Classified Ads - What Works & What Doesn’t

You have permission to publish this article electronicallyor in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines areincluded. A courtesy copy of your publication would beappreciated - send to: diana@ohiohelp.net Classified Ads - What Works & What Doesn’t Do classified ads really work? Should you include an emailaddress or fax number in them? How about a call to action?Questions like these are often brought to the attention ofOhioHelp.net, an Ohio-based company that specializes in helpingbusinesses worldwide with marketing, public relations andfreelance writing services. Here are some top tips they offerbased on their own client projects.TOP TIPS FROM OHIOHELP.NETI. CLASSIFIED AD PLACEMENTStudy the ads in publications where you would like to place yoursto see what works. And STUDY them like you'll have an exam overthem. If you didn't see the ad before, skip it. Only focus onthose who repeatedly placed the same ads - -these people areselling off of them: bottom line.While you’re at it, call some of those companies who are not yourdirect competitors and ask how their ads pull (and log theirreplies for reference). Exchange contact information and followup so that you can possibly team up with them later in a jointventure and send clients back and forth.Results show that small ads placed in inexpensive publicationsgenerally bring in phone calls and clicks to websites, but noemail replies. And on the average, these callers reported havinglimited or no Internet access along with limited or no computer /email capabilities in their homes. If they had access at work, itwas limited and did not offer personal / private email. Toll-freenumbers brought in more responses than local numbers with areacodes. And fax numbers brought in nothing at all.II. CLASSIFIED AD GIFTSSales increased with the inclusion of Gift and Reward items in acall-to-action ad. Popular items were:A. A No-Cost Information Kit that included a variety of tipsheets,electronic books and software sent via downloadablelinks in printed sales letters and included on disks or CDs. All items were mailed Flat Rate via Priority Mail.B. A Book / workbook set sent the same way or mailed Media Ratein a manila envelope. Sets were for a trial period beforepurchasing. And No-Cost Information Kits above were included inthe package.C. A special “Freebie” item of their choice from our bookstorewas mailed or emailed with mention of the ad.III. CLASSIFIED AD COPYWRITINGTo increase customer contact, communication and overall sales,include specific pricing in the ad; for example, say, “rates from$39.” Also list an email address with a domain name and specificperson to contact. In other words, instead of emailinginfo@aol.com , email diana@ohiohelp.net using a first name forfamiliarity. (Note that some classifieds charge a 3-word countfor URLs but only a 1-word count for email addresses.) And use anaction verb in your call-to-action, “Mention Ad for…”IV. CLASSIFIED TIPSRemember:· Keep up. Keep educating yourself and your helpers. For example,inexpensive company subscriptions to a monthly ebook clubhttp://presssuccess.com/wholesale and the jvAlert PerpetualLearning Series www.jvAlert.com/LearningSeries.aspx?id=1805 helpto catch up with the latest scoop -- what works and what doesn’twork from top-level marketers & industry leaders.· Prepackage info into autoresponders like:http://presssuccess.com/AutoPilot with a 30-day no-cost trial period. Then the info can be sent upon request immediately to prospective clients. Treat information requests like proposals & include past work you’ve done in the field, samples, references, additional resources, your credentials, etc.So sharpen your pencil or grab your keyboard and tune up yourclassified campaigns. Testing and improving your ads candefinitely increase sales.