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From Chris Kilian, Stealth Promotions
Austin, Texas
email: chris@stealthpromotions.com Welcome
to the 9th Issue of Secrets for Success.
Our growing subscriber list is OUR list. Not for rent. Never sold.
Your privacy is jealously protected and always will be.
Sun this past week was beautiful. Really enjoyed myself. Found that
Austin provided lots of snow upon my return. No. Not the kind you
ski on. I came back to find Hundreds of email messages. I forgot how
quickly they build up if you do not work through them each day. That is
OK. I will worry the day I get back and find nothing. Thanks for your
comments. Please keep them coming.
We hope you enjoy this week's issue. Here we go.
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Contents:
1. Guest Article
2. Useful Sites
3. My $.02
4. Worthy Newsletters
5. Mixed Bag
6. Links For Your Consideration
7. Guest Article
1.############################################################
Guest Article:
10 Reasons Why Most Classified Ads Fail... And What You
Can Do To Avoid Making These Blunders, So You Get
Successful Results With Every Ad You Place!
Copyright (c) Robert D. Boduch
Success Track Communications
e-mail: behappy@total.net
Reason #1:
Trying to close the sale in the classified
ad itself. This is the most prevalent of the serious
mistakes classified advertisers make. The problem is
that you just don't have enough space, in a classified
ad, to convey all the benefits of even the most basic,
or lowest cost product. To try to shortcut the sales
process by attempting to close the sale right away, can
only result in a less than spectacular rate of response.
You may sell a few, but I'd be willing to bet that this
strategy will cause losses far more frequently than profits.
Many entrepreneurs start out this way, convinced that
their product or service is the greatest thing since the
invention of the wheel, only to become dismayed by a lack
of sales. Any ad that lists a price for a product or service
is guilty of making this mistake. Try using your classified
ad only as a lead-generating tool instead. Make the sale
with your follow-up material where you can provide qualified
prospects with all the advantages you offer in far greater
detail. This puts you in a much better position.
Reason #2:
Pushing your product instead of the great benefits
the customer gets as a result of having or using the product.
People respond because of what they "get". They never buy
products, services or businesses... instead, they buy
advantages or helpful results. It's the benefits you promise
in your ad that triggers response. Don't talk about the
features of your product or service, communicate all the great
benefits your customer can have when he takes advantage of your
offer. Leave it at that. If he's interested, he'll respond. If
the biggest benefits doesn't compel your reader to respond,
touting a feature surely won't.
Reason #3:
Not providing enough information to trigger
qualified readers to respond. If you don't tell enough about
what your product can do for the reader, your results will not
satisfy you. You may generate response, but, it likely won't be
of the high caliber, qualified kind. In fact, the only response
you're likely to get will be those people who respond to any ad,
particularly those that offer something "free". Don't skimp for
the sake of a few dollars. Nor should you get too wordy. You've
got to say just enough to arouse interest and generate response,
or you might as well not advertise.
Reason #4:
Not using your biggest bang as your headline,
thereby running the risk of losing prospects who might otherwise
be interested in your offer. What is the greatest benefit you
offer? Why is your prospect better off buying from you, versus
the competition? Or, what could you say that would command the
attention of the greatest numbers of qualified prospects? Focus
your lead on the answers to these questions, and nothing else.
You've got to use your strongest attribute right up front, or
you risk losing the scanning reader, who may just be a good
prospect for your offer. Don't hold back! You only have a
fraction of a second to capture the attention of the only person
who can make you and your ad successful; your prospect. If your
strongest appeal doesn't work to command attention -- a lesser
lure surely won't work either.
Reason #5:
Not providing a strong, compelling offer to call,
fax, write, E-mail, or otherwise connect with you. The world is
one huge, competitive marketplace. Your prospects don't need you
as much as you need them. They have a multitude of choices
available, even if what you're offering is a totally unique,
one-of-a-kind product. You need prospects to become customers
and the first step to converting prospects into customers is
capture their interest. Woo them in, attract them, gently prod
them along. You have to interest them enough so they take
action and that action should always lead eventually towards
a sale.
Apparently, some classified advertisers assume that anyone who
reads their particular ad is automatically going to respond.
Most ads have no incentive for the reader, no enticement to
inspire action, no huge promise. Without the appeal of a
meaningful reward, how likely is it that your prospect will get
out of his comfortable chair and do what is necessary to connect
with you?
Inaction is always easier for the prospect. It's called the
inertia factor and it can be fatal to your business. In order to
move the prospect to action, you've got to dangle a "carrot"
and tell him precisely how his life will be better in some way
with your product or service.
Reason #6:
Not addressing what's most important to your
prospect. This mistake is easily preventable by knowing your
audience. The wrong appeal simply won't work. This should seem
obvious to anyone who's prepared to spend hard-earned cash on
a classified ad, but I see it all the time.
Some ads have no apparent appeal at all, they just take response
for granted. You may get a trickle of replies this way, but
higher levels of response can only be obtained by utilizing
intelligent marketing strategies. You can only do that with a
strong appeal that is interesting, inviting and appealing to
your target audience. The key is to know your market and how
your product or service represents the ultimate solution.
Reason #7:
Offering something that seems to be readily available elsewhere.
Nothing can take the place of uniqueness in terms of what you
offer in the marketplace. If generating a huge response from
your classified ad is your goal, then you need to offer some
sort of solution to a problem... one that's not readily
available to your target audience.
If what you have to offer can be found through any number of
alternate sources, and this is common knowledge to your
audience, than whatever you offer has no original advantage.
If your product or service can be obtained elsewhere, possibly
with less effort and expense, perhaps even through a source that
is well-known...why would a prospect even be interested in
responding to your ad?
A competitive advantage would certainly help, such as a bargain
price, but that in itself may not be enough to move your
audience to contact you. Re-package, re-invent or re-engineer
your product or service so that you can position it as something
that is unequaled in the marketplace. By being different you'll
gain a competitive advantage and that gives you a unique edge
to promote in your classified ad.
Reason #8:
Using someone's name (a name that's not of the household
variety) in an attempt to attract attention and interest.
Assuming your audience will immediately recognize a name and
hold that name with the same reverence that you might, is
arguably the biggest mistake on the list and the easiest way to
kiss your advertising dollars bye-bye. This mistake is most
common in the multi-level or network marketing field.
Here is an actual ad that appeared in a major international
magazine:
"MLM - Bob Wieland challenges America,
'Join Me Step-by-Step to Freedom'
Information: (800) 000-0000"
What's wrong with this ad? Well, there's plenty, but the point
I want to drive home here is this: using names as drawing cards
in classified ads can never work as effectively as a direct
benefit statement. This advertiser assumes that his or her
prospect not only knows the Bob Wieland name, but will want to
take action simply to join along with this individual.
Where's the benefit in this ad? You might say the benefit lies
in the "Step-by-Step to Freedom". Although it's a weak
generalization, at least it offers some promise to the reader.
For that reason alone, this particular advertiser would have
fared better to lead with that benefit, instead of "MLM - Bob
Wieland challenges America..."
Reason #9:
Having an 800 number, or some other limited option,
as the sole means of response, when it may not be accessible to
the entire potential audience of your ad.
This can be very frustrating to a prospect; I know from personal
experience. Living in Canada, I have often been shut off from an
advertiser simply because I could not make the connection to an
800 line. In many cases I was anxious; I really wanted what the
advertiser promised. I was already sold! But alas, I was also
stuck... there wasn't much I could do about it.
What options did I have? I usually tried to place the call more
than once, only to hear the same recorded voice tell me the
number wasn't accessible from my area code. As a prospect, this
is very frustrating. As an advertiser, it's quite costly in
terms of lost sales. To what extent? Who knows.
The easy solution is to give your audience alternate means of
contacting you. All you need to do is provide a mailing address,
a fax number or even an E-mail address; anything that would
allow any possible prospect to respond.
You never know from where in the world a response may come.
I've personally received replies from many distant lands,
several months - even years - after the ad ran in a national
publication. Libraries everywhere are one source of
international newspapers, trade journals and magazines. This
means that responses -- and sales -- can come from any corner
of the world, if those people can reach you easily. This is
particularly true with on-line marketing, but it also applies
to any major publication you may contact.
Reason #10:
Making a claim that is too general or too unreal.
To proclaim that one can "make a fortune" or "earn six figures"
overnight by performing some simple task rarely works for an
advertiser. Instead, such claims trigger doubt, disbelief and
inaction. Everyone has heard it all before and many have been
fooled, at least once, into replying, only to be deeply
disappointed at some point.
Anyone can make a general claim, but you can enjoy a far greater
rate of response by being specific, with actual numbers that
also appear to be more realistic. In no way am I implying that
you should manipulate the numbers so that your statement of
claim seems very real to your prospect. What I am saying is that
whatever claims you make must appear to be truthful in the eyes
of your prospect. Real, actual figures can help you achieve this
objective.
By avoiding the ten common errors above, you'll be well on your
way to successfully marketing your product or service with
classified ads.
****************************************************
To learn more about the inside secrets of success with
classified ads, get your copy of: "Classified Magic...
How To Make Your Small Ads Pay Off BIG!" by Robert D. Boduch.
http://www.stealthpromotions.com/clmagic.htm
Classified Ad Profit Secrets.
In this popular manual, you'll discover the keys to
selling virtually any product or service with powerful
classified ads! All the tips, techniques and profit
secrets you need to turn your tiny ads into valuable
marketing tools that you can use every day.
We have featured this book on our site for some time. It is an excellent
resource. I recommend it highly.
2.############################################################
Useful Sites:
I did get some truly professional feedback this week. I had gone to the good
folks at LRS Marketing and requested an evaluation. The feedback was free.
It took a while to get the information back, but what I got was useful. They
offer a number of other great content categories. It is worth a visit. Go to
http://www.lrsmarketing.com
Forget hits, get more sales! This group of experts teach advanced Internet marketing
skills and business tactics that work. Everything from top search
engine tricks to graphic art techniques. See http://www.hitstosales.com
3.############################################################
My $.02:
Are You Overlooking Your Best Customers?
I came across this story, attributed to Malcolm Forbes, which is supposed
to be true, and it could be true. Here it is.
A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a
homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly,
without an appointment, into the University president's outer office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had
no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in
Cambridge. She frowned. "We want to see the president," the man said
softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped."We'll wait,"
the
lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the
couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't. And
the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president,
even though it was a chore she always regretted to do. "Maybe if they
just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. And he
sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously
didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses
and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.
The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the
couple. The lady told him, "We had a son that attended Harvard for one
year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was
accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial
to him, somewhere on campus." The president wasn't touched, he was
shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly. "We can't put up a statue for every
person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look
like a cemetery". "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want
to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and
homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea
how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars
in the physical plant at Harvard."
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could
get rid of them now. And the lady turned to her husband and said
quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our
own?" Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and
bewilderment. And Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to
Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears
their name, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those
who can do nothing for them or to them. --Malcolm Forbes
How are you treating customers "dressed in gingham" that you have as
clients? Sometimes, it pays to treat the least desirable, penny-pinching,
always questioning, difficult to understand clients with your best service.
You never know when they might surprise you with a great opportunity.
If you mistreat them, you will never know what you missed because your
great chance will go to someone else.
Of course, doing your best for even the worst clients has a cost.
But not doing your best has a cost too. Like this story, the loss could
have you kicking yourself for not paying a little better attention to your
customers' needs.
And of course the real problem is that you cannot tell which client will
lead you to your next pot of gold.
Just a thought, especially good for this time of year when so many of us
will be rushing around doing things. Please don't rush your customer
service. You will be more tired at the end of the day, but you will be
adding to your bottom line, both now and in the future.
Copyright © 1998 Stealth Promotions
Chris Kilian operates Stealth Promotions.
( http://www.stealthpromotions.com )
Stealth Promotions will create
your internet presence from scratch or
improve the effectiveness of existing web sites.
Subscribe to his newsletter by sending an
email to subscribe@stealthpromotions.com
This article can be copied and used in your publication or on
your web site at no charge. All we ask is that you publish
the article in it's entirety, including the footnote above.
4.############################################################
Worthy Newsletters:
A."Disceptatio" is a free monthly discussion E-Zine. It
will not make you a million, but just might help you die laughing. For a sample copy
e-mail clun@bigfoot.com put Copy in the Subject. To
Subscribe, same but put Subscribe in the subject. Note: you MUST Subscribe in order to be
put on the Mailing List.
B.FREE subscription to our e-zine for free and learn the tips and tricks of
some of the best Internet marketers in the business. Every week we
will provide you with information that will help you make your business
explode. To subscribe send an e-mail to
majordomo@perfectpresence.com
with SUBSCRIBE NETNEWS in the
subject.
C. The Freebie Times: a free weekly newsletter with something for everyone. In
each issue we have great contests, Sweepstakes, free stuff,and much more.
E-mail washack@epix.net with Subscribe
FT in the subject to subscribe.
Please let the publishers know you heard about them here.
5.############################################################
Mixed Bag::
Thanks to the folks at Focus Associates who gave our lowly awards a rating of
3.0. We expect that having a "rated" site will increase traffic, and we
get a nice
link from their page too. Do you have an award that is not rated? Drop by and
ask for an evaluation. (Mine took about 4-6 weeks.) Find them at the top of
our
huge list of awards at http://www.stealthpromotions.com/awardlist.htm
Spent some time sprucing up the home page this week. I have made
improvements in the navigation menu. Told you that your visitors are the
best experts. This change is in direct response from your imput. I also
ditched the annoying pop-up window/poll on the suggestion service
page. It was a mistake, and the service was being moved to a new server.
In email, they have promised to fix lots of things and add improvements.
We'll see.
If you have articles that you would like us to consider for publication, send
them to us at articles@stealthpromotions.com
. No promise to use every
submission, but we are looking for your imput.
6.#############################################################
This Week's Classifieds:
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7.#############################################################
Guest Article:
Placing Banner Ads Online: Look Before You Leap!
By Chris Ayers
You've decided on an idea. You've picked out some bright colors. Your
banner ad uses animation and includes the magic word, "Free." Only one
decision left to make ... where to place the ad? Look before you leap
... where you place the ad can make all the difference!
Let me tell you a story that clearly illustrates the point. I recently
designed a series of banner ads for a small company that provides
employee benefit services. They have a great concept but need more
exposure on the web.
After completing my design work and posting the ads online for the
owner's review, curiosity got the best of me and I asked him where he
was placing the ads. He responded that he had heard from some friends
that if I want to generate real traffic, he needed to be on Yahoo or one
of the other big search engines.
Again, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to ask the next logical
question ... namely, "Do you know how much they charge for banner ads?"
He replied that he had done some checking into it and thought that he
could place an ad with one of them for about $2000 a month. "That
pretty much shoots my advertising budget for the year, but I'm banking
on the results," he reluctantly added.
Well I really liked this guy and do think that he has a really great
idea. So I couldn't let him put all his advertising "eggs in one
basket." I asked if he had checked into placing ads with other websites
where his potential customers might visit. He shook his head no, and I
told him to give me a week and I'd get back with him.
Before I go any further, don't get me wrong. I think Yahoo and other
big websites are great places to advertise if you have the funds to
support your efforts. I just think that for many small companies, these
are not the best alternatives.
So back to my story. While traveling on business, I spent a couple of
hours online searching for websites dealing with human resources,
retirement planning, group health insurance and other employee benefits.
After sorting through the results, I narrowed my list down to 10 sites
that offered online advertising. I sent emails to each site, explaining
that I represented a client who was interested in advertising on their
site.
HOT TIP: I refrained from sending the business owner the list directly
because I knew that I could negotiate agency discounts with many of the
websites. In fact, I was able to negotiate a lower rate with all but
one of them :-)
I then called my client and arranged a meeting. I gave him the list of
websites with their advertising rates and told him that I thought
advertising with some of them would be a much wiser use of the limited
funds at his disposal.
Noticing that he looked unsure, I explained that most of the people
visiting these sites would be interested in what he had to offer. In
other words, his ads would be targeted much more closely to his
potential customers. The more we talked, the more he smiled. By the
end of our conversation, he was grinning from ear to ear.
Now for the $50,000 question: How did it all turn out?
I got a call from the young man a couple of weeks later thanking me over
and over for the help. He couldn't believe his results (nor could I).
He had placed banner ads with three of the websites that I had located
for a total of $400. And his traffic had already tripled ... in just
two weeks time!
How can you use all this when promoting your website? I've outlined
each of the steps in the list below. Now I can't promise you the same
results, but I think you'll be very pleased.
1) Start with a great banner ad. If you don't have the tools or talent
yourself, have someone design one for you. You can get some great tips
on what makes a banner ad effective from a website called Four Corners
Effective Banners. Check out their tips at
http://www.whiteplam.com/fourcorners/digiwaretips.shtml.
2) Think about your potential customers? What other products and
services do they purchase? Look in the trade magazines that your
customers read. What other kinds of information do they seek?
Brainstorm a list of ideas.
3) Search the web using your favorite search engine to locate websites
that attract your potential customers. My favorite for this purpose is
http://www.dogpile.com. Dogpile searches using
multiple search engines
and then gives you top ten results for each.
4) Browse through the websites to see which might fit with your product
or service. Contact a couple of them and ask for their rates and the
number of visitors they attract each month.
5) Don't forget to tell them you've designed the ads yourself and want
the 15% agency discount. It might actually be less, but you won't know
until you ask.
6) Select one or two and try them for a month. If the website offering
the advertising doesn't provide you with the information, be sure and
check your access logs to see how much traffic is coming from their
websites.
7) Repeat the process as often as you'd like. Contact the next two
websites on your list and repeat steps 4,5 and 6. Or go back to step
one and use some other words from your list.
Chris Ayers is a promotional consultant and publisher of the weekly
newsletter, "Unlimited Traffic." To subscribe to his free newsletter:
send any email message to traffic-on@mail-list.com.
#############################################################
Until next time-
Plan your work. Work your plan. Succeed.
Chris Kilian, Stealth Promotions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can Your Web Page Win One or More of 700+ Awards?
http://www.stealthpromotions.com/awardlist.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Submit Your Site to Major Search Engines Free
http://www.stealthpromotions.com/submit.htm
Want to do it yourself? Follow the same link
to get two free software programs that will
do this for you. Both allow free downloads
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What would you give for a free classified ad that would:
Make your ad ALWAYS have the #1 position?
What if it would do this for EVERY category?
Would you like it to send an email for every ad placed?
Want the ability to change your email message 24/7?
Would it be OK to send your ad to 700 sites?
Would you like free guestbooks or autoresponders?
Can you find a banner you control to paste in the middle
of the ad entry page?
Want to know by email message each time an ad is placed?
Would you like let this run on automatic, except when
you want to make changes?
Want all this with basically no rules beyond NO SPAM?
Go to: http://www.websitings.com/classads/sites/stpromo.htm
Easy set up when you click "apply for classifieds"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember: All of you have indicated that you wish to
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have entered a contest, asked for our award, used
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, and
your wish will be followed. We are VERY interested
in your feedback. Make suggestions, give us
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Expect more tips, hints, websites, tools and advice to increase
your web traffic and internet success next issue.
Please forward this whole message to friends or
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Better yet, suggest that your friends send a blank
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All contents Copyright (c) 1998 Stealth Promotions, except
where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reprint only with express permission from copyright
holder(s). All trademarks are property of their respective
owners. All contents provided as is. No express or implied
income claims made herein -- your business success is always
dependent on many factors, including your own abilities.
Advertisers are solely responsible for ad contents
and publisher accepts no liability for direct or consequential
damages.
Contact Information:
Stealth Promotions' Secrets for Success
701 Capital of Texas South, Suite C-1173
Austin, Texas 78746
Phone: 1-512-330-0404
Fax: 1-512-328-8323
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