How To Write Classified Ads that Sell

Everybody wants to make more money… In fact, most people would like to hit upon something that makes them fabulously rich! And seemingly, one of the easiest roads to the fulfillment of these dreams of wealth is mail order or within the professional circles of the business, direct mail selling…

The only thing is, hardly anyone gives much real thought to the basic ingredient of selling by mail or online classified ad sites – the writing of profitable classified ads. If your mail order business or online business is to succeed, then you must acquire the expertise of writing classified ads that sell your product or services!

So what makes a classified ad good or bad?

First of all, it must appeal to the reader, and as such, it must say exactly what you want it to say. Secondly, it has to say what it says in the least possible number of words in order to keep your operating costs within your budget. And thirdly, it has to produce the desired results whether inquiries or sales.

Grabbing the reader’s attention is your first objective.

You must assume the reader is “scanning” the page on which your ad appears in the company of two or three hundred classified ads. Therefore, there has to be something about your ad that causes him to stop scanning and look at yours! So, the first two or three words of your ad are of the utmost importance and deserve your careful consideration. Most surveys show that words or phrases that quickly involve the reader, tend to be the best attention-grabbers. Such words as: FREE… WIN… MAKE BIG MONEY…

Whatever words you use as attention-grabbers, to start your ads, you should bear in mind that they’ll be competing with similar attention-grabbers of the other ads on the same page. Therefore, in addition to your lead words, your ad must quickly go on to promise or state further benefits to the reader. In other words, your ad might read something like this:- MAKE BIG MONEY! Easy & Simple. We show you how!

In the language of professional copywriters, you’ve grabbed the attention of your prospect, and interested him with something that even he can do.

The next rule of good classified copywriting has to do with the arousal of the reader’s desire to get in on your offer. In a great many instances, this rule is by-passed, and it appears, this is the real reason that an ad doesn’t pull according to the expectations of the advertiser.

Think about it – you’ve got your reader’s attention; you’ve told him it’s easy and simple; and you’re about to ask him to do something. Unless you take the time to further “want your offer,” your ad is going to only half turn him on. He’ll compare your ad with the others that have grabbed his attention and finally decide upon the one that interests him the most.

What I’m saying is that here is the place for you to insert that magic word “guaranteed” or some other such word or phrase. So now, we’ve got an ad that reads:
MAKE BIG MONEY! Easy & Simple. Guaranteed!

Now the reader is turned on, and in his mind, he can’t lose. You’re ready to ask for his money. This is the “demand for action” part of your ad. This is the part where you want to use such words as: Limited offer – Act now! Write today! Get a good list of free classifieds directory,

best online classifieds, free local classifieds, best classifieds, etc. and submit your free ads regularly and consistently.

 

If you’ve ever visited free classifieds directory sites, and read some of the ads, you really have to wonder if some of these people actually make any money from the ads they post. Certainly, not all of the ads are bad. You should study some of the ads on these sites.

This should be your first step in writing a good ad: Study the ads that pique your interest. This can be ads in the newspaper, in magazines, on Google and Yahoo, and on the free classified ad sites.

You want to study the type of ads you want to write. Create a swipe file. This can be a simple text file of ads you liked, that made you want to click through, or write for more information, or whatever.

The purpose of a good ad is to get you to do something. To act.

If you’ve ever written an ad, then you’ve probably heard of the ad writing formula AIDA, but it’s worth repeating here:

A – Attention

I – Interest

D – Desire

A – Action

Attention applies to your headline. You want to generate attention and get readers to read the rest of your ad. You need to write a good headline. Your headline should be short, to the point, and demand attention.

Here are some examples:

The Secret of Making People Like You

A Little Mistake That Cost A Farmer $3,000 A Year

The shorter your ad, the shorter your headline needs to be. Make every word count.

One thing you should remember here is before writing your ad, choose your audience. Your ad can’t be all things to all people. Your ad must appeal to those who are looking for what you have to offer.

If you have the attention of your reader, the next step is interest. Focus on the main benefit of your product or service.

If you are writing a short ad, then you can only focus on one benefit.

Remember, a benefit is different from a feature. A feature tells you what something will do. A benefit tells the person how it will help him/her.

For example:

If you are selling a product to end baldness, a feature might be that it’s easy to use. A benefit would be that the person would have a full head of hair that makes him look 20 years younger.

Here’s the beginning of an example ad:

Headline: End Male Pattern Baldness Forever?

Interest: Unique formula ends male pattern baldness forever.

Next, you want to create a desire for your product.

Example: In just 15 minutes a day, you can be on your way to a full head of hair.

Finally, you want the reader to take action. Send for free details, write for free details, click through, etc.

Example: Get your free subscription to the “Male Pattern Baldness Newsletter” now.

These are just examples, and I’m sure that they can definitely be refined.

Once you’ve written your ad, it’s time to start posting. You will need some way to track your ad. You can use different email addresses, different links, or some type of tracking software.

It’s important that you track your ads because you want to know which ones are getting results and which ones aren’t.

You can change your ads one element at a time to increase effectiveness.

The point is:

1. Study good ads.

2. Create a swipe file.

3. Know Your Audience.

4. Apply the AIDA formula.

5. Test and Track Your Ads.

Not only will you write better ads, but you’ll also get better results.

Go ahead and post your free ads to free classifieds directory

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