The Art Of Writing Classified Ads

Navigation: Main page » Marketing

 Print this page Submit articleComment article

Author: Jason Morris

Article source: http://www.magnet4web.com/. Used with author's permission.

The writing of good classified ads truly is an art that needs to be learned and perfected. Depending on the type of business you run, the development of a good classified ad can boost your annual sales by an average of £5,000 to £20,000 or more.

You must first of all forget any notion of selling products from your classified advertisements. Instead you need to concentrate on offering free information to attract as many interested parties as possible for the products or services you have to offer. You need to understand that your ad has only one purpose. That is to target a specific group of customers who need what your company has to offer.

The purpose of your ad is to gather enquiries, whether they be in letter, notes, on postcards or through online enquiry forms. Or for that matter on anything through which the customer can say "Please send more information". Upon receipt of any enquiry you must respond quickly with professionally written and prepared sales material. This will at least consist of a sales letter, descriptive circular, a full product brochure and a return addressed envelope for convenience.

Unlike any display advertising, your classified ad will be placed under a specific heading according to product or service type. Then only readers interested in your subject will scan your heading in the same way they would scan the adverts and subjects placed in a phone directory. They are the ones looking for something; it's up to you to let them know you have it.

Never try to deceive prospective customers with the content of your ad. Remember you need the names of good quality buyers, not a massive amount of names to supply expensive marketing material to. It is best not to promise more than your product or service is able to offer in your classified ad. This will not only lose you a sale, but will upset the customer and alienate them from any future sales.

It is essential that you place your classified ad under the correct heading and sub heading. For example if your product targets other business's remember ther are sub headings like finance, technology, marketing etc. Some publications or online classified sites even allow you to create your own sub heading if there isn't one already.

When writing your ad it is best to disregard the size and cost of your ad. You need to tell it all, and stress the need for the product or service you have to offer, what it will do, and how the readers will benefit from the purchase of it. Concentrate on how what you have to offer will make their lives better and much easier.

When you have finished writing the best possible description you can, now is the time to start thinking about size and cost. Read through your ad to see if you can cut down on the wordage without detracting from the content, and be selective with your choice of words to be written in the final version of your ad.

Only when you are totally happy with the final content of your ad should you submit it for publication. Then if you have been honest and as descriptive as possible, any interested parties will request further information hopefully leading to a sale.

Thanks for reading.

Please feel free to rate my article at the bottom of this page.

Jason

What Do Trees Have to Do With Golf?
To my way of thinking, that trees should come into play during a round of golf seems an unfortunate departure from the original way the game was conceived.

Cats And Litter Box Problems
If your cat has recently decided not to use the litter box, this can create a lot of stress for both of you. This frequently happens, and often there is a simpl...

Thinking of Buying Hits To Your Website? Think Again!
"Generate 30,000 Targeted Hits"; "Email 2.5 Million Daily"; "Submit Your Ad to 3 Million Classified Sites"... I could fill pages with those promises. When I sta...

Ear Mites in Dogs: Quite Earritating
Does your dog have that sheepish look? It could be that he's embarrassed of his ear mite problem! All this time you thought he just had a bad case of ear wax li...

Renters Have Much to Gain by Pursuing Home Ownership
Buying a home vs. renting is a big decision that takes careful consideration, as most mortgage consultants will agree. But the rewards of home ownership are gre...

The Balance of Balance
Life is about maintaining a balance of all aspects. At times some areas might receive more focus than others, but remember we're always undergoing constant chan...

Carrots : The Master Key For Healthy Living!
It slows ageing, promotes healthy vision, has anti-cancer properties, increases immunity towards various chronic diseases. Yes, carrot does it all for you. This...

Fashion with a Conscience
While wristbands have become a fashionable way to show our geopolitics we often forget that we can make an even bigger impact on poverty and the environment thr...

The Cost of Refinancing - What Costs To Expect When You Refinance Your Home Mortgage Loan
Here is an overview of the costs to expect when refinancing your home mortgage loan.

Free Traffic Course - Day 1
It is super important to underline "TARGETED" web site traffic. When an online surfer looks for gasoline discount tickets and gets to the web site that sells po...

Park Benches
One of the best ways to create a warm and inviting outdoor space is to incorporate the use of park benches into your outdoor decor. Whether they are simple or g...

Three Easy Ways To Prevent and Suppress Cravings on a Low Carb Diet
If you've been on a low carb diet for any amount of time, you have undoubtedly felt the pangs of hunger that accompany strong cravings. There are a number of w...

10 Fundamentals for Effective Meeting
How do your meetings compare with this list?

How to Get Rid of Smoking, Drinking, Drugs and Other Bad Habits
We all know how challenging it can be to heal and release old patterns like smoking, drinking, drugs and other addictive behaviours. Here are some tools that I...

The Rose
Lifestyle is style over amount. And style is an art - the art of living. You can't buy style with money. You can't buy good taste with money. You can only buy m...

The Beneficial Effects Of Vitamins On Your Digestive System
Poor nutrition can actually lead to various problems in the digestive system which is why meeting the standard recommended daily amount of the vitamins, mineral...

Natural Weight Loss is Not a Diet Pill
These days losing weight in a natural way means you need a whole barrage of pills, potions and gimmicks (or so advertisers would have you believe). But real nat...

Im Changing Careers - How Do I Format My Resume?
Are you ever stumped about which resume style or format to use when writing your resume? This article demystifies the complexities of how to approach this impor...

Choosing Form Over Function Kills Your Site
Never put form over function. Why? Because it's crucial that visitors actually be able to USE your site. Everything you do must be designed to be as easy for th...

How to Start a Paper Shredding Business
Paper Shredding Business Opportunities are blossoming up everywhere because in recent years, privacy concerns and new policies have forced companies all over th...

When Showing Your Home
There are a few reasons why buyers may be put off when or after seeing your home and reasons,which are in your control. Read to find out more.

Leadership: Stoking The Success Train
Successful Leaders have certain qualities and strategies that keep them moving forward from one success to another. These qualities and strategies are not inhe...

Dating Tool: Confidence 101
I'm over it. "There's plenty of fish in the sea," they say. Well, apparently I have been using the wrong bait. Nobody said dating would be easy, but Hollywood s...

Coaching Tips for Powerful Presentations
Tip #1 The purpose of your speech is to get results; to help people make changes and think or act differently. So start with the end in mind. What do you wa...