One of the additional services that I offer my clients is FREE critiques of their ads and direct mail pieces. As you can imagine, as a result of this service, Digital Marketing Agency Chandigarh I get to see a lot of different types of advertisement every year.
Here is one of the things that I have discovered – LOUSY ADS GET LOUSY RESULTS !
This is particularly instructive, because often entrepreneurs and small business owners will tell me that a Particular type of media doesn’t work. It might be postcards, sales letters, Digital Marketing Agency Chandigarh newspaper ads, radio or TV spots. But the reality is that they all work. Some work better than others, and clearly my personal favorite is some form of direct mail. But people that run lousy ads and get lousy results often mistakenly blame the media. When in actuality, it’s just the fault of the lousy ads. Resulting impact that they can have on the effectiveness of your advertising.
#1: Far and away,
The biggest advertising mistake is having a Lousy Headline. When I write an ad or a direct mail piece for a client, or for myself, I normally spend half of my time developing the headline. In fact, typically I will write about a dozen different headlines before I settle on the one that I think will get the best response. Digital Marketing Agency Chandigarh the headline is the most important part of any ad. It has to grab the readers’ attention and pull them into what you have to say. Headlines like:
- Biggest Sale Ever
- End of Season Clearance
- We’re The #1 (Fill in the Blank) in Orlando, FL……are typically worthless.
- What you really want to write is a headline that offers a benefit and provokes interest and curiosity.
- For example, instead of writing a headline that reads “Biggest Sale Ever,” try…
“Discover the (name of business) Sale That Other (category type) Don’t Want You To Know About!”
Now, which one creates more interest and curiosity? Which one is more likely to get the prospect to read the rest of the ad?
#2: No Offer/Lousy Offer:
It’s very difficult and often very costly to acquire a new customer. What will make someone respond to the marketing piece? Well, one thing is certain – there is no way that any one will respond to a lousy offer, or even worse, no offer. Make the offer as generous as you can afford. Digital Marketing Agency Chandigarh remember, the real money in acquiring a new customer is in making them a “customer for life.” That way, you’ll reap your dividends when they return over and over again.
#3: No Deadline Or “Wimpy” Deadline:
People are natural procrastinators and unless you motivate them to respond NOW, they never will. They might look at your advertisement and want to take advantage of your offer. But unless they have to respond right away, they will often put it on one side and never take action. A deadline is what makes them respond. Deadlines create fear. Fear of losing out on a particular offer or opportunity. I have typically found , the shorter the deadline the better. My personal favorite is three or four days, and I have had great success with even a one-day ONLY deadline.
#4: Lack Of Testimonials:
- What your current customers say about you is ten to twenty times more important and believable, than what you say about yourself.
- Testimonials are a great way to gain instant credibility with prospects.
- So the question is, how many testimonials should you use? The answer is to use as many as you can, and use them everywhere.
When your customer calls you up and are put on hold, they get to listen to a recording of current and past customers singing our praise.
#5: Lack Of A Guarantee Or A “Wimpy” Guarantee:
This is a very simple concept but often scares, in particular, retailers to death. Multiple studies have proven that the stronger the guarantee, the more people will buy. Digital Marketing Agency Chandigarh sure, some will take advantage of your guarantee, but they are way more insignificant than the number that ultimately will buy more. If you can’t guarantee your products or services, then find something else to sell. You see, having a BIG, BOLD, and SOLID GUARANTEE is just the right thing to do.
#6: Me-Too Appearance:
I have written and developed hundreds of ads and direct mail pieces during my career. The most successful ones ever have been “handwritten” letters on yellow legal paper. Why was this so successful? Because it didn’t look like an ad! In other words it didn’t have a “me too” appearance. Instead, it looked nothing like a traditional ad.
#7: Focus On The Business Instead Of WIIFM:
How many times have you see an advertisement for a particular business and basically all that it says is how wonderful the business is? It talks about how many years they have been in business, or the excellent customer service, or vast product choices.
When you concentrate on the customer and what’s in it for them, you’ll get much better results with your advertising.