Tweet

RULE 4 Never Run a Full Page Ad

Written by: Brad Sugars

Article Overview: This is the fourth rule in a series of articles by Brad Sugars on “21 Ways to Increase the Power and Profit of Your Advertising – without Spending an Extra Cent.” Find out why you should not run a full-page ad.

RULE 4 Never Run a Full Page Ad

Next time you see someone read a newspaper, watch them carefully. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, when they come to a full page ad, they immediately turn the page.

It's as though a full-page ad sends this signal to a busy reader:

“Don't waste your valuable time here!”

People read newspapers for the editorial content. They also buy them to check current movie ads, supermarket sales, and classifieds. They do not buy a newspaper to read your ad.

I can go through a newspaper in 5-10 minutes, and get everything in it that I want. (Okay, Sunday's New York Times takes me a bit longer.)

Most people skim the headlines, looking for stories that interest them. Often, read the headline and the first few paragraphs and you've got 99% of the story.

Your focus is on the stories: ads will be in your peripheral vision - at best. They have to work a lot harder to get your attention.

Get the reader to spend more time on the page with your ad and you'll increase your response.

Rather than running a full-page ad, run an ad that dominates the page without filling it. Consider running a 6-column ad in an 8-column newspaper. Even pay a loading (premium) to ensure yours is the only ad on that page.

Why…?

The readers will stop and look at the headlines on that page. The more stories there are, the more time they will spend there. You’ve multiplied the chances that they’ll notice your ad.
You've saved money - and increased response.

This rule applies equally to newspapers and magazines. However, it may be harder to apply this technique in smaller magazine pages.

Corollary: Frequency beats Size

Do you really need a full-page ad?

Years ago, when I wrote a column for Hong Kong¬ based Media Magazine, I took a double-page spread Shearson had run in the Asian Wall Street Journal and reproduced it as a 2-inch 2-column ad.

All the text in that double-page spread fit neatly into that tiny size. (You've seen ads like that, right? - More money than sense.)

My column got a very rude response from the Journal's ad manager - full of words like "image," "positioning," and such. Words you can't measure - and therefore have no meaning to your bottom line.

My theory, by the way, is that people run full¬-page newspaper ads because it makes them feel good. The only exception is when the person has so much to say that it would be literally impossible to fit it into a smaller size.

That means: a direct-response ad with a coupon. And you know an ad like this works when you see it repeatedly - time after time.

Anyway, for the same amount of money, Shearson could have run the same message (in my much smaller size) in 66 consecutive issues of the Asian Wall Street Journal.

Would they have increased response …? You bet. (Except for one thing - the ad didn’t ask for any response!)

Here are a few of the reasons why frequency beats size:

Repetition increases awareness. Some people vaguely notice an ad the first time - and the second time. The third or fourth time, it comes to their attention.

Also - especially true of ads asking for money through the mail – repetition increases confidence. It gives the impression you’re here to stay.

Some of your prospects got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. They are just not in the mood today. Tomorrow could be a different story - if they see your ad tomorrow.

They forgot. When they saw your ad, they considered calling you or clipping the coupon. But then the phone rang. Someone walked into their office. The baby cried - If they see your ad again tomorrow, they’ll say to themselves: “Oh yes, I meant to call them yesterday.”

Not today, thank you. Ever seen those tiny little ads for hemorrhoid remedies? Ever read one?

Chances are: only if you’ve had hemorrhoids.

If you are not in the market for something, all the advertising in the world is not going to make you buy.

But when lightning (or hemorrhoids strike, you suddenly become very interested in insurance (or hemorrhoid) ads.

If your ad is not in that day’s paper, someone else gets the sale.

Related Articles
  Rule 11 Use a Drop Letter
  HOW TO DEAL WITH A LOW QUOTE AND WIN THE BUSINESS
  Rule 5 Pay for Position
  Will The 48 Hour Opt Out Rule Remain In The UK
  Don't Support Outdated Rules

Article Tags: asian wall street, asian wall street journal, corollary, editorial content, headlines, hong kong, increased response, magazines, money, new york times, newspapers, nine times, paragraphs, peripheral vision, shearson, supermarket sales, tiny size, wall street, wall street journal



Related Forum Posts
Page Rank Changes - Hi Kevin - there is a lot of speculation as to why so many websites lost Page Rank. A few new sites that I've been following also got Page Rank for the first time. Every time Google does a Page Rank update there are websites that get caught in the crossfire and have to work to get their rankings back up!
Re: Facebook Fan Pages - Hi Terri, I haven't yet started a Fan Page of my own (it's on my to-do list), so I don't have any tips to share yet. What others have mentioned about giveaways is a good idea. I also think updating your page with useful content on a regular basis is a must to keep Fans interested and coming back. This can easily be done if you have a blog because they allow you to import RSS feeds on your page. Every time you make a new blog post, your Fan Page can be updated.
www.tobuso.com and www.paperrollshop.com - Please take a look at these and tell me what I should do. I am too close to them to see it objectively at this point. The main on is the tobuso.com one. The other is just a paper roll side bar project. I have had a guy working on tobuso.com for about 2 weeks or so. I really dont understand why it doesnt have any Google Page Rank yet. I am starting to move up in the rankings for my targeted keyword but I am lacking in the google Page Rank and cannot figure out why. I guess it may just take more time. See if that is what it looks like to you.
Facebook Fan Pages - I have a Facebook Fan Page for my business, Solo-E.com. But my efforts at really getting it going (getting new fans, promoting discussion/interaction, etc.) have been, I'll admit, half-hearted. The biggest reason? I hardly ever visit the fan pages of other solo entrepreneurs, even those that I hugely admire. How about you? Do you regularly visit fan pages? What draws you to them, if you do visit? If you do have a Fan Page, what has your experience been with making it successful? How do you even measure that success??
SEO Marketing tips for Promoting your Business on Bing - Bing is gaining popularity and within a short period of time this search engine has surpassed Yahoo and almost giving tough competition to Google. There are more users logging into Bing every single day. Some of the cool things about Bing is that it is QUICK and has a better USER INTERFACE. However, there is a significant different in the way Google and Bing rank websites. If you are planning to optimize your website for Bing then you need to consider these following tips. 1. Domain Age – Bing gives preference to your domain’s age. Google on the other also gives preference to domains which are old. 2.On-Page Optimization/Off-Page Optimization – Google gives more preference to Off-Page optimization rather than on-page optimization. Bing on the other hand gives more preference to On-Page SEO optimization rather than Off-page optimization 3.Text Density – Bing gives preference to keyword density of your content. If you are targeting a particular keyword and your keyword density for that keyword is abysmally low then you wont be able to rank too high on Bing. 4.TITLE is more important – Although Google does gives preference to keywords in TITLE, Bing entirely focuses on TITLE of any given webpage to decide whether it should be ranking at page 1 or Page 8. Therefore make sure to add your important keywords in the TITLE. Also you should abstain from artificial keyword stuffing. Several keywords are semantically considered as same. Take for example, Search engine optimization company, and SEO marketing company are semantically connected with each other. If you are ranking high for one combination, you will also rank for other combination.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Small Business Internet Marketing

Do You Pretend To Listen To People?

Listen to Your Inner Melody

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.