Put A little Class in Your Ads

September 21st, 2007 Corrisa Posted in Classifieds |

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Online classifieds can be very competitive, especially the free ones. If you’re going to do this method of marketing, you should have an automatic submitter like this one: Free Classifieds submitter (the submitter is not free, it just submits your ads to thousands of free classifieds.)

The second thing that is important whether you do paid, free, or ezine classifieds, is how to write an effective ad. Duh!

Well, here is Charlie Page from The Directory of Ezines with an article on how to write a good classified ad. I thought it was on point and really good to put here. Enjoy!

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Four Steps To Writing a Great Classified Ad
By Charlie Page
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Classified ads are everywhere!

You see them when you read your favorite ezine.

You see them on all the search engines in the form of
pay per click ads like Google AdWords.

And you see them on blogs and forums too!

The reason you see so many classified ads in ezines, on
web sites and other places is simple.

They work!

Classified advertising is one of the most cost
effective forms of advertising on the Net today. Like
most things that seem very simple on the surface, a
great deal of work goes in to writing a powerful
classified ad.

If you want to add power to your classified ads,
carefully consider the following four step process.

Writing a great ad is hard. This is not “sit down for 5
minutes and punch it out” work. When a professional
writer creates a classified ad for a client, it’s not
unusual for the writer to produce 15 or even 20
variations in order to get the best possible ad.

So grab the beverage of your choice, loosen up those
typing fingers and let’s create a order pulling
classified.

The three parts of a great classified ad are …

* The Headline
* The Body
* The Call to Action

IMPORTANT: Each one has only ONE purpose.

* The purpose of the headline is to sell the ad.
* The purpose of the ad is to set up the call to
action.
* The purpose of the call to action is to sell the click.

If you keep this in mind as you write, you will see how
easy it becomes to cause readers to take the action you
want.
=======> The Headline

Your headline must grab attention! The headline’s job
is to sell the ad.

Some people use sensational headlines with no
relationship to their offer to grab attention. That
approach may work in the short term, but damages your
integrity in the long run. Honesty is always the best
policy. The last thing you want is disappointment when
someone arrives at your website.

Keep these ideas in mind when you write your headline.

* Begin each sentence with an action word.
* Create curiosity.
* Ask a question.

HOT TIP: If the publication you are placing your ad in
doesn’t allow headlines, use the first few words as the
headline or indent the ad so it stands out.

When writing headlines, always remember that people
care about exactly one thing; what’s in it for me?
=======> The Body

The body of the ad must tell your reader what’s in it
for them. What *benefit* will they get by making that
click?

People don’t want to ‘learn more’ out of idle
curiosity. They want to learn more in order to get to
the *benefits* you promised them, so don’t be shy about
what your offer will do for them.

The first step to writing the body is to list all the
features of your product or service then, next to them,
list the benefits of those features. You must write at
least one benefit for each feature, or don’t use that
feature. People buy what your product or service will
do for *them*, not only what it will do.
=======> The Call to Action

The call to action is the action you want the reader to
take. While it is often as simple as providing a link
it’s wise to pay careful attention to this step.

What to say here depends on if you are sending them to
a web site, an autoresponder or some other way to get
more information. If it’s a website, be sure to include
urgency. You must lure them away from what they are
doing now in order to visit your site.

If you are using an autoresponder, tell the reader what
to expect. Will they get one email, a five part series,
or something else? The more they know, the more likely
they will be to click through.

=======> What’s Next?

One last step and you’re ready to begin making money.
Don’t forget to read your ad! Classifieds aren’t
supposed to read like a novel. Check that spelling too!

Once you have your dollar grabbing, profit pulling
classified written, don’t forget the #1 rule in
advertising.

TEST YOUR AD

Test, test and test again to know what works. Testing
allows you to spend small money now to make big money
later.

By following these steps you will begin to create
classifieds that work. Once you have an ad that works,
use it everywhere you can afford to and you will rake
in the profits!

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Through membership sites and special reports, Charlie
Page helps real people succeed online. Check out his
line of inexpensive, easy to read reports at
http://www.RealWorldTactics.com

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