How to Write Advertising Headlines

February 9th, 2006

The main purpose of a headline is very simple. You want to grab the attention of your ideal prospect so they ll read the next sentence in your advertising copy.

Easy to do. Right?

Well… not so fast.

It s possible. That s the good news. But you have to do your homework first. There are books written on how to write a great headline. If I said you’ll find everything you need to know in this article my nose would grow like Pinocchio s. But I can help you get started in the right direction.

A headline should have the full attention of your prospect in 5 seconds or less. If it doesn’t the rest of your copy probably won t get read.

Many copywriters think the headline is the MOST important part of the copy because it s read 5-8 times more than your body copy (on average). In short, your headline must get the job done. This is where the homework comes in.

I m assuming you ve already done the homework for your product or service. You know it inside and out. You ve listed all its many benefits in exhaustive detail.

Great!

Now you focus on researching your customer. Advertising legend Denny Hatch says it best, To write a great ad you have to get inside your customer s head.

You have to become familiar with your customer s interests, desires, and problems. You have to know your customer’s mindset. How do you do this? Research tactics might include any or all of the following…

1) Talk to people in your target audience.

Talk to any friends who are similar to your ideal prospect.

Call potential prospects on the phone. Simply tell them you re doing market research and ask for their input and advice about your product.

Make notes - - especially when you hear the same things mentioned over and over again by prospects.

2) Read what they read.

Newspapers and magazines.

Trade journals for the industry (etc).

3) Read other advertising literature directed at your prospect. Read any controls you can get your hands on for related product(s).

This includes collecting competitors’ marketing promotions, direct mail or …

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Free Advertising

January 29th, 2006

Your biggest asset when becoming an internet marketer is to know how to get free targeted traffic to your web sites. It doesn’t matter how many web sites you’re promoting. Your primary goal should be to keep the cost down. It feels great to have monthly sales well into the thousands, but it also can ruin your day when you realize that most of this money goes right back into your advertising costs.

Yes, there’s a rule that you need to reinvest 75% of your profit into advertising and marketing. I like this rule, but it also needs to be timely constraint. I think this rule is good for your first 3-6 months of business. After this you should be able to pull back the cost for advertising without impacting your income streams.

My philosophy in internet marketing is that if you have to spend a lot of money to keep a positive cash flow, the competition is probably too intense for this market segment. You will be better of to research a new niche market.

On the topic of free advertising, there are many free classified ad providers, but only a few sites offer truly free advertising. They all want something in return, there’s no webmaster out there who promotes your stuff for free just because he/she feels like it today. One way to get free advertising is to …

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The Humble Postcard Is Making A Comeback

January 6th, 2006

If you were a contestant on Jeopardy and the answer was “Postcards,” what would the question be?

How about:

“What is one of the most incredibly effective, yet under-utilized methods for driving qualified buyers to your business or website?”

Many businesses think postcards are a little old-fashioned for this era of Internet Marketing, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Online marketers are discovering that using email lists as an effective form of marketing is fading fast due to the unfortunate avalanche of SPAM (unsolicited commercial email)!

Internet Service Providers and individual consumers are now trying to filter out the ever growing glut of SPAM. But, unfortunately the software developed to assist in SPAM control is not terribly accurate and a very large amount of legitimate communications between a business and its customer base is being unintentionally blocked by these filters.

And even if the email does get through, it is often lost among the other 200 or so emails in the receiver’s inbox and simply gets bulk deleted. As a result, email is no longer a reliable method of maintaining contact and building a relationship with customers.

Yet, most small businesses do not have large budgets to conduct …

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Copywriting Basics - Answer the Questions You’d Want

January 6th, 2006

Anyone can write effective Internet copy. You just have to know a few copywriting basics known to journalists and writers as the 5 W’s. Throw one “H” in there and all your copywriting basics are covered.

Who? Tell the reader who your product will help. This should be your target market.

What? Tell your reader what your product or service will do to improve their lives. In other words, tell them the benifits they will receive, what’s in it for them.

When? When is the offer good for? If there is a special offer, when does it expire? When will the product or service help them, immediately or over time?

Where? Where can you order the product or service? Where will it work?

Why? Tell your reader why he or she needs your product or service. Why will it benefit them? Why should they sign up or order today? Why is the quantity or offer limited?

How? How do they register or order? How much will it cost? How much return will they see for their investment? How does it work?

Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? There is no trick - it really is as easy as that. Put yourself in the shoes of the reader and answer the questions you would likely ask or want answered about your product or service. Answer those questions clearly and thoroughly and your Web copy is complete.

These copywriting tips and copywriting techniques will work not just for Web copywriting but also for …

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Taking Marketing To The Extreme

January 6th, 2006

Marketing is a fundamental aspect of virtually every business that is out there. For many companies, this is where most of their budget goes: advertising. There are hundreds of ways for you to advertise from coffee shop windows to on the web through banner ads. The goal is of course to target your key audience at the exact right time. This is not an easy task nor is it on that you should take lightly.

One of the most intense types of marketing that is geared towards people no matter where they are and where they go is mobile marketing. Consider this. You could pay for one hundred banners to be put on the sides of buses in one major city. This will cost thousands of dollars in marketing. Those who see the ad will be able to react to it. But, in order for them to see it they need to be at the right place at the right time to see the bus go past them. In the end, your target audience is quite difficult to target in this medium.

But, when you consider mobile marketing …

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Maximizing Your Advertising Budget

December 30th, 2005

Trying to communicate your company’s message can be quite difficult if youre working with a limited advertising budget. One of the biggest problems with having a small budget is that reaching your audience becomes more challenging since you may have fewer opportunities to put your message out. In order to effectively get your message out you need to make creative choices when deciding which types of media to use.

Buying ad space for TV, radio and magazines can add up quickly giving you a hefty bill to foot each month. To avoid high monthly costs for ad space consider using any space that your company may already own. For instance, if your company is already using vehicles for its everyday business, think about taking advantage of that space for advertising. Fleet graphics are a great way to maximize the use of your company vehicle and make the most out of your advertising budget. Everywhere your company vehicle travels it will…

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The Best Time For Marketing…

December 24th, 2005

The best time for marketing is when they aren t buying.

Be realistic. If you aren t selling the hottest new fashion or gizmo for holiday gift-giving, it s hard to get anyone to think about buying your product or service from Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Year s. That s a six week lean selling stretch for lots of sales professionals. When you are trying to hit your quarterly and year-end numbers that lean stretch can be tough to swallow.

No leader likes to see their team sitting around the office having a pity party. Instead, build this market reality into your schedule and ramp up your marketing activities during sales lulls.

Why should you invest in marketing to your target market when they aren t buying?

1. To stay front and center on their radar especially if you target the corporate market.

2. To increase their awareness of you

3. To bring attention to you

4. To highlight the added value you offer

5. To generate a desire to…

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5 Steps to a Simple Marketing Plan

December 24th, 2005

Most marketing gurus will tell you that you absolutely must have a marketing plan in place before starting your business but why do you need one and how do you go about it? A Marketing plan is essential for two reasons:
It gives you a direction to focus your marketing and advertising efforts.
It gives you a detailed and organized plan to present to potential investors or financial institutions.

If you are picturing a plan that will take months to prepare and use a ream of paper to complete, relax. Putting together a marketing plan can be a simple, painless process.

In fact, developing a marketing plan can be easily accomplished with just 5 simple steps.

==>> Step 1: Review the Market

Your plan needs an introductory section, a description of where your business stands today and how you intend to put your marketing plans in place (or change them) and what this will mean to your business the next 6 to 12 months. Your introductory section will contain:

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Greater Online Exposure through Press Release Submissions

December 17th, 2005

Every business owner looks for ways to constantly stay ahead of their competitors when doing business on the Internet, or in general. The main component of success involves increasing their website visibility in the search engines. Obtaining better search engine placement and having increased online exposure is a process that takes time, patience, and access to qualified resources. The solution? The implementation of press release submissions will be one giant leap toward a successful online marketing strategy.

Online press release submissions can accomplish many goals that relate to your online positioning strategy. Getting your website content syndicated should be a top priority in your overall marketing strategy. Content syndication will send your website marketing efforts into overdrive if…

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Five Sure Fire Methods for Internet Marketing Success

December 15th, 2005

There are hundreds of ways that you can promote your online business or website, some more effective than others. These five proven methods will help you to generate traffic to your site and also to generate income into your wallet.

1. One thing that appeals to everyone is free. If it is free people will take it. Think of the samples of cheese given away at grocery stores. Do you really want a small piece of cheese? Of course not! But you take it simply because it is free and someone is nice enough to offer it to you. The same principle applies with information or services offered from your website. You can send out free newsletters or offer a free trail period. One popular thing that is being given away now are free credit reports or free PC scans. These freebies are what we in the marketing field like to call teasers. After running the free credit report or PC scan we alert the customer if there is something found on their credit record or PC and then offer to show them what it is or repair the problem for a price. This can be an effective way to get information to your potential customers, create sales or to generate traffic to your site.

2. Your website contains information about a service or product that you are very knowledgeable about. You can use this knowledge to generate traffic to your site by writing articles in your area of expertise and having them published in an ezine or an article information site. The most effective way to use these articles is to write them for free and ask in return that the publisher allow you to include a byline. A byline is a very short summary of the author, their credentials and their website. Your byline is a way that readers will come to know you as an expert on the topic and will in turn come to trust your site as a source of credible information.

3. Some search engines will allow a website to purchase their ranking. This is an excellent Internet marketing technique in that it is effective and inexpensive. In the pay-per-click programs, website are only billed for those who actually visit the page, unlike banner ads which may be seen by millions but only used by a few. When using the pay-per-click program you are asked to choose keywords and when those are entered your site will appear and if the surfer chooses to view your site, you are billed for that click. Many pay-per-click programs will offer other benefits as well, such as updated lists of commonly used keywords.

4. You should remember that others are in the same boat as you. You can choose to network with those who have similar marketing ideas. When networking you will be able to share links and refer customers to each other. You should always be very cautious when choosing a networking partner as everything that you recommend is a reflection of yourself or your product and therefore, you should be certain that your networking partner is a reputable source of information.

5. Simply because your website is online, doesn t mean that all your advertising should be. Advertise in newspapers, TV, the radio or you can even send out a press release to get your information to thousands of people all over the country.

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