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Many entrepreneurs start out this way, convinced that their product or service is the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel, only to become dismayed by a lack of sales. Any ad that lists a price for a product or service is guilty of making this mistake. Try using your classified ad only as a lead-generating tool instead. Make the sale with your follow-up material where you can provide qualified prospects with all the advantages you offer in far greater detail. This puts you in a much better position.
Reason #2: Pushing your product instead of the great benefits the customer gets as a result of having or using the product.
People respond because of what they "get". They never buy products, services or businesses... instead, they buy advantages or helpful results. It's the benefits you promise in your ad that triggers response. Don't talk about the features of your product or service, communicate all the great benefits your customer can have when he takes advantage of your offer. Leave it at that. If he's interested, he'll respond. If the biggest benefits doesn't compel your reader to respond, touting a feature surely won't.
Reason #3: Not providing enough information to trigger qualified readers to respond.
If you don't tell enough about what your product can do for the reader, your results will not satisfy you. You may generate response, but, it likely won't be of the high caliber, qualified kind. In fact, the only response you're likely to get will be those people who respond to any ad, particularly those that offer something "free". Don't skimp for the sake of a few dollars. Nor should you get too wordy. You've got to say just enough to arouse interest and generate response.
Reason #4: Not using your biggest bang as your headline, thereby running the risk of losing prospects who might otherwise be interested in your offer.
What is the greatest benefit you offer? Why is your prospect better off buying from you, versus the competition? Or, what could you say that would command the attention of the greatest numbers of qualified prospects? Focus your lead on the answers to these questions, and nothing else.
You've got to use your strongest attribute right up front, or you risk losing the scanning reader, who may just be a good prospect for your offer. Don't hold back! You only have a fraction of a second to capture the attention of the only person who can make you and your ad successful; your prospect. If your strongest appeal doesn't work to command attention -- a lesser lure surely won't work either.
Reason #5: Not providing a strong, compelling offer to call, fax, write, E-mail, or otherwise connect with you.
The world is one huge, competitive marketplace. Your prospects don't need you as much as you need them. They have a multitude of choices available, even if what you're offering is a totally unique, one-of-a-kind product. You need prospects to become customers and the first step to converting prospects into customers is capture their interest. Woo them in, attract them, gently prod them along. You have to interest them enough so they take action and that action should always lead eventually towards a sale.
Apparently, some classified advertisers assume that anyone who reads their particular ad is automatically going to respond. Most ads have no incentive for the reader, no enticement to inspire action, no huge promise. Without the appeal of a meaningful reward, how likely is it that your prospect will get out of his comfortable chair and do what is necessary to connect with you?
Inaction is always easier for the prospect. It's called the inertia factor and it can be fatal to your business. In order to move the prospect to action, you've got to dangle a "carrot" and tell him precisely how his life will be better in some way with your product or service.
Reason #6: Not addressing what's most important to your prospect.
This mistake is easily preventable by knowing your audience. The wrong appeal simply won't work. This should seem obvious to anyone who's prepared to spend hard-earned cash on a classified ad, but I see it all the time.
Some ads have no apparent appeal at all, they just take response for granted. You may get a trickle of replies this way, but higher levels of response can only be obtained by utilizing intelligent marketing strategies. You can only do that with a strong appeal that is interesting, inviting and appealing to your target audience. The key is to know your market and how your product or service represents the ultimate solution.
Reason #7: Offering something that seems to be readily available elsewhere.
Nothing can take the place of uniqueness in terms of what you offer in the marketplace. If generating a huge response from your classified ad is your goal, then you need to offer some sort of solution to a problem... one that's not readily available to your target audience.
If what you have to offer can be found through any number of alternate sources, and this is common knowledge to your audience, than whatever you offer has no original advantage. If your product or service can be obtained elsewhere, possibly with less effort and expense, perhaps even through a source that is well-known... why would a prospect even be interested in responding to your ad?
A competitive advantage would certainly help, such as a bargain price, but that in itself may not be enough to move your audience to contact you. Re-package, re-invent or re-engineer your product or service so that you can position it as something that is unequaled in the marketplace. By being different you'll gain a competitive advantage and that gives you a unique edge to promote in your classified ad.
Reason #8: Using someone's name (a name that's not of the household variety) in an attempt to attract attention and interest.
Assuming your audience will immediately recognize a name and hold that name with the same reverence that you might, is arguably the biggest mistake on the list and the easiest way to kiss your advertising dollars bye-bye. This mistake is most common in the multi-level or network marketing field.
Here is an actual ad that appeared in a major international magazine:
What's wrong with this ad? Well, there's plenty, but the point I want to drive home here is this: using names as drawing cards in classified ads can never work as effectively as a direct benefit statement. This advertiser assumes that his or her prospect not only knows the Bob Wieland name, but will want to take action simply to join along with this individual.
Where's the benefit in this ad? You might say the benefit lies in the "Step-by-Step to Freedom". Although it's a weak generalization, at least it offers some promise to the reader. For that reason alone, this particular advertiser would have fared better to lead with that benefit, instead of "M LM - Bob Wieland challenges America..."
Reason #9: Having an 800 number, or some other limited option, as the sole means of response, when it may not be accessible to the entire potential audience of your ad.
This can be very frustrating to a prospect; I know from personal experience. Living in Canada, I have often been shut off from an advertiser simply because I could not make the connection to an 800 line. In many cases I was anxious; I really wanted what the advertiser promised. I was already sold! But alas, I was also stuck... there wasn't much I could do about it.
What options did I have? I usually tried to place the call more than once, only to hear the same recorded voice tell me the number wasn't accessible from my area code. As a prospect, this is very frustrating. As an advertiser, it's quite costly in terms of lost sales. To what extent? Who knows.
The easy solution is to give your audience alternate means of contacting you. All you need to do is provide a mailing address, a fax number or even an E-mail address; anything that would allow any possible prospect to respond.
You never know from where in the world a response may come. I've personally received replies from many distant lands, several months - even years - after the ad ran in a national publication. Libraries everywhere are one source of international newspapers, trade journals and magazines. This means that responses - and sales -- can come from any corner of the world, if those people can reach you easily. This is particularly true with on-line marketing, but it also applies to any major publication.
Reason #10: Making a claim that is too general or too unreal.
To proclaim that one can "make a fortune" or "earn six figures" overnight by performing some simple task rarely works for an advertiser. Instead, such claims trigger doubt, disbelief and inaction. Everyone has heard it all before and many have been fooled, at least once, into replying, only to be deeply disappointed at some point.
Anyone can make a general claim, but you can enjoy a far greater rate of response by being specific, with actual numbers that also appear to be more realistic. In no way am I implying that you should manipulate the numbers so that your statement of claim seems very real to your prospect. What I am saying is that whatever claims you make must appear to be truthful in the eyes of your prospect. Real, actual figures can help you achieve this objective.
By avoiding the ten common errors above, you'll be well on your way to successfully marketing your product or service with classified ads.
