It can be tough when you're a small business with a limited marketing
budget. Classifieds and small display ads in newspapers and on the Internet
can get lost among all the other ads.
Before you can sell, you have to get the prospect's attention.
That's why it's so important to make your ad SHOUT your most
impressive benefits.
What does your business have that will impress people?
Lower prices, better service, a better product?
Take that most important benefit and stick it in your headline, right at the
beginning of your ad. If there's space, remind readers again toward the
end.
A man showed me a classified ad that wasn't getting much response.
Buried down in the middle of the copy was a quick mention that customers
could win a free TV, computer, and game system.
I changed the headline of the ad to "FREE TV, FREE Computer, FREE
Nintendo!" Now THAT's something that gets attention. Don't keep your
best benefits a secret.
How Internet Advertising is Different
The Internet provides an exciting marketing tool for small businesses.
Nowhere else can you grab hold of a major advertising media for FREE.
It's not all a bed of roses, though. Many business owners come to me
with a common question. After their web site has been in place for a few
months, they notice that it sells differently.
Marisa noted, "I get one sale for every 300 people that visit my website.
Isn't that awfully low?"
That's a fairly typical success rate for Internet advertising. Here's why:
It has to do with the ease of visiting on-line merchants. In the "real" world,
you have to get in your car and drive to a location to buy something. Once
you're in the store, you've already committed time, effort, and gas.
On the Internet, it takes only minutes to browse through dozens of on-line
stores, and you do it all without leaving your chair.
For that reason, Internet shoppers don't feel as committed to buy. You
must bring them back several times to get the sale.
The One Thing Your Ads Must Do
Do you remember when the game show "Let's Make a Deal" first
premiered? In those early shows, no one wore goofy costumes (as later
became the standard). Contestants were picked from the audience at
random.
One day an audience member tried to increase her odds of being picked.
She wore a goofy costume to get noticed. It worked!
There is an important lesson here for anyone who wants their advertising
to work better. Before you can sell to someone, you FIRST must get their
attention.
Common sense, right? It's surprising how often we fail to spend enough
time getting the prospect's attention before we jump into the sales pitch.
With our lives crowded with commercials, ads, and email messages--most
people tend to ignore anything that doesn't stand out from the pack. You
don't need to dress up in goofy costumes (like the game show contestant).
But you DO need to work to make your ads a little different.
It's the key to getting attention--the first step in selling.
Kevin Nunley helps small and mid-sized businesses build effective
marketing. Reach him at DrNunley@aol.com or at (801)203-4536. Ask for his free marketing
report and list of Special Reports and
Tapes that make you a marketing whiz
in dozens of areas. Also ask how he can help you build your on-line
presence.
http://www.drnunley.com/
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