Advertising

CLICK HERE FOR PDF PRINT OUT OF THESE TIPS

There's a buzz going around the marketing world at the moment that "Most advertising does not work".

I have to disagree.

It should really read "Most advertising does not work because people do not know how to do it correctly!"

It really is a shame to see so many busineses waste thousands of pounds each year through ineffective advertising. You might as well put a match to your cheque as you might get a better return!

The amount of times that I have gone into a company and reviewed their advertisements, only to be amazed at how poor they are is very common. The thing is, in the majority of cases, it's not your fault. After all, you're not a marketing guru! I couldn't tell you all the features and benefits about your products so why should you be expected to know how to write and place an advert that will work?

Here are some tips on how to write an adver that will work:

GRAB THE ATTENTION OF THE READER

How long do you spend on coming up with an attention grabbing headline for your advert?

Here's a guide - you should be spending around 70% of your time on writing, rewriting and brainstorming your ideas.

The headline is the hook that will get the readers to read on so you should spend a lot of time on getting it right. Make sure that it creates curiosity.

TALK ABOUT THEM NOT YOU!

Make sure that your ad copy stresses the benefits to your readers. Make sure the ad talks about them and not you.

What can you do for them?

What will your product or service help them with? What's in it for them?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR AD?

This may seem obvious but what is the purpose of your ad? Is it to generate a lead? A sale? An enquiry? A request for a free report?

Once you know make sure that every word within your ad is geared around this.

Here's a short example that maybe of interest to you:

I was called in to redesign and optimise the adverts of a service provider. Their adverts were geared up to generate lead enquiries either through telephone, email or tear off coupon.

For their advertising expenditure they were getting 1 lead per every £10 of advertising that they spent.

I changed just one thing on their advert, it took me 20 seconds to do it and this figure came down to 1 lead per £4.50!

Want to know what it was?

Well, instead of offering the reader multiple options of how to contact the company we just set up an 0800 number with a pre-recorded message, put it in big bold lettering during and at the end of the advert and let nature run it's course!

My client received double it's response rate within the first 20 seconds of meeting me!

TEST, TEST, TEST

You should always be testing your ads and making small adjustments to see which ones out perform the others.

Test out different headings, the opening line of your ad, your call to action, the design and so on.

No one really has the right to say what will work and what doesn't - only the results will tell you!

MEASURE YOUR ADS

Which ones are working and which ones should you bin? These are the constant questions that you should have on your mind at all times and the only way to work this out are through effective measurements.

What is your:

Cost per lead?

Cost per sale?

Cost per call?

Sale per lead?

Sale per advert?

Profit per advert?

CALL TO ACTION

What do you want the reader to do with your ad?

Call you?

Email you?

Write to you?

Ignore you?

Ignore you is a viable option and I say it with tongue in cheek because if you do not tell the reader what to do they will do just that!

Throughout your advert and at the end of it, make sure that you tell the reader what you want them to do!

WRITING ADVERTS THAT SELL OFF THE PAGE!

This is a section in it's own right! Click here for more information on this.

WHICH PUBLICATIONS TO USE?

Do your homework on this one and make sure that your readership is targetted.

I spend a lot of time for my clients on making sure that the intended target audience is just right and you should do the same.

Don't advertise in a publication just because your competition does unless you know the results they are getting!

Also, make sure that your advert is not on the left hand side of the page. This is one of the the oldest marketing tips in the book but many business owners do not know this. The natural tendancy for people is for them to look on the right hand page of publications and newspapers so make sure your advert is there to maximise it's pulling potential.