Every business has advertisements that bomb. Here are several of the key reasons ads disappoint.
No Headline
If your retail business name is at the top of your ad, you have no headline. If your headline doesn't give an irresistible reason to read more (from the reader's perspective) the ad won't be read. Over 80% of an ads profitability is provided in the headline.
I experimented one time by placing the headline in the middle of the ad. The response went from an average of $7,000 a month in gross sales (from that single ad) to Nothing. Not a single sale from the advertisement.
Same ad. Same headline. I just put the headline in a place other than the first place the reader looks. The headline should seize the reader by the face and scream "look at me!" and "This is for you!". The headline must generate enough curiosity, by itself, to make the reader desire to read the rest of the ad. Otherwise the reader won't read the ad.
Advertising and marketing your store name.
This may be the single biggest mistake advertisers do. Almost nobody cares about your business. They may care about what's within your store, if you can make them want it.
If you were going to set up a buddy on a "blind date", you wouldn't use all your time telling him about the residence she lives in. Your store is just the home that your products "live in".
You nearly never hear "Look Honey, an advertisement for a business. Let's drive over to see what's inside".
Promote specific products and build the desire for that product. That will get the customers in your retail store. That will get customers to telephone your store.
Letting untrained advertisement reps construct your advertisement.
Some advertising reps are skilled. But the majority of the training is in Graphic Design. They can make your ad look excellent. But graphic design won't persuade somebody to buy anything. Plus, the same person is designing all the ads in that media. How will your advertisement stand out?
Envision an ad rep that knew ways to put together a moneymaking ad for you. After you saw a profit from your first advertisement, how hard would they have to perform to sell you the following ad? Not at all.
Ask your advertisement sales rep if they have studied copywriting and advertising.
Placing advertisements based on budget
I keep hearing about someone's advertisement budget like it's written in stone. An advertisement will either make a profit or it won't. If an advertisement generates double it's cost, what should you do after that? Run it once more. If the ad does not generate a profit, you won't run the ad again.
If someone offered to double your money in 10 days, and you thoroughly believed him, how much a month would you plan for this? 10% of gross sales? 40% of total sales? $500 a month?
No.
You would invest as much as possible. And you would duplicate the process as often as available, for as much as you could. About 2% of my total sales is invested in local advertising. I didn't choose that figure. That amount is just what I end up with after I replicate the ads that produce a profit, drop the ads that don't, and negotiate the advertisement cost. About 40% of our gross sales comes directly from our ads, typically Direct Mail ads. Do the math. Our usual advertisement is producing business at eight times cost. A lot of trial & error to get to that point.
You budget costs, not income making investments. The only criticism about my Direct Mail company (Town Money Saver) is that it won't run other than once a month. If it ran more regularly, I'd be there.
Author Resource:
Claude Whitacre Is author of the book The Unfair Advantrage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can download a complete copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com . You can also just buy the book at http://www.claudewhitacre.com
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