The problem lies in the word “brief”. Unless you have a $1,000,000 advertising budget, most of your classified ads are going to be less than 50 words, (sometimes less than 25).
You can find places that will let you place 100 word classified ads but they are either going to be too expensive or you wouldn’t want your ad there in the first place. There isn’t anything wrong with cheap classified ads but most of them aren’t going to have any pull and you are going to have to place a lot of them to make any money.
You want to shoot for a five-fold return on all your classified advertising. If you spend $50 on an ad, it should bring in $250 worth of front-end business. If you spend $1,000 in 16 big newspapers, you should aim to get $5,000 in book orders or sales of services or products.
Creating a Great Classified Ad
To beat the competition, smart marketers need to think differently. Let’s list some of the things that you should and shouldn’t do with your ads.
What you do want to do
1. Get people interested with a mini headline.
2. Get people to read the ad.
3. Get them to take some sort of action.
What you don’t want to do:
• Do not try and sell the entire product in your ad (if possible).
• List your price (unless you are selling a commodity or it is a selling point).
The Three Parts to a Successful Classified Ad
Let’s go over all three to see how you can create the hottest ads around.
1. The headline (capture their interest).
2. The body (get them to read).
3. The action (what you want them to do).
Public Relations and Press Releases
‘Public relations’ means exactly what it says. It’s also accurate to say that it means publicity—free stories and news about you and/or your company in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, on radio and TV, and in any other media. It means any relationship you have with anybody. In fact, the purest form of public relations is human relations.
Here’s what is good about publicity—it’s free. It is very believable. It gives you and your company a lot of credibility and stature. It helps establish the identity of your business and gives you authority. It is read by a large number of people. It is remembered.
Many entrepreneurs feel that there is no such thing as bad publicity; that as long as you get your name out there before the public, that’s fine. But most smart marketers know that bad publicity leads to negative word-of-mouth marketing, known to spread faster than wildfire. Bad publicity is bad. Good publicity is great.
Public relations can be targeted at a specific audience. This is done firstly by identifying the target group, then identifying the media most likely to reach that group and, finally, by ensuring that the news released is relevant to both.
If news is to be sent to a variety of media contacts it is wise to adapt the first paragraph to appeal to the special interests of each contact, if possible. Reporters, news editors and editors are the gatekeepers of a publication. If they don’t like it, they won’t print it.
Make your first paragraph strong—cover the ‘who, what, when, where, why and how’ details keeping it short and sharp; if the news is exciting let your enthusiasm come through. Include your contact details and be available for questions.
The more publicity contacts you have, the more free publicity you’ll generate; it’s that simple. I can’t overstate the importance of cultivating your relationships, especially in the media space—the real secret of successful publicity campaigns.
Media relationships should be mutually beneficial. You want the media to publicize your product and service, and the media want you to provide publishable stories.
Marketing That Works! - Feature