In my experience, I've found that advertising in ezines is a great way to get response. The problem is, there are a lot of people out there who have realized the same thing.
It used to be that your classified ad was only competing with one or two other ads per issue. Now that everyone has discovered this advertising technique, your ad may be competing with eight, nine, or even ten other ads. What a conundrum!
Now, this increased competition COULD be a problem for the effectiveness of your ad, but if you just take a little time with your copywriting, you'll soon realize that its easy to make your classified ad stand out from the rest. Here are some pointers:
1) Don't do what everyone else is doing. Take a look at the ads that appear in the ezine and get a feel for what the other ads are doing. Then, think of a way to be effective without doing the exact same thing. For instance, if you notice that every ad is in all caps and phrased like a question, then make YOUR headline a strong statement that only uses capitalization for the key terms. The variation in style will make your ad appear different from the rest!
2) Use resources that other ads don't. Take a good look at the restrictions and requirements that the ezine has for its ads. This will give a good idea of what is possible -- then USE those possibilities. If you notice that the ezine has HTML capabilities, don't be afraid to use color or formatting -- just don't go overboard! Also, use styles that other ad writes don't think about. Bullet points and small numbered lists can work well in some ads, but most copywriters don't even think to use them.
3) Be specific. This is the most important thing you can do. Empty promises of "Get Rich quick!" sound like everyone else's generic empty promises. If you can give specifics, however, the FACTS about your product or service will make it stand out from the competition. This, of course, is the best way to go, since you are selling based on the strength and details of your offer.
There are a lot of businesses out there -- fortunately, there are also a lot of customers! To get those customers, however, you need to make sure that you distinguish yourself from all the others. With just a little creativity and a willingness to break from the tried-and-true, you can start creating the NEW generation of great classified ads!
Lisa Lake has created a list of top promotional methods on her http://MyAdBlaster.com Lisa also writes ad copy that sells for DrNunley's http://InternetWriters.com Reach her at mailto:lisa@myadblaster.com or 801-328-9006.
