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Making Small Business Advertising actually WORK!
| Guest post by: Michelle Pippin |
Article Overview: At the risk of offending the person who SOLD you that ad for your small business, I want to demystify advertising for you, show you when you should run for the hills, and how to do this small business advertising thing RIGHT! =)
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Free Download - Making Small Business Advertising actually WORK! By Michelle Pippin |
Making Small Business Advertising actually WORK!
So…. at the risk of offending EVERY ad salesman, publication, radio station and MORE, I just have to say this:
WHY in the WORLD do otherwise smart and savvy business owners FAIL to acknowledge basic MATH in their business? If a paid advertising effort produces $0 in increased revenue, why would running that SAME ad (with no changes) in the SAME publication somehow produce MORE income?Zero times any number is always zero.
Yet, this is the scenario I see all the time… When one ad doesn’t work, the business owner will enlarge (or add color to) the SAME AD…. expecting (much) different results… Usually following the “expert” advice of the salesperson who earns MORE money when you buy a BIGGER or more colorful ad. Go figure.
Here are some quick ways to AVOID wasting money on paid advertising in the future:
** If the sales person doesn’t ENCOURAGE you (and maybe even show you HOW) to check the RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) for your ad, DON’T BUY IT!! They should be interested and committed to seeing results for your business.
**If they continually use the words, “You have to get your name out there”, WALK AWAY.There is no value in “getting your name out there” unless you are building your EGO vs. your bank account. You want the ad to focus on getting your clients or customers IN HERE. Sure, when you do “get your name out there”, there are nice ways to leverage that “exposure”. BUT, it is not a pre-requisite to making a cushy income in your business. In fact, while others are busy “getting their name out there”, you can be busy getting clients INTO your business. The former often costs a lot of time and money. The latter MAKES money. Which are you most interested in doing?
**What should an effective AD include?(If you have already BOUGHT ad space, and need some real detailed, pointers, email me at michelle@womenwhowow.com and ask for my “Making Advertising WORK” report.)
1. It should GRAB ATTENTION. (TIP: Don’t make your headline your business name. Instead, use something that “grabs” your target market.)
2. It should be written to answer the following question in your potential client’s mind: WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
3. It should inspire curiosity….. maybe even be a BIT outrageous.
4. MOST IMPORTANTLY:It should ASK THE READER TO DO SOMETHING.It should INVITE them to TAKE SOME ACTION… call for a free report, or visit for a complimentary service, or SOMETHING.
5. You should include a sense of URGENCY.
6. When possible, it should ask them to do something that allows you to collect their contact information…. so you can continue to converse with them.
Remember: Your AD’s job – with the exception of some direct response marketing – isn’t to make the SALE…. it is to START the conversation. And profitable businesses in ANY economy are built ONE conversation at a time.
Small Business Advertising
Marketing on a Shoestring
Advertising: The Nuts And Bolts Of Making It Work: Step Three: Make sure your advertising is specific, has substance and is credible
Advertising, Marketing and PR: What's the Difference?
Does It Pay To Advertise In The Yellow Pages?
Is Online Advertising Cost Effective?
Advertising And PR Guidelines In All Forms Of Media
Advertising - is it for you?
Where to Advertise Your Small Business Online…Without Paying a Penny!
Pay Per Click Advertising
Marketing Your Business on a Budget
Why Use an Advertising Agency
Internet Home Business Tips - Using Paid Or Free Advertising?
Newspapers Are For Burning.
Advertising: The Nuts And Bolts Of Making It Work: Step Two: Make you Advert focus on your customer and on the benefits of your product/ service not its features.
Local Small Business Advertising Ideas: Where To Get Them
What Is The Point Of Advertising?
Tips for a Successful Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaign
How to write ads that sell
Business Promotion on Facebook
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About the Author: Michelle Pippin RSS for Michelle's articles - Visit Michelle's website Click here to visit Michelle's website   Two Minute Truth Are you MOTIVATED to succeed Slow Down to Make MORE Money Two Minute Truth HOW to AVOID DEATH in a TOUGH ECONOMY The SIMPLICITY of Business Success Success in a BoxOR Stuck in a Box The POWER of a Coach for Business Success |
Related Forum Posts
Top 19 Copywriting books
- 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley.
2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner.
3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill.
4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall.
5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall.
6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin.
7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall.
8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books.
9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall.
10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association.
11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books.
12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books.
13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books.
14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books.
15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books.
16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books.
17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall.
18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop.
19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley.
This should keep you busy for at least a year.
Enjoy!
My entry
- 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read
- this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody.
2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto.
3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book
Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
These maybe the coldest franchises out there:
- Here are the worst 15 performing franchises in regards to having the highest Small Business Administration (SBA) loan failure rates. The list is dotted with sub sandwich shops, fitness centers and car shops.
WORST FRANCHISE LOAN FAILURES Failure %
1 OBEE'S SOUP SALAD SUBS 55.56%
2 LADY OF AMERICA 41.94%
3 COUNTRY CLUTTER (BED & BREAKFAST) 41.18%
4 COPY CLUB 36.36%
5 ALL TUNE AND LUBE 35.71%
6 PICKERMAN'S 35.71%
7 PHILLY CONNECTION 35.59%
8 ROLY POLY ROLLED SANDWICHES 34.78%
9 COTTMAN TRANSMISSION 34.48%
10 HAIR COLOR EXPRESS 33.33%
11 LEE MYLES AUTOMOTIVE TRANSMISSIONS 33.33%
12 GODFATHER'S PIZZA 33.33%
13 SMOOTHIE FACTORY 33.33%
14 BLIMPIE 31.39%
15 GOLF U.S.A. (RETAIL GOLF EQUIP.) 30.77%
Source: Small Business Administration, SBA Loan Performance Within Franchise Code for the Period of FY 2001 - 2005
Exclusive: Interview with Results
- Hi Forum Members,
I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles).
As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business.
This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business.
I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months.
At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews.
I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum.
If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM.
Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.
Re: Biz Plan Competition
- i just wanted to say that posting Small Business Events on CanadaOne is a great resource. Thanks Julie!
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