Internet advertising isn't that hard. Anyone can do it.
I know that's quite a bold statement coming from someone who knows a lot about advertising. But, I didn't always.
My humble beginnings
I got started in internet and affiliate marketing as a necessity. I had to do something. I ruptured a few discs in my back and was not able to continue working anywhere. I couldn't do anything that involved doing any kind of sitting, standing, lifting... anything.
So, I sat at my new computer and surfed the net a little. This was at the very beginning of the whole internet business movement and I saw that Amazon.com had a way to make money from selling their stuff. Well, through different websites and emails I found out more about affiliate marketing and just got started.
I didn't know a thing about business, advertising, copywriting, or any of the other things that make a successful business. Big Deal. That didn't stop me. And it shouldn't stop you.
I learned through trial and error and keeping an eye on what was happening around me.
Advertising succcess comes from knowing people. Not on having an MBA.
In the years since then I have thrown myself into studying people and what to look for in a successful advertising campaign. Yeah, you can read books (which I do), go to seminars (which I don't), and watch a million commercials. But, watching people, studying successful advertising, and using personal experience has been what has made the difference between effective advertising and a waste of money.
Through this, I have found out what it takes to become successful in advertising. And anyone can do it.
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Three things to think about for effective advertising
Really successful advertising does depend on a lot of different factors. On that I won't mislead you.
There are copywriting specifics that should be followed. There are strategies that will help you tremendously. There are tools and materials that should be used. But, before you can get to that stuff, there are three critical things you must think about before you begin writing any ads or figuring out any advertising campaign.
What do you want?
This is commmonly referred to as the Unique Selling Propostion, or USP. It's just a fancy way to say 'what do you want to accomplish through your ad?'
What is it that you want to happen as a result of someone reading your ad. Now, before you jump in and say "buy something at my site, duh", let me tell you that's the wrong asnwer. That's the most given answer by people, but it's the wrong one.
Any ad, it doesn't matter what kind it is, is not to sell. It's to cultivate. To farm. To reap a harvest so to speak.
With that knowledge, your next step is to figure out what you want then. For example, if I have a website that is selling a dog training ebook I would not write my ad to sell the ebook. I would want to instill in the ad a desire for the person to visit my website. That's it. That's my USP. I just want people to go to my site.
Here's why.
If I can get someone excited to visit my site, then I can get them excited to do something else while they are there. Did you catch that? If you can get someone excited about visiting your site (through your ad), then you can get them excited about doing something else while they are there.
Your site does the selling. Not the ad.
So know what you want the ad to do. Excite people about visiting your site.
What would work on you?
I don't fall for ads very easily. I don't know why, but I don't. Especially if the ad I'm reading is completely void of any relevancy.
This is the problem with most ads. "Buy this fantastic new product that you just have to have."
See the problem? And people actually teach you to write ads this way. It's suppose to raise your excitement level. Does it? Would you get excited about that? If you don't, then nobody else will.
I see ads that copywriting experts recommend putting in your swipe file (just a collection of ads to copy and study) for future reference. I don't add them simply because they don't do anything for me.
Now, yes anything will sell. If you get enough people to see it, you'll sell something from it. But, the Internet is not a place you can cheaply get millions of people to see your ad. It takes money. If you're on a budget then you can't get the exposure you need. Your ad needs to be something that people will relate to.
Let's use the dog training ebook again. Chances are that if you are selling an ebook about dog training, you have a dog. Just a wild guess there but I'd assume so. What would get you excited about buying that book? "Buy this ebook now because it's the best!"? I hope not.
This is where studying people is so important. Look at people with dogs. What do they love about their dog? They love their companionship. Write about that in your ad. Build the excitement level in the dog owner for their pet. Then ask them to visit your site.
So know what would work on you. Be relevant.
How are you going to get people to trust you?
If you are just starting out on the Internet this is a big issue. If you have been selling products for years on the Internet this is still an issue.
People don't know you from anything. You're invading their computer screen with your ad. Why should they trust you and believe what you say? They didn't want to read an ad right now. Maybe they were just checking their email quickly before they left for vacation. Maybe they just visited a website and read your article. Maybe they are reading an ezine and your ad is in between two parts of an article they really want to read. What makes you so special that they will take the extra time to not only read your ad, but visit your site?
The answer is a combination of the first two questions. Sincerity and relevancy.
I don't see that in a lot of ads. Which is probably why I don't visit a lot of sites that way.
Before you write your ad, or begin your campaing, ask youself how you can be sincere and relevant.
Back to the dog training ebook. You're going to write and ad that wants to get the reader to visit your site through working on their emotion to connect with their pet. Now ad your own personal experience. Just a few lines. You don't need 100 words here. Just something to convey your sincerity on how much you love your pet. This is going to push your ad the extra mile it needs to keep that person reading instead of rushing away.
Once you have the reader at your site, then you can broaden out your sales pitch where the final decision can be made on signing up for your ezine, downloading your free ebook, spending some time reading your aricles, or even buying your product. The ad is just the vehicle to get the person there. You need to think about these three questions before you ever put word one into your ad.
Tim Bossie is the owner of Guaranteed-ads.com and creates powerful advertising packages that contain everything you need for an effective and profitable advertising campaign. Check out the Power Ad Package for more details.
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