7 Secrets to Successful Advertising

7 Secrets to Successful Advertising
By Melina Abbott

I was reminded recently of Sir Alan Sugar's comment "I have written books on advertising - Cheque Books" which probably sums up most business owners experience of advertising. It's expensive!

Does it work?

Well, did you know, that a single advert, properly targeted, with the right headline and offer, costing say £200, can bring returns of perhaps 1000% or more within days?

Advertising can be one of the most cost effective ways to generate new enquiries. Or it can be a complete waste of money.

What makes a successful advert?

Quite simply - one that gets results.

I advocate that EACH advert has to be accountable - i.e. if you place an advert it must do one of two things:

• 1. Make a sale
• 2. Get someone to contact you to find out more

And, if your advert doesn't do either of those you are simply wasting money.

Take a look at most adverts. They are all very similar. They have a big headline (usually the company name), a great logo, they list the products or services on offer, there might be a photo or two, maybe a strap line - something like "you can always be assured of a great service", "a superb range", "no job too small"...

Have a look at your local newspaper now – is that not the case?

I know that most of these adverts do not work. I know that, because when my clients start to monitor where their enquiries come from, they realise that most of their new enquiries are actually through referrals. The sales they do get from newspaper or magazine advertising does not even cover the cost of the adverts - let alone make a profit.

Now, I'm not advocating that you go out and cancel all your adverts. However there are some simple steps you can take to make your advert more effective:

• 1. Before placing your advert, decide exactly what you want your prospect to do. Do you want them to:
  • buy a particular product from you
  • call for more information
  • visit your website?
  An advert which is trying to sell a product or service will be very different to one simply asking a prospect to call for more information.
• 2. Your entire advert should be devoted to getting your prospect to take the next step. You need to give them all the information they need to do so. If you want the prospect to buy something you need to highlight all the benefits of your product or service, and overcome all the likely objections so that they can make an informed decision. Won't it be too wordy? Well, would you tell a salesman to go and visit a prospect and tell him he'd got 20 seconds to persuade them to buy your product? Of course not - you wouldn't put him under that much pressure - so why put yourself under that pressure by trying to sell something in a tiny advert.
• 3. The more your advert looks like an editorial feature - the more it will be read. People do not buy newspapers or magazines to read the adverts - they buy them for the news and articles. So disguise your advert - make it look like a news article.
• 4. Have a compelling headline - your company name is not a headline - people don't care what you are called or how long you have been in business - they just want to know what you can do for them. Your headline should be the biggest benefit you offer prospective customers.
• 5. Have a clear call to action. Tell the reader exactly what to do next. Advertising can be very expensive - so I recommend you don't even attempt to sell in a tiny advert - offer your prospect some free information in exchange for their contact details - eg:
  • "How To Attract New Customers In 7 Easy Steps". For your free bulletin visit www.businessbyresults.com/mi-feature
  • Homeowners Decorating Guide. For your FREE guide to choosing colour combinations of paint, tiles and wall paper Visit www...
  • How to sell your house faster and for more money? Call 0800 ... for your free report and audio CD.
  Then, when you send your free information - include your sales literature detailing all the benefits of your product or service. You now have a qualified lead and have plenty of time and opportunity to follow up and make a sale.
• 6. Test & Monitor each and every advert you run. Most businesses do not monitor their adverts or sales promotions - they continue to run the same advert over and over - regardless of whether it pulls for them. Did you know that a change in headline has been tested to increase the response of an ad by up to nineteen times?
• 7. Once you've found an advert which works continue to run it until it stops generating a profit or you find a better one. Don't stop it just because you're bored with it and want to change it. Remember that you may see your advert every day - but your prospects are seeing it for the first time.

If you advertise in the right place and follow these steps, I guarantee you will get a much better response to your adverts.

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Melina Abbott is an expert on writing adverts which sell, and is offering a limited number of FREE Advertising Reviews worth £197 to Million Impossible members. If you're really serious about making your advertising work more effectively and want to attract a regular stream of qualified leads to your business, then you won't want to miss this opportunity.

During this 60 minute consultation Melina will look at all your current advertising and marketing campaigns and show you exactly what to do to dramatically increase the results you are getting, helping you to grow your business and make more profit – each and every month.

And the best news is – it won't cost a penny as she has agreed to offer a limited number of Advertising Reviews for FREE to Million Impossible members.

If you'd like one for your business visit:

www.businessbyresults.com/mi-advert-review

To apply for a FREE consultation visit:

www.businessbyresults.com/mi-advert-review/