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Hub You - Writing Effective Classified Ads - The Basics Of Classified Advertising
Do you have a recent college graduate who is unemployed, or if they are employed, dislikes and maybe even hates their first job? Well, don't feel bad, because by all estimates, at least half of all recent graduates are either unemployed or underemployed (working a job that doesn't use either their education or their ambition). It's difficult deciding who should feel worse, our kids or us.The children of baby boomers (our kids) are going to college in record numbers. There are more applicants to American universities today than at any time in our country's history. There are also record numbers of foreign students flocking to American universities taking up a limited number of seats. Our college track and soccer teams have very talented South Americans, our swim teams include world class Australians and the University of Colorado's entire ski team is European. As a result of this growing imbalance of supply and demand, the price for each college seat continues to rise.When you and I went to college, the monthly cost was equal to a car payment. Today it is a mortgage! I have three kids all heading to pri
As for the importance of repetition, we cannot emphasize enough how critical this is! Repetitive advertising builds credibility in your advertising campaign and allows the reader to feel comfortable in responding to your ad. Repetitive advertising also builds responses. In college, we were taught the Rule of Seven. Basically, the Rule of Seven claims that a reader must see an add seven times before he or she will respond to it. New advertisers are often surprised by this number because they are not realistic in their expectations. The facts are that a newly published ad may not get noticed the first few publications, then when a reader see it, they may or may not respond. Most customers do not respond to ads the first time they see an ad, but each time they see the ad, you are building trust with them. As you get more and more visibility, you will get more responses and increase sales. The first week you advertise will never be your best. If you do a four week trial run for any program as suggested, you will be off to a good start and get a good feel for what the program will do for you.
Professionals can assist you with copy writing when you order from their service like AdvertisingResults.com, but it is important that you learn to recognize a good ad when you see it. You know your business better than anyone else. Who is the best choice to promote your pro
When purchasing your home/office equipment, take into consideration what you will need, what you will be using this item for, and how much use will be geared toward it. In other words, if you plan on faxing a paper only once maybe twice a month or better, then chances are, a big power fax machine is not the right choice. The same goes for a printer. You will then want a smaller less costly model.However, if you plan on needing a printer, a copier, perhaps a scanner, and a fax machine on a regular basis, there are special models that will do all of these functions, and may even be cheaper in the long run. Some of these models even have a phone included. These are especially great for those small offices or a home office.After you have figured out the right types of equipment needed, then you can start searching and choosing the make and model of the items. This is also a good time to make yourself a little checklist and notepad of costs, requirements, reliability, and other needed information on the item. It sounds like a big project, but it will be helpful and you will probably thank yourself afterward.
How to write an effective classified ad...
The single most important thing in an advertising campaign is GOOD AD COPY. We all understand the importance of having an ad that illicits positive responses from readers. What everyone does not understand is how to achieve this. To assist you, we have come up with a few basic rules to writing an effective classified ad. Here’s where you start...
Effective classified ads should have three basic parts.
1. THE HEADLINE
2. THE BODY
3. THE CALL TO ACTION WITH CONTACT INFORMATION
THE HEADLINE is the most important part of your ad. It is in the headline that you will either get the readers attention and pull them in or you won’t. If you don’t spark their interest with the headline, then you have lost them and they simply will not read you ad. A good headline should have action verbs that encourage the reader to do something. It should also be believable. Examples of how to use action words in headlines are as follows.
“Earn up to $3000 per month!”
“Save $$$ on grocery bills!”
“Get the financial independence you’ve dreamed of!”
THE BODY is where you need to elaborate on the headline. Don’t overdo it, keep it short and simple. With a classified ad, you are generally trying to keep the word count to 15 to 25 words, so you never want to actually sell the reader in the ad, you just want to spark their interest enough to make them want to learn more.
A common error that many unsuccessful advertisers make is trying to put too much in an ad. This results in a busy ad that lacks focus. To make matters worse they often abbreviate words to the point they lose meaning. Through the years, we have made many a telephone call to customers to have them explain to us what they are trying to say in over-abbreviated ads. Unless, an abbreviation is commonly recognized by the common person avoid using it. You do not want sacrifice an ad campaign to save a buck!
THE CALL TO ACTION is basically the end of the ad. Generally, it is not much more than a sentence in length. Effective classified ads will not have just a phone number or web address at the end of the ad. They will have contact information paired with action words. Sometimes in trying to keep the price down for an ad, advertisers will omit simple words like “call now” or “log onto”. This is not recommended as readers need this simple call to action to entice them one last time to respond. Studies have been done and it has been shown that these simple words increase response to classified ads.
Here are well written examples:
“For FREE information, call now! 1-800......”
“To get started, visit www......”
“Call Toll-Free! 1-877....”
One last bit of advice for this portion of the ad is to pair it with a special offer. Being able to use statements like “limited time offer”, “special bonus to first 100 customers” or “this week only” can significantly increase response.
How will your customers contact you?...
Here are a few more pointers that advertisers should know. The means that customers respond will dramatically effect results. A toll free telephone number is still the best means to generate leads. This is not used by all advertisers for a variety of reasons, but those who have the capability and the budget are encouraged to include a toll free number. If a toll free number is not in the budget then a regular long distance number is the next best thing. A live person answering the calls is going to result in more sales than an answering machine providing the operator is knowledgeable and courteous. The easier you can make it for a reader to respond and buy your product or service the more successful you will be!
Web addresses are more and more popular in classified advertisements. Adding web addresses to ads, will generally increase the responses, but if it is in conjunction with a phone number (which we recommend) you will get fewer calls as some readers will simple go to the website instead of calling. So make sure the website is professional and properly functioning. If you are considering using a web address in the ad as a sole means of contact, please keep in mind that not all people have web access or are comfortable doing business online so you will be limiting the number of potential responses.
Anytime readers are required to write for more information, responses drop. However, the up side to this option is that there is less expense to the advertiser. Through the years, we have seen a variety of successful advertisers utilize write in responses, so it can be done. The most important thing to remember is to have professional literature to mail to the potential customers. This literature will make or break your sale so make it good!
Probably, the worst method of responding that we have seen time and time again is asking the customer to send money in the mail for a product or service. These will not work for a variety or reasons. First, you are requiring a small classified ad to sell something in three or four sentences. A difficult task to say the least. Second, most people are understandably wary of sending money in the mail to a company that they know nothing about. The public has been warned time and again about scam companies who prey on people using this means of advertising. If you have a good product or service avoid going this route. You simply will not be pleased with your advertising results!
Where to Advertise and How Often?....
Once you have a good ad written, the next step is to seriously consider your budget. We get calls from new customers regularly who ask for guidance in what program they should purchase. The first thing we always ask is what is your monthly budget. It is surprising to us that many advertisers cannot answer that question. Before you begin, look at your finances and figure out what you can comfortably invest in advertising on a monthly basis. Take that figure and divide it by four to get a weekly figure. Then, unless you are limited in geographic regions, search according to price range on our website. For example, if you have a $175 weekly budget, go to the $100-$199 buys and see if there is anything that would suit your needs. Keep in mind that you could run one buy for $175 or several smaller buys to meet your budget. If you are limited to a certain geographic region, you will want to search by state.
The most important thing is to stick to a budget so that you can afford to run the programs for a four week run. There are several advantages to this method. First, you will get repetition which will greatly improve your response rate. We will talk more about this a little later! Secondly, we have several programs that offer multiple week discounts at four weeks. If you purchase four weeks at one time you can save a great deal of money and possibly allow you to buy into an additional market with your savings!
As for the importance of repetition, we cannot emphasize enough how critical this is! Repetitive advertising builds credibility in your advertising campaign and allows the reader to feel comfortable in responding to your ad. Repetitive advertising also builds responses. In college, we were taught the Rule of Seven. Basically, the Rule of Seven claims that a reader must see an add seven times before he or she will respond to it. New advertisers are often surprised by this number because they are not realistic in their expectations. The facts are that a newly published ad may not get noticed the first few publications, then when a reader see it, they may or may not respond. Most customers do not respond to ads the first time they see an ad, but each time they see the ad, you are building trust with them. As you get more and more visibility, you will get more responses and increase sales. The first week you advertise will never be your best. If you do a four week trial run for any program as suggested, you will be off to a good start and get a good feel for what the program will do for you.
Professionals can assist you with copy writing when you order from their service like AdvertisingResults.com, but it is important that you learn to recognize a good ad when you see it. You know your business better than anyone else. Who is the best choice to promote your prod
Business-valuation is nothing simple. Every person out there will think that a business is worth more or less than what the next person will say. In fact, the only number that really does matter is the simple fact that it is worth what someone will pay for it and that number only occurs once the deal is done. But, there are ways of understanding what business-valuation could be. For that end, we will talk here.• Capitalized Earning. This is one approach to understanding the value of a business. What we are talking about here is the value of the return on the investment in a company as determined by an investor. It works by evaluating the risk that is involved with any investment. • Excess Earning. This method of business-valuation is quite similar but it splits off a return on assets from other earnings. • Cash Flow Method. In this method, those determining the value of a business will look at the business’s ability to support a loan as determined by the cash flow from the business. All numbers aside, this number can fluctuate with interest rates. • Tangible assets. This is one of the mos
A common error that many unsuccessful advertisers make is trying to put too much in an ad. This results in a busy ad that lacks focus. To make matters worse they often abbreviate words to the point they lose meaning. Through the years, we have made many a telephone call to customers to have them explain to us what they are trying to say in over-abbreviated ads. Unless, an abbreviation is commonly recognized by the common person avoid using it. You do not want sacrifice an ad campaign to save a buck!
THE CALL TO ACTION is basically the end of the ad. Generally, it is not much more than a sentence in length. Effective classified ads will not have just a phone number or web address at the end of the ad. They will have contact information paired with action words. Sometimes in trying to keep the price down for an ad, advertisers will omit simple words like “call now” or “log onto”. This is not recommended as readers need this simple call to action to entice them one last time to respond. Studies have been done and it has been shown that these simple words increase response to classified ads.
Here are well written examples:
“For FREE information, call now! 1-800......”
“To get started, visit www......”
“Call Toll-Free! 1-877....”
One last bit of advice for this portion of the ad is to pair it with a special offer. Being able to use statements like “limited time offer”, “special bonus to first 100 customers” or “this week only” can significantly increase response.
How will your customers contact you?...
Here are a few more pointers that advertisers should know. The means that customers respond will dramatically effect results. A toll free telephone number is still the best means to generate leads. This is not used by all advertisers for a variety of reasons, but those who have the capability and the budget are encouraged to include a toll free number. If a toll free number is not in the budget then a regular long distance number is the next best thing. A live person answering the calls is going to result in more sales than an answering machine providing the operator is knowledgeable and courteous. The easier you can make it for a reader to respond and buy your product or service the more successful you will be!
Web addresses are more and more popular in classified advertisements. Adding web addresses to ads, will generally increase the responses, but if it is in conjunction with a phone number (which we recommend) you will get fewer calls as some readers will simple go to the website instead of calling. So make sure the website is professional and properly functioning. If you are considering using a web address in the ad as a sole means of contact, please keep in mind that not all people have web access or are comfortable doing business online so you will be limiting the number of potential responses.
Anytime readers are required to write for more information, responses drop. However, the up side to this option is that there is less expense to the advertiser. Through the years, we have seen a variety of successful advertisers utilize write in responses, so it can be done. The most important thing to remember is to have professional literature to mail to the potential customers. This literature will make or break your sale so make it good!
Probably, the worst method of responding that we have seen time and time again is asking the customer to send money in the mail for a product or service. These will not work for a variety or reasons. First, you are requiring a small classified ad to sell something in three or four sentences. A difficult task to say the least. Second, most people are understandably wary of sending money in the mail to a company that they know nothing about. The public has been warned time and again about scam companies who prey on people using this means of advertising. If you have a good product or service avoid going this route. You simply will not be pleased with your advertising results!
Where to Advertise and How Often?....
Once you have a good ad written, the next step is to seriously consider your budget. We get calls from new customers regularly who ask for guidance in what program they should purchase. The first thing we always ask is what is your monthly budget. It is surprising to us that many advertisers cannot answer that question. Before you begin, look at your finances and figure out what you can comfortably invest in advertising on a monthly basis. Take that figure and divide it by four to get a weekly figure. Then, unless you are limited in geographic regions, search according to price range on our website. For example, if you have a $175 weekly budget, go to the $100-$199 buys and see if there is anything that would suit your needs. Keep in mind that you could run one buy for $175 or several smaller buys to meet your budget. If you are limited to a certain geographic region, you will want to search by state.
The most important thing is to stick to a budget so that you can afford to run the programs for a four week run. There are several advantages to this method. First, you will get repetition which will greatly improve your response rate. We will talk more about this a little later! Secondly, we have several programs that offer multiple week discounts at four weeks. If you purchase four weeks at one time you can save a great deal of money and possibly allow you to buy into an additional market with your savings!
As for the importance of repetition, we cannot emphasize enough how critical this is! Repetitive advertising builds credibility in your advertising campaign and allows the reader to feel comfortable in responding to your ad. Repetitive advertising also builds responses. In college, we were taught the Rule of Seven. Basically, the Rule of Seven claims that a reader must see an add seven times before he or she will respond to it. New advertisers are often surprised by this number because they are not realistic in their expectations. The facts are that a newly published ad may not get noticed the first few publications, then when a reader see it, they may or may not respond. Most customers do not respond to ads the first time they see an ad, but each time they see the ad, you are building trust with them. As you get more and more visibility, you will get more responses and increase sales. The first week you advertise will never be your best. If you do a four week trial run for any program as suggested, you will be off to a good start and get a good feel for what the program will do for you.
Professionals can assist you with copy writing when you order from their service like AdvertisingResults.com, but it is important that you learn to recognize a good ad when you see it. You know your business better than anyone else. Who is the best choice to promote your pro
When it comes to advertising, I spend a lot of time telling people what works. Today, we’ll focus on something that doesn’t work. And believe me, this is a biggie.Want to know the biggest mistake 99% of ALL businesses make when it comes to advertising? It’s in their headline. Most advertisers fail to make a meaningful and/or fascinating statement of benefit in their headline.Here’s a good example:A chiropractor runs an ad with the headline “Affordable Chiropractic Center,” which also happens to be the name of their company. Sounds like a decent headline, doesn’t it? It states their niche – low prices. It also tells us the service they offer – chiropractic care. Underneath that they list the different types of therapy they specialize in. To the left, or to the right, there’s a picture of Dr. Smith the chiropractor. At the bottom are the address and phone number, and maybe even a coupon for a free consultation.It’s pretty much a standard ad. You’ve seen it a million times for a variety of businesses. And to 99% of ALL businesses this is a
Here are a few more pointers that advertisers should know. The means that customers respond will dramatically effect results. A toll free telephone number is still the best means to generate leads. This is not used by all advertisers for a variety of reasons, but those who have the capability and the budget are encouraged to include a toll free number. If a toll free number is not in the budget then a regular long distance number is the next best thing. A live person answering the calls is going to result in more sales than an answering machine providing the operator is knowledgeable and courteous. The easier you can make it for a reader to respond and buy your product or service the more successful you will be!
Web addresses are more and more popular in classified advertisements. Adding web addresses to ads, will generally increase the responses, but if it is in conjunction with a phone number (which we recommend) you will get fewer calls as some readers will simple go to the website instead of calling. So make sure the website is professional and properly functioning. If you are considering using a web address in the ad as a sole means of contact, please keep in mind that not all people have web access or are comfortable doing business online so you will be limiting the number of potential responses.
Anytime readers are required to write for more information, responses drop. However, the up side to this option is that there is less expense to the advertiser. Through the years, we have seen a variety of successful advertisers utilize write in responses, so it can be done. The most important thing to remember is to have professional literature to mail to the potential customers. This literature will make or break your sale so make it good!
Probably, the worst method of responding that we have seen time and time again is asking the customer to send money in the mail for a product or service. These will not work for a variety or reasons. First, you are requiring a small classified ad to sell something in three or four sentences. A difficult task to say the least. Second, most people are understandably wary of sending money in the mail to a company that they know nothing about. The public has been warned time and again about scam companies who prey on people using this means of advertising. If you have a good product or service avoid going this route. You simply will not be pleased with your advertising results!
Where to Advertise and How Often?....
Once you have a good ad written, the next step is to seriously consider your budget. We get calls from new customers regularly who ask for guidance in what program they should purchase. The first thing we always ask is what is your monthly budget. It is surprising to us that many advertisers cannot answer that question. Before you begin, look at your finances and figure out what you can comfortably invest in advertising on a monthly basis. Take that figure and divide it by four to get a weekly figure. Then, unless you are limited in geographic regions, search according to price range on our website. For example, if you have a $175 weekly budget, go to the $100-$199 buys and see if there is anything that would suit your needs. Keep in mind that you could run one buy for $175 or several smaller buys to meet your budget. If you are limited to a certain geographic region, you will want to search by state.
The most important thing is to stick to a budget so that you can afford to run the programs for a four week run. There are several advantages to this method. First, you will get repetition which will greatly improve your response rate. We will talk more about this a little later! Secondly, we have several programs that offer multiple week discounts at four weeks. If you purchase four weeks at one time you can save a great deal of money and possibly allow you to buy into an additional market with your savings!
As for the importance of repetition, we cannot emphasize enough how critical this is! Repetitive advertising builds credibility in your advertising campaign and allows the reader to feel comfortable in responding to your ad. Repetitive advertising also builds responses. In college, we were taught the Rule of Seven. Basically, the Rule of Seven claims that a reader must see an add seven times before he or she will respond to it. New advertisers are often surprised by this number because they are not realistic in their expectations. The facts are that a newly published ad may not get noticed the first few publications, then when a reader see it, they may or may not respond. Most customers do not respond to ads the first time they see an ad, but each time they see the ad, you are building trust with them. As you get more and more visibility, you will get more responses and increase sales. The first week you advertise will never be your best. If you do a four week trial run for any program as suggested, you will be off to a good start and get a good feel for what the program will do for you.
Professionals can assist you with copy writing when you order from their service like AdvertisingResults.com, but it is important that you learn to recognize a good ad when you see it. You know your business better than anyone else. Who is the best choice to promote your pro
BackgroundUnited States district court, northern district of California was the start of Verisign’s (“the Company”) class action complaint for a violation of securities laws. Plaintiff, James H. Harrison Jr., on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated filed vs. Verisign, Inc., Stratton D. Sclavos, Robert J. Korzeniewski, Dana L. Evan and Quintin P. Gallivan. The “class” period is for people who purchased shares of the company between January 25 and April 25 2002.The defendant Verisign is headquartered in Mountain View California and offers users the ability to engage in secure digital commerce and communications. Verisign’s stock is traded on the NASDQ national market.AllegationsThe allegation is that the defendants tried to artificially increase the Company’s revenue and create the perception that its deferred revenue was being generated organically rather than through acquisition. It is claimed that the Company derived a portion of its revenue from non-monetary barter transactions and investments in other companies. The later claim stated simp
Probably, the worst method of responding that we have seen time and time again is asking the customer to send money in the mail for a product or service. These will not work for a variety or reasons. First, you are requiring a small classified ad to sell something in three or four sentences. A difficult task to say the least. Second, most people are understandably wary of sending money in the mail to a company that they know nothing about. The public has been warned time and again about scam companies who prey on people using this means of advertising. If you have a good product or service avoid going this route. You simply will not be pleased with your advertising results!
Where to Advertise and How Often?....
Once you have a good ad written, the next step is to seriously consider your budget. We get calls from new customers regularly who ask for guidance in what program they should purchase. The first thing we always ask is what is your monthly budget. It is surprising to us that many advertisers cannot answer that question. Before you begin, look at your finances and figure out what you can comfortably invest in advertising on a monthly basis. Take that figure and divide it by four to get a weekly figure. Then, unless you are limited in geographic regions, search according to price range on our website. For example, if you have a $175 weekly budget, go to the $100-$199 buys and see if there is anything that would suit your needs. Keep in mind that you could run one buy for $175 or several smaller buys to meet your budget. If you are limited to a certain geographic region, you will want to search by state.
The most important thing is to stick to a budget so that you can afford to run the programs for a four week run. There are several advantages to this method. First, you will get repetition which will greatly improve your response rate. We will talk more about this a little later! Secondly, we have several programs that offer multiple week discounts at four weeks. If you purchase four weeks at one time you can save a great deal of money and possibly allow you to buy into an additional market with your savings!
As for the importance of repetition, we cannot emphasize enough how critical this is! Repetitive advertising builds credibility in your advertising campaign and allows the reader to feel comfortable in responding to your ad. Repetitive advertising also builds responses. In college, we were taught the Rule of Seven. Basically, the Rule of Seven claims that a reader must see an add seven times before he or she will respond to it. New advertisers are often surprised by this number because they are not realistic in their expectations. The facts are that a newly published ad may not get noticed the first few publications, then when a reader see it, they may or may not respond. Most customers do not respond to ads the first time they see an ad, but each time they see the ad, you are building trust with them. As you get more and more visibility, you will get more responses and increase sales. The first week you advertise will never be your best. If you do a four week trial run for any program as suggested, you will be off to a good start and get a good feel for what the program will do for you.
Professionals can assist you with copy writing when you order from their service like AdvertisingResults.com, but it is important that you learn to recognize a good ad when you see it. You know your business better than anyone else. Who is the best choice to promote your pro
Managing a business entails a wide variety of responsibilities and project managers have to be up to the task. Fortunately, there are Business Process Management technologies in place to help processes run more smoothly. However, Six Sigma does more than just help processes run more smoothly. Six Sigma is a methodology. It allows for continuous of improvement of processes, on a project-by-project basis.Implementing Six Sigma into your business takes a high level of commitment, because it does not go project-to-project. There needs to be 100% commitment from all levels of management, especially upper management. Six Sigma is intended to be a methodology that is implemented throughout the entire organization, and without full support from the very top of the management chain down, the resistance to the change that is inevitable in any organization will triumph and Six Sigma will just be another business management project that had limited success.What Makes Six Sigma Truly DifferentSix Sigma is truly different from the average BPM technology because it is a methodology and a program of mentorship that be
As for the importance of repetition, we cannot emphasize enough how critical this is! Repetitive advertising builds credibility in your advertising campaign and allows the reader to feel comfortable in responding to your ad. Repetitive advertising also builds responses. In college, we were taught the Rule of Seven. Basically, the Rule of Seven claims that a reader must see an add seven times before he or she will respond to it. New advertisers are often surprised by this number because they are not realistic in their expectations. The facts are that a newly published ad may not get noticed the first few publications, then when a reader see it, they may or may not respond. Most customers do not respond to ads the first time they see an ad, but each time they see the ad, you are building trust with them. As you get more and more visibility, you will get more responses and increase sales. The first week you advertise will never be your best. If you do a four week trial run for any program as suggested, you will be off to a good start and get a good feel for what the program will do for you.
Professionals can assist you with copy writing when you order from their service like AdvertisingResults.com, but it is important that you learn to recognize a good ad when you see it. You know your business better than anyone else. Who is the best choice to promote your product or service than the one person that knows your business inside and out... YOURSELF!
copyright (c) 2005 Leigh Ann Kristiansen, American Classified Services, Inc.
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