Putting Some Pizzazz In Your Ads

The media bombards us with thousands of images, messages, andlogos everyday. In fact, the average person in the United Stateswatches between two and four hours of television on a dailybasis. (www.mediafamily.org) Does it surprise you that we startto tune out advertisements after awhile?This makes it a lot harder for people trying to market theirbusiness come up with ideas that stand out in the frenzy of adpitches. Unless Britney Spears happens to be singing jingles onnational broadcasts about your company, your ad campaign isprobably going to have to work a little creativity in there. Hereare some common advertising methods and ideas to give them somesparkle.Classifieds: Classified advertising is one of the oldest forms inthe book. Tons of people look through their Sunday paper insearch of apartments, jobs, or anything else you might ever want.Smaller local publications are now also offering a classifiedssection, not to mention that the world of online classifieds isat its peak.So many places to find, place, and ignore classifieds. So how doyou prevent potential customers from skimming right over your ad?Grab their attention from the get go, and chances are they'llread your ad, thanks to a great opening line. There are threetypes of opening lines that work well with classifieds:Informative, enticing, or challenging lines.If you tell your reader in the first statement what you'reoffering, they'll know whether or not they want to keep reading."Learn How to Quickly Generate Hot, Hungry, Targeted Traffic!" isa great opening line, because it tells readers that the producthas to do with increasing website traffic. Right awayyour reader knows whether or not that ad is for them.Secondly, you can entice readers into your ad by using images inyour opening line. "TRY LIGHTING FIXTURES BEFORE YOU BUY!"Although this line doesn't give any specific detail, it does givethe reader a nice mental picture of being able to see theirlighting fixtures in place before they ever put any money down.Offer your reader something they want: "BRING PEACE BACK INTOYOUR LIFE! In today's hectic world, who could resist?Finally, if you challenge your reader to do something, they willbe more willing to see what the ad has in store. "TIRED OFANSWERING TO YOUR BOSS? START YOUR OWN SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS!" or"SAVE YOUR DRIVING RECORD AND STOP PAYING A FORTUNE FORINSURANCE!" The incentive is there, and more often than not, thereader will be motivated to see what else in store.The body of a classified ad should be short and to the point.Once you've gotten your main point across, readers will follow upif they're interested. Leave your contact information at the endof the ad, in clear type.Remember that you should devise a method for tracking yourclassified ads. If you place three different ads in threedifferent places, you want to know which ads or whichpublications are bringing the most business. This is so you cancontinue a similar ad campaign to further your business.Ezines: Most ezine subscriber lists currently have 100,000 to300,000 readers per issue. That's a lot of potential business!Furthermore, most ezines are specifically targeted at a certainaudience. If you have a great business opportunity that needs tobe declared to the world, a biz opp ezine is a great place to putan advertisement. Check out http://www.bizguru.com for top ezinesthat reach millions, for less than two hundred dollars.Most other ezines are also pretty inexpensive. The bigger onescharge about $35 to $150, but there are smaller ezines that runads for much cheaper, too. Granted, smaller ezines only reachabout 2,500 to 5,000, but that still a few thousand people thatyou're reaching, and all for a relatively small price.Remember that if you choose to advertise in an ezine, you need tobe marketing a product that can be shipped easily anywhere in theworld. If you product are breakable or expensive to ship, tomight want to consider advertising in your local area.Local Media: With the advancement of the Internet, manynewspaper, radio and television stations realize they are in afierce competition. It doesn't cost as much as you might think toplace ads in these ever present media sources. Not only is itcost effective, but a great way to get your name out in yourimmediate community.Let's face it. It's not exactly easy to add attention grabbingflair to a radio or television ad on a limited budget. You don'thave to hire the cast of Friends, however, to get people tolisten to you.Listen to the ads that are already out there. You know what youlike, and it's probably the same sort of stuff that's going tograb the attention of potential customers, too. Try to usecomponents of ads that have affected you, and see what you comeup with.Don't forget that while bizarre ads can be a little, well,...bizarre they can also have a lasting effect on people. There's anad out right now that features an array of singing belly buttons.I was a little freaked out the first time I saw it, but I stilltried on a pair of the jeans advertised the next time I wasshopping for new pants.Using a little creativity will get your ad noticed far more thanthe boring ones, no matter where you place them. Target youraudience and track ad placement, and you will be well on your wayto having an awesome ad campaign.