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Squeeze Top Performance From Your Ads In Any Media
- Make space ads work hard for you.

This article reveals writing techniques and strategies that help you promote your business better, for less, when you advertise. It covers print media 'space ad' composition concerns in some detail and provides key guidance that improves advertising response.

The term 'space ad' is marketing jargon for advertisements placed in media page space sold by any publisher. This category includes everything from newspaper classifieds to multi-page spreads in national magazines. Casual data reveals ad response is quite variable. Some business owners report good to excellent results. Yet others say their advertising is consistently disappointing. Poor results often follow from the same basic mistakes.

Do you consider yellow pages ads a basic necessity of doing business these days? What about newspapers and magazines? Even if you don't currently buy these media, read on anyway -- because you'll learn tips that make even inexpensive advertising pay off, from signage to the internet.

If you're wasting money on ads, you can turn that around and make space ads work hard for you.

If your ad spending is already justified by results, you can punch up the response by using the tricks of the trade revealed below.

How well do you relate to the 'sad ad' story

Let's say, as an example, you decide to buy a yellow pages ad. You can pick from optional sizes and features. Perhaps you're tempted to buy a bigger or fancier ad or premium placement. You hope for at least the average response stated by the directory company, though past performance makes you skeptical.

Many companies place listings in several different versions of yellow pages that cover their markets. If your competitors advertise in directories, you may not want to be left out. Small newspaper or magazine ads deliver relatively low cost promotion, but they are usually 'anytime ads' as opposed to the riskier yearly directory commitments that can't be changed. This may make you anxious.

You expect the media you buy to deliver results. But after the directory is distributed, you don't get many phone calls. You may fear your competitors are getting all the response. You may feel disappointed, or sad, or angry about wasting advertising budget.

Yet when the yellow page reps contact you about next year, you go ahead and re-order because your choices for basic, low cost advertising are limited. Or maybe you give up in frustration and just go with the minimum listing that comes free with your business phone line. That's lost opportunity if your target market uses yellow pages.

It gets worse. You may have the same disappointment with newspaper or magazine ads. You might ask, "Is there no way to win the ad game? Do space ads ever work for anyone? How can I get a decent return on my investment?" Year after year, newspapers, magazines and yellow pages keep publishing millions of ads. Although the internet is starting to become much more prominent, good print ads continue to work very well. You'll soon see that disappointing results are not inevitable and not really the publishers' fault...though most media will freely allow you to run ads that generate poor response. They make the same money whether your ad performs or not.

winning the ad game

Space ad performance dramatically improves when you're willing to take full responsibility for results and be creative enough to look beyond the publishers' free layout options. You can even avoid extra cost or pay less for ads that get higher response than the ones you've been running. Better performance may be possible from smaller ads than you usually buy. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First, a little background about the space ad business: (This will help you get a grip on how this industry works and illustrate why you need to go some extra distance in your ad program management and composition -- if you're serious about getting good response that justifies the cost.)

Space advertising is a volume operation. Publishers have a fixed amount of page area to sell. To maximize profits, they sell and fill space as efficiently as possible, using a limited set of standardized layouts plus a few optional features. They run internal sales and creative production teams lean. That's just good business.

Many publishers offer free ad composition to make their deals more appealing. Free options are based on visual presentation only, like size, color, page position, placement of visuals, trim, web site addresses or logos, and so on. As a rule, little to no creative effort goes into what your space ads are saying in words to your market, which is called 'the copy.'

Free space ad composition is the fast food of the advertising industry.

"Would you like that with a red border?"

Everyone who buys into a directory has access to the same menu of pre-cooked, ready-in-minutes, visual options. You need to create impact. You need more.

The Secret of effective Space Ads is Copy That Sells

What you really need is a way to distinguish your ad, to make your message more powerful. The way your ad is written makes all the difference. Great copy makes a visually plain ad more appealing and effective than others in your category that have lousy copy or no copy, which is all it takes to make the wheels fall off. It's your sales message that entices people to ring your phone or visit your store, rather than calling or visiting your competitors. Visuals surely matter, but they usually can't deliver a persuasive sales message all alone. Take visuals out of an ad that has powerful copy and it still sells. To power up your ads, make sure the copy sells effectively.

Large, expensive, highly produced ads from big fancy agencies come from creative teams that include a skilled writer who specializes in couching sales messages in potent copy. Free ad layouts are not a good deal if persuasive copy is missing.

Take a close look at any ads you've run, or planned. Also scan the yellow pages, magazines, and newspapers with a critical eye. For each ad, ask key questions:

What is the selling message and how is it stated?
If you were a customer, would this ad motivate you to phone or visit?
Do you see a corny cliché, slogan, or empty claim, but no real selling?
Does the message rely on hype or exaggeration?
Does the ad try to be funny but end up silly, stupid, and insulting?
Is there no selling copy at all, just an oversize listing or extra white space?
Ask "So what?" to every statement in the ad. Is the copy relevant?

You'll soon see patterns of wretched ads for yourself. Often an ad is dominated by a company name and logo, when actually an ad reader couldn't care less. They have an issue. They seek a solution. They don't care about you. Unless you're running a brand awareness campaign, ads should sell product, not market brand. An ad can only do one thing and do it well.

If your prospect is looking in a directory, they have already decided to buy or at least investigate a solution. Ads that address what they really want will pull response. It's not about you or your company. In their minds, where your battle for position is fought, it's all about them. So you must set your ego aside and put their concerns first if you mean to win.

A Comparative Example

1. A full page 'ad' for a car dealer splashes their name and the car brand they sell across the top. Next you see a few pictures of new cars and trucks, in the middle. Contact information, location, and business hours appear at the bottom. The phone number is printed large. That's it. No copy.

I really saw this ad in my local yellow pages. Then I remembered -- this dealer's cars sit on his lot for months. The entire lot is wholesaled periodically because the inventory doesn't turn. When times are tough for car dealers, pseudo-ads don't help.

2. A much smaller car ad has a curiosity-tweaking headline up top:

What Do You Want Most From A Car Dealer?

Makes you wonder what they're talking about. So you read further. Then this ad states some very desirable benefits:

Invoice-plus firm quote up front on any car we sell
Drive any inventory car away in 30 minutes or less
All factory options available by special order
Delivery available within the continental US
No car salesman tricks. Guaranteed.

Then appear a few car photos, brands, logos, etc., and contact info and business hours.

Then a free offer --

Each buyer is entered to win free routine maintenance for a year!

Which ad would you be more likely to respond to?

Put a Message That Sells In Your Ads -- Step By Step

The basic principles of all present day advertising were discovered experimentally and described by the 'Father of Modern Advertising,' Claude Hopkins, during the 1920's, in his classic book, Scientific Advertising. Hopkins is to ads as Edison is to electric lights. He followed classic scientific method to discover what works. You can still find his book in print today because it's still in wide use.

Even a small space ad can achieve impressive sales when composed along the lines Hopkins set forth. His principles have consistently brought results. They have been validated in practice during subsequent decades of advertising. Unfortunately, mass marketing with free composition typically leaves no possibility for classical effective ads because the selling message itself becomes a casualty.

Selling is a stepwise process. A distracting field of dense information surrounds your ad and your reader, so first your ad must capture the readers' attention. Then it must develop their interest in reading further. Once it has their attention and interest, your ad has to create desire -- make them want what you're selling. Then it must motivate them to take some action, like write a check, pull out a credit card, call you on the phone for more information, or visit your location.

This process unfolds in stages familiar to everyone who sells, yet many business people forget to insist that a selling progression be carried off successfully by their space ads.

You can only say a few things in an ad that are relevant to buyer interests. Most, if not all, of the following items should be present:(The order shown works well.) Tell your readers --

What unique value you provide
What you do
When, where, how and/or why you do it
Who you are
Why you're the best source

All else is folly if it doesn't help make the sale. Less is more. Keep it sparse to concentrate attention on your selling message and your desired reader response.

What's in a Real AD

Here are six structural elements for an ad that will make your phone ring and bring people into your store by moving them through an organized selling process to the buying decision.

A headline that grabs the readers' attention and makes them want to read the rest of the ad. Put a benefit here, not just a name, brand, or logo.
Selling points that clearly demonstrate value. These emphasize benefits and may back them up with features of your product or service. If your target is a technical crowd, hobbyists, or enthusiasts, features will dominate. These folks already know the benefits. They want all the little details.
Differentiation that makes clear why prospects should buy from you rather than your competition, whose ads may appear near yours.
A call to action. The ad should ask for a desired action so the reader will understand what they need to do to gain the benefits you offer. With no call to action there is no closing. And probably no sale.
Compelling visuals, laid out aesthetically to engage the eye and emotions, and reinforce the copy's sales message and your unique visual brand.
Only then the miscellaneous information -- your company name, contact information, store hours, location, etc.

Compare the 6 part selling message outline above to the multitude of boring ads that suffer from one or more classic weaknesses:

Logo or business name dominates (displacing a captivating headline)
Product line or services are listed (but not benefits)
Hours of operation listed (but not differentiation from competitors)
A stock slogan or unsupported claim is given (but no call to action)
Too much reliance on visuals (if there's any copy it doesn't sell)
Overcrowded layout (10 bewildering pounds in a 5 pound bag)

More readers will call you or visit you after an ad impression with a powerful selling proposition. You can and should prove this for yourself, as Claude Hopkins did. Get creative. Test and measure every ad you publish. Compare response. Do what works best. Approach ads scientifically and you'll enjoy great results.

Finding Gold With Strategic Advertising

You can publish keyed newspaper ads to test your selling propositions. When you discover composition and copy that sell, put those in your directory ads. This will relieve the impact of slow yearly cycles, which leave you stuck with ads that may not work. Each year when the yellow pages rep calls, give them tested ads from the previous year's newspaper or direct mail campaigns. Then you'll be a lot more confident you're buying solid value for your long-run ad dollars.

Keep this up consistently and you may well discover ads that are pure gold. Some advertisers eventually develop stable messages that never change because they say exactly what a target market wants to hear. Their products sell like life boats at the sinking of the Titanic.

I'm assuming throughout this article that the media you buy reach your target audience with good coverage and penetration. Assuring that is the starting point for any ad campaign.

You may object that you are not a trained copy writer, so you lack confidence in using language to sell. In that case, don't try all this at home because you might hurt yourself.

The best strategy for developing effective ads is to find an expert, a professional specialist who knows how to sell in writing. Have them create copy that connects your product line to your target market's needs and wants, motivating prospects to contact you and buy from you. Then run your organized discovery campaign using your copy writer's compelling messages to find your golden ads.

You may object you can't afford a fancy advertising agency's copy writing fees. No sweat. Get a proposal from a commercial freelance writer who can demonstrate they do what you need. A freelance copy writer's fees will be irrelevant compared to the volume of new business you capture using what you just learned in this article.

You can qualify your prospective copy writer by quizzing them on what you learned here. But please don't tell them you got the inside scoop from me. Or I'll never hear the end of it from my peers.

Oh, I almost forgot. I promised to say how you can economize. That's easy. Just reduce your ad sizes and put the savings into in some great selling copy. Good luck!