What do you think of my ad? Five rules to review
Small business owners take pride in their advertising. Rightfully so. Frequently, the advertisement becomes a personal expression, a business personality. In the rush to be clever, however, some of the basics can easily be overlooked. Here are my top five rules for a quick advertising checklist.
Rule #1: give the potential customer a way to find your product. List the store location, add a web site and include a phone number whenever possible. Recently as I looked at an advertisement for a craft show, an artisan friend asked, “What do you think of my ad?” Glancing at the newspaper I asked, “So how do I contact you?”
This friend had used an advertisement inviting people to her booth at a craft show. One option might be to give a booth number in the ad. For those who plan their shopping experience, a web site offers a preview opportunity.
Rule #2: What does your advertising ask people to do? While it may be beautiful to present a pleasing image,One of my personal pet peeves is image advertising. In today’s market, who has dollars to support only image advertising? Get specific and get closer to results.
Rule #3: Add a sense of urgency to your advertisement. Think about the deadlines that compel you to action. Consider the early bird sale, for example. Or, think about adding a bonus for those who act now. These options encourage readers to make a decision.
Rule #4: What makes your product unique? How will you stand out from the competition? One of the simple checks I use is the substitute. If you can substitute your competitor’s logo and name for yours and the advertisement stays true, then you have not defined your uniqueness. Find a way to stand out from the crowd.
Rule #5: Have you proofed everything? One of the professional organizations to which I belong spent four months advertising and promoting the annual conference with countless email blasts, hundreds of flyers and web site promos; throughout it all, one word was misspelled. Not until someone pointed it out after the fact did the error become clear. Moral of the story: have someone with no knowledge of your business proof your advertisement.
These are five simple ideas, any one of which might improve an advertisement for your business. What checklists do you use?
Rule #1: give the potential customer a way to find your product. List the store location, add a web site and include a phone number whenever possible. Recently as I looked at an advertisement for a craft show, an artisan friend asked, “What do you think of my ad?” Glancing at the newspaper I asked, “So how do I contact you?”
This friend had used an advertisement inviting people to her booth at a craft show. One option might be to give a booth number in the ad. For those who plan their shopping experience, a web site offers a preview opportunity.
Rule #2: What does your advertising ask people to do? While it may be beautiful to present a pleasing image,One of my personal pet peeves is image advertising. In today’s market, who has dollars to support only image advertising? Get specific and get closer to results.
Rule #3: Add a sense of urgency to your advertisement. Think about the deadlines that compel you to action. Consider the early bird sale, for example. Or, think about adding a bonus for those who act now. These options encourage readers to make a decision.
Rule #4: What makes your product unique? How will you stand out from the competition? One of the simple checks I use is the substitute. If you can substitute your competitor’s logo and name for yours and the advertisement stays true, then you have not defined your uniqueness. Find a way to stand out from the crowd.
Rule #5: Have you proofed everything? One of the professional organizations to which I belong spent four months advertising and promoting the annual conference with countless email blasts, hundreds of flyers and web site promos; throughout it all, one word was misspelled. Not until someone pointed it out after the fact did the error become clear. Moral of the story: have someone with no knowledge of your business proof your advertisement.
These are five simple ideas, any one of which might improve an advertisement for your business. What checklists do you use?
Labels: cricital audience: customer, critical audience media
posted by the profitmeister at
8:33 AM
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