| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
Seven Ways to Kick Up the Power of Your Print Advertising - More Small Business Power Tools
If you're a retailer and the only kind of advertising you do is built around sales events, you don't need much in the way of advice. All your advertising needs to do is spell out as clearly as possible what's on sale, the amount to be saved and your store's name, address and phone number. You should also include your web address as most of today's consumers expect you to have one. But what if you're not a retailer or you don't have a sale to advertise? Here are my seven tips for kicking up the power of your print advertising Know thy customer. Close your eyes and try to visualize a typical customer. What's important to him? What problem(s) is she trying to solve? How old is he? Does she have children? How much do you suppose she earns a month? What would make him want to do business with you? What does he want from your product or service? The better you understand your customer the stronger a sales message you can create. Your headline must capture your propects' interest. Your reader's eye will be drawn to your ad by its main graphic, be it a picture or illustration. The second thing he/she will see is your headline. It must serve as a bridge between the graphic and your ad's copy, and then capture your readers' attention or you will lose them and will have wasted your money. The best way to do this is to build your headline around a strong benefit statement. Again, keep in mind your prospect's needs and interests or the problem they are looking to solve. For example, a strong benefit statement would be"How to retire at age 55 without sacrificing a penny of income." I also like headlines (see the title of this article) with numbers, i.e., "Eight ways to look younger in minutes," "Five mistakes to not make when buying fine furniture." Everybody wants to talk about their children and not yours. Of course, I don't mean this literally. What I mean is that people don't care about you and your business. They care about themselves and what you can do for them. I know this is going to depress you, but customers don't care how long you've been in business, how big your business has become, how beautiful your new store is, etc. They only want to know what you have to offer that can make their lives better, save them money or help them solve an important problem. People love stories. I'll bet that when you were a kid, one of your favorite things was story time. As human beings, we just seem to be hard-wired to love stories. If you business lends itself to this idea, try starting you ad with a simple story. For example, if you were selling financial advice, you might start out with: "I have two old friends. Let's call them Scott and Janet. They both loved gardening and their lifelong ambition was to retire early and start a garden shop. Unfortunately, they suffered some financial setbacks and found themselves at age 55, with enough money to retire but not enough to start that dream business. When Scott and Janet came to me ....etc." Start paragraphs with connecting words to keep your readers reading. Once you've pulled your readers into your ad, the challenge is to keep them reading to the end. The way you do this is by using connecting words at the beginning of paragraphs. Some good connecting words are "also," "in other words," "so," "but," "and," in short," "for another thing," and "plus. Give your readers a reason to do something. You must end every ad with a call to action (see #7 below). But don't forget that you have to give your reader a reason to take that action. This could be the offer of something free such as a booklet or brochure, a free demonstration, a free sample, etc. Always end with a call to action. Never, and I mean never, end an ad without asking your reader to do something. The something could be to call you (with a prominent phone number), stop by your store, cut out and mail a coupon, or visit your web site. This is not only critical to "closing the sale," but also can help you track the effectiveness of your advertising. If your call to action is for the prospect to phone you, it's always good to add something like "call us at 303-555-1234 and ask for, say, Bart." That way, whenever a person calls and asks for Bart, you will know your ad generated that response. The next time you run the ad, you could tell your prospect to call and ask for Chuck, etc. If your advertising includes a coupon, be sure to code it so you will know which ad generated the response. Article by Douglas Hanna. Douglas is a retired advertising and marketing executive and long-time Denver resident. He is the webmaster of http://www.all-in-one-info.com, a free resource for information on a variety of subjects. Please visit his site to subscribe to his free newsletter, "Tips & Tricks to Save Money & Live Better."
MORE RESOURCES:
Double Fusion Promotes Media and Advertising Veteran Jana Friedman ... - PR Newswire (press release)
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
7 Tips for Better Ads The content of advertising is basically the same no matter what the media. It is good and it works, or it is bad. 50 Surefire Business Card Tips Business cards are one of the most powerful and inexpensive marketing tools you can use. Here are 50 surefire tips to make the most out of your business cards:Your business card must communicate more than just your contact information. How to Write Great Headlines According to experts, just changing the headline of an ad or sales letter has been known to dramatically improve the effectiveness of an ad or sales letter by up to 1700 percent! Yes, headlines are that powerful--and that important!An effective headline will do many things at once. It will attract the readers attention, convey benefits by appealing to the readers self-interest and it will set the stage for what is to come. The Power of... You certainly must know that Many Big Marketers consider COPYWRITING to be the most important skill you need to be earning online.There's a lot of good copywriting around. The ONLY Type Of Advertising People LOVE!! Can it be???Is there advertising that people actually love?You bet there is! And you are already very aware of it. The type of advertising I'm referring to is promotional items, also known as advertising specialties. Advertainment is Sneaking Into Music, Movies, TV and More The very name "advertainment" sends thrilling vibrations up the spine of anyone with marketing in their blood or communication in their genes. And it produces a strong shiver of disgust from many of my colleagues in the music industry. Testing Headlines A correspondent to AdBriefing, my monthly newsletter, has posed a very sticky question. How, she asks, can you tell whether a headline you have written is a good one?or not? What she means by this, I imagine, is whether the headline will actually help to make sales, rather than just act as a passing amusement to its readers. Should Your Small Business Hire an Advertising Agency? So, you own a small business, sales are down and you've come to the conclusion you need to start advertising. Questions: Where do I advertise, how much do I spend and do I need the help of an advertising agency?The answer to this question is really very simple. Cable Ads 5 Bucks! Cable has grown from 13 houses connected together in 1948 to coverage of nearly 70% of all households in the U.S. Nine Power Words To Punch Up Your Ads As every professional politician and public relations man knows words have the power to entice, persuade and motivate people into a specific course of action.There are certain words that I refer to as "Power Words" that I learned, back in the dawn of time, when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Design Your Own Newspaper Ads Many people in business lay-out (design) their own ads. That old adage "If It Is To Be It Is Up To Me" prevails. 100 Excellent Words and 70 Action Getting Phrases for Ad Writing 100 Excellent Words Absolutely. Amazing. When Times Get Tough... or When to Really Advertise The Pundits say the economy is slowly, but surely, recovering. Maybe not at the rate of the mid-90s stock boom, but recovering nonetheless. Advertising - Should You Be Advertising Your Services? You offer a reliable, quality service. You know that if more people knew what you can do, you'd increase sales. If You Want To Get More Customers, Heres 10 Powerful Stories To Improve Your Ads Remember, as a child lying in bed and listening to stories. Remember how engaged you were. Magnetic Business Cards: Make Your Marketing Message Stick What is it about magnets that draw people to leave them on fridges and file cabinets for years at a time?Many people like to have the contact information handy for common service providers without flipping through a bulky phone book. Magnets are the perfect solution for being seen in this situation. Media Savvy - Media Skills For Rural Women The ability to lead, persuade and influence are integral skills for effective leaders. The capability of telling a story that inspires, motivates and informs is an essential part of this process. Online vs. Offline Advertising Let's face it. Email marketing and publishing have became very popular tool for promoting your business, especially in the USA. How To Create Instantly Compelling Ads Every Time Use This Quick 3-Question Evaluation Process, So You Can Be Sure Your Message Will Sell!EVALUATION #1: "Well, I Would Hope So!" When you make a claim, don't think about it in terms of words coming out of your mouth. Think of it in terms of words entering your prospects ears. Lamination of Signs I suspect that everyone has an idea of what lamination is even if you have only seen it in passing. Restaurant menus are a common example.
|
| home | index |site map |
| © 2006 |
