How Effective Are Your Ads?
Pamela Heywood
Do you read classifieds ads? I do
because I ran an advertising ezine and I can tell you
it was an education. Ads are the first
impression the unsuspecting public gets of you
and your business. They are "make or
break", so do yours shape up?
Let's take a hard-hitting look -- names
omitted to protect the guilty!
Frightening Realities
One of the most frightening things --
and, I admit, amusing for me -- was when I ran a
spoof ad contest. I wrote the spoofs
and I thought they were as obvious as the day's long.
Various stuff like ...
I GET PAID when I go to the
BATHROOM! Do You???
Guaranteed amazing home-business
plan! Works in your smallest room! Very
convenient. No Smelling!!
Queue here:
http://regurgitate-it.com
As one reader wrote, "If this ISN'T it,
WE're IN TROUBLE!!!"
Well, we were in trouble! Something I
really didn't expect was that people sent in
some WRONG answers. That is, they
mistook real ads as being works of comedy.
Now you can titter, but ...
It's FREE and it WORKS.
Deposit $25 to $50,000. Expected
payout:
Each $25 deposit will pay out $51,200.00
Here's A Switch - The COMPANY
Works For YOU!
FREE $19.95 for anyone who can't
make 2 sales in 24 hours!
Retire Early !!
... are all excerpts from just a few of
the ads that someone judged to be bogus when
they were in fact, perfectly real.
Apply the Hype-O-Meter Test
Clearly, there are people who have
caught on to the rule "if it sounds too good to be
true, it is", but many more have not.
Whilst the word FREE isn't hype, it's
far too overdone. Nothing is really free anyway,
because at the very least it costs you
your time to check it out. Free is very often
better defined as "included in the
price". By all means use free offers to get traffic,
but watch how you use it and be
truthful from the start if there is a condition
attached.
Sadly though, there are too many people
being suckered into believing the unreal stuff
floating around on the net. Do you
really, honestly think that you can make a living
giving things away, doing nothing,
selling nothing?
You won't as many of the recent
failures of programs using this model attest. There's
a new one born every week and people
sign up to promote them in their droves. All
WANTING to believe that this will be
their ticket on the Internet's Magic Carpet Ride.
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat ...
Whilst it's true that once you find an
ad that works you should keep advertising it,
what won't work is repeating the same
ads as everyone else. All you are doing is
spending time -- your time and that is
NOT free even if the ads were.
I analyzed the ads in a recent issue,
which was pretty representative of the norm
and what you'll see everywhere. From 20
classified ads, 10 -- that's a whole 50% --
were for "well- known" programs using
their familiar URLs, many of which were
duplicated back-to-back like sardines
in a can in the same issue and contained similar
if not identical wordings.
Come on, how effective is that?
Many of these programs are questionable
to begin with, but even if they are genuine
you are NOT going to get sufficient
responses from those ads to make it worth your
while. You have to do something
individual and unique to make any real money,
anywhere. That's always been true and
still is, even on the 'net.
Real Hype
Of the rest, one was for a well-known
scam or at least something which has been
uncovered as a plan that does not work
and which uses questionable methods.
Check things out before you promote
them. You may be acting in good faith, you may
have been fooled and I appreciate that
it is difficult to admit that, but you will be judged
on it so it MATTERS.
Claims of specific returns, unless you
are referring to realistic amounts you can
prove that you made, are a another
matter. The "promises" are almost guaranteed to
be hype. Don't touch them with a long
pole and don't make this mistake in your ads.
Don't copy the ads that make these
claims, which came with the program, unless you
are personally making income in the
required number of digits by using it. We won't
believe you otherwise.
The Smart Ads
That left nine of our original 20. What
were the smart ones? Several were for ezines.
Now that's smart. Advertise "outside"
to get subscribers, then you have the chance
to develop trust and rapport with your
subscribers. They will be more likely to join
your programs or buy your stuff than
anyone you "cold-call".
Only ONE ad was for something
(non-ezine) that was totally unique, theirs, their own
experience and recommendation, using
their own domain URL, properly "keyed" for
tracking. I bet I know who will have
got the most clicks from that issue.
One out of 20 is 5% -- fix that
percentage in your mind.
You will probably have read that only
5% of people (on the Internet or anywhere) will
make real money. Now you can see who it
will most likely be and why. Think about it
and apply it if you want to be part of
that percentage. Track and measure everything
you do. Do your own unique thing and
your ads will be unique.
When they are they will be effective.
Copyright © 2003 Pamela Heywood
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