What Makes Advertising Successful?

MANY INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS COME INTO PLAY MAKING A SUCCESSFUL AD:
   
1. PERSUASIVE SELLING COPY. The wording is the single most important element in determining a successful ad. What counts most is what you say and how you say it.

2. PLACEMENT IN APPROPRIATE PUBLICATION. This might seem obvious, but it is often neglected. If the right people don't see your ad, they can't respond.
   
3. SPACE/PRICE IN PROPORTION. You simply can't sell high priced merchandise from a small classified or one inch ad space. These should be considered as a low cost means of building a mailing list by asking readers to write for more information. If you expect to sell directly from an ad, the size of the ad will have to increase in proportion to the selling price. Two or three inches of space for items selling for 42 to $5... half or full page for items selling for more than $5 up to $20. When the price goes above $20 it is usually best to run inquiry ads and follow up with a printed sales presentation. There are exceptions, but this is a fairly safe rule to follow.

4. TESTING ALL THE ELEMENTS. Unlike institutional advertising (toothpaste, cars, soap, etc.) which must rely on extensive market research, analysis, surveys and a lot of psychology to achieve success, mail order selling has a built-in "watchdog" to guard against waste and loss, and to help assure that every dollar spent will produce a profit...or at least tell you why it didn't, so you won't make the same mistake twice. This method (unique to mail order) is called KEYING. By inserting a number or letter (or combination) into every ad you run, you can tell which ad works in which publication and in which issues it works best. More sophisticated forms of this testing technique can be carried thru by trying a new headline, a different testimonials,guarantees, etc. The testing technique know no limits, but there is also danger in becoming test-happy. To use the testing principle effectively, be certain that the results will justify the time and expense of making the test. If it merely means adding to your paperwork without adding profit or reducing cost,it isn't worth it.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer
This article may be reproduced freely on the Internet as long as the resource box remains intact.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
DeAnna is the publisher of the ezine, Prospecting and Presents.
Subscribers get one free ad per week.
Subscribe today by visiting http://www.pnewsletter.com
To thank the publishers/webmasters that use my article, I offer
one free solo ad.  Simply fill out the contact form on my contact
page listing the url it was used on or sending me a copy of the
ezine it was used in.  Once I confirm the location of the article,
then we can make arrangements for the solo ad.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Note to publisher/webmaster:  Feel free to remove the part about the solo
ad when you get ready to publish the article.

A spate of mergers and acquisitions during the past two weeks may signal the start of a comeback for global dealmaking in the second half of 2010

The $1.24 trillion in cash sitting in U.S. companies’ coffers may soon be going back to work to stimulate the economy

Americans are broke and depressed—and also swilling $3 lattes and waiting in line for iPhones. Welcome to the schizophrenic economy

Growth in the U.S. slowed to a 2.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter, less than forecast, reflecting a larger trade deficit and cooler spending

The worst U.S. recession since the 1930s was even deeper than previously estimated, reflecting bigger slumps in consumer spending and housing, according to revised figures.

Business activity in the U.S. expanded in July at a faster pace than projected, signaling manufacturing is driving growth in the world’s largest economy.

China’s manufacturing grew at the slowest pace in 17 months in July, a survey showed.

ICICI Bank Ltd., India’s second- biggest lender, said first-quarter profit rose 17 percent, as it cut provisions and increased fee income.

Home Bancshares Inc., the Arkansas bank with $3 billion in assets, purchased two seized lenders and regulators closed three others as this year’s failures climbed to 108.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd has urged the White House to nominate Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair as head of the new consumer bureau, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Tom talks with Jim Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, on the slow economic recovery

There are some obvious ways to make the U.S. more competitive with China in clean energy. Why won't the Senate debate them?

Jan Randolph, head of sovereign risk at IHS Global Insight, talks about BP's liabilities, its asset sales, and deep water drilling regulation.

July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Karl Case, an economics professor at Wellesley College and co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index, discusses the U.S. housing market.(This report is an excerpt of the full interview. Source: Bloomberg)

In a new edition of The Black Swan, author Nassim Nicholas Taleb warns against depending "on financial assets as a repository of value"

Nassim Taleb, author of "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable," discusses government debt, investment risks and financial regulation.