner - it's an effort to get customers to let them know their advertising is working.

3. Mark Your Coupons. Whether you print them in the paper, distribute them via direct mail or provide them on your web site, marking your coupons is a super way to track the results. Simply put some sort of "key" in one of the bottom corners… one key for each newspaper, mailing, etc. The key could be a number (which you've corresponded to that paper, etc.) When the coupon is returned, tally up the totals for each paper and find out quickly which ones work better for you.

4. Separate Email Addresses. If I have people responding to several offerings posted on various sites, I assign them each their own email address. For example, I have a newsletter that customers can subscribe to. If I post an announcement about my newsletter on a Web site, I'll ask the visitors to subscribe by sending an email to marketingwords@email.com. If I print an article in the local paper and mention my newsletter, I'll ask those subscribers to email me at karon@email.com. Get the point? That way I know, based on which email address they use, where they found out about my newsletter. (By the way, I love to use the freebie email accounts for this. It doesn't cost anything and I don't tie up my other addresses.)

These are just a few ways of tracking. I'm sure by now the juices are flowing and you can come up with many more ideas of your own! Happy Tracking!

Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should be, too! Karon is President & CEO of Marketing Words, Inc. who offers targeted copywriting, search engine copywriting, and ezine article writing. Subscribe to Karon's free ezine at http://www.marketingwords.com/ezine.html or visit her site at http://www.marketingwords.com. You can also learn to write you own powerful copy at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.