I think there is an overwhelming dangerous way of attributing success or failure to our advertising attempts.
Most of us take in account what the ad costs. Most of us measure that against the end result. which is profit after cost.
Almost nobody sees the big picture
While we can call an ad successful if it makes money (or creates more customers at break even), we may be missing out on $1000’s. Let me explain-
Let’s say you do a very affordable ad in the form of a flyer. Maybe you spend a couple hundred bucks and write the ad and create the visuals. Now you distribute those and make a couple thousand dollars.
Now unless the cost of the product or manpower is very high, or your pricepoint is too low you should make a nice little profit.
Rarely do people think about what might have been. What if your same ad was written and presented very well and doubled the response?
Maybe you generate $4000 in sales without spending much more if anymore money.
What is written in your presentation is sink or swim, do or die. Your product or service will not sell nearly as much if presented as just a product or service. You could sell to those that happen to be in need, but far more are in need of their money.
Words need to fill your ad that invoke emotions. I see more ads focused on a price point or coupon more than what they are really tring to sell.
Far too many times people say to me “I sell lawn care dude, not message therapy”. That is where you lose big money! You communicate to yourself it is just _________. Who wants “just”?
By not digging into what people will feel once having their carpets cleaned or their house painted leaves a lot of money on the table.
When your ad finds it’s way to a consumer, they most likely do not want to see it (unless they found it by searching for it). If I am not thinking about getting my windows cleaned and an ad arrives that says-
Spit Shine Window Cleaning- Minneapolis’s #1 Choice
That ad is dead immediatley to those not already in a buying state for that service. It will go unread straight to the trash, no matter how great the offer. Most do not realize the importance of the first few lines and most lose out on LOTS of money and new customers.
There are a million ways to make the beginning of your ad more enticing without mentioning what you are selling. The key is hitting a button to get them to read more-
What Are People Saying About Your Home?
You do not need to go into a negative tirade about how bad something looks, in fact you don’t want to say that at all. You want them to think about it.
This headline could work for any home service. Since we are hitting a nerve with people and their pride and insecurity we have begun their journey into the rest of the ad.
I would likely use a curiosity type of first sentence-
“When looking around your greatest investment, do you notice this?”
Not positive or negative, be interesting. Most will wonder what you are getting at and keep reading. I would finish the paragraph with talking about the problems of have dirty windows/carpets, a brown lawn or paint color that is dating their home. They already notice this stuff, but sometimes mentally block it out.
Your goal in an ad is to create interest in what you are selling- nothing more. If you start to get into explaining out the features in a benefit driven manner, you will maintain their interest.
“With our Deep Clean Method we are able to extract dirt and bacteria festering in your carpets”
Most would simply say- “Truck mounted unit for deep cleaning”
Notice a difference? Now if I happen to get a flyer and I am not thinking about getting my carpets cleaned, which version do you think would make me stop and think?
How many of those people are you missing with every ad?
Here is the beauty of working harder and smarter on the ad (or hiring someone to do it right). You will get all of the customers your normal ads would get PLUS all the customers you are not getting.
In this economy I don’t know how anyone can afford to do it differently.
Go get some!
Paul
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