So you’ve dunked a ton of money into marketing and advertising your business, but you have yet to see a return on your investment.
I wish I could say that what you are experiencing is uncommon, but every day, business owners are blindly spending gobs of cash on multi-media marketing, and are left with nothing but empty pockets and a massive amount of regret!
What’s the problem?
Let me try to sum it up from the perspective of the business owner. The following depiction is fictional…at least for myself. But it may be very real for you.
“I spent over $10,000 last quarter promoting my business in the newspaper, billboards, television, hiring graphic artists, buying mailing lists, printing tri-fold pamphlets and building a new website. In fact, $10,000 might be a little low. Either way, at the end of it all, I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea if any of it worked!”
“How sad is that? An estimated investment of $10K, and I’m left wondering if it generated a single new sale or customer.”
OK. Back to reality. And here lies the rub…
You assumed that all you had to do in an effort to effectively market your business, was to let people know that you existed. Your advertisements were plastered with your business name, location, contact number and maybe your operating hours. Your goal was to make people aware.
But what you have failed to do, was to not only make people aware, but also to give them a reason to buy from you.
You see, buying the ad space is easy. Oh yea! And to make it even easier, publications will offer to design the ad for you at an additional cost! Sure it costs more, but at least you don’t have to do it yourself. So you’re justifying the expense based on the time it saves you.
STOP DOING THAT!
Don’t leave the success of your advertisement up to someone who makes money on the sale of ad space. It sounds like an easy solution to your lack of time, but it’s like paying big bucks for a car by only looking at a parking space. You don’t get to see the car, you have no idea if it even runs! But you’re willing to fork over the cash after only hearing about the space in which it will be parked!
Sounds crazy, but if you think about it…it’s the same scenario when buying ad space.
In order for your ad to be effective, it needs to have a strict set of key ingredients.
1. A compelling headline
A compelling headline has been proven to increase the response rate of your ad by at least 50%!
2. Sub-head
A second string of text presented in smaller font, positioned directly below the headline. The sub-head lures the reader in by revealing that within the context of your ad, you’re going to offer a solution to their problem.
3. Persuasive and fact packed body copy
Here you are going to re-state the problem, state your qualifications and then express how you, as a business, are going to make their lives easier. Slap in a customer testimonial for extra fire power!
4. Strong call-to-action
A CTA acts as finger-pointing them towards the next step. Do you want them to call you, come in, text, send an email or visit a website? How do they take advantage of your offer or buy what you are selling? Without a strong CTA, the reader is left wondering what to do next.
These four ingredients are required if you want your advertisement or marketing efforts to result in a boost in sales and a sharp upward spike in your bottom line.
All of the advertising and marketing expenses we noted in the scenario above are legitimate expenses, and for the most part, are great ways to attract new business. But the professional you are forgetting to seek out, is known as a copywriter.
A copywriter, such as myself, is skilled at several sales writing disciplines. But the best and most important of them all is having the ability to tell a story! A story that his easy to understand, and is targeted on the audience who is not only interested in your product, but is most likely to become a repeat customer.
Here’s the secret sauce.
And…if you lack the ability to track your response rate (is your ad working), garner contact information (email address, mailing or phone number) and secure the permission to send repeat marketing messages in the future (subscribe to your mailing list or RSS feed), well my friend…
You’re wasting your money.
I sincerely hope this warning does not fall on deaf ears. As business owners, we need to be working together to ensure each other’s’ success. Operating alone is entrepreneurial suicide. My ultimate goal is to educate you on the stalking pitfalls of pointless and costly advertising.
You don’t have to take my word for it. As a simple exercise, I’d like for you to go back through your advertising expense receipts from the past year, and figure out how much you spent.
Next, add up all of the new business that came as a result of those ads. If the money in is greater than the money out, I’ll stand and applaud your efforts.
But if you are sitting there asking yourself, “How can I tell if the ads worked?” you may want to stop what you’re doing, put down that calculator and call this number…
815-441-2219. That’s my direct line.
It’s time to slap a tourniquet on that gushing wound caused by excessive spending on crappy advertising.
P.S. This message is not meant to be a secret! Pass it on to anyone you think might be digging themselves and early grave. I’ve studied what works…and what doesn’t. The same applies to every industry. People spend money because they have a need for what you’re selling.
But it’s my job to make them aware of that need!
Call 815-441-2219 to set up a FREE 30 minute consultation where we’ll look at what advertising you’ve done in the past. Together, we’ll develop a solid plan of attack!
Thanks for taking the time to educate yourself and become an entrepreneur who makes smart decisions with their money. ~Andy Sokolovich