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How To Use Advertising by
Alyice Edrich
How important is advertising? It can make or
break your business. People need to know you
exist, what you have to offer, and how they can
get what you have.
No business can succeed without proper ad
placement. Advertising is very important to the
success of any business venture. If you don't
have the money to advertise in a national
publication, advertise locally. If you can't
afford to advertise locally, think outside the
box. How can you advertise your business
inexpensively, yet still show yourself as a
"professional"?
A one-time placement in your local newspaper, on
television, on the radio, or in a national
publication will be a total waste of your time,
money, and effort. Consumers need to see your
product a minimum of 7 to 10 times before they
will even consider ordering your product or
service. Your best bet would be to purchase a
business-size card ad, with two or three colors,
a graphic, and a bit of information about your
product or service. Advertise in the same
publication for six months. If after three
months the advertisement doesn't trigger any new
sales or clients, change the ad, but keep it in
the same publication.
Last year, we had a new coffee shop open up in
town. Though many coffee shops have come and
gone, this one picked up gusto and earned enough
revenue to open a second shop in the next town.
How did the owners prevail? They knew how to
advertise their business. They placed the same
advertisement in the same spot, in the same
paper, every weekâ€"without fail. And they
learned to use their public relations skills to
gain free radio time as well as television time.
When sitting down to develop your advertisement,
keep these things in mind: What advertisements
do you read over and over again, even though you
pretty much know what the ad is going to say?
What is it about that ad that continues to
capture your attention? Which advertisements do
you automatically gravitate to when reading the
paper? What is it about those ads that draw your
attention to them? • What do you want your
advertisement to do for your? Promote your
business? Offer a sale? Inform the public? •
What is your product or service's biggest
seller? Should that be mentioned in your
advertisement? Don't crowd your advertisement
with tons of colors, words, or pictures. Less is
truly more. • Place a "call to action" in your
advertisement...call this number, visit our
store, sign up for ____, or visit our website to
download free ____. Finally, remember that you
can't always rely on the results of others as to
a "good place" to advertise your business. If
your business isn't geared towards the readers
of a certain publication, your results will not
come close to that of the person who recommended
that publication in the first place
About the Author
Alyice Edrich is the award winning editor of The
Dabbling M. Stop by for your chance to win free
videos and books (http://thedabblingmum.com) or
to download three free e-books (http://thedabblingmumpress.com).
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