7 Steps To GREAT Ads!

Let's look at your marketing efforts and what you do to get the phone to ring.  Many of you write your own ads for the listings that you take.  However, do you keep detailed records of which ads pull the best response for you and where you placed the ad?  If not...SHAME ON YOU!  How can you focus your marketing dollars without knowing what works?  It's very hard to hit a target if you don't know what you're aiming to hit.

Let's look at seven steps you can take to write a powerful ad that works:

1.  Who is My Target Market?
     When you look at your ad, can you tell specifically who your target market is?  Most of the
     time, when you look through real estate magazines, you see ads that say, "Thinking of buying
     or selling?  Call me first!" or other non-compelling catch phrases.   What is very clear by this is
     that the person has not selected a very specific target market and is just trying to appeal to
     everyone at that same time.

     The single most effective ads you can write are very specifically focused on a SINGLE
     TARGET MARKET.  It's not enough to say that your target market is buyers or sellers.  You
     have to really narrow your focus even more.

     A great target market would be renters who are living in a specific apartment complex and
     paying  more than $500 per month in rent.  The more specific you can get the better.  It will
     allow you to understand who your target market is and what they hope for and fear in their
     situation.

2.  Do I Have a Compelling Offer?
     The offer is the key thing in a direct response ad.  The offer is the reason they will be
     responding.  What are they going to get by responding to your ad?  Offers can be a
     FREE recorded message, a FREE report by mail or e-mail, a seminar, an over the
     phone consultation, or a personal one-on-one consultation in their home or your office.

     Now, not all offers are going to get the same response; many more people will call and listen to
     a FREE recorded message, while not many people will be as interested in a one-on-one
     consultation just from seeing your ad.  You always have to be thinking in terms of baby steps to
     lead your prospects.

3.  Does My Headline Tell the Complete Story?
     The headline is the first thing everyone reading your ad will see when they look at your ad.  The
     most effective thing you can do is to be sure that your headline tells the complete story.  Think
     of your headline as the ad for your ad.  The headline is the only thing your prospects will use to
     determine whether they'll spend the time to read your ad and if it doesn't catch their attention,
     with something that is of value to them, they'll skip right over your ad and be on the next page.

     When people look at your ad, can they tell what it's about just by reading the headline?  Have
     a friend look at the headline alone and if they can't tell you exactly what the ad is about, you
     need to go back to the drawing board.

     Here are a couple of tips for writing winning headlines:  first, pretend that you are writing a
     three line classified ad for your ad.  This will help you to really get your point across.
     Second, look on the cover and in the table of contents of your favorite magazines to get ideas
     for great headlines.

4.  Does it Look Like an Ad?
     One of the worst things you can do is have a great idea for an ad, a great headline and offer,
     and then make your ad LOOK like an ad!  When you make your ad look like news you will
     get FIVE TIMES as many people to look at your ad!  That's because five times as many people
     read editorial content and screen out the ads.  So, if your ad has starbursts and a big glamour
     shot of you (from ten years ago) and your big logo, etc. people are going to see through it and
     tune it out.

     Give your message the best chance of being seen and read, take a copy of the USA TODAY,
     or your local newspaper and find an article that looks to be about the same size as the ad
     you're running and make your ad look EXACTLY like that newspaper article.

5.  Have I Used a Conversational One-On-One Tone?
     When you're writing ads, always keep in mind that you are talking to ONE prospect at a time.
     Even though your ad will be seen by thousands of people, when they are reading it, they're
     reading it ALONE.  Talk to them just like you would talk to them one-on-one.  Conversationally.
     Explain your offer to them as if you were sitting down with them.

     Don't worry about talking to anyone other than your prospect.  Talk only to them in a way that
     demonstrates your understanding of their exact situation, and how your offer can help them
     get what they want - while avoiding what they don't want.

6.  Is it Absolutely Clear What I'm Asking Them to do?
     This is an important point because when you look through most ads in the real estate
     magazines, newspapers, etc. you see Realtors and lenders with every phone number they
     have.  They've got their office number, home number, cell phone, pager and every other
     conceivable number and it's making the prospect think, "I'm going to have to track this
     person down!"

     Your ad should not confuse your prospects, it should be very clear what they need to do.  Your
     ad should lead them conversationally right through to the end and tell exactly what to do to get
     the benefit you are offering them.

7.  Have I Used the Word "FREE"?
     If there were any such thing as a Magic Word in marketing, the word FREE would be the one.
     The words FREE Recorded Message will do more for your response than anything else, and
     you should use them in every ad you write.  Those words convey to your prospect that it's
     absolutely safe for them to call and take the next step without having to talk to a salesperson
     and it gets them on the road to meeting you one-on-one.  So, even if your offer is a seminar or
     a free consultation, you'll always increase your response by having your prospects call a FREE
     recorded message first!

     As an example, look in the real estate magazines and notice the agent's ads who have the
     FREE Recorded Message displayed.  Do these agents do a much larger volume than you do?
     Coincidence?  I think not!

Best of luck to you in maintaining your marketing machine.  If you need any tips or advice, please let me know.  I'll be happy to help you in any way that I am able.

Just thought you should know.

Have a profitable Memorial Day weekend!

Steven