Constructing Classified Ads for Maximum Profits

Classifieds-

Almost everyone is familiar with Classifieds advertising which is very common on newspaper and on radio, television, particulary cable television.

Now the classified ad has found its way to Internet, according to eMarketing

Association 54 percent of experienced online shoppers rely on classifieds when searching for a product to purchase online.

Now the newspapers are struggling to get classified ads from businesses and organizations as they are no more depending on traditional classifieds and started to look for new solution.

E- Classifieds -

Online Classified Advertising is known as e-classifieds. Placing e-classifieds ads broadens ones reach and connects you with people who are eagerly searching for what you have to sell which can boost your sales. Online classifieds are the ultimate way to expand your brand locally and worldwide.

So because of these online advantages Leading Business Website like online communities, city guides, career listings ,auto dealer, real estate, Colleges, University, e-newspaper even news channel etc have now started to build web based e-classifieds.

Benefits from E- Classifieds Software

Retain more visitors ,Interest, traffic and adds more interaction to the website
Creates new potential revenue streams
Provides automated way to allow users to develop content for your site
Allows quicker time to market
Delivers advanced technical capabilities
Delivers cost savings associated with end-to-end automated web-based processes
Requires no commissions or ad revenue sharing fees
Scales to millions of classified ads
Provides immediate access to products with years of research and development experience.
Classified ads represent one of the best values in advertising today. They're usually quite inexpensive and you can test your ad, your product and your market, with only a small investment. Specific audiences can be targeted, one at a time, by selecting a publication that fits a definable group. Nearly anyone can employ this great advertising vehicle efficiently with only a single phone call. It's the quickest and safest method known to enter into a given market.
While there may be no better buy in the advertising world, there is a catch. It's very easy to fail with classified advertising. Perhaps the reason for the high failure rate is the relative ease with which anyone can play the game. Most people fail miserably early on and then leave the classified arena altogether, convinced that "they just don't work". But you can experience great success if you apply the secrets that we are about to share and you persist long enough until you have a real winner.

It's our purpose in this booklet to give you every bit of information you need to get a profitable result immediately.., starting with the next ad you place. It's not complicated, but it does require some work on your part. It's time well-invested though, because once you've got that magical combination of audience, message and medium figured out, it's just a matter of running your ad for a period of time. When the profits start to roll in, you roll out by expanding to other publications. The end result: steady growth of profits and a continuous stream of cash for you.

Classified ads can work magic for you when you work them methodically. To make your ads pull a huge response, follow the steps that have proven successful for others. We recommend that you begin to study classified advertising by reviewing publications that carry classified sections. Look for outstanding ads that reach out and grab you. Which ads capture your attention? What is it about a particular ad that caught your eye? If you were in the market, would you respond to that ad? Observe also the weak ads and think of the ways you would improve it.

Ten Common Reasons Why Classified Ads Fail
Reason #1: Trying to close the sale in the classified ad itself
This is the most prevalent of the serious mistakes classified advertisers make. The problem is that you just don't have the space, in a classified, to convey all the benefits of even the most basic, or lowest cost product. To try to shortcut the sales process by trying to close the sale right away, can only result in a less than spectacular rate of response. You may sell a few, but I'd be willing to bet that this strategy will cause losses far more frequently than profits.

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 to sell virtually anything.

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 they're interested, they'll respond. If the biggest benefits don't compel your reader to respond, a feature surely won't do the job either. With every response you'll have a qualified prospect you can work with until they're converted to a customer.

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 most likely won't be of the high caliber, the 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, or you might as well not advertise at all.

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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 first 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:

"MLM - Bob Wieland Challenges America, 'Join Me Step-By-Step to Freedom' Information: (800) 000-0000"

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 "MLM - 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 classified ad.
This can be very frustrating to a prospect; I know from personal experience. Make sure the number works. I have often been shut off from an advertiser simply because WE 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. We'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 you may choose to advertise in. Be available to anyone who may want what you have to sell.

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.

Overworked Ads Usually Under-perform
Most of the classified ads that I see are ineffective for one primary reason; they try to accomplish too much. An ad of two or three lines isn't enough to make the sale. It doesn't provide enough space to expand on all the virtues and benefits of even the most basic product or service. So don't waste your time trying. "Sell" your reader on taking the next step towards the sale by requesting additional information from you.

The fact is, it would simply cost too much money to run a classified ad that could do the complete selling job in one shot. Your "classified" ads would quickly become a full page or more. Therefore if you want to succeed with classified advertising remember this; never try to close the sale in your classified ad. Concentrate instead on getting "hot" prospects to identify themselves by contacting you to express an interest.

Hera's an example of a classified ad that tries to close the sale: "Easy Fat-Free Cakes & Pie. For Recipes Send $20.00 8, SASE To: Diet Delight, 200 Fast Lane Ave., Woodland, NB 10000 *Bonus* FREE Calorie Counter'

What are the chances of success with this ad? My guess is that this ad failed, despite having some strong points like a bonus offer and a decent headline. The thing that killed this ad was going for the sale right away. Is there enough in the above ad to make you want to mail in your cash? I highly doubt it. There is too much left unsaid for this ad to command direct sales. It asks for the sale without providing enough reasons for it. This approach almost never works with classified advertising.

The Two-Step Method To Success
Fortunately, there is a better way. All that you need to do to get outstanding results from your classified ad is to get your readers to contact you for more information. That's it. You want qualified prospects to stand up, identify themselves as being interested by requesting your free report, free details or free information. This is the ultimate function of a classified ad, step-one of the Two-Step approach. To generate inquiries from those most interested in the benefits you offer. The second step is to reply to every inquiry with a powerful marketing package that completes the selling job and produces the order.

The Two-Step is how every successful classified advertiser does it. You have only to look at repeat advertisements to prove this to yourself. The ads that run month after month, year after year, do so for one reason and one reason only: they produce profitable results. And, they always use the Two-Step technique.

Compare the Two-Step method of finding quality leads to mailing the same marketing package to a cold list. I bet you'll find a huge difference in your results, with the Two-Step technique winning every time. With this technique, the person who receives the follow-up package has actually requested it, and therefore is anxious to get it. He is on the lookout for your mailing piece and can't wait to devour it!

Here's an example of the Two-Step approach in action:
"Millionaire Mail Order Expert Reveals Money-Making Secrets! Free exciting cassette. Melvin Powers 12015 Sherman Road, North Hollywood CA 91605E"

This ad is expertly crafted to maximize its powers of attraction. Notice how every word has power -- there is absolutely no waste. It's obviously working, too. This exact ad, or an almost identical variation, has been running continuously in multiple publications for at least the last nine years!

The Little-Known Secret That Could Be Worth A Fortune To You
The greatest advantage of classifieds is this; almost every respondent to a well written ad has a sincere interest in acquiring the benefit promised in the ad. This means that a good classified ad achieves an unparalleled rate of qualified response. A well-constructed classified ad also achieves another remarkable feat; it creates a strong anticipation in the mind of the individual who has submitted his name and address. The "hot" prospect can't wait to get more information. He anxiously anticipates receiving the follow-up package. He's emotionally excited about what the ad promises and often has already made the decision to buy. Your follow-up package containing all the details often works as the logical support and justification for the already established decision to buy.

The best thing you can do for an eager prospect is to satisfy the desire at once. Send your complete marketing package as soon as you get the request. Act immediately while the promise of a huge benefit tugs at the heart and occupies the mind of your prospect and you'll close more sales that way.

The Most Profit-Certain Way To Use Classifieds
Use your classified ads to generate solid leads, and then follow-up on those leads with an irresistible sales package that provides all the additional benefits, advantages, facts and proof.

Get your reader involved. Help him to play the role that he truly wants. Stir up the emotional excitement in the minds of those most likely to buy. Plant the seed of possibility. Give him hope. Reassure him that he too can make it a reality and enjoy the benefits and get the same kind of results. Performing this task well enough to get large numbers of people to take responsive action, is the most effective way to use classified advertising. This is the strategy that will maximize your profits.

By involving your reader, you'll reach your best target audience, the one you're specifically appealing to. What this method enables you to do is to follow up with the right people; those who can buy and are most interested in acquiring the benefits you've offered them. It also screens out, for the most part, those that are not really interested, so you don't waste your time and money marketing to those who have little or no interest. You want to share the benefits that your product or service provides, but only with those who are capable of buying. Anything else is a waste of your precious resources.