Classified Advertising 
by Abe Cherian,

Every newspaper on the face of the earth has classified ads. In fact, it has been the pioneer marketing tool for small business for over a century. This advertising medium has turned huge profits again and again to reach huge audiences with a minimal investment.

Online classified advertising has proven to be a powerful way to reach thousands of potential customers and generate incredible profits with little investment. Online classified ads are more effective than traditional newspaper classifieds, because they give your potential customers the chance to click through a link in order to instantly get more information on the product or service that you're selling.

Classified ads in newspapers generates interest, only for people to investigate what they might like to purchase, or to locate any good bargains. The reader might be tempted by the offer, but unwilling to pick up the phone, arrange an appointment to view the product, drive to see the product, then make a purchase.

Online classified ads remove the hassles and give people greater incentive to investigate your offer and purchase. Your offer intrigues them and they want to know more. They click on your link, they arrive at your site where they can view your product, they read your sales message and easily make a purchase. It's easy, quick and hassle free, and you capture the sale of impulse buyers.

There are two key methods to advertising online using classified ads: a) writing the ad copy, b) testing which ad works the best. Where to place your classified ads online is important, however if you don't get these two methods right it doesn't matter which online classified ad service works the best.

You can design the sales copy to perform all kinds of things, but if you're not testing you will not know if the ad warrants a full blown campaign. If you have different sales copy that you would like to test, place several identical ads, but have each ad link to a different copy. Track the response you get from each piece of sales copy separately, and you'll know which pulls the most sales.

We can learn great lessons from the past. If your business has been running ads, dig out a few from a year or so ago and see how many of these common no-no's you can find.

1. Does your ad contain words like "our," "I" or other personal pronouns? They are poor communicators, try using "you" and "yours."

2. Is the ad uninteresting to look at overall? It may be balanced too formally. Try using an odd rather than even number of illustrations to help achieve informal balance.

3. Does your firm have a logo? Develop one so the name of the firm is not just set in the same type as the rest of the ad.

4. Has your layout allowed the reader's eye to stray from the preferred gaze-motion path? If your invitation to the eye causes readers to leave your ad, you will not get them back.

5. Is your logo in the upper left corner or the lower right corner of the ad? Those are the two best spots for it.

6. Does your headline promise the reader a benefit?

7. Is your copy clear, crisp and concise? Be sure to use the product points that make the benefits you promised believable.

8. Have you used a headline in capital letters? Don't!

9. Have you told the reader what each item costs? It is very difficult to reach a buying decision until the question "How much is it?" is answered.

10. Does your ad contain any misleading statements? Any attempt to misinform or mislead the reader may lead to a sale, but in all certainty it will lead to lost customers and could lead to court. Honesty is still the best policy.

Advertising in newsletters and ezines that you can target your market is a better choice than using automatic posting services. Online newsletters and ezines tend to focus their content to meet the needs and capture the loyalty of a specific readership, giving you the perfect opportunity to get your ad in front of your best potential customers.

11 Steps to Write Powerful Classified Ads 

#1 Talk it out first before you write it.

#2 Call a friend, associate or employee and explain your product or service to them.

#3 Tape record that call.

#4 Have those conversations transcribed onto paper.

#5 Label every single sentence in there as to whether it's a feature (describes what your product or service does), A for an advantage (over a competitor), and B for anything that's a benefit (tell your customers what it does for them).

#6 Write the sentences rated 1-10 by their importance. 1 being the least important and 10 being the best. You will have an A-1, A-2, A-3, etc. B-10 would be the most important benefit.

#7 Combine all features, advantages and benefits ranked 6 or higher and create a headline from there. In other words, if you've got a B-10 and B-9, A-10 and A-9, an F-10 and F-9, you want to create your headline out of those. Use the 6-8 benefits to tell your story. Your 6-8 advantages will create interest and your 6-8 features will credentialize your story with details and facts.

#8 Tell them how to order and how to order now.

#9 Reverse the risk from them to you using risk-reversal.

#10 Reward them for immediate action.

#11 Re-write five different versions.

This seems like a lot of work, but this is how you will end up with a Great Ad. Roll it out small and test it, and when it works, roll it out in a huge way.

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