Advertising 101 - With Examples From Personal Ads

Getting people to buy your products and services is an art form. You could have the best product on the market, but that doesn't mean people will buy it. You could spend ten times as much money advertising your product, but that doesn't mean anyone will listen.

Sure, it's interesting! But who needs a magnifying glass with a corkscrew?

Think Sharp
Great advertising is about being aware of your goods, and making them interesting and compelling.

For example, nothing at the Sharper Image is the best quality anything. You won't find the "best" corkscrew at the Sharper Image. You will, however, probably pay the highest price for it. The reason people shop at that store is because the stuff sold in the Sharper Image is interesting. When you walk in, you get surrounded by interesting stuff, and pretty soon, you're buying something.

Buy Love
Personal ads have been around forever, and they only seem to be growing. Looking online, it seems you can't surf the Internet without tripping over a personal ad. Yet with so many ads out there, for the most part, they're terrible.

People looking to find the love of their lives mostly don't write what they feel. They don't commit to their ad. For example, they're afraid to put their photo online. They're afraid people they know will see their ads. Therefore, instead of presenting the person they are, and saying the things they feel, they write what they think other people will like; or worse, what's "safe" to write in case people they know see their ad.

Companies and small businesses fall into the same trap of not commiting to their ads.

This isn't a photo, this is a cop-out.

Always Say 1000 Words
It never ceases to amaze me how many people advertise something (a product, a service, a fund-raiser, an event), and fail to include photographs. Nothing sinks a promotion faster than the lack of photos.

Sure, great copy can totally make a great ad, but that's the exception to the rule. Most people aren't brilliant copywriters. Almost all small business owners do all their own advertising. When you don't have Bill Bernbach writing for you, be sure to include photos.

It's said that a picture says a thousand words, and that's no joke. Go take a look at the personal ads, and note how you jump to the ads with photos, and skip over the ones that don't.

Camouflage is good when you *don't* want to be noticed, so be sure to not wear it when advertising.

Hook Your Fish
Before you pull the great catch into the boat, you have to hook it first. That's where your tag line comes in. Whether it's a newspaper ad, a billboard, or a personal ad, the first thing you say is the most important thing you say. You need to hook the attention of your target before you can wrestle them into your store, your fundraiser, or the wedding chapel.

For example, in a personal ad, you don't say, "Life is about compromise." You may as well say, "Constant nagger with bad breath." You need to make your first words interesting and compelling. You want the reader to sit up and read what else you have to say.

Try these taglines out:

• "I own the world - come take a slice"
• "You better read this... NOW!"
• "Samrt Popele Wnated - Iqniure Wthiin"
• "Your mom will ADORE me!"

Any one of those will stand out from "We are offering a sale on Wednesday," "Top Notch Goods Sold Here," "Normal Girl Looking For Normal Guy," and "C1al1s Softabs and Rolex Watches Here Like Now!"

Spinal Tap turns up to 11. You should NEVER turn up past 7.

Turn Compelling Up To 7
Once you've hooked your target, don't pull too hard on the line. Getting somebody's attention is one thing, but if you come on too strong after that, you'll chase people away.

Besides, people like to see in your words the things for which they're looking. They have an image of what they're looking for, and if you don't leave them the room to imagine your product (or you) in that space, they'll take a pass on your pitch. Even though you need to be compelling once you've got someone hooked, you've also got to be somewhat understated as you do so.

Talk about the real things you offer -- you love the Simpsons, you try very hard to not like them but Journey is still your favorite band, you snort when you laugh, you're so smart you're deadly, your family and friends mean everything, you wished somebody made feety pajamas for adults.

Being real is the most important part about advertising. Once you go down the slippery slope of embellishing, you'll be opening the door for a competitor to step in and take your business.

Now THIS was a unique idea! A fast food superhero team.

Be Unique, And Let Advertising Be Feedback
When you go through the advertising process, you have not just the great opportunity to sell, but you have the greater opportunity to learn. What makes you compelling is your uniqueness. If you are not unique, you will not stand out.

So, when writing that list, if you can't write "I snort when I laugh," then you need to dig deeper. If you can't list what's interesting about your products or services, or in the case of personal ads, if you can't list how you're unique or interesting, you have bigger issues to address. Go make that product better, or go take a class on something you've always wanted to study, like archery, or painting.

Everybody is unique, and people are drawn to that. If your widget is exactly like that of a competitor, only cheaper, you won't sell as well as if it were just like that of a competitor, only cheaper, and in better colors. Likewise, if you say you're average, like movies and are somewhat shy, you've said nothing other than, "Go read another person's ad."

Let the advertising process be a time to learn about what you're developing about yourself. Do you like movies, or do you like black & white classic movies starring Jimmy Stewart? Are you shy, or do you really want to talk about Shakespeare and your writing and poetry, only find it hard to find people with similar interests?

Lastly, Fail, and Fail Harder
Once you've got your act together, get out there not with a "test run," but with a "test blast!" Put your guts into your first effort! Do everything you feel passionate about, then do more.

Because, if you fail after only a little effort, you'll have many reasons why you failed. If you fail after an heroic effort, you'll have only a few, and you'll be completely jazzed knowing immediately how you could do better. In fact, it will energize you to go back and try ten times as hard on your next attempt.