Business Venture Advice Article:
Advertising 101 By/For Entrepreneurs - by Maureen Stephenson
When you're doing your ad, remember that you must use psychology. You must, and I mean MUST, make your prospect want your product more than anything they can think of � and right NOW!
By the time they get through reading your ad, they should be panting to run out to your store or shove their check in an envelope and run to the mailbox.
Today I'm going to give you some tips that will help you. First always remember that enticing, siren of advertising AIDA. Who is AIDA you ask? Well AIDA stands for,
A=Attention � Grab your targets attention.
I=Interest � Create curiosity
D=Detail � Provide details
A=Action � Call for action
If you have AIDA before you every time you start to do an ad, you'll never fail. The most important point is the "call to action". You'd be surprised at the number of sales that are lost because the client is never asked to "order now, try it for 30 days, fill out the coupon" - or whatever you use to make your client take action.
Here are some advertising pearls that will keep you on the beam:
Force yourself to operate under deadlines. When you start buying advertising space you'll have to meet deadlines so get used to them.
A good headline answers the question WIIFM (What's In It For Me)?
A customer who buys from you two times is twice as likely to buy as a customer that only buys from you once.
If you've got a good product, a good, liberal, strong guarantee should go with it and will increase your sales. The amount of returns/refunds you get will be insignificant compared to the increase in sales.
The more your sales letter looks like a "personal" letter, the better it will work.
Remember the 40-40-20 rule for using direct mail. It breaks your success in three ways: 40% of you success is using the right list, another 40% is having the right offer, and 20% is everything else (copy, format, graphics, paper, etc.).
In advertising it is better to offer a Free Bonus than to offer a discount.
Direct mail advertising statistics show that mail delivered on Saturdays and Mondays get the poorest response. Best days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday- and in that order.
Use testimonials in your ad and put them before the call to action and after the details about your widget.
"Buy 1 get 1 FREE" always out- pulls "2 for the price of 1".
Nothing is more powerful than "goodwill" except ill will. If a client is dissatisfied, make good and make it fast.
Always make your customer feel like they're the most important customer you have, and they'll keep buying from you and not your competitor.
If you want to mail an ad for your business to prospects, research mailing lists on the Internet at: www.edithroman.com You'll have access to virtually every direct response mailing lists in the U.S.
Sales copy can never be too long, it can only be boring.
You can increase your response rate from a mailing if you add a "post-it" note on your sales letter. You can say something like, "Only for the month of June", or "Reply before 6/30 to get the discount."
The best way to keep tabs on your competition is to become their customer and see how you're treated.
In Direct Marketing (which ads by mail are called) there are only two rules: Rule #1: Test everything. Rule #2: See Rule #1
Ad copy type-set in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is harder to read than all lowercase of Mixed Case.
Repeat your offer and guarantee on your order form.
Whenever possible, give your customers an extra added and unexpected bonus or gift along with the order to show your appreciation.
There are only three ways to grow your business: (1) increase the number of customers; (2) increase your average dollars per sale; (3) increase the frequency you do business with your customer. Always remember, "turn-over may feed your ego, but it won't feed your family."
The more you treat your clients as friends, the more likely they'll talk about you and do more business with you.
Don't ever let a Holiday come and go without offering your current customers a special deal in an ad. Use the event as the "hook" for the ad, and if you research the subject you'll find there's a holiday of some sort almost every month. Not just the big ones like Valentine's Day or Easter, but use one's like Groundhog's Day, National Dairy Month, Boy Scout's Week, or whatever you can work into your product line.
Now that I've introduced you to AIDA, and given you all these marketing pearls you should be able to compose an ad that will not only increase your presence in the marketplace, but also bring you more clients, business, and profits.
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