“HELP – I Ran One Of Those Direct Response Ads And I Didn’t Get Any Calls!”

Lot’s of times I hear from people who tell me “I ran one of those direct response ads and I didn’t get any calls.”  When I hear that I immediately go through this checklist with them, and we’re able to figure out why.

Who is your target market?
Many times an ad will be directed to too many people at once, casting as wide a net as possible so as not
to leave anybody out. If you are not getting any calls it may be because your ad is not speaking to
anyone in particular, but to anyone who is “thinking of buying or selling…”
When you write your ad, write it to one very specific segment of the market. Think in terms of
renters who are paying more than $750 a month in rent and living in the Oakbridge Apartment Complex,
or homeowners living in the Bridgeview Subdivision in a 2-bedroom home who want to move up to a 3
or 4 bedroom home. The more specifically you can identify your target market, the easier it will be for
you to create offers that will be appealing to them.
What is your offer?
A lot of times, I’ll ask people what their offer is and they won’t be able to tell me exactly. They’ll say
things like “Well, I just want to get the word out about my services”, or “To let people know that I will
treat them special”.
If you don’t have an offer, you need to go back to the drawing board and think of something you can
give your prospects. Something that will make them want to take action now. Something like a free
recorded message on how to use their rent money to buy a home or a free list of homes they can buy
within a 3 mile radius of their apartment with zero downpayment and monthly payments the same as
they are paying in rent.
Does your headline tell the complete story?
One of the first things I check on the ads that people show me is the headline. I’m looking to see
whether I can understand what the ad is about just by reading the headline alone. A good headline is
going to tell me everything I need to know to decide if this ad is for me. The headline is the ad for the
ad. Here’s a good way to think about it. Pretend that you are writing a 3-line classified ad for the same
offer you are making in your ad. If you can get the whole point across in those three lines, try using ad
as the headline for your ad.
Does it look like an ad?
Here is where a lot of people go astray in using direct response advertising. When I look at their ad they
have a big balloon in it, or a rock or a glamour shot of them.
Your ad should look exactly like a story in the newspaper. This is maybe the most common mistake I
see. There is a good chance that your ad is not working because it looks like an ad and people just pass
over it. Here’s the test – go out and get a copy of USA Today and find an article that is the same size as
the ad you are running.
Does your ad look exactly like the article? What about the big bold headline that’s aligned to the left and
not centered? What about the Times New Roman font they use for the body copy and the columns of
print? Does your ad have those things? Do everything you can to make your ad match exactly the layout
of the newspaper.
Are you talking to them like you would talk to them one on one?
When you write the copy for your ad, you need to pretend that you are talking to one person at a time.
Even though your ad is going to be read by thousands of people – it’s going to be read one person at a
time. You need to consider your ad your one opportunity to speak directly with your prospect for less
than two minutes. What would you say to them if you had the chance to sit down with them one on one
and tell them about your offer?
Try to create a mental picture in your mind of sitting down across the table from one of your ideal
prospects and write your copy just like you would talk to them. You’ll find that your copy is going to be
more conversational, more understandable and get more people to take action on your offer.
Is it absolutely clear what you are asking them to do?
This is the point where you have got your prospect really wanting what you have to offer, now you have
to make it crystal clear that they are to pick up the phone and dial one specific phone number to get what
you are offering. Many times I’ll see ads that have an office number, a toll free number, a cellular
number and a pager number.
The feeling that this gives people is that they are going to have to track you down. They don’t know
which is the right number to call, or what is going to happen when they call you. You need to be very
specific and eliminate all confusion from your offer to them.
Have you made it easy, easy, easy to respond?
This is one of the most important things you can do in your ad. Make it easy to respond.
How do you do that? You get a toll free voice mailbox with a 24hr recorded message that takes all of the
calls for you. Don’t forget that using the words “FREE recorded Message” will increase your calls by
300% or more.
The reason this is so successful is because it sends a message to people that they can just call and get the
information they want, without having to talk to a salesperson or having to answer questions they don’t
know the answer to. They are in total control, which gives them confidence, which increases the number
of people who will call!
So there you have it. If you ran a direct response ad and didn’t get any calls, go through this simple
checklist and find out why.