Seth Godin recently posted the video below, check it out first, then read on…

While the reason this video was made has nothing to online marketing, it really is a good example of why it is important to know what people pay attention to, what they don’t, and how important focus is to the success of your message.

What I like about the video is it really shows that, when you attention is on one thing, there is a pretty low chance that you’ll notice things that have nothing to do with what you are focused on. This is why I am often skeptical of anyone who tries to sell me on cost-per-impression (or CPM) advertisements.

The way I see it, no matter how advanced CPM serving and targeting technology has become; it still does not address the fact that a consumer who is exposed to a CPM ad is almost always in the process of doing something that isn’t directly related to the action you want them to take. For example, even if your ad appears on an article about the auto insurance industry, the chances are still pretty low that that person is actively looking for an insurance quote at that exact moment.

To put it in the context of the video, the site visitor is counting the passes (the content they are looking at), and not looking for the moonwalking bear (your ad).

Actually, has LowerMyBills done a moonwalking bear banner ad yet? Or was that just a dancing alien? Hmmmmm.

I digress.

I guess my point is this. As an affiliate, when you are looking at the different advertising opportunities that are out there, you should aim to place your ads somewhere that they are the focus of the consumer’s attention. If you find yourself putting ads in places where your message is off topic or too far from your audiences attention, you’re chances of making money are going to be greatly reduced.

So next time you’re deciding whether or not to run an ad, ask yourself if you’re going to be part of the action or just a moonwalking bear.