If you're like most small business owners, you can't always afford to hire an advertising agency and sometimes find it necessary to create your own print ads. These nine tips will help you to design ads that get better results and make more money.

1. Start With A Headline That Contains An Important Consumer Benefit,

Or News, Or Promises A Reward For Reading The Ad

The headline is the most important part of any advertisement. David Ogilvy, world-famous copywriter says, "If you haven't done some selling in your headline, you have wasted 80% of your money."

The headline has four functions:

1. To get attention

2. To select the audience

3. To deliver a complete message

4. To draw the reader into the body copy

Let's take a look at how headlines perform each of these tasks.

1. Getting Attention: Headlines get attention by appealing to the readers' self-interest (e.g.. "Give Your Kids a Fighting Chance" - Crest). Or headlines can give the reader news. These often include words such as new, discover, introducing, announcing or now. The most powerful selling word is FREE.

Other attention-getting words are how to, why, sale, quick, easy, guarantee, results, proven and save. Avoid headlines that are cute, clever and titillating but irrelevant. They may get attention but they do not sell.

2. Selecting The Audience: Don't attempt to be all things to all people. Why target your advertising at anyone but your potential customers? Choose words that select the right audience and screen out others. Life insurance companies do this all the time (e.g.. "To Men and Women Over 65 Who Need Affordable Life Insurance Coverage".)

3. Delivering A Complete Message: Make your entire offer in the headline. Here are some examples:

"Buy One Record or Cassette for $3.99 and Take 10 More Records or Cassettes of Your Choice for 1 Penny" - Columbia House

"Own a Leather-Bound Masterpiece for $4.95 -the Price of a Paperback!" - The Easton Press

Or here's my personal favourite:

"How to form your own corporation, by phone, totally legal, in any state in the union, in as little as 8 minutes, as low as $45" - The Company Corporation

That's six consumer benefits, separated by commas packed into one headline. Whew!

4. Drawing The Reader Into The Body Copy: Only a few products - perfumes for example - can be sold with an attractive photo, a powerful headline and a minimum of words. Most items or companies require that the reader be given a lot of information. So the headline must compel the reader to read the whole ad. To do this, arouse her curiosity. Ask a question, make a provocative statement, promise a reward or useful information.

The headline for a facial lotion ad reads:

"The $5 Alternative to Costly Plastic Surgery"

A software ad begins:

"If You're Confused About Buying a Personal Computer, Here's Some Help"

2. Use A Picture That Illustrates The Benefit Stated In The Headline

First let me point out that you don't necessarily have to use a picture. Hundreds of successful ads have used words alone to get their message across. Contrary to popular belief, it is the words - not the pictures - that do most of the selling in an advertisement.

If you do use a picture, try to make it illustrate the benefit stated in the headline. One effective way to do that is by using before-and-after photos. Tide uses them, the before shot showing a muddy T -shirt - the after shot showing the same shirt made brighter and whiter with Tide.

Slim Fast uses them too, first showing a chubby Tommy Lasorda, then a slimmer, happier version.

Another way to use visuals in an ad is to appeal emotionally to the reader. An ad asking for a blood donation shows a close-up face of a sad little girl looking directly at you. The picture works well with the headline, which reads:

"How do you tell a 4-year-old she may never be 5?"

3. Expand The Theme Of The Headline In The Lead Paragraph

The ad for the Easton Press begins, "The finest Moby Dick you can find is the Easton Press leather-bound edition. Now, own this luxurious book (a wonderful value at its regular price of $39.50) for the price of a paperback - only $4.95 - with no further obligation." (Note the interesting choice of the word luxurious to describe a book - meant to convey an image of high quality.)

An ad for the Wall Street Journal has the headline, "How to Succeed in Business…And Investing". The first paragraph begins, "One sure way to succeed in business is to make smarter business decisions. And one of the smartest business decisions you can make right now is to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal."

4. Draw the Reader into the Ad and the Body Copy with a Clean,

Uncluttered Layout

The key to getting an ad read is to make it easy on the eyes. Here's a brief list of layout dos and don'ts:

Do:

- Use one central visual

- Set the headline in large, bold type

- Set the body copy in clear, readable type

- Use spaces between paragraphs to enhance readability

- Use subheads to help draw the eye through the text

- Keep paragraphs short

- Use simple visuals without too many elements that confuse the reader

Don't:

- Set headlines and blocks of copy on a slant

- Use tiny type (smaller than eight-point)

- Use long, unbroken chunks of text

- Overuse circles, bursts, arrows and other techniques that call attention to the fact that

the ad is an ad

- Use poorly executed or reproduced artwork or photography

5. Cover All Important Sales Points In Logical Sequence

An effective ad tells an interesting, important story about the company. And, like a novel or short story, the copy should have a beginning, middle, and an end.

Put your most important point in the headline and take the reader from the major benefits to minor features in the body copy. If the sales points are unrelated, you can simply list them using numbers or bullets.

6. Make Sure The Copy Provides Enough Information To Convince The

Greatest Number Of Qualified Prospects To Take The Next Step In The

Buying Process

Perfume ads typically don't contain a lot of words. Perfume is sold mostly on the mystique of what wearing perfume does to enhance your sex appeal. Mail order ads, however, often have a full page of solid type with no pictures and only subheads to break up the copy. That's because the ad writer only has a small space to convince you to part with your money now.

What you say in your ad and how much you say depends on what you want the reader to do. Should he call or write for a free brochure? Should he stop by your store for a demonstration? Or should he use the coupon at the bottom of the ad to make an immediate purchase? Think about what the next step in the buying process should be. That will determine the appropriate length of the copy.

7. Make Your Ad Interesting

With apologies to Moses, let me suggest an eleventh commandment: "Thou shalt not bore your readers". People will only read your ad as long as it appeals to them. The style should be crisp, lively and light. The copy should have rhythm and clarity.

But great style won't save an ad without substance. Here are a few ways you can add interest to your advertisements:

- Speak directly to your reader's needs and desires

- Tell a story

- Tell about people

- Write in a personal style - warm, helpful and sincere

- Use testimonials

- Offer a free gift, brochure or sample

- Provide useful information or news

- Address major issues - beauty, health, security, education etc.

- Answer important questions your readers have on their minds

Here are some sure-fire ways to make your ads boring:

- Focus the copy about your company, its philosophy, or its success

- Write copy that gives features of your product rather than its benefits to the

consumer

- Tell readers things they already know

- Write all sentences the same length (varying sentence length adds snap to writing)

- Present facts without showing the reader how these facts relate to his needs

8. Make Your Ad Believable

Dishonest advertising can convince people to try a bad product once. But it can't convince them to buy a product they've already tried and didn't like.

Don't lie or stretch the truth in your ads. Besides being unethical, it's unprofitable for you and your company. Be sincere, informative and helpful. It comes across to the reader and they'll believe what you've written.

9. Ask For Action

Your ad should ask the reader to take the next step in the buying process. Keep in mind that including a coupon in your ad boosts response between 25 and 100 percent.

You'll also increase response if you can offer something free whether it is a sample, a consultation or just information. Other techniques for getting people to act now are to include lines like: "Supplies are limited," "This offer expires April 4," or simply "Act now!"

There you have it. Nine steps to creating more profitable print ads. Follow these steps when you write your next newspaper or magazine ad and watch your sales increase dramatically.

Tags: website optimization, internet marketing tips, internet marketing, affiliate marketing, article marketing

Guy Kawasaki, in his best-seller "How To Drive your Competition Crazy" tells countless fascinating stories of how small businesses like yours are fighting the giants.

 

He calls his book "the first can-do, how-to, kick-butt gonzo guide to driving your competitors off the deep end."

 

Below are two funny but enlightening examples from his book.  The third is a story whose source I can't recall.

 

Who Wants To Play Piggyback?:

 

In 1986, British Airways gave away 5,200 free flights.  The promotion, set for June 10th of that year, generated massive publicity for British Airways.

 

In response, Virgin Atlantic Airways, British Airways' competitor, ran an ad with this headline:

 

        It Has Always Been Virgin's Policy To Encourage You

        To Fly To London For As Little As Possible.  So On June 10

        We Encourage You To Fly British Airways.

 

Then in finer print, the ad continued:

 

        As for the rest of the year, we look forward to seeing you

        aboard Virgin Atlantic.  For the best service possible.

        At the lowest possible fare.

 

Whenever the press carried the story of British Airways' promotion, they mentioned Virgin Atlantic's response.  Virgin Atlantic piggybacked on its competitor's efforts and by doing so, it stole British Airways' thunder and generated publicity for itself.

 

Getting Their Pizza The Pie:

 

A pizza chain, new to Colorado, ran a promotion that offered two pizzas for the price of one.  Not so unusual until you discover that the free pizza was given when a customer brought in a competitor's Yellow Pages ad.

 

This, of course, made it difficult for customers to call the competitor when, after a few months, its ad had been torn from virtually every Yellow Pages directory in the city.

 

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow:

 

A discount hair-cutting chain moved in next door to an upscale hair salon and promptly displayed a huge sign saying, "$6 Haircuts."

 

Not to be outdone, the salon owner erected an even bigger sign that read, "We Fix $6 Haircuts."

 

For even more ideas on "How To Drive Your Competition Crazy," get Guy Kawasaki's book of the same name by going here:

 

http://www.amazon.com

Tags: niche marketing, affiliate marketing, article marketing, Jonathan Hook, internet marketing tips

The best formula for success I have ever heard comes from IBM founder Tom Watson and says simply this:

"To increase your chances for success, DOUBLE your number of failures."

It's really true. If you want to succeed you can't be afraid to make mistakes.

When young Thomas Edison was perfecting his light bulb invention, he held over 4000 patents on various methods he had tried. After his success, a reporter asked him how he felt about all his previous failures. Edison replied,

"I didn't fail. I merely discovered 4000 ways that don't work."

Henry Ford had several business catastrophes before he found success. At thirty-eight years old, he was regarded by many as a failure.

Then there's the story about the start-up entrepreneur who asks a successful businessman,

"How did you get to where you are today?"

"By making good decisions," answers the businessman.

"But how did you go about making those decisions?" the entrepreneur asks.

"By using good judgment," replies the businessman.

"And how did you develop good judgment?" the first one persists.

"Uh," says the second. "By making BAD decisions."

Quite frankly, anyone who tells you they did something perfectly the first time is probably lying - to themselves, to you, or both. More likely they made a few attempts and, with them, a few mistakes along the way.

Michael LeBeouf, author of "The Perfect Business" says,

"Those who never make mistakes usually end up working for those

who aren't afraid to."

The only true failures in life are:

1/ Failing to try, and

2/ Failing to learn from your mistakes

Start today. See how many mistakes you can make. You just may fail your way to success.

Tags: website optimization, niche marketing, Jonathan Hook, affiliate marketing, internet marketing tips

Flip through your local newspaper.

Study the ads.

What do you notice? Chances are, you see dozens of ads that look something like this:

- Company name and/or logo at the top

- Street address and phone number

- Maybe a trite phrase like "Come and see us" or "We're the best"

- Not much else

Now, tell me what's missing.

How about any hint of a benefit to the consumer?

How about an answer to that all-important question that everyone wants to know: "What's in it for me?"

How about any information at all that would help a prospective customer to make a buying decision?

The problem with most local advertising is that it suffers from what I call "information underload." It fails to give the reader enough information to make an informed choice. And it fails to provide a strong motivation to act.

Every ad you write must contain four criteria:

1/ First, it must get ATTENTION -

This is done with a powerful headline that states a benefit to your

prospect.

2/ Second, it must stimulate INTEREST -

This might be achieved with a subheading that draws the reader in and

makes him want to know more about your product or your company.

3/ Third, it must create DESIRE -

Here's where you heap on benefit upon benefit and make a compelling,

irresistible offer (preferably with a time limit.)

4/ Fourth, it must ask for ACTION -

You must ask the reader to do something. It doesn't have to be to buy

your product. It can be to call you; to drop in for a demonstration; to write

for a free report. But your ad must ask your prospect to take the next

step in the buying process.

The four steps I've just outlined are a tried-and-true advertising system called the AIDA Formula (for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action).

To do all that takes words. Strong, selling words. Lots of them.

Will people really read all that writing in your ad?

Some will. Most won't. But who cares!

You didn't write the ad for everybody. You wrote it for those few people who are in the market for your product now, at this moment. And you've got to give them a good reason to buy from you or you'll lose them to your competition.

One of my all-time favorite ads is by The Company Corporation. It starts with a killer headline that states:

"How to form your own corporation, by phone, totally legal, in any state in

the union, in as little as 8 minutes, as low as $45"

That's six benefits packed into one headline. There's absolutely no doubt as to what this company is about or what it can do for you.

But when I showed that headline to one of my snotty friends, she self-righteously proclaimed, "I would NEVER read that ad."

My response was, "Well, do YOU own a business that you're thinking of incorporating?"

"No," she said.

"Well, then the ad wasn't written for you, was it?" I said.

I wouldn't expect her to read that ad any more than I would read an ad for feminine napkins. And that's okay.

Write your ads to speak directly to your best prospects and no one else. Just make sure you give them the information they're looking for. And lots of it.

Tags: internet marketing, Jonathan Hook, internet marketing tips, niche marketing, affiliate marketing

The word traffic is something that all bloggers love to hear, as having constant traffic coming into a blog is an essential part of being able to earn any consistent money from it. If you are a beginning blogger or a professional blogger looking to drum up some traffic for one of your blogs keep reading to find out how to do just that without having to spend any money.

You can easily put yourself in a position to drive tons of traffic to your blog without having to spend any money. All you need to do is register with all of the websites listed below and the traffic will start coming your way.

BlogSearch.com is an incredible resource for those that are looking to increase the amount of traffic that your blog is getting.
LinkRefferal.com is another great advertising website for blogs. They will provide advertisement for your blog at no out of pocket costs and all they ask in return is to be able to visit the blogs of five other members every day.

BlogCatalog.com is one of the most popular advertising sites for blogs. Sign up with them a your blog will be broadcasted for the entire world wide web to see.

Nairaland.com is a wonderful online forum for those that are looking to jumpstart the traffic to their blog. It is very simple to join and will provide consistent streams of traffic.

There you go, if you sign up for all of these great websites and you will see a big jump in he traffic coming to your blog in no time at all.

Tags: niche marketing, internet marketing tips, internet marketing, gregg hall, affiliate marketing

Have you been blogging for some time now? While you already enjoy the personal satisfaction that you get from maintaining your blog have you ever considered that you could also be making money doing what you enjoy? Of course there are many that like to keep a blog simply because they are happy doing so, but if you are in the group that would like to turn their blogs into money making venture there is no time better then right now. You have been creating interesting content and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be paid for doing something that you love.

The following are two fantastic benefits of turning your personal blog into a profitable money making venture.

You will become an instant online business person.

Maybe you have been dreaming of starting your own online business but have had difficulty coming up with the capital to get going. Needing start up money goes along with starting just about any type of traditional business. This is not the case when you are turning your personal blog into your Internet business. There are many high quality blogging platforms that you can sign up for zero out of pocket costs. It will be completely your choice to add any upgrades to your blog. With this business you do not have to have a large source of money to get your business going all you need to do is be able to write money making content.

You can make money while doing something that you love.

You can apply to affiliate marketing programs and other money making business blogging tools. You can utilize programs such as Adsense, Widget Bucks, Kontera, Clickbooth, Yuwie, MyLot, Adbrite, Bidvertiser just for a few examples. Once you have signed up for all of the income generating tools that you want to you are all set to enjoy recording your daily life experiences and anything else that strikes your fancy to write about.

So what are you waiting for start earning money with your personal blog today!

Tags: website optimization, niche marketing, internet marketing, internet marketing tips, article marketing