Publishing guidelines: Please feel free to publish this
A simple classified ad placed in a highly targeted vehicle can
be a great way to kick start your sales, especially if your
company is the new kid on the block with low visibility and a
small advertising budget. There are two components to this
important equation: the ad itself and the vehicle. Choosing the
right ezine or website is an art form in itself and a story for
another day. For now, let's focus on how to write a your own
classified ads so they jump off the screen and demand attention.
1. The headline is the most important feature of your ad so
spend lots of time on it. A good headline teases, entices and
lures. Here's an example of a headline that DEMANDS to be read
by everyone in business: Is Your Online Business "Wide Open" to
Criminals? It is if you accept credit cards over the Internet or
phone. Card-not-present fraud is on the rise. Banks and card
companies won't reimburse these losses. Some merchants have lost
everything. Don't be the next victim. Click here to find out how
to protect yourself. http://www.iib.com.au/ 2. Address your
target market early and clearly so they know your message
applies to them. "Is Your Online Business..." 3. Use simple
language and short, punchy statements. 4. Decide on an
appropriate length. Between five and seven lines formatted to 65
characters per line is most common but individual ezines may
have different guidelines. 5. Focus on benefits. Your prospects
don't care, for instance, that you're "the best in the tri-state
area" (according to you). They don't care if your cheese spread
is "The cheesiest and darn proud of it." Neither your pride nor
your puffery will convince them to buy. All they want to know
is, "What's in it for me?" 6. Give something away. An ebook, a
free course, or just the answer to a question, as in the example
above. Anything to get prospects to make contact and open up a
dialogue with you. 7. Be different. Have you noticed lately how
many ads promise "work at home and make $10,000 a month"? Your
copy has to be original to get attention and be remembered. For
example, this headline also sells the work-at-home dream but
with a unique twist: "Commute in your slippers." 8. Try to be
realistic. People are skeptical of outlandish claims and weary
of hype. "How to Publish a Book and Sell a Million Copies." Know
how few best-selling authors flog a million copies? More
effective would be: "We make it easy to sell 150,000 copies of
your very own book." 9. Action! Decide what you want prospects
to do and then ask them to do it. Visit your website? Sign up
for your ezine? Request an estimate? Click here? Spell it out
clearly or they'll read your pretty words and keep reading right
on down the page without stopping to act. 10. Write a couple of
different ads so you have several on hand to rotate. Track them
to see which ones pull best.
A well-written classified ad can be a great way to launch your
promotional campaign without spending a fortune.