How To Write Ads That Get Response

Your print ads should do more than just get noticed. Their job is to bring you business, and if all they do is lay around and attract attention, they're no different from the lazy employee who does nothing all day but look busy.

You wouldn't give him more hours in the hopes that one day something productive will happen. And you shouldn't keep running those "name recognition" ads in the hopes that one day sales will happen, either. You should fire those non-responsive ads and get some that pull their own weight. Here's how:

1. Grab prospects with your headline. The single most important part of your ad is the headline. If yours is the name of your business, you are wasting your time and money by running it. Make it shout about the biggest benefit if buying your product or service, and you could increase response by as much as 300%.

2. Don't talk about yourself. Talk about the benefits your prospect will enjoy by using your product or service. Focus entirely on your customer, not yourself, your history, your anything. It's all about what's in it for them.

3. Include a photo. Don't make the photo the entire ad with only minimal copy, but do include one that supports what your ad says. Pictures in ads are like body language: they convey your tone and intention, and if done right add to your credibility. But they do not persuade by themselves. Only words can do that.

4. Ask for response. People won't call if you don't ask them to. Tell your prospect what it is you want her to do. Call for a free quote. Visit our web site. Come in today and stock up. Send in this coupon. You get the point.

Changing your ads from "name recognition" to "direct response" can not only increase your business, they can lower your advertising bill. Because they don't have to be run over and over and over to be effective.

So "fire" your old ads today, and "hire" new ones that really produce!

Does your marketing forge an emotional connection with your prospects? It can. Lisa Packer delivers persuasive, targeted Unleash the power of words on behalf of your business by visiting today.

In The News:


CBC.ca

GM says Super Bowl ads too expensive and bows out
Philadelphia Inquirer
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GM Says It Won't Advertise During Next Super Bowl GameBloomberg
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Christian Science Monitor

Advertisers and Facebook face an uphill battle. But it could be worth it.
Christian Science Monitor
General Motors' decision to invest significantly less advertising dollars in Facebook inspired some to suggest that the world's most popular social network needs to grow up. By Megan Riesz / May 18, 2012 Facebook increased the size of its initial ...
Is Advertising on Facebook Worth the Expense?TIME
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Dragas Mortgage Company Selects JASE Group LLC as Advertising Agency of Record
PR.com (press release)
JASE Group LLC (jasegroup.com) will serve as the Inbound Marketing & Creative Advertising agency of record for Dragas Mortgage Company (dragasmortgage.com) of Virginia Beach, VA. Virginia Beach, VA, May 20, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Dragas Mortgage Company ...

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USA TODAY

GM Says Facebook Ads Don't Pay Off
Wall Street Journal
By SHARON TERLEP, SUZANNE VRANICA and SHAYNDI RAICE General Motors plans to stop advertising on Facebook after the company's marketing executives determined their paid ads had little impact on consumers. Sharon Terlep has details on The News Hub.
Do Facebook ads work? IPO, GM spotlight issueUSA TODAY
Facebook's biggest problem is that it's a media companyWashington Post
Facebook sparks divide: GM, Ford advertising strategies divergeDetroit Free Press
Chicago Tribune -San Francisco Chronicle -Forbes
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Oakfield marketing students dive into advertising
Fond du Lac Reporter
Marketing students at Oakfield High School delved into the world of "Mad Men" recently by creating an advertising campaign for a local business. Fondy Sports Park teamed up with the high school's marketing department to give students a realistic ...


CIO Today

Does Advertising on Facebook Pay?
CIO Today
By Peter Svensson And Tom Krisher GM's advertising spending is a tiny fraction of Facebook's total 2011 advertising revenue of $3.15 billion. But the automaker's decision to cease advertising on the social network could be symptomatic of Facebook's ...
Facebook Advertising Shows 'A Lot Of Potential But It's Not A Slam-Dunk'Huffington Post
Advertisers weigh in on the value of Facebook adsExaminer.com
Ahead of IPO, GM to Quit Advertising on FacebookNew York Times
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Presidential TV advertising onslaught begins, but is Pennsylvania really a ...
The Republic
The advertising onslaught of the fall presidential election has begun in Pennsylvania and a handful of other states that may be up for grabs between President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. Republicans and Democrats both ...

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TV networks woo advertisers as threats to viewership intensify
Los Angeles Times
(Evan Agostini, Associated Press / May 16, 2012) By Joe Flint, Los Angeles Times NEW YORK — Every May the broadcast networks take over midtown Manhattan to promote their new shows and ply advertisers with shrimp and champagne. It's a business expense.

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TechCrunch

Silicon Valley Can Do Better Than Facebook
TechCrunch
Facebook sells advertising—it may be the most effective advertising platform since Google, or not—but that's not the best use of the brightest minds of our generation. Advertising doesn't improve our balance of trade. It doesn't lift people out of ...

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AIADMK spent crores of public wealth on their advertising: Karunanidhi
Daily News & Analysis
Place: Chennai | Agency: PTI DMK President M Karunanidhi on Sunday flayed the Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu for its advertising campaign listing its "achievements" on completing one year in office, saying it had spent a "huge amount" of ...

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