Seven Most Costly Advertising Myths (c) Wanda Loskot
Even when you grow your business through referrals, from time to time
you need to advertise. Make sure that you do not become a victim of
these common - and very costly - advertising myths:
MYTH # 1 - The ad needs to be substantially large to generate a good
response. Wrong. Some small ads dramatically out pull the big ones.
Many of the most successful ads in history were quite modest in size.
MYTH #2 - Use a lot of "white" space because people will not read
crammed copy. Not true. Some very effective ads are packed with so much
information that they look pretty awful -- yet they make the telephone
ring and they sell a lot of products and services.
MYTH #3 - Ads in reverse, white text on black or color background
get better response. Quite the contrary -- ads in reverse print, when
tested against traditional layout, generate significantly less interest
(and fewer calls).
MYTH #4 - The best section for your ad is your own business trade
section. Not necessarily. Some of the highest quality leads you can
generate are from people who are not actively looking for your kind
of service or product.
MYTH #5 - The shorter your message, the better because people get
bored with a long copy. Quite the contrary. People who are not interested
in what you have to offer will be bored, but those who are interested
will read every single word, even if it is long copy (unless it is boring
copy, for example bragging about you and your business).
MYTH #6 - Use original titles and clever words so that your ad gets
noticed. Not a good idea. Cute and original advertising often confuses
serious shoppers. The most effective advertising is quite "low brow"
stuff.
MYTH #7 - Watch what the big guys are doing and follow their proven
ideas. Ouch! Large companies have different objectives and quite often
expect different results from their advertising than do small businesses.
They generally get more benefits from so called "institutional advertising."
Small businesses have no matching budget and have vastly different needs.
Now, when you know what doesn't work - would you like to find out what
works? Visit http://www.advertisingcoach.com for many tips, strategies
and teleclass "How to Make Your Advertising Work" Wanda Loskot is a
personal business coach - are you ready to get paid what you're really
worth, doing what you LOVE? Experience http://loska.com and read Wanda's
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