|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Everything happens Quickly and Instantly on the Internet. In the blink of an eye your easily transported around a whole planet. It's a smorgasbord !! The web site you just visited could be in Singapore, the e-mail your reading now could have come from Alaska. The Internet is just one big Soup Bowl of Information just waiting for you to come and gobble it up.
We live in a world of "Everything Quick". Quick Food, Quick Money, Quick credit, Quick Advertising, Quicker Cars and the faster we get Quicker, the better!!
Not only is it possible, but it's not that complicated to achieve. Most experts agree that advertising in ezines is THE quickest way to effectively generate more traffic to your website and increase your sales.
Ezine Classified Advertising is incredibly popular which means most ezines are being filled with classified ads. Some people use their lunch time to glance over their e-mails while chowing down. The average ezine reader sees hundreds of headlines and classifieds every day, taking a quick peek to if it might be worthwhile. So, How does your Classified Ad Look ?!
The 3 things
Every ad needs 3 basic things. A HEADLINE that stands out, Quick and easy to understand CONTENT, and an ADDRESS on how to get there.
Your HEADLINE should say everything in 5-7 words or less. It should for all intensive purposes "make the sale" Some ads look fantastic using all capital letters and then switching to lowercase for the content, but on the flip side, remember it can end up looking tacky as well.
Your CONTENT should always be very specific. It has to or it becomes cyber-trash very quickly. A favorite Internet saying i've heard is to " KISS IT " or, in it's original form, * Keep It Simple Stupid !! * Big words can be overwhelmingly impressive but i have found that shorter words easily read and just work better. ..... (ironic eh)
Part 1 The Headline is your menu
How do you make eye grabbing HEADLINE? I'll bet you didn't know it's always been right in front of you the whole time, and your going to wonder why you never thought of it. Ready??..... Your email box.. It's a treasure trove of headlines just waiting to be found. Now, i'm not saying that you steal someone else's headlines. That wouldn't be nice at all, now would it!!
That doesn't mean you can't get idea's from them though. Here's a simple way to find a few "catchy headlines" (You need to do this fast OK. Really Fast!!) Every time you open your email box, Quickly scan the contents. Which one do you remember the most?
It doesn't really matter which one it was, just be honest with yourself. Begin a list of catchy phrases and write it down somewhere. If you have more than one email box use it too. (Build's your list quicker)
The next step is the Fun Part. Sit down and start butchering these Headlines!! Go for it!! Grab a word here, a phrase there, change a couple words around in a sentence. Replace words that would better identify your opportunity or service your promoting.
Soon you will have a nice selection of Headlines you created yourself. No one has a monopoly on words, so i'm certain the Internet cops won't bother you for this apparent "theft" of words.....ya think??
Part 2 The Content is your appetizer
Most classified ads usually contain around 25-50 words each. You only have so much space, and you have to say everything in a little teeny tiny spot. I can't emphazise how very important it is that the content "grabs" the readers attention. This is the meat of the ad.
Create an irresistible offer. Tantalize your readers, entice them into wanting to take a bite. Make an offer that is so overwhelmingly attractive, that they would have to be insane to pass it up. Give them a tidbit by adding something free. Anything, just make it free.
What's that?
You say your not so good at writing classified ads like that? I'll wager a bet you are!
There is a way to write great ads quickly. Yup you guessed it!! Read a few of the emails and save the ones that caught your eye. Get out the knife and cut up those ads using the same technique you used for Headlines.
Once you have 6-8 contents ads written, simply get the Most Excellent Headlines YOU created and start slicing and dicing. Mix them up, change them around until your happy with them. You might end up with over 20 different ads to chose from... (bummer huh)
CHOP-CHOP time again!! You don't want those 20+ ads... do you? Some of these ads aren't quite as as good as the others. That's OK, it's time to trim the fat anyway. Select the 5 choicest ads and remove the remaining ones
Part 3 The Address is the dinner bell
E-mail address or Website address. The person reading your classified ad has 2 options. Read the next ad or click your link. They have either eaten enough of your ad, or their ready to gobble up the main course.
Your ADDRESS is a way to get more information about the opportunity you are promoting and is achieved by putting either your Web site ADDRESS to take the visitor there or an E-mail ADDRESS to contact you directly.
You can spice up your address by giving your webpages catchy names, but a draw back is the length it may create. problem is, People don't like 86 character website addresses. Their either too hard to remember, or mistakes are made when entering it into their browser. You just lost a prospective sale right there. (another bummer huh)
Another option is using a re-directed address. There are several companies that offer this service FREE, which allows you create nice short, easily remembered website addresses. Two places that give you 3 different addresses are rename.com and iBoost.com Thats 8 different addresses leading to the same page
***Caution; It's not wise to submit these redirect addresses to the search engines because, they don't like being tricked. Duplicate sites usually get "UN-indexed" .....rather quickly and forever too!
Dinner is served! Pass the Gravy!!?
You have a visitor!! Hopefully your ad was tasty enough to bring you the Gravy too!! You got them there so give them your main course. Make sure you get a counter or some kind of tracking system set up to follow your ads progress to see which ones worked the best...... (i'll save that for another article)
About The Author
A.L Haines is the editor for several leading Internet Marketing publications supporting free Internet marketing opportunities and resources.
http://articlesarchives.netfirms.com
Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!
Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!
Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!
Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!
Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!

Here are some quick techniques you can put into place on your web site or in your advertising to gather new prospects. There is practically no cost... Read More
Ouch . . . sounds pretty drastic I know, but . . .If you've been in business for any length of time, you've no doubt been faced... Read More
If you need evidence that a testimonial or referral can help you, let me tell you a personal story:My friend Dave raved about his boss all the... Read More
If you want to substantially increase your tourism prospects and sales without a lot of effort and expense, then read on and prosper. You are going to... Read More
The usual complaint from companies is that Marketing simply does not yield as expected. So much effort, time, and money goes into campaigns, and yet the frustrations... Read More
With the Internet opening up the doorway to the global market, everybody is up and running to reap the maximum benefit of this widely used medium. Not... Read More
In a crowded marketplace of ideas, it is important for non-profit organizations to establish a well-defined niche. While most non-profits are not selling products, they are selling... Read More
I often wonder how the practice began of pretending to be someone else in order to market your business. You know what I'm talking about -- it's... Read More
Any economics student can tell you that price is a matter of supply and demand. The market will bear a certain price point and settle into equilibrium.... Read More
Readers spend only a few seconds deciding the fate of your direct mail fundraising appeals. Either they open them on the spot, set them aside for later,... Read More
Small and emerging companies often do not put together a board of advisors or board of directors for many reasons. Some entrepreneurs believe that businessmen and women... Read More
For any business to be successful whether on or offline it has to be marketing effectively. You are going to need more than a great looking site... Read More
Social scientists have proven that people experience what they come to expect. It's like the first time you watched your favorite movie. Before you saw it maybe... Read More
Preparing a Marketing Plan for your product or service is a real eye-opening experience. While we all hope that our product or service will appeal to the... Read More
Having a downline can be golden. A downline is a group of folks who have either signed-up or have already agreed to at least look at what... Read More
Here are 9 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help you boost your sales and profits fast.Tip 1: Look for some low-cost ways you can enhance... Read More
"If God wanted to create a perfect punishment for a high achiever, then He would have that person manage a professional service firm," says Professor John Gabarro... Read More
Dant dant da da dant dant da da. Dant dant da da dant dant da da. (That's the theme from "Mission Impossible"...)FADE IN.Your mission, should you chose... Read More
Marketing results should be measured in only one way ? increased sales. Marketing should not be considered an art form. Its mere existence is not enough. Marketing... Read More
One of the biggest mistakes we could make as business owners is spending too much money on marketing our service or product without knowing how to market... Read More
Some of the research that has been done today gives us a lot of information on the values of today's society. What I'm referring to is a... Read More
Without new business, your restaurant won't be able to grow. You need a constant stream of new customers to replace those you lose as a result of... Read More
One of my associates sent me a promotional email she'd received. "I know this marketing communication doesn't work," she told me, "but why doesn't this make me... Read More
Great graphic design looks effortless, but it requires lots of attention to details. Think back to an eye-catching advertisement, publication, or flyer you saw recently. Do you... Read More
How do you personally define success? High income? Substantial net worth? A fine home? Peer recognition?On a personal basis, there are likely almost as many definitions of... Read More
The foundation of success is in your mind. You do not need to struggle, seek and strive to build your business. You can use mental and spiritual... Read More
Doing a current customer breakdown can help you find the goldmine within your business by determining who you should be targeting in your marketing efforts in the... Read More
Are you trying to promote your business with a tiny marketing budget? Opportunities are plentiful for low or no cost marketing. Here are a few that won't... Read More
1. Focus your fax marketing on one objectiveFax is a flexible medium, and is being used by Adestra clients to sell off-the-page, to conduct research, for broadcasting... Read More
What benefits will you get from flyers?Flyers are much different from postcards in that they convey product sales to the consumer. Safeway, Costco, Albertsons and other grocery... Read More
Clichés. We've all heard them...and hear some of them so often that we categorize them as tired, stale old sayings. But, the fact is, particularly in both... Read More
I often talk with business owners who tell me how excited they are about a new product or service they are offering ...or a new business they... Read More
Any economics student can tell you that price is a matter of supply and demand. The market will bear a certain price point and settle into equilibrium.... Read More
The industry standard for mobile washing is completing the car and removing the dirt so it is clean as promised to the customer. Some would say this... Read More
As a promotions director for a lot of super markets, one of my key responsibilities was finding promotional products for the events we make. I worked with... Read More
Do you own a small business? Do you wish to increase sales? Do you wish to draw more customers into your store or find more customers for... Read More
Even if you never place a cold call, you still have to reach people by phone. That customer who was so interested last month never called you... Read More
The intellectual property transfer market is now estimated to be worth over $100 billion. If you have a new idea, a patent or an invention, you may... Read More
You've had one thousand of the finest, most eye-catching business cards printed. Now, what do you do with them?Networking with business cards is one of the most... Read More
Many businesses today overlook the importance of business cards as a very powerful marketing weapon. Their business cards contain just a name, company, address and phone number.... Read More
Step 1: Where Am I Now? Before you decide where you want your marketing plan to take you,you need to find out where you are now. How... Read More
Times are a changin'! More women today work outside the home, earn (and control) significant amounts of money, and make large, important purchases like houses, automobiles and... Read More
As a professional service provider, you're paid for what you know. People come to your firm for the expertise you offer, first and foremost. Did you also... Read More
When you want someone to like you, associate yourself with something that they love. Take coffee for instance. How much of America, or the world for that... Read More
More And MoreIt was notable that when I started my business twenty years ago, I came up with a certain "minimum" profit I wanted to make. Within... Read More
Turn a coupon into a business card (or vice versa).Coupons are seen everywhere; you clip them from the newspaper to save on groceries, you get them in... Read More
I'm big on getting maximum marketing exposure at the lowest cost possible. After all, most small business owners don't have huge marketing budgets, so finding inexpensive ways... Read More
Great graphic design looks effortless, but it requires lots of attention to details. Think back to an eye-catching advertisement, publication, or flyer you saw recently. Do you... Read More
While success with any internet marketing program falls on the head of the marketer, what the program offers in pay outs and products plays a big roll.... Read More
Why Trying to "Get the Appointment" Can be a Recipe for Dis-AppoinmentLast week, this e-mail from Jack arrived in my inbox:To: Ari Galper From: Jack Subj.: Help!... Read More
Business owners often find it difficult to know whether their marketing tactics are working. This can be especially tricky when you use a combination of marketing activities... Read More
Each of the following Ten Marketing Tips is based on a highly effective but often overlooked marketing tactic. How many are you using? How many have you... Read More