You have permission to
publish this article electronically
or in print, free of
charge, as long as the bylines are
included. A courtesy copy
of your publication would be
appreciated - send to: diana@ohiohelp.net
Classified Ads -What Works & What Doesn’t
Do classified ads really work? Should you include an email
address or fax number in
them? How about a call to action?
Questions like these are
often brought to the attention of
OhioHelp.net, an Ohio-based
company that specializes in helping
businesses worldwide with
marketing, public relations and
freelance writing services.
Here are some top tips they offer
based on their own client
projects.
TOP TIPS FROM OHIOHELP.NET
I. CLASSIFIED AD PLACEMENT
Study the ads in
publications where you would like to place yours
to see what works. And
STUDY them like you'll have an exam over
them. If you didn't see the
ad before, skip it. Only focus on
those who repeatedly placed
the same ads - -these people are
selling off of them: bottom
line.
While you’re at it, call
some of those companies who are not your
direct competitors and ask
how their ads pull (and log their
replies for reference).
Exchange contact information and follow
up so that you can possibly
team up with them later in a joint
venture and send clients
back and forth.
Results show that small ads
placed in inexpensive publications
generally bring in phone
calls and clicks to websites, but no
email replies. And on the
average, these callers reported having
limited or no Internet
access along with limited or no computer /
email capabilities in their
homes. If they had access at work, it
was limited and did not
offer personal / private email. Toll-free
numbers brought in more
responses than local numbers with area
codes. And fax numbers
brought in nothing at all.
II. CLASSIFIED AD GIFTS
Sales increased with the
inclusion of Gift and Reward items in a
call-to-action ad. Popular items were:
A. A No-Cost Information
Kit that included a variety of tip
sheets,electronic books and
software sent via downloadable
links in printed sales
letters and included on disks or CDs.
All
items were mailed Flat Rate
via Priority Mail.
B. A Book / workbook set
sent the same way or mailed Media Rate
in a manila envelope. Sets
were for a trial period before
purchasing. And No-Cost
Information Kits above were included in
the package.
C. A special “Freebie” item
of their choice from our bookstore
was mailed or emailed with
mention of the ad.
III. CLASSIFIED AD
COPYWRITING
To increase customer
contact, communication and overall sales,
include specific pricing in
the ad; for example, say, “rates from
$39.” Also list an email
address with a domain name and specific
person to contact. In other
words, instead of emailing
info@aol.com , email diana@ohiohelp.net using a first name for
familiarity. (Note that
some classifieds charge a 3-word count
for URLs but only a 1-word
count for email addresses.) And use an
action verb in your
call-to-action, “Mention Ad for…”
IV. CLASSIFIED TIPS
Remember:
· Keep up. Keep educating
yourself and your helpers. For example,
inexpensive company
subscriptions to a monthly ebook club
http://presssuccess.com/wholesale and the jvAlert Perpetual
Learning Series www.jvAlert.com/LearningSeries.aspx?id=1805
help
to catch up with the latest
scoop -- what works and what doesn’t
work from top-level
marketers & industry leaders.
· Prepackage info into
autoresponders like:
http://presssuccess.com/AutoPilot with
a 30-day no-cost trial period.
Then the info can be sent
upon request immediately to prospective
clients. Treat information
requests like proposals & include past
work you’ve done in the
field, samples, references, additional
resources, your credentials,
etc.
So sharpen your pencil or
grab your keyboard and tune up your
classified campaigns.
Testing and improving your ads can
definitely increase sales.
***********************************************************
By Diana Barnum, CEO of http://ohiohelp.net . For more help
with marketing, public
relations and writing, email diana@ohiohelp.net
or call: (614)529-9459.
Help yourself to no-cost ebooks and other goodies
at: http://movingaheadcommunications.com/freebies.html
***********************************************************