Print Ad Tips

Marketing your business requires more than just online presence. You also have to market your business offline as well. Here are a few tips that I have utilized.
 
When designing print ads trying these ideas will get you a better response. Start with a headline that states what you are offering. Your headline is the first thing a prospect notices, so make sure you announce what you are attempting to sell. Cute headlines may be creative, but they don't work. Potential customers almost never understand ads that have vague headlines.
 
Include your phone and fax numbers, e-mail and web addresses. Also give directions to your brick and mortar store. You want to make sure potential customers can contact and find you when their ready to make a purchase.
 
State the benefits of your product or service. Remember customers buy benefits not features. The average customer could care less if the coffee maker you sell heats the coffee to 300, 500 or even 800 degrees, and chimes a fancy tune when it is done, they just want to know how fast it will make coffee before they crawl out of bed in the morning. And business owners really don't want too much detail about your company, they want to read that you have a solution to their problems.
 
Don't assume that the person reading your ad gets what your business does. Describe what it is you do in detail for them. This is the part to never ever forget. You must tell the prospect what to do next. If you want them to call for more information, say so. If you want them to arrange an appointment, say so. If you want to take the time to meet them at another place, say so. If there is a free gift waiting for them when they make a purchase, say so.
 
Start out by placing your ad in local community papers. Most of these papers charge little or nothing to advertise in. Chamber of Commerce Chapters often allow non-members to advertise in member directories. When you're ready to reach a large number of customers, then its time to move on to magazines.
 
Why? Because magazines have large circulation numbers. If you live in a big city chances are there may be at least one or two locally published monthly magazines. These local magazines have large city coverage, some my even be distributed in other cities. 
 
Also, keep in mind that one-time ads don't work. You've got to place an ad at least 12 times before you'll receive a good number of responses. Consumers are overwhelmed with ads every second of the day. They are busy people.
 
The first time your ad is published, it may not even be noticed by anyone. The second time it may get a glance. The third time it may be read, but not thought about after. The fourth time it may be read completely, but still no response. The fifth time it may be read and they might even think about responding, but they won't, because they have not seen your ad in the paper enough times to trust you.
 
So that is why you have to keep consistently advertising the same ad until the prospect gets that you are serious about making a sale. You'll get tired of seeing the ad before potential customers will, but don't stop running it, results will soon come. Happy Marketing Week!