Mini-Persuaders: Six Steps To Successful Classified Ads

By Angela Booth

Are you running classified ads regularly? You should. They're a powerful way to promote your business inexpensively.

Online, you can place ads in ezines and on Web sites, and offline, run them in your local paper and in trade magazines.

If you've tried a classified or two to promote your business and were disappointed with the results, remember that a one-shot deal won't work.

You need to run your ads repeatedly. For months, not weeks. Run one classified a week in a newspaper, or one a month in magazine read by your target audience ---for at least four months.

The humble classified ad is the magic bullet of advertising. And like a bullet, it needs to be precisely aimed.

=> Step One: Pick your bait

Somehow you've got to pack the copywriter's AIDA formula of an successful ad: Attract, Interest, Desire, and Action, into 30 words.

You attract interest, arouse desire and get the reader to take action, with an appealing bait.

Start by listing everything you can think of to say about your product or service. Don't limit yourself. Don't just cover all the features you usually cover. Write down *everything* you can think of. You should have a long list.

Let's say you're selling a German Shepherd puppy. You can include: color, age, sex, the pedigree, temperament, conformation, and vaccination history. Don't confine yourself to only these points however.

Add that he'll sit and drop on command, walks on a lead, loves the cat, and is greedy. The more attributes you list about your puppy, the more likely it is that you'll hit on a unique combination of words which will make your ad stand out.

In your 30-word ad, you can't cover everything, so you'll tailor your ad to your ideal buyer, by mentioning only those things which will appeal to that ideal buyer.

This pre-screens your buyers for you. It doesn't matter what you're advertising either, whether it's a car, a lawn mowing service, a job, or a business.

When you've listed everything, pick four or five things you think would appeal to your ideal buyer.

=> Step Two: Write the headline

Your classified ad won't really have a headline, but the first line functions as a headline. It should stop the reader cold, and it must be part of your sales message.

Remember that in newspapers, classifieds run in categories with headed columns, so don't repeat words like "For Sale".

=> Step Three: Write the body copy

You can't be too creative in a basic classified. Give the facts. You can add descriptive words like "charming", "classic", and "elegant" to spice up the copy. Use punctuation rather than linking words like "and".

Get enthusiastic about what you're selling. This enthusiasm will come across in the ad. Imagine yourself the buyer: using the item, applying for the job, or buying from the business.

This enthusiasm is vital when you're selling. If for some reason you're having a bad morning, put the ad away for a few hours until you can achieve genuine enthusiasm

If you're writing an ad for someone else, and you don't feel excited, it's usually because you don't know enough about what you're selling. Do a little more research.

=> Step Four: Get the response

Don't forget to add the phone number, the address if required, or the online URL.

The response is usually placed last in a classified. However, you can make your ad stand out by giving the phone number or the URL, and then making one final selling point: "Three only", "free quotes", or "results guaranteed".

=> Step Five: Write several versions

Write at least four versions of the ad. Then go and do something else. When you come back, you'll have more perspective so you can pick the best one.

Here's a successful technique: if you have so many selling points that the ad runs long, split it and run two ads.

=> Step Six: Test your ad

Testing is a must for a business ad. Often changing the first line, or rearranging your selling points will double or triple the pulling power of an ad.

How do you test? The basic process is to run the ad, and record the response. Ask the people who responded what drew their attention to the ad.

Keep changing the ad slightly, and recording the response each time you run it. The ad you settle on for longterm use is the ad which pulled the most responses.

Author of many books, including Making the Internet Work for Your Business, copywriter and journalist Angela Booth also writes copy for businesses large and small, and consults on search engine marketing. Angela has written copy for companies in many industries, ranging from technology and real estate to the jewellery trade. Her clients include major corporations like hp (Hewlett Packard), WestPac Bank, and Acer Computer. For copywriting services and marketing advice contact Angela at angelabooth.com

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>> Sell items and promote your business free at Yipeyay.Com!

The Secrets Of Free Classified Advertising - Tracking

By Tim Fulcher

Introduction

One of the best ways to build your home business is by advertising on free classified sites

The great thing of course is that the advertising is free, and so any results you get are "value" because you have not had to pay for it

Tracking Is Essential

However free classified advertising can be a mine-field to the unwary

Remember: there is no shortage of websites on the internet that are quite happy for you to "buy" their advertising product, even though they know themselves that their advertising product is pretty close to worthless!

Therefore make this your golden rule:
>>= Always Track Your Advertising =<<

What Is Tracking?

If you are unsure what tracking really means, this introduction will help When you are advertising on the internet, you really need to find out who is clicking your ads, where they saw your ad, did it convert into a sale, and what was their referring URL

To "track" your advertising its usual to have a redirect URL of some some kind, which records the data that we are interested in e.g. was there a click and if so on which site did the click come from, what was the operating system of the user that clicked and what was the referring URL etc. You can often set up the same redirect URL for the same target URL you are advertising, but use a different code at the end of the re-direct URL to signify the site you are advertising on e.g. my redirect could be www.somedomain.com/cgi-bin/track.php?r=1000 - here the "r=1000" is the code for the particular classified site I am using

Lets go through the elements of tracking in a bit more detail

1) Who is clicking on your ad?
We don't want to know exactly who! but we do want to know if anyone clicked on our ad. Its just too easy for someone to let us advertise on their website, with the assumption that our ad will be clicked, when all the time they know that its very unlikely that any of the ads will be clicked by anyone
If you are going to make any assumption about your advertising, then always assume that no one clicked on your ad unless you have evidence to prove otherwise

2) Where was the ad that was clicked?
Its all very well knowing that my ad was clicked - but I need to know which ad and on which site. If I post 3 different classified ad on 10 different sites, then its no good knowing just that "one" of them was clicked. I need to know which one and on which site

Proper tracking will give me this information. Usually I just log into the admin or members area of the tracking service I am using, and there will be a listing of all the redirect URL's I have used and the clicks that are recorded for each one

Now of course you have to get organized so that you know which tracking code you are going to use for each site and for each ad. There is nothing worse than not keeping a record and then not knowing which site gave you the click when you find out that the "r=4571" has recorded a click!

So it is essential to keep good records of what you are doing for the ads you are posting. After a while of course you will find out which sites are giving you clicks, and therefore you can rely on these sites since you have tested them and they are obviously working

3) What Was The Referring URL

The referring URL is simply the webpage the person visited, immediately before the page where they saw your ad. With a Classified Ad site this will probably be a directory or category index page

This aspect of tracking has become very important more recently as the search engines regularly spider good free classified sites. This is because from the Search Engines point of view, when lots of new ads are posted every day, this equals new fresh content. Search Engines will always give a site a higher ranking that is adding new fresh original content regularly.

However this produces a major downside for anyone posting ads to classified sites - because not only will the search engine spiders visit the sites - they will also click the links!

This will mean our tracking software will record "apparent" clicks - but they are not clicks at all, since it was a script from the search engines that clicked on our ads and not a real person reading our ads

Once again this underlines why advertising online can be a minefield for the unwary. To spot these "phantom clicks" you need to look carefully on the referring URL

Search Engine spiders generally use some kind of "bot" which will be included in the information about the operating system of the user. If you see "bot" anywhere in the information from your tracking system, then this means the person that clicked was a search engine and not a real person. Google use something called "googlebot" for example, while Yahoo currently use "slurp". These kind of clicks should not be regarded as real clicks by anyone. I know of quite a number of classified ads sites which get clicks from search engine bots but not from real people!!

4) Did The Click Convert To A Sale Or Lead

This is much more difficult to track, and certainly most tracking software will not provide this information. Extra code is required to be placed into your website in order to provide this information - PHP is the easiest vehicle for this information, though it can also be done via CGI. However a discussion of these modifications to your website is several articles all by itself. Suffice it to say for now, that this kind of tracking information can be provided relatively easily. Some pay per click organisations also provide code which can tell you when ads resulted in a sale e.g. Google Adwords

Conclusion

Free Classified Advertising really can work, but you do need to track your "clicks" to make sure you only concentrate on those sites which actually give you real people clicking on your adverts

Tim Fulcher is an independent writer and webmaster and maintains a number of websites including:
http://www.ebiz4every1.com
http://www.traffic-exchange-monitoring.com
http://www.profitchargerhits.com

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>> Where else can I post free classified ads?
Post free classifieds at Yipeyay.com!

Top 10 Proven Classified Ad Selling Tips To Guarantee A Successful Sale

By Janet Doherty

It’s Spring Cleaning Time! The weather is getting warmer and it is time to dig through those closets, garages and storage areas and turn your unused items into cash! Traditionally, this is the busiest time of the year for classified advertising. Motor vehicles and recreational vehicles are especially big sellers during the warm weather. If you are considering selling, now is the time. Hundreds of potential buyers are out there reading the Sunday morning newspaper every week, so take advantage of the opportunity to sell your items. Below you will find some great tips to help you get the ball rolling.

1.PREPARE: Determine the items around your home that you no longer need. Once you have collected these items, confirm that they are in working order and in good selling condition. If items have been in storage for a long period of time, you may need to clean them up to make them more attractive to potential buyers.

2.RESEARCH: After all items are collected, do your research. Determine the value of your items and decide whether it would be worth you time and effort to place a classified ad. Some things will do well on their own while others may do better in a garage sale setting. If certain items do not have enough value to justify placing an advertisement and you are not interested in hosting a garage sale, donate these items to a local charity for a nice tax deduction.

3.WHERE TO ADVERTISE: Once you have the items sorted out, you need to decide the best method of advertising. Most items will do best advertised in your daily newspaper since you will be able to reach a local audience. Online classifieds generally do not receive as many local buyers, but most are free so you may want to place an ad there as well just to cover all the bases. If you are selling a larger item such as a car, motorcycle, motor home, etc., you will also want to place prominent for sale signs on the items themselves. You can also utilize bulletin boards in your local community to post a free advertisement.

4.DRAFTING YOUR AD: What are the most attractive selling features of your items for sale? Decide which of these features you want to highlight in your advertisement. Look for classified ads for similar items to get an idea of how they are written. Check out the competition to see how your item is better or different than the items that will be running along side your ad.

5.WRITING YOUR AD: Create a catchy title to get your reader’s attention. This will spark an interest in your classified ad. Always include the brand name when applicable. Price should only be included in the title if it is an obvious selling point. Next, you need to write the body text of your ad and entice buyers even further with the details. Make your description clear and factual. Provide specific details in what it is that makes your item stand out from the others. Be honest in your representation and do not make your item appear better than it actually is. Always include the price in your ad. Take some time to view other classified ads for similar items in your newspaper. This will help you determine a fair asking price for your item. Keep in mind, just because you paid $1,500 for your dining room set, does not mean you will receive that much for it on resale. Be realistic in your expectations. Furthermore, if you will only be available during certain times of the day to discuss your item, make a note of this in your advertisement so buyers know the best time to reach you. If possible, include your email address.

6.INCLUDING PHOTOS: A picture is worth a thousand words. Some local newspapers provide you with the option to include photos with your classified ad. Be sure to include the photos! When buyers have the opportunity to see an article for sale they have a higher degree of interest and are more likely to buy when they follow up by telephone or email to ask questions or to get more information. If your newspaper does not offer photos or the photo option is too expensive, you can use an online classified photo hosting service. Visit http://www.seethisitem.com for information on how to include free digital photos with your newspaper classified ad.

7.COMMUNICATING WITH BUYERS: Do your best to be available when customers call for information regarding your item. Be polite and helpful and answer all questions to the best of your knowledge.

8.SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS: If you receive numerous calls for your item, be sure to space out the appointments so that you will have enough time to spend with each buyer and your appointments will not overlap. Safety tip: Whenever possible, have someone home with you when a buyer is coming over to look at your item. You really can never be too careful when dealing with people you have never met before.

9.NEGOTIATION: Decide before you negotiate, the lowest amount you will be willing to accept for your item. This will assure a smoother negotiation process.

10.PAYMENT: Never accept a check for your item. You should only accept cash or money orders. If a buyer decides they want the item, but they do not have cash on them, always take a deposit to hold the item until they are able to come back. Be sure to set a deadline for them to return with the balance due. Even though you have a deposit, do not stop showing your item since the deal is not final until you have the cash in your hand. If someone else is also interested, tell them you just received an offer, but you will be happy to take down their name and number in case the deal falls through. This will give you more options should the original buyer back out of the sale.

That’s it! Keep these selling tips in mind and you will be on the road to a successful sale. Take your time, be thorough and most of all have fun! If you follow the steps outlined above, you will be turning your unused items into cash in no time.

Have a Classified Ad Selling Tip or Story of your own to Share? Submit it to us and be eligible to win our contest. Your submission may also be published on our website! Visit us at http://www.seethisitem.com for details. All entries must be received by 7/31/06.

================

>> Yipeyay.Com is a free classified ad site where you can sell new or used items free!

Top 10 Proven Classified Ad Selling Tips To Guarantee A Successful Sale

By Janet Doherty

It’s Spring Cleaning Time! The weather is getting warmer and it is time to dig through those closets, garages and storage areas and turn your unused items into cash! Traditionally, this is the busiest time of the year for classified advertising. Motor vehicles and recreational vehicles are especially big sellers during the warm weather. If you are considering selling, now is the time. Hundreds of potential buyers are out there reading the Sunday morning newspaper every week, so take advantage of the opportunity to sell your items. Below you will find some great tips to help you get the ball rolling.

1.PREPARE: Determine the items around your home that you no longer need. Once you have collected these items, confirm that they are in working order and in good selling condition. If items have been in storage for a long period of time, you may need to clean them up to make them more attractive to potential buyers.

2.RESEARCH: After all items are collected, do your research. Determine the value of your items and decide whether it would be worth you time and effort to place a classified ad. Some things will do well on their own while others may do better in a garage sale setting. If certain items do not have enough value to justify placing an advertisement and you are not interested in hosting a garage sale, donate these items to a local charity for a nice tax deduction.

3.WHERE TO ADVERTISE: Once you have the items sorted out, you need to decide the best method of advertising. Most items will do best advertised in your daily newspaper since you will be able to reach a local audience. Online classifieds generally do not receive as many local buyers, but most are free so you may want to place an ad there as well just to cover all the bases. If you are selling a larger item such as a car, motorcycle, motor home, etc., you will also want to place prominent for sale signs on the items themselves. You can also utilize bulletin boards in your local community to post a free advertisement.

4.DRAFTING YOUR AD: What are the most attractive selling features of your items for sale? Decide which of these features you want to highlight in your advertisement. Look for classified ads for similar items to get an idea of how they are written. Check out the competition to see how your item is better or different than the items that will be running along side your ad.

5.WRITING YOUR AD: Create a catchy title to get your reader’s attention. This will spark an interest in your classified ad. Always include the brand name when applicable. Price should only be included in the title if it is an obvious selling point. Next, you need to write the body text of your ad and entice buyers even further with the details. Make your description clear and factual. Provide specific details in what it is that makes your item stand out from the others. Be honest in your representation and do not make your item appear better than it actually is. Always include the price in your ad. Take some time to view other classified ads for similar items in your newspaper. This will help you determine a fair asking price for your item. Keep in mind, just because you paid $1,500 for your dining room set, does not mean you will receive that much for it on resale. Be realistic in your expectations. Furthermore, if you will only be available during certain times of the day to discuss your item, make a note of this in your advertisement so buyers know the best time to reach you. If possible, include your email address.

6.INCLUDING PHOTOS: A picture is worth a thousand words. Some local newspapers provide you with the option to include photos with your classified ad. Be sure to include the photos! When buyers have the opportunity to see an article for sale they have a higher degree of interest and are more likely to buy when they follow up by telephone or email to ask questions or to get more information. If your newspaper does not offer photos or the photo option is too expensive, you can use an online classified photo hosting service. Visit http://www.seethisitem.com for information on how to include free digital photos with your newspaper classified ad.

7.COMMUNICATING WITH BUYERS: Do your best to be available when customers call for information regarding your item. Be polite and helpful and answer all questions to the best of your knowledge.

8.SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS: If you receive numerous calls for your item, be sure to space out the appointments so that you will have enough time to spend with each buyer and your appointments will not overlap. Safety tip: Whenever possible, have someone home with you when a buyer is coming over to look at your item. You really can never be too careful when dealing with people you have never met before.

9.NEGOTIATION: Decide before you negotiate, the lowest amount you will be willing to accept for your item. This will assure a smoother negotiation process.

10.PAYMENT: Never accept a check for your item. You should only accept cash or money orders. If a buyer decides they want the item, but they do not have cash on them, always take a deposit to hold the item until they are able to come back. Be sure to set a deadline for them to return with the balance due. Even though you have a deposit, do not stop showing your item since the deal is not final until you have the cash in your hand. If someone else is also interested, tell them you just received an offer, but you will be happy to take down their name and number in case the deal falls through. This will give you more options should the original buyer back out of the sale.

That’s it! Keep these selling tips in mind and you will be on the road to a successful sale. Take your time, be thorough and most of all have fun! If you follow the steps outlined above, you will be turning your unused items into cash in no time.

Have a Classified Ad Selling Tip or Story of your own to Share? Submit it to us and be eligible to win our contest. Your submission may also be published on our website! Visit us at http://www.seethisitem.com for details. All entries must be received by 7/31/06.

================

>> Yipeyay.Com is a free classified ad site where you can sell new or used items free!

The Benefits of Classified Ads Web Sites

By Groshan Fabiola

The modern world is in a continuous movement and people everywhere are looking for quick, safe means of accessing accurate information. Prompt information is vital for people who want to keep the pace with a constantly evolving society, and many people are turning to the Internet for help in their quest for knowledge.

The Internet is not only the best means to quickly access information; it also has the merit of bringing people all over the world together, allowing them to interact in a safe, exciting environment. Classified ads web sites promote effective means of expressing ideas and exchanging information, by offering subscribes the opportunity to post their ads on a web page, or to access the ads posted by others. Classified ads web sites provide accurate information, well-structured in various categories: job classifieds, homes classifieds, events classifieds and many more! Classified ads are easy to access and they provide all kinds of important information.

Good, reliable classified ads web sites usually charge no fee for posting or viewing classified ads. All you have to do is subscribe and you will be able to interact with people locally, and why not, from other areas of the world!

Job classifieds are a great means of finding the job you are looking for. Finding the most suitable job for you with the help of a reliable classified ads web site can be very rewarding! Also, by posting a job classified ad yourself, you will quickly receive feed-back from people who are interested in your offered services. Many people can find their lifetime careers through the means of job classifieds, while employers are able to find well-trained collaborators or employees for their business.

Homes classifieds offer complete information regarding real estates. Whether you are buying, renting or selling a house, homes classifieds are perfect for you! If you are interested in buying a house, classified ads web sites offer you the opportunity to choose among hundreds, maybe thousands of postings! If you wish to sell a house, professional classified ads web sites can provide good exposure to your announcement.

Whether you wish to find new events in your local area or you wish to inform other people about the latest events, classified ads web sites are the best means to do it! Events classifieds offer people valuable information about concerts, art exhibitions, book previews, movie openings, parties and many more!

Classified ads web sites are a valuable source of information and they also enable people to interact and achieve their goals. Find a reliable, professional classified ads web site and you will definitely find what you are looking for!

We are trying to provide you full information about this subject, so if you want to find the Italian version of Trova lavoro su Bakeca, Cerca casa su Bakeca or Eventi e feste su Bakeca please click these links.

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>> For free classified ads, see Yipeyay.com.

How To Capture Leads with Classified Ad

By Heri Rosyadi

There are many free online/offline classified ad out there. Some people thinks that it doesnt really work to get the prospect with that service. The fact is that many new marketers using it, posting their offer over and over again. Why? because its easy and FREE.

I'll show you the right way to advertise with it. You must use a two step ad. this is the working example:

Ordinary people are making EXTRAORDINARY money WORKING FROM HOME on the Internet! Get FREE info by email. Send your request to: pathtosucessonline@getresponse.com

You can see that the Ad is short eye catching, but the reason why it calls a two steps Ad is because it does'nt lead your prospect directly to your promoted website. It works two steps:

Step 1 asking the prospect to send email to the autoresponder address.

Step 2 the autoresponder capture the email and then send an offering email with your website link in it. You can send blank email to the above address to see how it work from inside.

Most of the time this is the most effective way with Classified Ad, where you can only put a very short Ad in it. So the job of your ad only to grab the attention and drive them to send an email for complete information, make them curious about your product!

In order to execute this type of promotion you need to have your own autoresponder, there are some free autoresponders out there. The autoresponder will capture the email and send the offering email automatically so your job only placing your ad to many free classified ads out there. You need to set up the offering letter first in your autoresponder before placing the ad.

I have used this strategy with local yellowpages and I put my ad only once a week and I got new leads/subscribers everyday with the little effort I've done.

Happy List Building!

Heri Rosyadi publishes Home Business Tips, a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you`re looking for the *best rated* home business opportunities, the latest time saving tools and helpful support from an honest friend in the business, come by and grab a F-R-E-E subscription today at: http://www.pathtosuccessonline.biz

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>> Where can I post free classified ads?
Post free classified ads on Yipeyay!

Creating Successful Classified Ads

By M. Jones

Free Classified ads are a useful tool for a number of different occupations. You may be offering/looking for a job or advertising and work from home opportunity. Free classified ads were one of my first ports of call when trying to get referrals for affiliate programmes. They are quick and easy to set up, they are free and most importantly of all they give RESULTS.

There are a zillion different free classified ad sites out there. To find them just type in Google 'Free classified ads' and there will be about 15 million results. My advice would be stick to the first page or so for the simple reason that those are the sites, that get the most traffic and so you ad will be seen the most with then. This does not mean you shouldn't post you ad on sites further down the search results but they will be less effective.

Don't forget to submit to the sponsored links at the top of the search results as well.

Free classified ads will not bring you immediate success, but they are a good place to start. I have never posted a blog ad on them but I post my affiliate links (only on the free classified ad sites where that is allowed).

Free classified ads are usually displayed in a similar way to a forum. They consist of a title, which is what the reader sees (rather like a topic title on a forum) and then the main body of the add (similar to the starting post in a forum, only the reader cannot always reply, unless you give your email address). I would recommend you write the body of your add in a text editor like Microsoft Word and then copy/paste it into the section; although keep it flexible because different free classified ad sites allow you different word limits.

You may want to advertise a few different affiliate links, in which case write your post/ad body for all of them first and post them all on the same site at once, rather than going through all the sites posting one ad and then doing it all again for another. This is because some of the sites you find, despite specifying 'free' in the search, will not be free, or you will not be allowed to submit your affiliate link; you will find yourself trying to post on a site where you already tried and failed with an earlier ad.

Hi, I am studying my A levels at Cambridge,England. I hope (and will!) read archeology and anthropology at University (or 'college'). I have a blog filled with expert advice about making money online. Come visit it at http://matt608.blogspot.com

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>> Where to post free classified ads?
Post free classified ads at Yipeyay!

How to Write Classified Ads that Get Results Now

By DeAnna Spencer

SELLING DIRECTLY FROM A CLASSIFIED AD

Classified ads can be used to sell products directly from the ad.
This works best for items costing no more than
approximately $5. The best use for classified ads is to utilize
them in obtaining inquiries. This is called the two step
approach. The first step is to get maximum inquiries from the
classified ad, in the second step the promotional package is sent
to the prospect and as many inquiries as possible are converted
to buyers.

CLASSIFIED ADS FOR MAXIMUM INQUIRIES

Classified ads are substantially less expensive than small space
ads, but by no means are they cheap. Most national publications
catering to the mail order business charge from $3 to $8 per
word. A well laid out ad should consist of about 20 words which
includes the company name and address. It is important that you
remind yourself that only the purpose is to get the prospect to
take immediate action and write for more information.

Before you write the ad know exactly what it is you want to sell.
You must know very specifically what you are going to accomplish
through this ad. Once you have determined what you want to get
across to the reader, write it out in one or more complete
sentences. For example, you have the reproduction rights for
several reports and want to market them. So the objective is: "I
want to get the maximum number of responses to inquire about my
self-publishing material which has excellent income potential and
is easy to market, especially for a newcomer to the business."

This ad may read as follows:

TREMENDOUS PROFITS THROUGH SELF-PUBLISHING! Start part-time. Easy
to do. Request free Special Report! XYZ Publishing/E, PO Box
1000, Frederick, MD 20908.

THE OPENING LINE

The first 3 or 4 words-- are critical. Since there are hundreds
of classified ads in any given publication you must be able to
get the reader who scans all, or some of them, to stop in his
tracks when he gets to your ad and read your ad and then take
action.

Open any publication and review the ads and you will see that
many of those ads have absolutely no purpose. They are a total
waste of money. But that is good for you since I am sure you will
make a real effort to get your message across. Here are a couple
of examples of useless ads:

Still Looking For A New Beginning? Write.......

What do they mean by that? How does any of that pertain tome and
what am I supposed to make of that? Here is another one:

The Easiest Business On Earth. Valuable information mailed
free.....

Do you think many people are going to write in for an ad like
that. Especially not since there are hundreds of other ads in
competition for the readers' time.

THE OBJECT IS TO GET THE READER TO TAKE ACTION - NOW!

In less that 25 words you have to create a message that will make
a reader stop; give him a reason - benefits to him - why this is
for him; tell him what to do - action; and provide the vital
information. It is as simple and as complicated as that. Simple
because you know what you want to accomplish, but complicated
because it has to be done with so few words. I think you can see
why it is virtually impossible to sell a $10 or $20 item from a
classified ad. You just would not have enough space to tell a
story compelling enough to convince someone to part with $10 or
$20.

SELF-CENTERED ADVERTISING COPY IS INEFFECTIVE

With some practice you should have no problem getting lots of
inquiries from your ads. Stay away from "Self-centered
advertising copy", copy that speaks about you. How great you or
your company are, or how great your product is.

The only thing the reader cares about is himself. What's in in
for Number One! Nothing else.

SOME COST SAVING TIPS

Almost all weekly and monthly publication will charge for each
word including your company name and address. Most daily
newspapers have a per line rate. Since just the address can take
up from 6-10 words here are some ways you can save money.

The following ad has 23 words.

TREMENDOUS PROFITS THROUGH SELF-PUBLISHING
Start part-time. Easy to do.
XYZ Publishing Co.
Dept 12 P.O. Box 1000 Frederick, MD 20908

This ad has 21 words.

TREMENDOUS PROFITS THROUGH SELF-PUBLISHING
Start part-time. Easy to do. Free details.
XYZ Publishing/E (The E becomes the code instead of Dept 12
PO Box 1000
Frederick, MD 20908

Or this one which has 18 words

SELF-PUBLISHING, TREMENDOUS PROFITS!
Start part-time. Easy! Free report.
XYZ Publishing/E
PO Box 1000
Frederick, MD 20908

Some publications charge 2 words for the zip code and state, some
only one. If you live in a city which consists of several words
such as Palm Beach Gardens you are only charged for 1 word.

Evaluate the cost effectiveness of your ad by the cost per
inquiry and not the cost of the ad. Example a $150 ad generates
170 inquiries $0.88 per word versus a $28 ad which generates 15
inquiries at a cost of $1.87 each.

WHEN THE INQUIRIES START ARRIVING

If you have written and placed an effective ad and the inquiries
start rolling in, the most important job, or actually several
jobs have to be done. They are as follows:

1. Your sales/promotional package must be ready before the first
inquiry arrives and it must be answered promptly, preferably the
same day but certainly within 48 hours. The longer you wait the
more chances are that a competitor will win out over you.
Although some people will wait for weeks before they make a
decision, many will act within days.

2. The ad you are placing is just the beginning. The names which
are generated from the ad must be used again and again in order
for your total advertising effort to be effective in the long
term.

3. A percentage of your inquiries from this first ad will become
buyers. You need to send these buyers additional offers within
several weeks after their first purchase and thereafter mail at
least 3 times per year to them. You drop them from your list if
they have not bought anything for about 8 - 12 months.

4. The inquiries that did not buy buy this time may still buy at
a later time. You can send them the same material again, or a
similar offer. It is advisable to send 2-3 more mailing to them.

Many mail order companies may only make a small profit or just
break even when the actual sales results are measured against a
single ad. But over the life of the customers which are converted
from those inquiries and the subsequent purchases from the
inquiries who were not converted from the initial ad many
hundreds or thousands of additional dollars will be generated.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer

This article may be reproduced freely on the Internet as long as the resource box remains intact.

DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.

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>> Where to post classified ads for free?
Post free classified ads at Yipeyay!

Free/Cheap Advertising Sites

By Linda R

Are you interested in advertising as a small business, affiliate or for personal items? Are you also looking for free and/or reasonable advertising rates? If the answer is yes, I have compiled a list of Advertising sites to help you place your ads.

New affiliates or associates have a difficult time getting started. They often pay money to learn the “Secrets” of making money on line but, frequently do not get enough support. Don’t get me wrong, there are many classy, well supported “Secrets” programs but the truth is, you don’t have to pay a dime to become an affiliate marketer. A bit of research and all the marketing strategies can be found for free. Where do we advertise? I was pointed toward using Google Adwords.

Many of you are aware of Google Adwords. It is highly recommended for advertising but can be costly and ineffective if working with a low budget. With Google, you set your monthly budget, select keywords to target and are charged on a cost per click basis. The minimum budget allowed is $30/month or $1.00 per day. For the newcomer on a small budget, you will most likely find yourself clicked out of budget early, depending on the minimum bid for each of your keywords. One of my ad campaigns was budgeted for $1.00 per day but had minimum keyword bids of $5.00 and $10.00. My keywords were inactive. I tried all variations of Google recommended keywords but could not get a minimum bid of less than $5.00. To activate my keywords for this campaign, without increasing my budget, I ran my ads for a few hours per day. One click at $5.00 I found myself done for the day. I did get one sale from Google but not enough to cover my expenses. I highly recommend reviewing and joining the Google help forum’s before getting started. Ask questions, set a budget and stick to it.

Below I am listing for you free and/or cheap advertising sites.

1) Adpost - will run your free ad for 30 days with free renewal for 90 days. After 90 days you may opt for a paid ad.

2) Adlandpro - is one of the best for free ads, and offers an affiliate program to help you promote your business. The also offer free websites.

3) Amazon – You pay nothing until you sell you item.

4) CMathers - offers 7 days of free advertising with 4 free renewals. Better yet, 6 months for $5.00 or $12.95 for 1 year.

5) EBay – charges fees to list you item on their site. They do not allow linking to your home page or web page.

6) Ezine - offers free and paid ads reaching millions of subscribers. You will find the free ads under recommended links.

7) Google – You must set a minimum budget of $1.00/day. This is keyword based and you pay per click based on the minimum bid set for selected keywords.

8) InetGiant - offers a free service for starters. Once on your way you may want to explode your ads at minimal costs.

9) USFreeads – Offers two free ads. Affiliates, however, are required to pay $10.00 for a one year membership which allows 25 ads per month. Premium memberships are available with many more options.

10) Yahoo offers free advertising with duration of 7 days. Just click on “Post a Free Ad”. Don’t forget to renew the ad after 7 days. You can also opt to pay for more premium services.

11) ZipZapads allows free listings with duration of 30 days. Premium packages are also available.

Please read all rules and restrictions when placing your ads.

Please visit http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/rick9147/ for more information regarding advertising sites. I will strive to add additional advertising sites as I find them.

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>> Where do I advertise my business for free?
Advertise your business free on Yipeyay.com: Australia | USA |UK & Ireland.