7 Questions You Should Ask Yourself To Launch A Highly Profitable Ad Campaign

Marketing is all about numbers.

As a business owner, I want to know that for every dollar invested I’m generating four, ten, twenty, fifty back in return. This means that marketing pieces must be trackable and must generate “action” in your audience so that you have something to track.

Take an ad, for example.

Ads are created to make business owners money.

The problem is that most people do not know how to create ads that create an emotional response in their market of potential clients. Instead, business owners fall back on doing something they think will be seen as “cute” or “creative.” And for an inexperienced marketer who sees their competitors doing this, they assume this MUST be what is working for them.

So they copy it.

But go grab your local yellow pages book, or your newspaper, or even some of today’s Facebook and Google ads, and see how many glossy images and cliche taglines you could literally plug competitors names into and it would work for them — because everyone’s ads look just like everyone else’s.

The same goes for many web-based ads, either on social media, search engines, or websites. And unfortunately, this is the equivalent of tearing up hundreds or even thousands of dollars and tossing them in the trash.

So what’s the answer?

The most effective marketing leaves the warm fuzzies of the typical image advertising, and strategically does two very important things, simultaneously:

1. It creates an emotional response in the prospective customer.
2. It provides you (the business owner) a measurable return on your investment.

This is what’s known as Direct Response Advertising.

So, what exactly is a Direct Response Ad? It contains all of the following:

1. A headline

2. Creates interest in the service or product

3. Creates desire in the prospect

4. A specific offer

5. A deadline or cut off date

Most advertising in print, on the radio, and even TV are not direct response. They’re institutional advertising, aka “image” advertising. There is no way to accurately track the response since there is no specific offer… but advertising agencies like it this way.

Why do advertising agencies like image advertising?

Because there’s no way to verify the results — it’s hard to track an ad that’s not trackable. And, if an ad campaign doesn’t increase sales, they can blame it on one of the following:

A. “The economy.” That’s a lovely, specific answer.

B. You didn’t get enough “impressions,” so you need to run the spots again and only then will a prospect finally call you.

Both are BS, but the second is by far the worst. Advertising agencies are notorious for continuing to waste more money without achieving the promised results. And ad agencies are interested in being creative and ‘cutesy.’ Because that’s what wins advertising awards.

I think this is absolutely ridiculous.

The advertising field gives awards based on creativity, not results.

Many of the ads that win top awards don’t produce any substantial increase in sales for their clients. Agencies seem to have forgotten that the goal of advertising is to do one thing and one thing only:

GET MORE CLIENTS!

On the other hand, Direct Response Advertising is RESULTS oriented. You know exactly how much money you earn from each campaign, and it tells your prospects exactly what to do. It gives them compelling reasons to use you. It gets a response.

And more responses means more money.

When creating a successful advertisement for your company, make sure you’ve asked yourself these 7 questions before investing in a campaign:

1) Have you selected a target market?

Half the battle is selecting the RIGHT list of potential clients, and then tailoring your message to appeal to them.

Even the best marketing message, when communicated to the wrong list, will create zero results. For example, a general list will not make as much money as a specialized list that focuses on specific criteria:

• Demographics (age, income, marital status, education, etc.)
• Behavioral (pet owner, allergy sufferer, online shopper, etc.)

The businesses that get this wrong fall into what I like to call the “Blind Archery Trap.” They take a blanket marketing message and hope if they cover enough ground (“more impressions”), they’ll get customers. It’s like practicing archery wearing a blindfold… shooting arrow after arrow hoping to hit the bullseye.

But by getting a clear idea of your ideal customer and sending a focused message that speaks to that person’s needs, you can get a direct hit with just one shot.

2) Do you have a compelling offer?

The worst offer to make is no offer at all.

The next worst offer is a price discount that isn’t enticing.

If you’re going to use price to make an offer, you need to make sure it’s compelling. A compelling offer speaks to the benefits of what you’re selling, not the features. Features tell what a product or service is — but benefits describe how your product will eliminate a customer’s pain, or bring pleasure.

Your offer should encourage action and remove the risk of choosing “you.” When I was building my carpet cleaning business, for example, a classic industry guarantee I would use was, “You’ll get the most thorough cleaning ever… or it’s free!” It makes a promise of expert service and removes the risk of buying because if you aren’t happy, you’ll get your money back.

By making it safe and easy to say yes, you make your offer compelling.

When you have your target list in mind, think about what they really want and why, and then craft an offer that speaks to their “want.”

3) Does your headline tell the complete story?

A headline is essentially an ad for the ad.

Could you imagine reading the newspaper without any headlines? It would be difficult to know what might be interesting to read. The same thing applies to advertising.

Most businesses use their names as the headline, but that’s not a headline because it says nothing to prospective clients.

Examples of a good headline could be:

• “4 Reasons To Choose A ______”, or
• “The 5 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Choosing A _______.”

Any service provider or retailer could fill in the blanks with something that would work for them.

For example, if the ad mentions the biggest mistakes people make when choosing a daycare center, then it will attract the eyes of working parents. Or if it mentions mistakes when choosing a remodeler, it will attract homeowners getting ready to improve their property.

When your headline speaks to the problems your product/service solves, it will attract the eyes of your best prospects all by itself.

4) Does your ad look like news?

If you want to dramatically increase the response from your ads, make them look like articles.

By crafting an “advertorial” layout, readers approach the piece with the feeling that they are going to learn something from reading it.

Education-based marketing pieces (advertising material that seeks to educate its audience so they make better-informed buying decisions) are powerful in attracting, and filtering out, prospects.

When something looks like an “ad,” people know they are being sold and their radar goes up.

But when something appears to be “news,” people expect to learn something — and those who are interested in the subject will focus more attention on the content.

The most powerful aspect of education-based marketing is that it sets you apart as the only “expert” to use. It gives you credibility even while you’re advertising to prospects.

That’s the power of education-based marketing when done well.

5) Are you using conversational language?

You always want to address your target customers the same way you would talk to them face-to-face — like a real human being, not a textbook or corporate jargon.

The more academic and “official” sounding a piece is, the more detached readers get to the message. It creates distance. But a conversational and friendly tone, on the other hand, lowers barriers and creates rapport. It’s non-threatening and gives the reader a better opportunity to trust your ad.

If you have trouble writing in a conversational manner, record yourself talking about your business and have it transcribed to use in your marketing materials. Read your ad aloud to make sure it sounds natural.

And don’t forget: improper grammar and run-on sentences might have gotten you red marks in school, but it will get your business back in the black.

6) Is the call to action clear?

When you educate a potential client about all the wonderful benefits your product/service can provide, without giving them a specific call to action, then you have gotten them interested but haven’t made them DO anything.

When constructing your ad, always ask yourself, “What do I want them to do?”

• Is it to have them call and set up a consultation?
• To sign up for an email list by clicking a button?

Make it very clear to prospects what the next step is. Don’t just give them some contact info and make people jump through hoops in order to do business with you.

Leaving them asking “What now?” will cause delays in acting… and delay is the death of a sale.

7) Do I have a video in the ad?

A video in your ad gives you the opportunity to record your best sales pitch and deliver it 24/7 to people who want to hear it.

It’s like having your best employee working 24/7, for free, with no sick days and no “off” days. It gives you the opportunity to share more information with potential clients so that when they contact your company, they’re calling to buy — not to ask, “How much?”

From your customer’s perspective, a video is non-threatening, it’s not as intimidating as talking to a salesperson. So when prospects see a video on an ad, they’ll watch it to gather information and educate themselves…

…then they sell themselves in the process. Your video does all the heavy lifting for you.

Automated Marketing Systems (like videos) free up your time and deliver a strong marketing message to create a constant conveyor belt of new business to you. They can help you to transform your company into an ELF™ Business — easy, lucrative, and fun.

Here are some final rules for marketing:

• NEVER do anything that you can’t directly track the results.

• NEVER run an ad a second time that didn’t work the first time.

• NEVER fall in love with your ad.

An ad is only good if it gets results. Period.

If you follow the marketing wisdom here, I guarantee you will have the power to transform your company into a powerhouse in whatever industry you’re in.

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