Summary: Do you feel like all of your advertising dollars are being flushed down the toilet? Do you feel like you're wasting your money and that pretty much all paid advertising is just a total waste of time? You're not alone. Most business owners feel like the Return On Investment (ROI) for their advertising spend is just not worth the effort. But before you totally give up on paid advertising, consider the notion that it may not be the advertising platform itself, but your actual advertising piece that's failing. Creating a compelling advertisement is hard. Unless you have experience with copy writing and direct advertising, creating an advert that drives action is difficult. In this episode we'll discuss some best practices and how you as a newby business owner/copywriter can create a solid advertisement for your business. In this episode of The Small Biz Express podcast we discuss: Why very few people respond to your advertisements How you can create an advertisement that drives action - no copy writing experience necessary The key elements of a great advertising piece Why the headline is so important and nothing else matters if you get it wrong Why the key to effective advertising is constant testing, not getting it right the first time Why Mike has an obsession with wedding cake Action Steps from this episode: Headlines. An effective advertising piece is made up of several elements, the most important of which is the headline. The goal of your headline is not to make a sale, but to get people to continue reading. Value Proposition. What is the "hook" that will inspire people to call you? Are you engaging the reader and creating desire for your product or are you doing what most people do, creating a bullet point list of features. Features, Benefits and Outcomes......features are useless unless the reader can envision a positive outcome from buying your product. Calls to action. After you've created the desire, now is the time to inch the reader to action. Clearly state what the reader should do next, whether it's a phone call, email or website visit, make it very clear what needs to happen next. Create a sense of urgency and a reason for people to take action now by adding an expiry date or other "I better act now or I'll lose out" message so readers know if they don't act soon, they will miss your fabulous offer. Links and Resources Discussed in this Episode Internet Marketing for Smart People. Copyblogger.com's great introductory email course for copywriting. Copywriting. Some examples of crisp and clear copy courtesy of Hubspot. (http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33441/10-Companies-That-Totally-Nail-Copywriting.aspx) Conversion Tracking. A beginners guide to setting up conversion tracking in Google Analytics, from Search Engine Journal. (http://www.searchenginejournal.com/a-beginners-guide-to-conversion-goals-in-google-analytics/) Thank You for Spreading the Word Please let your Twitter followers know about this podcast. Simply click here now to post a tweet. If you enjoyed listening to The Small Business Express podcast, please head over to iTunes, leave a rating, write a review and subscribe. How to subscribe to The Small Biz Express podcast Click Here to subscribe via iTunes Click Here to subscribe via RSS Click Here to subscribe via Stitcher Would You Like Your Question Answered on the Show? We’d love to hear from you. If you’re interested in leaving a voice message for possible inclusion in The Small Business Express podcast, please record your message here.
