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How Effective Are Your Ads?
by 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.
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Copyright © 2003 Pamela
Heywood
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