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Written by: Robin Elliott

Article Overview: The fact is a lot of advertising simply won’t work for your business. The good news is that there is an alternative.

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As a business owner, you’re probably inundated with advertising offers and salespeople who want your money to advertise on billboards , radio and television, in newspapers and magazines. These salespeople promise massive exposure and hint at lucrative results and return on your investment. But you’re concerned about the risk. A lot of advertising simply won’t work for you. The good news is that there is an alternative.

The advertisers have space available and it costs them very little. That’s why they’re trying to sell it. Here’s what I did. (I always talk with the Decision Maker, not the salesperson, who only wants a commission). I was approached by a well-known national business magazine to advertise my marketing seminars.

Robin: “Tell me honestly: for me to advertise in your magazine, I will need to sign up at least 50 people per seminar, per city. Then I will make a profit and be able to pay for your adverts. I know you can’t guarantee anything, but, if you were me, would you go ahead with this advertising?”

Magazine: “Oh, yes, no question about it, Robin – I would write out a check right now.”

Robin: “What I’d like to do is to pay you DOUBLE for this advertisement. You’re being
honest with me, right?”

Magazine: “Of course, but why pay me double what I’m asking?”

Robin: “You place the adverts, people respond to you (so you have full control) and you send me the replies. When they pay and sign up for the seminars, I will pay you $X per sign-up. That way, if I reach the target which you have assured me is a very reasonable expectation, you get paid double. When can we start?”

You will have worked out the numbers and calculated how much you could comfortably afford to pay them per sale. They assured you that they would take the advertising investment risk if they were you, so it is logical that they should take the risk themselves. After all, they do mean what they say, don’t they?

This is called Contingency Advertising. Pay for results, not promises. Remove the risk – let the advertiser take the risk. Naturally, not every advertiser will do this, but it’s a numbers game. Ask enough advertisers and you’ll get a few takers. I have done this numerous times. When the ads didn’t work, I walked away with free exposure. When they did work, we all did well.

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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!
Re: Top Banner Help - Hi I think I freebie is a good idea say after 10 posts or 30 days. I know when I joined there was some FREE seo report which I think is a great incentive to new entrepreneurs. If its still available I think that would be work great as a banner? Also you could promote it on digg, use an attention grabbing headline ' FREE SEO Report' or 'Are you performing?' something like that? Instead of the same banner on each page you could have a selection of banners rotating Another suggestion is start a 'entrepreneur directory' and after 10 quality posts - (moderators decision) you can submit yourself with a link to your website? Just a few thoughts.
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Good Adwords Books? - I've just purchased "Ultimate Guide to Pay-Per-Click Advertising" by Richard Stokes. Has anyone read it, and if so what do you think? Does anyone have any other recommendations for books relating to Adwords? Thanks,


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