© Copyright Cathy Qazalbash
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Author info: E-book Written by Cathy Qazalbash ©
Cathy is an experienced freelance writer/copywriter.
She writes for websites, e-books and articles of all types
and is the publisher of the A-Y-B free marketing newsletter
here are her resource sites
http://advertise-your-business.com -services http://a-y-b.com –blog and newsletter
Advertising is the lifeblood of your business. To be effective you will need to advertise on a regular basis. One advertisement rarely brings instant results. Your potential customer needs to see your ads several times before purchasing.
In order to make an effective campaign, it is necessary to have an advertising budget. This would be money set aside especially for advertising. It is wise to start on a monthly budget. Start with a small but reasonable amount and work up as the business starts to grow.
What ads should you start with? Classified ads are the cheapest and will allow you to test your ads. Bear in mind that Classifieds have the least exposure, so even if you get 1-2 responses, you can consider that you have made an impact. Once you have ascertained the best ad to use expand it (adding benefits) and make into a Solo Ad.
A solo ad will give maximum exposure and will be how you can test the most effective Ezines and publications for your ads. Always remember to track and test every ad, and note down your results. In this way you can find out which ad is doing well and what ezines are producing the best results.
Some keys to success in advertising are:1. The 2 T’s Track and test every ad
2. Targeting is a must. It is very important to choose the right market for your advertising. This is a common mistake with advertisers to advertise to the wrong market and wonder why results are poor. For instance if you are selling golf clubs ads to a health magazine you may not get good response but advertising in a Golfing magazine would produce better results.
3. Bigger is not always better. I have had varying results from different Ezines/publications. Some quite small lists have produced amazingly good results. Others with far bigger lists had poor response.
The way you advertise is critical to your business. You need to carefully plan and list all the places that will be beneficial to advertise your business and target them one by one. Build on your successes and grow your campaigns as your budget allows. Good advertising will help you sell and build your profitable business.
Advertising is critical for the growth and survival of your business. Without it your business would just stay as a nonexistent entity, tucked away in some corner, with nobody knowing or caring what you are let alone what you are selling. The greatest problem facing small business owners is the need for continuous advertising and the expense involved.
With the advent of the internet the playing field has leveled. Now it is possible for even the smallest business to be able to advertise with a relatively small budget. Here are some ways to cut costs and still be a major player.
Free/cheap advertising that works:• Article distribution-this is a free or cheaper service You can distribute articles free or pay a submission service a small fee to do this for you.
• Ad swaps, article swaps- These can be done with link partners and other publications
• Classified ads -these can be relatively cheap and effective when placed on well targeted , high traffic websites. Be aware of cost of sales per click.
• Linking- linking to related businesses will give you plenty of free targeted traffic to your website.
• Search engine submission- Google and other major search engines allow free submission. Put your correct keyword, title and description Meta tags in for this.
• Pay-Per-clicks and Google Ad Words- this is a cheap way to get targeted traffic fast to your website. Do your research and choose keywords very carefully for this promotion. Be careful to make a note of cost per sales conversion of clicks and base your bidding on this.
• Blogging- is free at http://blog.com You can update your website and let visitors know about new products/services you will be introducing (teasers) You can write comments leading to new content on your website, articles reviews etc. these are great presell tools for your products and services
• Start small and work up. Do not start off with solos in a publication, before knowing how responsive the readers will be to your offer.
• Tracking and testing
• Target your ads. Subscribe to the ezine and see what sort of readers they are catering too. Place ads in the ezine that you know will interest the clientele.
• Start your own free newsletter-build your own responsive business list to advertise to. This is very cheap as it will only cost you a monthly fee for your autoresponder, which you will get back with even some small advertising.
• Trading services -trading services for advertising will not cost you anything and get you a lot of good advertising.
With a careful budget and using these few points you will be able to advertise like the “big boys” and still promote well. The only difference is that you will be doing it on far less.
Whenever you try to sell anything you need to build a relationship with your reader. Few people will buy without this vital connection between you and those reading your sales copy. It doesn’t matter what sort of sales copy you are using. It can be a small classified ad or a full-blown Sales page. Unless you can build up this vital relationship with your reader you will make little or no sales.
How do you define a relationship built on merely reading your sales copy? It is the feeling a reader will have about you when reading your ad or sales letter. Your aim with any of your sales copy is to build a good rapport with your reader.
What sort of feelings do you want to create in your reader?• Empathy
• Your product/service can help them resolve their problem
• Trust
• Need to buy
A feeling of empathy: Your reader wants to feel that you understand their needs and wants. When you sympathize with your readers’ needs they will be able to form a bond, they will be able to say, “yes this person understands what I want and understands the problems I am facing.”
Creating a feeling that you can and will help them resolve their problem.Do not just reel off facts and figures. Show your reader positive and strong reasons why your product will help them. In this way they will feel that you are genuinely interested in solving their problems and really have a product /service that will do this.
Trust is the main ingredient in building a relationship with your potential customer. Sales can be made or lost on this all-important feeling. When people build trust in you and your product/service they will buy.
How do you achieve this?• Personalize
• Empathize
• Persuade
• Prove your trustworthiness
• State the problem your reader has and emphasize their need to resolve it. Declare your USPS (unique selling position) State what your product/service can do and how it will greatly help your reader solve a problem or satisfy a desire.
More techniques that will help you build a relationship.• Use of “trigger words”
• Presenting your sales copy (this reflects on you as a professional)
“Trigger words” are words that touch your reader’s emotions. They make them feel good and be more inclined to buy. For example: Do not just “build your business” “skyrocket your business.” You can see one trigger word can make your reader feel elated and optimistic that this can happen. With this feeling in mind a sale is very much more likely, and you have achieved this with one word. When you use these trigger words you will build a good rapport with your prospective buyer, and increase your chances of a sale.
Presentation is critical to the overall impression your visitor will get about you. When your ads and sales pages look good your reader will be impressed and perceive you as a true professional. First impressions are indeed lasting and if your visitor sees you as a professional they will build a good relationship with you as they read your copy.
So next time you send out an ad however small remember that everything your reader sees in your copy will build a relationship and can make or break your sale. Strive to impress your reader, build a relationship and then close the sale with your stunning ad copy.
What is the importance of Ad copy? Your ad copy, sales letter will make or break your business. You can have the best product/service but without a good sales copy, you cannot sell anything. Website visitors are becoming increasingly savvy, hype and hard selling no longer work, as they used to. A subtler approach is necessary and gets good results.
Common mistakes in business ad copy:• Features not benefits
• Too much hype
• Misuse of graphics
• Using the negative trigger words
• Font hard to read
The most frequent error in ad copy, is listing features not benefits. Your visitor does not need to know how fancy the product is, they are just looking for the answer to “what’s in it for me?” Why should they buy your product, or use your service? You will need to persuade them that the benefits for them are irresistible and they would be seriously missing out if they did not buy your product/use your service.
Here is one of the most irritating of all mistakes, hyping up your product/service. Nobody likes to be played for a fool least of all your prospective clients. Unbelievable exaggeration (hype) does just that. It insults the intelligence of your reader and will alienate them very quickly from the sale. Would you buy from someone who treated you like this? Besides if your product is good you will have enough real benefits not to need any useless hype.
Graphics, be careful with these. Small relevant pictures can go a long way to helping sell your product, especially if you are selling hard goods and e-books. Some websites try to use cartoon graphics and different eye catchers, this can divert your visitor and take away from your sales message. Again this can bring down the prestige of your site. Presentation is very important with a business site. Your visitor needs to take you seriously in order to buy from you, they need to know you are a professional. Presentation in your ad copy is especially important if you are offering a service.
Here is a more subtle mistake and one that with some careful planning and knowledge does not need to happen. The use of negative “trigger words.” If you have been on the internet for any length of time you will have heard about “Mr. Fire” Joe Vitale, a legendary copywriter and article writer. Joe Vitale is the master of the use of “trigger words” and subtle “Hypnotic Selling.” What are “trigger words?” These are words that subconsciously spark a feeling of well-being and urge to buy in a reader. For example “Ramp Up” your business with... “Boost" your business using this... “Discover the secret”.... I am sure you have seen these and many more (there are over 200 ) When you have looked at good sales pages.
Alternatively negative “trigger words” will have the opposite effect, for example “lowincome” “failure” and many more that you can probably think of. These words generate an unconscious feeling of depression and sadness with a reader and deter him from buying. Don’t you buy more when you are in an upbeat mood? Be careful how you write your sales letter or even a small ad, words are very powerful in copywriting and will make or break the sale. As all good copywriters will tell you selling is all about understanding your visitors’ mindset.
• Excessive use of punctuation, especially the!!! Exclamation point and sometimes the??? Question mark. This distracts the reader and is a turn off for sales. Respect your reader’s intelligence and do not belittle your reader with this unprofessional technique.
• Too much CAPITALIZATION is also unprofessional and has the same effect. Capitalization is known as shouting a word. Do you the reader want to be shouted at? I am sure this does not put you in a buying mood.
• Color combination is also a sign of being a good sales person. Always write with credibility in mind. As mentioned credibility is very important in convincing your prospective buyer. Unusual fonts and color combinations will take away from your sales copy and leave an unfavorable impression with your reader. Size is a factor too; make sure the font is normal sized. Style of font should be Ariel, Times Roman, Veranda, or similar styles do not make a sales letter in fancy type set, it will distract your reader, (selling art work and cartoon drawings may be an exception to the rule).
Always keep your reader in mind. Write your sales letters as you would to a respected friend. Remember your visitors are taking time out of their busy schedule to read your sales letter, write in a concise, persuasive, polite way, as you would expect to be treated by a sales person when you want to buy something. With these points, you will be able to ramp up your business with sizzling ad copy and improve your sales 110% and more.
When preparing ads and Sales letters we focus on what makes customers buy, but do we give enough thought to what makes a potential customer not want to buy?
Why is this important? Because it is a known fact that there is a large percentage of potential buyers who get right up to the point of buying an item and suddenly “get cold feet “ and do not buy. This should make us think about the factors that put people off buying. Here are a few points and how to counter them.
• Price · Procrastination · Trust · How you present it Hard sell vs. soft sellPrice is the single largest factor for your potential customer. Price too high and your customer will buy elsewhere, too low and your product will loose its worth in your buyer’s eyes. How to strike a happy medium? You can achieve this by:
1. Price comparison 2. Price testing 3. Deciding on the right pricing for your productPrice comparison with competitors is a good way to gauge the exact price, needed for optimum selling.
You can test your price in 2 ways. If you have lists take a survey. Another way is to have an introductory price based on your price comparison findings, and see how many are buying. Then go up in price and see if there is a significant drop in sales, or whether they stay the same. Sometimes you will find a rise in sales, as the perceived value of your product will go up. The amount of money your market has to spend will also be a factor.
Based on your findings you can decide on the best price for your market. When you do this it will eliminate a lot of potential customers objecting to the price. Procrastination: many people put off decisions, especially when they have to spend money. That is why your sales page should contain some time clauses. For example “this low price will not last” “Supplies limited” “Only x amount left” You have seen these examples in every good sales letter you have ever read. This does work and will eliminate many of the procrastinators.
Trust: An important element in every sales page.It is critical to generate trust in your reader. One way to do this is to put a personal touch, be careful not to be familiar. This will “break the ice” with your potential buyer and make them more inclined to buy. Make sure your benefits come across as real and truthful. An iron clad guarantee, goes a long way to build trust. When people trust you they are not so likely to back away from the sale.
How you present it Hard sell vs. soft sell, presentation has a lot to do with a sale. People do not like to be sold to. They want to feel the decision is theirs. Make your Sales pitch subtle with a firm call to action. Soft sell will sell more than hard sell. If a buyer feels that he is in control and he is making the decision to buy he will be far less likely to change his mind at the point of sale. Another important selling point is the actual presentation of your sales letter. People will be far more inclined to buy and not have second thoughts if you make your sales letter look professional.
These are a few points to help you overcome your potential buyer’s objections to sale. You need to look at every sale through your buyers eyes and you can gain more sales and less people having second thoughts.