ULTIMATE MONEYMAKING NEWSPAPER

By David Fowler The nation's #1 newspaper ad expert

Editor: Sheila Ketabian Book Design: Wesley Doyle

Ultimate Moneymaking Newspaper Ads Copyright 2009 by Ads-Up Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form without written permission except for brief quotes used for the purpose of a book review. Please send inquiries to: Publisher, Ads-Up Publishing, 2229 Lagoon View Drive, Cardiff by the Sea, CA 92007.

Printed in the USA

THE WAY IS LAID OUT. JUST

"The most effective ads you'll ever see are some form of irresistible bribery."

- David Fowler

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface 1

Introduction 3

Section 1 Be ready to grow your business before you advertise Step 1: Know what ads WORK in newspapers 8

Step 2: Create ads that grow your business 16

Step 3: Know the purpose of your print ad 19

Step 4: Create a niche that attracts ideal prospects 24

Step 5: Set goals for your ads 32

Step 6: Use a database to sell your customers more stuff, more often 36

Step 7: Track your leads and measure your results 40

Step 8: Overcome the biggest result-killing competitors 42

Section 2 How to create ultimate moneymaking ads Step 1: Target the ideal prospect 46

Step 2: Know what prospects are really buying 51

Step 3: Romance your prospects to "YES!" 57

Step 4: Make your offer REALLY irresistible 61

Step 5: Write a headline that compells prospects to read it...OR ELSE THEY WON'T! 67

Step 6: Write a call to action phrase that prompts immediate response 76

Step 7: Determine if you need "short" or "long" copy. 82

Step 8: Give readers the "proof" they need to respondand more will 86

Step 9: Use pictures that support your offer. 91

Step 10: Use type that's instantly readable 96

Step 11: Design an effective layout 102

Step 12: Pre-Test your ads 112

Direct Response Ad-Builder Strategy Form 114

Summing it up 118

PREFACE In case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of negative press about newspaper advertising floating around.

The rumor is it doesn't work anymore.

I agree. Most of the so-called "advertising" you see in newspapers across the country, doesn't work. By that I mean, most ads lack the essential strategies needed to generate a significant number of leads and sales. And when ads don't drive enough quality leads and sales, naturally advertisers look for other ways to invest their marketing dollars.

Also when their ads don't work, rather than look at their own methods, a lot of people blame the newspaper instead.

But do ads fail because newspapers really don't work? No. Newspapers capture millions of readers every single day. Newspaper readers do read the articles. They do read the editorials. And they do read, (or at least glance at), the ads.

The problem with newspaper advertising lies with the people who create them. Because most of them don't have a clue what they're doing.

I wrote this book to show businesses and newspapers exactly how to create effective newspaper ads.

And when I say "effective", I'm talking about the kind of results that have the power to blow the lid off response rates and sales.

So when the skeptics, (the people who don't know the principles for creating effective ads), say newspapers are past their prime, or that they don't work, I say, look at the response rates generated by the people who do know how to create moneymaking newspaper ads. Then decide if newspaper ads work or not.

Here are some real numbers given to me by some of the people whose ads I showcase in this book:

Jon Spoelstra's newspaper ads routinely generate between $7 and $14 for every $1 spent on an average placement.

Steve Wexler's newspaper ads routinely generate up to $10 for every $1 spent on an average placement.

Bill Fryer's newspaper ads routinely generate between $7 and $11 for every $1 spent on an average placement.

I recently created a small space ad that brought my client 10,000 leads and $500,000 in sales in 3 days; a full page ad that brought my client $960,000 in new business within 6 months; another full page ad in small markets that brings my client $80,000 in revenues per weekeach time the ad runs.

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Yes, all from newspaper ads...that supposedly don't work anymore.

Are these "freakish" results abnormal in the world of newspaper advertising? In other words, did I have to hunt high and low to unearth the only ad results like this in the world just to write a book about it to prove newspaper ads are effective?

No. I didn't do that.

The ad results above are consistently common for this group of uncommon marketers. And similar results could be yours tooIF you learned and applied the principles you'll find in this book.

--David Fowler Cardiff by the Sea, California

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INTRODUCTION

guessing...and start using the proven strategies for creating newspaper ads that bring you 200%, 300%, 500% or more return on your money.

I have to assume you're reading a book about newspaper advertising because your ads don't work. Or they barely workjust eking out a few calls or leads.

In any case, your ads are costing you money, leads, and frustration.

There's a reason your ads are failing. And it's not because the newspaper doesn't work anymoreit does. The reason your ads don't work is because MOST of what you think is right about newspaper advertising is wrong.

In fact, most of what newspapers themselves know, most of what ad agencies know, and most of what your competitors know about newspaper advertising is wrong too.

I only know your approach is wrong because I learned (from failing a lot more times than you have) which strategies do work.

This book prescribes a radically different way to write and design newspaper ads than you're prob-ably used to.

In fact, the ideas in this book are so different from the traditional ideas found in most ads that even if you decide to use them you'll lay yourself wide open to criticism.. .probably lots of it. You may be laughed at. You may get ridiculed by other businesses or business associates. Heck, even your own fam-ily members and friends may criticize you. And you'll certainly be disliked and bad-mouthed by com-petitors.

But take that as a good sign. It means you're on the right track.

I think the biggest challenge you'll face as you adopt the ideas in this book will be standing up to social pressure and ridicule.

I know this is true from experience. In several cases, I've created ads for businesses that quickly brought a ridiculous downpour of new leads and sales, and the owners of those businesses turned around and dropped the ad campaigns because they couldn't handle the family and social pressure caused by the "image" and content of their new ads.

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If you're serious about growing your business quickly, be prepared to have your self-esteem tested... maybe a lot.

And if financial success and security is of paramount importance to you, find the guts to use the ideas I'm about to present in these steps. I'm betting the money you'll make will help you resist the strong social tendency to move with the crowd whose own marketing efforts produce lukewarm results at best. Remember the best fruit is out on the limb!

You know, for years I've heard many of the so-called brightest marketing and advertising "experts" proclaim newspaper advertising doesn't work anymore. They claim the audience has moved online and that newspapers are past their prime.

That's a silly argument. Hundreds of millions of people have read a newspaper today.

When you question the people who insist newspaper ads don't work, you'll find in reality these people are talking about their ads.. .THEIR newspaper ads don't work.

I have overwhelming proof that newspaper ads not only work; they work like gangbusters. In fact, I recently created an ad for a client who attended one of my ad workshops that resulted in 233 leads to his business in 3 days.

I 'm not saying this to brag but to tell you the newspaper as a sales medium for growing your business is extremely effective.. .IF you learn the strategies and techniques in this book.

In this book you'll see a lot of actual examples of highly successful newspaper ads which illustrate the points being made. And the examples are from ads that I've written or were written by other top copywriters. The point is this: each example was selected to dramatically prove how the right newspaper ad strategies will increase your leads and sales.

In the ad workshops I conduct, there's always someone who voices what I suspect most of the others in the audience are thinking: "If newspaper advertising is so effective, why am I getting fewer and fewer results from my ads?"

And when I see their ads, I realize I've seen these same problems a thousand times

over. The repeat issues are:

0 The ad isn't targeted to get the attention of the right prospect.

^ There's no compelling or irresistible offer in the headline.

^ There's little or no "proof" to substantiate the offer.

Q There's too much emphasis on the look or image of the ad and too little emphasis on sales.

0 There's no compelling reason for prospects to respond NOW.

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When you apply the principles in this book, you won't make these mistakes anymore.

And just in case you're wondering, this book you won't teach you anything about IMAGE ads the ones with pretty pictures and few words. And there won't be anything about writing CLEVER or WITTY headlines or copy, and absolutely nothing about designing GRAPHICALLY BALANCED ads those delicate pieces of fine art that make designers go "Ahhhhh."

In some cases, I even opt for graphically UNBALANCED ads because they're more effective.

This book is about generating massive amounts of leads and sales to your business...and using "di-rect response" newspaper ads to do it.

Direct response ads are the only ads I know that are fully accountable for sales. They're account-able because their response rate is "measurable." Response is measured by tracking mechanisms like coupons, dedicated phone numbers, or some prescribed action that measures response so that sales and revenue can be tracked back to the ad itself.

Done correctly, direct response ads don't even look like adsthey look more like editorial content of the paper or an urgent message.

True, these ads usually have more text than most ads.

And no, they're not very pretty...unless you think increased sales are pretty.

Like I do.

Okay, so let me give you some advice for reading this book: Drop your assumptions about what you think makes a good ad. (Remember, you're reading this book because YOUR IDEAS DON'T WORK.)

And don't skip steps. This book gives you a logical sequence for building successful ads. The meth-odology is proven, and if you follow the steps your ads will improve your bottom line.

Finally, apply what you're learning to your adsas you read. Also test each new applied idea as you go, and you will see a BIG difference in the number of leads you attract and the money you make.

I also want you to read and devour everything written by Ted Nicholas, Dan Kennedy, Jon Spoel-stra, Jay Abrahams and Gary Bencivengawho make up the greatest brain trust of direct-marketing know-how on the planet. I 'm constantly learning something new and valuable from each of them. You will too.

This book signals the end of newspaper advertising as we know it. Embrace the new strategies and you will skyrocket your ad's response rate.

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Warning: If you create one more newspaper ad

without first reading and applying every sales proven, response-generating,

moneymaking idea in this book, don't complain when your ads DON'T work.

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BE PREPARED TO GROW BEFORE YOU ADVERTISE

In this section you'll learn:

Exactly what kind of ads work in the newspaper and HOW they work.

The one and ONLY objective your ad has The purpose your ad serves in growing your business How to create a niche that attracts the right prospects How to set goals for your ads How to track and measure your ads response How to beat your REAL competitors

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STEP 1 Know what ads WORK in the newspaper

OVERVIEW: There is only ONE kind of ad that works successfully in the newspaper, and this step tells you exactly what kind of ad it is. This step also tells you why this particular ad works best. Pay attention because it's critical you learn and apply the information here to get maximum profit from this book.

Let's get right to the heart of it. The only kind of ads that work successfully in the newspaper to pull mas-sive leads and sales are DIRECT RESPONSE ADS.

And the reason direct response ads work so well in the newspaper, (and pay close attention to this insight), is because

THE NEWSPAPER IS A PERFECT DIRECT-RESPONSE MEDIUM.

So there are two things you need to know. One: Exactly what is a direct response ad? And Two: What makes the newspaper a perfect direct response medium?

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Before I explain what a direct response ad is, let me show you what a typical ad looks like. The following ad was written by an excellent direct response copywriter, Bill Fryer. Bill lives in the U.K., but writes for the U.S. market too.

Those people who say they "wouldn't read all this copy" are not afflicted by "High Blood Pressure". It's a serious topic and this ad specifically targets those who sufferand makes a product sales presentation effectively because it's hidden in what appears to be an "article".

This very successful direct response ad works because the "testimonial teaser" headline pulls in a targeted reader. Using a testimonial to sell a health benefit is a very effective method. Note the incentive to respond quickly? "Shipping and handling is free if you re-spond to this advertisement within 14 days".

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As its name implies, a direct response ad compels the target audience to respond directly to the offer made in the advertising.

You're probably thinking that's why you run ads already. Right? Well, the difference between your ads and these is a direct response ad uses a specific strategy to compel response. Another difference is the leads and sales they generate are measurable and can be tracked back to the ad itself.

By contrast, most of the ads running in today's newspaper are "branding" or "awareness" ads. Or they could be image ads, sale ads, informational ads, business card style ads, or ads that spotlight products, product lines, sales staff or customers.

Most of the ads in the newspaper are not trackable, so real results cannot be defined. I personally think a lot of ad designers and creators prefer it that way.

And if you use any of these ads, you already know...they DON'T WORK. They do not have the "response triggers" necessary to drive massive amounts of leads or sales to your business.

Here are the basic elements that comprise a direct response ad: They always target a specific reader. They always sell something the target audience wantsnow. They always have an offer. They always give the prospect a reason to respondright now. They always have strong, factual copynot fluff or exaggerated hype. They always have tracking mechanisms in the ad, like dedicated phone numbers or coupons or some

tracking device. And... They are tracked so results can be measured.

Now here's the answer to the second question...

What makes the newspaper a great direct response medium?

There's a 2 part answer. 1. How people read the newspaper is the first part, and...

2. The FRAME OF MIND people are in when they read the newspaper is the second part.

Have you ever closely watched HOW people read the newspaper?

If you have, you've noticed that the reader's eyes move quickly over the page. That's because there are lots of pages to read. And lots to see. It has articles, editorials, information, photos, cartoons, entertainment, games and ads. And for most newspaper readers, there's not much time to take it all in.

Newspaper readers are constantly searching the pages for pictures and headlines that reach out and grab their attention. And because newspapers offer so much to see and read, you'll notice that once someone reads a page they rarely, if ever, go back to pages they've already seen. A finished page is old news.

Actually, if you really looked, you'd notice that newspaper readers don't really read much. At first their eyes scan a page. And they scan pages fast. In fact, the average reader scans a page in about 3 seconds or less.

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And they scan until... (and this is what's really important to advertisers) they find a REWARD that interests them. The reward may be a unique, interesting, or curiosity enticing picture. Or it may be an engaging or enraging headline. Or it may be an ad.

What best describes the newspaper reader's frame of mind while reading the paper is this: They're on the look out for a REWARD and they want the reward to gratify them instantly.

Granted, a juicy reward may be to get the latest on a devastating train wreck. Or to see if Brad is re-ally going back to Jennifer. Or to cash in on some year-end tax tips or to read what a Wall Street execu-tive has to say about an emerging market.

The point is, newspaper readers want a payoff for reading. They want to be rewarded. And they want news that rewards them NOW.

Direct response ads weld the two desires together. The newspaper reader gets rewarded with urgent or juicy news and information. The direct response ads sell desirable rewardsin a form that looks like "news."

The newspaper reader and a good direct response ad are a perfect match.

How direct response ads take advantage of the "frame-of-mind" of newspaper readers

The insider's secret for you is that ads and sales pitches formatted as "news" FAR out-sell and out-perform ads formatted to look like ads.

When you create ads that appear in the form of a news article, you're getting agreement in the news-paper reader's mind that it's safer to accept the information presented. The sales pitch is camouflaged as news, whereas traditional advertisingwritten and designed to look like an "ad"creates immediate resistance because the reader identifies it as a sales pitch.

The following three insights reveal how direct response ads gain acceptance and response without resistance due to their non ad-like appearance.

NEWSPAPER READERS scan the headlines of articles looking for urgent, serious, entertaining or late-breaking news stories.

DIRECT RESPONSE ADS WORK because the headlines are written in the editorial style of the news-paper in order to be identified as urgent and serious "news" rather than appearing as a sales pitch.

NEWSPAPER READERS seek news stories that not only pique their interest but use text that's long enough to satisfy their curiosity. Newspaper readers want lots of information, hard facts, statistics, expert insights, interviews, and the meaning behind the headline.

DIRECT RESPONSE ADS WORK because they not only pique the readers interest, they also provide long copy, written as urgent news giving the reader useful information, substantiated research, hard facts, statistics, expert testimonials, and customer testimonials.

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NEWSPAPER READERS believe the "news" comes formatted in columns and is written in easy-to-read serif typefaces like Times New Roman and Garamond.

DIRECT RESPONSE ADS WORK because they MIMIC the editorial look and style of a newspaper arti-cle. They also use serif typefaces that look like those used in the newspaper. And the most effective direct response ads do not use a company logowhich would minimize its effect by tipping off the reader that it's really "just an ad."

Of course the newspaper will not let you (in most cases) use their typefaces in your ads, and they'll require you to put the word "Advertisement" at the top of the ad. But this is a small price to pay for dra-matically improving the readership and response to your ad.

Gary Halbert, one of the greatest direct response newspaper ad copywriters of all time, once said his research proved that ads which appeared to look "editorial" in nature got a whopping 5 times more re-sponse than ads that "look" like ads.

Here's the psychological reason direct response ads work. By not appearing to be an ad or sales pitch, the reader's guard is down and their internal "spam" filter is turned off. Therefore, they're not resistant to the information. And because the ad looks like news, it filters through to the reader unblocked.

The beautiful twist is the news article they're reading also gets them to open their wallets and buy some-thing.

You'll Get The Cleanest Carpet In Pensacola

See how this ad "rewards" the reader?

1) The "guarantee" is a powerful one; 2) You get "Free Spot Cleaning" and, 3) you get a "BONUS Gift".

This small space ad ran in a small local paper. John Braun, business owner and creator of the ad, booked 17 jobs in one day. By week's end the ad had generated a response of $22:$1

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If you have a choice of newspapers in your area, make sure your target audience reads the paper you're considering.

In addition, choose a paper the readers feel passionate about. By passionate I mean:

They LOVE the paper's special niche in the marketplace. They LOVE the paper's point of view or position on issues. They LOVE the paper's purpose or mission. They LOVE the paper's content. They LOVE the paper's attitude and style.

When you find an audience passionate about the paper they're reading, you've found an audience that's fully ENGAGED in the paper's message. And when people are engaged, interested ,and excited about what they're reading, that same excitement transfers over to your advertising messageespecially if your message relates to the niche or editorial point of view of the paper.

I know of businesses that advertise niche products and services in niche publications and get 15, 20, or even 30 times their investment back.

Put a good niche ad in a good niche publication in front of an audience predisposed to your niche, and they'll DEVOUR it like a fresh slab of meat thrown to a wolf.

If you have a "Christian" business, run ads in a Christian newspaper.

If you sell "crystals" or "mystical books" run ads in a new age paper.

If you sell horse trailers, run ads in The Horse Gazette or Briddle & Bit newspapers. (Yes, they really are "newspapers").

You get the idea...

On the flip side of the coin, if the audience isn't really engaged with the paper's niche and content, you're job of influencing them to care about your offer will be much more difficult.

I see a lot of business owners putting a good message in front of the wrong audience. That's a big and costly mistake. To avoid this mistake...

Study the niche of the paper and be sure your business niche and im-age harmonizes with theirs

A study of the paper's audience and the newspaper's editorial point of view will keep you from mak-ing a costly mistake.

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Remember, the difference between newspapers is the difference in the mindset of their readership.

The Bargain Shopper reader may also read the large city metro Times, but when they're reading the Bargain Shopper, they're looking for bargainsthey're in the bargain mindset!

Readers of The Wall Street Journal or The Financial Times are in a "money" mindset. These readers are looking for smarter ways to invest or save their money.

And no, your ad CAN'T CHANGE the mindset of people reading a particular publication to fit in with your ad's point-of-view. So don't try.

Different newspapers exist for different reasons. Do your homework and find out the purpose of the paper. Is the newspaper's focus...

A specific philosophical or religious point-of-view? A counter-cultural or alternative point-of-view? A political point-of-view? A nationalistic or cultural point-of-view? An international focus? A national or statewide focus? A specific category focus like finance or entertainment? A regional or local focus? A local community or hometown focus? A specific industry category focus? A regional or local "bargain hunter" advertising focus? Or combinations of the above?

If you're not sure of the specific readership demographics, lifestyle, and the point of view of the ma-jority of readers, call the newspaper and ask them. They can tell you who reads their paper and why.

And one last thought...

Don't dabble. Don't have one toe in and one out.

If you're going to use the newspaper to grow your leads and sales (and this goes for any media for that matter), go all in.

In my own consulting practice over the years, I've seen that the people who commit long term to their advertising and promotion do far better than those who don't or can't. Why? Because commitment is about character; it's about staying with your decisions until they produce results. Commitment propels you to "go deep" and to expand your base of knowledge and learn.

Applying what you learn as you go enables you to succeed.

Those who place ads in newspapers to "try it" or to "see if it's going to work" are in fact dead before they start.

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Stopping and starting is a poor practice for growing your business. It destroys your momentum for-ward. It also kills the enthusiasm of the people working around you.

Advertising requires trial and error to learn what really works. And while this book shows you specifi-cally how to create successful ads, it's not a free ticket to successful advertising. You still have to apply the principles to your specific business and learn.

Be relentless about your promotion. Promote every day. It's the only way to grow your business and suc-ceed.

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STEP 2 Create ads that grow your business

OVERVIEW: One of the biggest reasons ads don't generate massive numbers of leads or sales is their "objective" is weak or unclear. This step will show you how your ad can grow your business dramatically and how to line up your ad objectives with making a lot more money.

What are the objectives of your ad?

No, it's not a trick question.

And sure, your knee-jerk answer is probably, "to make more sales"... right?

Good. But exactly HOW will your ad generate the leads and sales you want in order to grow your business?

Believe it or not, the answer (below) makes all the difference between an ad that generates leads and sales and one that doesn't.

Here it is: Your ad's objective is to INVITE your prospects to receive an ETHICAL BRIBE so IRRESISTIBLE they immediately postpone (or rearrange) other important tasks on their priority list today to CALL or VISIT your business to take advantage of your offernow.

If your objective is anything less, you're going to get less!

The fact is your ads aren't appealing to your prospect's GREED sentiments. The test of the effectiveness of an ethical bribe is this: the bribe is so overwhelmingly compelling, magnetically attractive, and enticing, your pros-pect would walk a mile in a snowstorm to get it!

Motivating people to act, even when they didn't intend to, is the purpose for using an IRRESISTIBLE BRIBE.

When I talk with business owners, I get a LOT of resistance to the idea of "bribery"even though I stipulate the bribe must be "ethical."

The real reason businesses don't use BRIBES in their advertising is because owners are uncomfortable with the implications it poses.

They're at odds with the idea they have to "buy" a prospect. They think they're lowering their standards (as a human being) by giving away gifts, services, or other valuables to influence the prospect's behavior. And they're uncomfortable even if the results bring a lot more prospects (and money) into their business!

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No...bribes don't cheapen your business image. No, they don't make you look desperate. And no, you're not a "sleazy" sales huckster because you use them.

Sure, I understand your internal conflict. But here's my advice...

If you want your ads to work, you need to get over it

YES, overtly bribing prospects to your store or business may rub against your sensibilities, your self-esteem, or your personal life philosophy.

Howeverand this point is the KEY TO SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING "buying" prospects deliberately is exactly what it takes to win new customers.

You paid a sign company for signs to entice cus-tomers to your business.

You paid a printer for brochures to persuade cus-tomers to buy from you.

You pay the newspaper for ads to induce custom-ers to respond.

These are acceptable business forms of "brib-ery". They're all "carrots". But for the most part the marketing tools businesses useespecially the ads--businesses use to enough of a "pay off"

To grow your business, it takes BIG bribes and the guts to offer them.

It took guts for AOL in the mid 90s to give away 250 millions free disks to everyone in the country to connect online free for 30 daysa strategy that brought AOL 23 million new customers fast.

It took guts for a pre-owned car dealership to let customers "test drive" any of their cars for "30 days"or return it, no questions asked.

It took guts for a small lunch cafe with numerous competitors to offer a "FREE" Chicken Sandwich "for several weeks" ... until he had an addicted lunch clientel.

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The marketing you currently dowhether it's traditional ads, store front signs, brochures, flyers, or whatever is a form of bribery. It's just a lot more expensive than the bribery I'm asking you to commit to.

I'm asking you to get over your resistance to overtly "bribing" prospects and to do it anyway. The choice to do so is a choice to make money and grow your business. The choice not to do so is a choice to waste money on advertising and not to grow your business.

The formula for getting past any resistance is to practice in private first. Here's what you do:

1. Take a couple of hours "off" work away from your office. 2. Bring a pad of paper and something to write with. 3. Put yourself in your customer's shoes while you work... 4. Make a list of at least 5 totally outrageous bribes you could make in your ads that WILL, without fail, bring

qualified leads to your business. 5. Choose the one that's the most outrageous and attractive. 6. Write the "bribe" down on another piece of paper and put it in your pocket. 7. Pull it out and read it to yourself once every half hour throughout the day. 8. As you read it each time, ask yourself, "Would my prospects respond to it immediately?" 9. If they would, ask yourself, "How would this change my business?" "How would this change my life?"

Here are some sample bribes used by other businesses in their ads to attract prospects

F r e e d i n n e r for 2

F r e e V W B e e t l e with p u r c h a s e o f C o n d o

F r e e C a r W a s h a n d B r e a k f a s t w h i l e y o u w a i t

2 n i g h t s i n L a s V e g a s a n d m e a l s o n u s

O n e W e e k i n H a w a i i i n c l u d e s a i r f a r e a n d a c c o m m o d a t i o n s

F r e e v a c u u m c l e a n e r

F r e e S p a d a y

F r e e H a i r c u t ( $ 5 5 v a l u e ) with c o l o r

F r e e s e t o f G l o b a l K n i v e s with p u r c h a s e ( a $ 6 2 5 v a l u e )

F r e e g e n u i n e A F L g a m e bal l (worth $ 7 5 )

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OVERVIEW: This step explains the one and only purpose your ad serves. It also illustrates the 2 types of direct response ads that can achieve the ad's purpose. Apply the concepts here and prosper!

Your print ad has only one purpose-

Ready? The one single purpose of your ad is to ACQUIRE QUALIFIED PROSPECTS at the lowest possible cost in

order to accomplish the 2 most important business-building objectives:

1. Add new customer contact data (brought by the ad) to populate your database.

2. Use your database to sell more goods and services to existing customers over their life spans.

In my ad workshops, I speak to thousands of business owners a year. When I ask how many use their ads to build and grow their customer database, only a few hands go up.

When I ask the group which does have a customer database if they use their database to grow retention sales from existing customers, far fewer (sometimes no) hands go up.

That's not good.

What it means to me is too few business owners actually know that the purpose of their ad is to grow their cus-tomer database as quickly as possible.

If you're like most of the small to medium sized business owners I've met, you're in a relentless pursuit of NEW customers to feed your top line sales.

Not a good business building strategy for you, and not a good proposition for your customers either.

Here's why. For you it means you're working too hard and spending too much money chasing down new cus-tomers, and those are your most expensive customers. For the existing customers (your most profitable customers), it probably means they're being ignored because your focus is elsewhere.

Sure, they may still shop with youso you're not aware they may feel neglected or taken for granted. But if you don't put some warmth and genuine outreach into the relationship with existing customers, there's nothing to keep them from spending their money with your competitors.

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A new approach that WILL build your business First let's fix a common misconception, which is: the purpose of advertising is to convince a customer to buy

something from you. In a word, that's "WRONG."

The entire purpose of advertising is to BUY a customer ONOE. This gives you a relationship with the customer and their all-important "contact information"...so that you can sell them your products and services over their life time.

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Digging in and understanding this concept is important because it's the formula for success. Buying a customer as inexpensively as possible is the purpose of the ad. It's the first step to working smarter in your business, not harder.

Did you know the typical bricks-and-mortar business in this country spends about $450 to acquire a customer? This is according to marketing guru, Dan Kennedy. This figure includes the costs of marketing materials, ads, media, staff, and other costs of the sale divided by the number of new customers per month.

$450 to buy a customer is a ridiculously high number. So, in the approach I 'm outlining here, you'll be able to...

1. Spend less to buy new customers while attracting more The only way to bring your customer acquisition costs down is by INCREASING the value of your bribe.

Think of it this way: If the average customer acquisition cost in this country is $450, and you spend $150 on gifts or services to bribe a prospect to become a customer, you will SAVE a significant sum of money on customer acquisition costs.

You'll also attract a LOT more new customers by lowering your overall acquisition costs.

2. Calculate the lifetime value your customers represent You'll be surprised when you do the math. Your customers are worth a lot of money to you when you look at

their lifetime values to your bottom line.

Determining your customers' value to your business can be one of the most enlightening, motivating, and profitable things you can do.

Here's a simple way to calculate their value: Determine the average amount they spend each time they purchase. Determine how many times a day, week, month, or year they purchase from you. Determine what it costs you in expenses to make residual sales.

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To increase your customers' value to your business, determine: What other business could you work with to "cross-sell" your products or services to increase

your number of customers? What products or services could you offer to "up-sell" your customers? What could you do to increase customer visits?

Once you've acquired a customer (an asset), you want to keep that asset from going elsewhere. So you need a customer retention strategy that makes it nearly impossible for a competitor to steal them away. That's why you need to...

3. spend the majority of your time and marketing budget keeping exising customers satisfiedthey represent more money, more often

I know successful businesses that spend 70% to 80% of their time and marketing budget devoted to keeping their existing customers happy.

This makes sense since existing customers are your most PROFITABLE customers.

Research shows that for every month you DON'T communicate with your existing customers, you lose 10% of your influence with them.

At that rate, it won't take long for your neglected, unappreciated customers to defect to your competitors.

And as you're probably aware, it's 5 times easier (and far less expensive) to keep your existing customers than to sell something to a new customer.

Long story short, your existing customers are your most profitable customers because they: Buy more from you. Buy from you more often. Refer friends who become customers (assets) too.

Focus most of your time, efforts, and resources on better serving your current clients. To keep your existing clients, consider:

- Creating a loyalty program that extends preferential treatment. - Giving them special discounts. - Giving them "free" gifts -just because they're "special customers". - Giving them special services. - Sending them "Thank You" letters.

- Calling them on the phone periodically to "thank" them for being your customer.

Without being "touched" or made to feel special, customer's will leave you.

Remember, it's much easier to keep good customers happy than to spend more money replacing them.

The 2 types of ads that WORK in the newspapers to lower your customer acquisition cost

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There are 2 types of ads that will help you lower your customer acquisition cost. They are: 1. The "Buy Now" ad. 2. The "Lead Generator" ad.

1. The "Buy Now" ad. Typical "Buy Now" ads work best for selling season tickets, tickets to a concert, play, or recital, or seats to a real estate seminar featuring Donald Trump. "Buy Now" ads sell minted coins, alarm clocks, vacuum cleaners, Valentine Teddy Bears, cigars, fruit baskets, etc.

Here's a great example of a "Buy Now" ad created by Jon Spoelstra. Jon says this ad sold $47,850 worth of tickets the first three days it ran.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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1. The "Lead Generator" ad. As its name implies, a lead generator ad generates leads to your business to build your database. Among other things, the ad directs prospects to:

Call your business to set an appointment to meet for a free consultation. Call a special 800# to win a free trip to Maui for 2. Call a special 800# to receive a free 3 month trial offer. Call a special 800# to reserve space at a free seminar or workshop. Email you to receive a free report or free catalog. Visit your business to receive a free sample or gift. Visit your website to receive a free booklet or DVD, or to download a coupon redeemable at

your place of business. Bring a coupon to your business to redeem for gifts or samples.

This small 2 column ad below generated 180 leads in two days for a country club. The leads produced four golf club memberships totaling $14,500 in revenues after expenses of $1,625.

4. How effective was this ad? It earned $89.23 for each $1 spent, not to mention ongoing revenue from 3 restaurants, a hotel, weddings, and banquets.

1. Strong br ibe in the headline pulls prospects into the ad.

2. Using a "limited time" element in conjunction with the call to action urges p rospects to respond now.

3. When prospects call this 1-800 number their contact informa-tion is gathered so the club can send ad ditional offers to each prospect.

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STEP 4 Create a niche that attracts ideal prospects

OVERVIEW: Your niche is the ESSENTIAL strategy for attracting customers, being different from other competing businesses, and making money. This step shows you how to find your niche and use it to make your advertising effective and memorable.

It's much easier to create an effective ad for a company that has a niche that magnetically attracts customers and stands apart from the "herd."

Conversely, it's difficultif not impossibleto create an effective ad for a business with lukewarm or unap-pealing niches.

Your competitive niche is the "bait" that attracts and hooks

the hungry fish you want.

Niches identify and serve an underserved "hole" or "gap" in the marketplace. Niches meet the customers' needs in a way customers prefer when compared to other offerings.

Here are some samples of niches that attract customers, serve customer needs in a unique way, and stand out from competing offers. They also have one further advantage: they're each a bit outrageous, which makes them MEMORABLE.

A casino that guarantees every player winsevery visit.

A used car dealership that lets customers "test drive" their cars for 30 days and offers a money-back guarantee if they don't love it.

A plumber that services broken or leaky toilets in one hour or less, 24/7, and guarantees perfect results.

A kitchen remodeling company that removes the old kitchen and installs a beautiful new one in 3 days.

A tax preparation company that gives customers their refunds in one dayguaranteed.

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The truly amazing thing about a good niche is how they level the playing field for the small business owner. Each of the businesses above is classified as a "small" business. Yet these businesses can enter a market, make a powerful impact, and even dominate over their competitors. And all without big investment dollars, high-profile connections, or even experience by the owner in their business category.

A profitable niche identifies and feeds a "hungry market" with specialized products and services. The niche itself is the essence of the ad's offer.

Here's an example of a profitable niche revealed in the ad's offer...

What elements comprise your niche?

As a marketing and advertising consultant for many years, I 've worked with hundreds of small to medium sized businesses. And I 've learned that there are 4 interrelated "ingredients" needed to create a successful moneymaking niche. They are:

1. A CORE customerthis is a customer who you've developed a personal relationship with and as a result he or she has a strong EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT to your business.

2. A CORE product, service, or expertisethis is the FIRST thing customers think of when they think of your array of products or services. Your core product solves the customer's problem or gives them what they want that would be hard to find elsewhere.

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3. The cORE competitive strategythis is the one thing that really STANDS OUT to reward your customers and make your business DIFFERENT from all other businesses competing for your customers' attention.

4. A cORE imagethis is the way your business looks, sounds, and feels at every "customer contact point" to validate your products and competitive strategy. The image ASSURES your customers that the results your business promises meets their wants and aspirations.

Find out what niche "position" you occupy in the marketplace

If your niche isn't driving lots of leads and making you lots of money, or if you're just curious to know what niche POSITION you occupy in your marketplace, then I have an exercise for you.

Two pages away, (on page 36), you'll find "The Niche Map." I developed this tool to help businesses like yours get a better handle on your competitive strategy. It will help you determine what niche you currently have relative to the niches established by your competitors.

It also shows you what other possible un-served markets may exist in the marketplace where you could develop a new niche and be more competitive.

The Niche Map has 4 quadrants. Each quadrant is its own unique niche strategy. There are numerous places within each quadrant your business could locate. Sometimes a slight move (or adjustment) in your competitive strategyto be a UNIQUE standoutcan make a huge difference in the number of customers you can attract and the money you make.

Okay, so here's how to use the Niche Map. First, identify what niche you currently occupy. (See the sample below).

So get a pen. Then put an A. on the map to identify the spot your business occupies.

Next, with a different colored pen, put a K^ (for "Competitor") on the spot your competitors occupy.

Now if you really want an educationand I highly recommend you do this ask your customers to locate you and your competitors on the map.

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If the Niche Map shows that you're surrounded by competitors, each of you courting the same customers with similar offers...

consider changing your niche.

You need to separate yourself from the herd if you're going to have a chance at attracting more customers and making more money.

specific steps for changing or improving your niche strategy...

1. Move to a different location in your current niche quadrant or find a new niche quad rant altogether. Let's say you are one of 35 mortgage brokers in the "Pice" quadrant. And like the others, you offer the "Lowest Rates and Fast Approvals." You could consider moving into a different section of the quadrant. You could go to the lower side and offer "discount fees" or "$1,000 Back at Closing." Or you could move to the high side and offer " f e d Carpet Treatment" to prospects buying homes in "La Jolla" or "Rancho Santa Fe" or "Greenwich," where saving money isn't as important as being served in a special way.

Or you could move to a different quadrant. For example, you could move to the; "Narrow or Unique Product or Service Line" quadrant if you have few or no competitors. By moving there, you could differentiate yourself by being the broker who specializes in "Foreclosure Lending" or "Mortgage Restructuring to Avoid Foreclosure," or come up with another strategy. With no other direct competitors, you become a stand alone specialist.

2. Pick an IDEAL core customer. Whatever location in a quadrant you pick, you'll probably find much of the customer profile "built in" due to a specific need. But you still need to identify who is the IDEAL customer and stop frying to serve everybody.

Choosing customers you want to serve (and not served by your competitors) is a big part of the strategy for separating your business from others. So make a list that profiles your ideal customer. Maybe you want to focus on first time buyers. Or maybe it's the very wealthy. Or blue collar workers or teachers. The point is to choose an ideal customer, including their character traits. By setting up your business to attract your ideal customer, you will attract them and ward off those you don't want.

When your niche focuses on solving the problems of an ideal customer, it's easier to add emotion to your ad's message...making the ad more effective like this does...

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NICHE EMOTION METER Measures how "emotionally attached" customers are to the business

1. The headline here does 2 things: 1) solves a "nasty" problem, and 2) presents a clear unique niche

that's desirableespecially when your toilet's broken!

2. This niche ad may not seem emotional at first glance. But when your toilet leaks or breaks, the ad soothes an emotional "pain". Plus the Toilet Doctor isn't as expensive as a plumber either. Doesn't that make you feel better?

3. Pick a new core product or service expertise, or improve the one you've got. Your core product or service is the "anchor" that identifies your category of business. Choose a core product or service your customers want and have a hunger for; then build your business around it.

If you have a restaurant, it's a "signature" dish. Or your core is trashy lingerie. Or an environmentally friendly paint. Or antique or hard to find books. Or a spa day experience. Or pre-owned luxury cars with less than 30,000 miles on the odometer.

You get the idea.

4. Pick a new core competitive strategy, or improve the one you've got. If you offer a product or service that gives your core customer an "advantage," you have a powerful way to further differentiate yourself from competitors. What kind of advantage? Kinko's core product is "copies," but their competitive strategy is "Open 24 hours." That gives customers an advantage not found elsewhere.

I know a realtor whose core product is "listings," and his competitive strategy is

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"Your home sold in 30 days, guaranteed." Now that's a huge advantage for customers. I also know a fly fishing store whose core product is "fly fishing rods," and their competitive strategy is "every rod guaranteed for life." That's an advantage for customers.

What advantage could you offer to make your customer's life better, easier, less stressed, more successful, or happier? Maybe an outrageous guarantee. Or 2 products for the price of 1. Or a unique delivery and pick up service. Or an experience that relieves stress.

Find a way to make your customer's life better. And do it in a way your competitors aren't doing, can't do, or won't do.

5. Pick a core image, or change your image to fit your niche strategy. The image of your business is critical to your success. It's the first thing customers see. It tells customers you're for real. And that's why your company's image can make or break you in an instant.

Customers are gathering "evidence" about your business when they see your logo, your signs, your business cards and stationary, your store or office front, your website, your brochures, your trucks, your staff uniformseven your price tags give customers visual "clues" that validate the promise of your being niche...or not...

Your company image should reveal what your competitive strategy implies or means by projecting concrete pictures.

For example, if your competitive strategy is "on time delivery always," the picture you want to portray about your company is that you're "FAST" and "RELIABLE".

So you choose images, colors, typefaces, taglines, slogans, etc. that convey "FAST" and "RELIABLE". You may or may not be able to combine these two images, so pick the image that best conveys your niche strength. Images that come to mind are "Road Runners", Speeding bullets", or "Supersonic Jets".

And if your company's competitive strategy is "fast and reliable" you want to project this image at each and every customer contact point.

How fast should you answer your phone? One or two rings.

How fast should a delivery arrive? When you promise or before.

Make sure your image reinforces your niche strategy..

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Don't switch your niche until you read this...

If you are going to relocate your niche on "The Niche Map," be sure: 1. You have the knowledge and skills requisite to be successful in the new niche location. 2. You genuinely like the people the new niche will serve. 3. You have the personality to interact comfortably with the people the niche will attract. 4. You can deliver on your new niche promisewhatever it is.

Bear in mind the more outrageous your niche, the more "memory space" customers give you

People are more apt to remember you if your business CONTRASTS sharply with the businesses around it. What's different gets noticed...

Contrasting your business to all others has a more important psychological reason behind it.

By being unique enough to appeal to your core customer, you stand a greater chance of moving from SHORT TERM MEMORY which holds words, digits, and ideas in the mind anywhere from 12 to 20 secondsinto LONG TERM MEMORY, which can hold an image or an idea anywhere from a few days to a few decades.

If your niche can cause customers to recall you in an instantrecall that they need your products and services oftenyour niche is doing its job!

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STEP 5 Set goals for your ads

OVERVIEW: A little used "secret" to generating significantly more leads and sales is to set intentional goals for your ads. This step will help make your ads accountable for results.

Ad goals produce higher revenue results

I'm aware most businesses don't set goals for their newspaper ads. Their logic goes like this: "Why should I set goals if I can't measure the results?"

Since you will be learning to create direct response ads that have specific "tracking mechanisms" like coupons and dedicated 800 numbers, you won't have that problem anymore.

You won't be relying on imprecise data from sales people asking customers if they're there in response to the ad. You won't be relying on your hunches, guesses, or assumptions about how much traffic you think the ad produced.

Tracking mechanisms in your ads WILL tell you if your ads are working or not working.

The knowledge you glean from "tracking results" is money in the bank. Measuring your leads and sales makes money because it motivates you to take practical actions to constantly improve your ads and to hit and exceed their goals!

Set goals for your ads that are: 1. Specificthey have exact, defined "revenue" or "lead" outcomes. 2. Strategic when achieved, they make you more money. 3. Measurableuse numbers so you can track progress. 4. Reachabletheir attainment supported by ads can drive response. 5. Writtenput down on paper so you and others can read them daily. 6. Sharedeveryone in the company understands and supports them.

And set goals that let you account for each ad dollar spent; that's why you...

Set "lead generation" goals for your ads

I'm one of those strange people who believes your ad must generate the number of leads it has been assigned or else you replace it with an ad that will.

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Ads are like employees. They either produce or they're fired!

And like an employee with a specific assignment, your ads are assigned the task of generating a specific number of leads. Why else would you spend money on an ad if it didn't have specific ROI goals?

I'm aware you probably don't think about your ads this way. Not many businesses do.

But I want you to start thinking about them this way. When ads are accountable for a specific number of leads, their performance gives you the hard facts you need to make good marketing decisions.

So to find out how many leads your ad needs to generate, do the following exercise.

If you're concerned about HOW your ads are going to reach your lead goals, just relax. Remember, this book will teach you the ad strategies you'll need to reach your goals.

All you need to do now is calculate exactly how many leads your ad needs to generate so you can look at hard, accurate numbers.

There's another way to set goals for your ads too...

One of the best books on marketing and advertising I've read is Marketing Outrageously by Jon Spoelstra. In the book, Jon describes a method for setting goals for his ad performance that he simply calls "The Ratio."

Here it is: he expects his ads to achieve a ratio of 4 to 1. That is, he expects $4 in revenue generated by the ad for every $1 spent on ad development and media costs.

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The Ratio is how Jon gets feedback on his ad's performance. Ads that generate at least $4 for each $1 spent, he keeps running. Ads that fall below the ratio get the ax and are replaced.

Whether you choose to set "lead generation" goals or use Jon's 4:1 ratio goal is up to you. The point is to set goals and make each ad accountable for specific results.

More effective ads are the result of expanding your comfort zone

Right now your ads are achieving the precise targets you're shooting for, giving you the results you want. Or put another way, your ads are giving you familiar results you're comfortable receiving.

I believe that expanded ad and sales results can only come from expanding your comfort zone beyond where you feel secure and confident. It's at the shaky "edge" of comfort that our best and least familiar ideas come.

Let me give you an example. The new marketing director of a local casino near San Diego asked how he could improve his ad's results. In short, I asked him to set goals for his ad. Then I asked him to stretch beyond his comfort zone and create an outrageous offer and use a tracking device. He did all three things.

Here's the ad he created....

Here's the result: this ad generated 10,000 leads to the casino in 3 dayshe more than tripled his lead goals. The casino made an average of $50 per customer (after expenses)...$500,000...all because the marketing director chose to set goals and objectives outside his comfort zone for his ad.

There was one slight problem though. The marketing director had to pull the ad on the third day because the Food & Beverage manager wasn't prepared for the traffic the ad generated. There weren't enough servers, cooks, or dishwashers at the casino to handle the influx of traffic.

The moral of the story: as you step outside your comfort zone to create new ad strategies, look at all the areas of your business that will be impacted by growth, and have plans to handle it.

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T. Harv Eker, the author of The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, writes that our comfort zone equals our money zone. How true this is!

Don't just set goals. Set goals

you can feel.

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Use a database to sell your customers more stuff, more often

OVERVIEW: If you don't have a database or if you don't actively use your customer database to grow your back end sales, stop everything and do it now. This step will show you how to use your database to make a LOT of money.

Customers and customer datathe real assets of your business

So your ad brought you a new customer. Great. Now what?

It's simple. Leverage your contact information in your customer database so you can sell them your goods and services over and over again...as long as they live.

What, you don't have or use a database? Well fix that glitch NOW because you're not selling as much as you can to your easiest and most profitable customers your existing ones.

Your database will help you do 3 things to grow and monitor your customer base: 1. Organize your customer information. 2. Store your customer information. 3. Retrieve your customer information stored in data fields so you can continuously sell more to

your existing customers.

Your existing customers are the real ASSETS in your business.

Few businesses get this. One that does is a high end jewelry store in La Jolla, California. They generate 60% of their topline revenues not from new customers but from mining the information in their database to bring back their existing and most profitable customers throughout the year.

Liz Rayon, manager of Swiss Watch Gallery, says that mining their customer database 6 times a year (or more) and sending out personalized sales letters and emails, and even making personal calls, brings in their best customers, who spend more, more often and refer others to the store.

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The Swiss Watch Gallery database is comprised of very simple fields. Liz says the information they gather from new customers consists of:

Name Address Phone Email Birthday Anniversary Name of significant other

Matt Brennan, marketing director for South Sun Products, one of the largest beading stores in the world, is another person who gets it. He relies heavily on his customer database to grow their business. Matt says they send primarily emails to their customer base. Each weekly email includes a coupon. He also says their retention advertising brings the company nearly 80% of their total yearly sales. It's the easiest, cheapest sale they make.

(Hope you're paying attention to this!)

And in case you're wondering, Matt also says he uses QuickBooks Point of Sale because it tracks all sales at the cash register by scanning barcodes, and it tracks the number of sales and types of items sold and categorizes those items. It handles all inventory activity and runs on Windows. It also manages customer information and issues customer rewards.

Both these companies estimate they spend less than $50 per customer per year to retain and grow their existing customer base. They pay peanuts for gold!

Without a database and a retention programyou're losing business

Have you ever wondered why the average customer leaves a business?

Well, a very famous marketing guru by the name of Dan Kennedy did the research. And here are his findings: 1% die 3% move away 5% follow a friend or relative's advice and switch to their recommended supplier 9% switch due to a better price or better product 14% switch due to product or service dissatisfaction

If you did a quick calculation, you found the total of these percentages only adds up to 32%. So the question then is why do the remaining 68% of all customers leave a business?

The biggest percentage leaves because of INDIFFERENCE.

YOUR customers will leave and spend their money with your competitors if they don't feel valued, appreciated, or important to you. They'll leave you if they feel they are merely taken for granted.

You get the idea. You need a database and a customer contact system to let your customers know they're valued, appreciated, and wanted. And you also need a database to leverage your relationship with them so you can make a lot more money.

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So now that you're convinced your business needs a database...

what fields should your database include?

Your database fields don't need to be complex, just relevant to your business. You need fields for data that will help you stay in touch with customers and bring them and their money back often.

Here are the fields I recommend including in your database: The customer's first and last name The customer's physical address, city, zip The customer's email address The customer's last purchase date The last items purchased by the customer The amount of the last purchase

Of course you have to customize your data fields to fit your particular business.

Your database isn't complete without a systematic plan for connecting with your customers. Your plan needs to identify the purpose of the communication and firm delivery/contact dates.

You may send emails like Matt's company (mentioned earlier) or you may alternate between emails and mailings to a physical address and personal phone calls.

Whatever you do, the key is to be CONSISTENT.

I recommend being in contact with your customers at least monthly and no fewer than 6 times a year.

Another key to a successful customer contact program is to personalize your cards or letters using your customer's name in the greeting or throughout the communication. Your database can be set up to do this.

So, what should your customer contact plan include? Here's a short list of ideas used by other companies to get you started:

Greeting cards for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays Newsletters Gift Baskets Writing pens with your company name engraved Postcards featuring special sale items Email coupons Small gifts of sample products, or a $10 Starbucks gift card Personal letters Personal phone calls

And if (God forbid) you've lost a customergo get them back! Send them a personalized letter, include a gift. And yes, call them...it will make a big impression because they won't be expecting it. And no, don't send an email.

Remember, this isn't the time for a sales pitch, but rather it's a time for apologizing for being out of touch, and for making amends.

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My company will custom-design your database if you need help. We can also help you create a customer contact plan as well as write and design personalized letters, newsletters, post cards, etc. We will even custom create your email blasts. And if you need them printed and mailed on schedule, we do that too. Log on to: www.ultimateemailads.com

Or you can buy a database program and manage it yourself. If you go that route, I recommend any of the following:

FileMaker Pro Lotus Approach Microsoft Office Access QuickBooks Point of Sale TrackVia

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http://www.ultimateemailads.com

STEP 7 Track your leads and measure your results

OVERVIEW: The only accurate way to gage your ad's effectiveness is to track its performance and measure or compare results to goals. In this important step, you'll learn a simple way to do just that.

Ad tracking is simple, and results are profitable

If you're not used to tracking ad results, you may feel hesitant or resistant to do this. Don't blow this off just because you've never done it before. That's not a good enough excuse. Tracking gives you valuable information about which ads are working and which aren't so you can run more profitable ads.

The first step is to set up a simple system to capture the data, like the one shown below.

Use an Excel spreadsheet or, if you're not comfortable with that, keep records in a notebook.

To help you get started, copy the example below. If necessary, add whatever fields make sense to your business so you can get accurate feedback about your ad's performance.

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Overcome the biggest result-killing competitors

OVERVIEW: Your ad faces BIG competitors, but they aren't "out there" lurking in the marketplace. They're closer and more dangerous than you think. This step will show you exactly what competitors your ads face and how to overcome them.

The REAL competitors you should fear are not external forces in the marketplace

You have competitors in town.

You have competitors in your region.

You have competitors on the internet.

But these are the competitors you can see. And in Step 4, I explained how to create a unique niche that attracts customers and repels the "outside" competitors like the ones mentioned above.

Over the years, I've identified 5 ad-killing, competitive forces. They're the most entrenched competitors you'll ever face. These competitors are the invisible social and psychological "biases" that govern whether or not your prospects will respond to your ads or not.

The most powerful of these biases are part of our survival program. Others are built into our DNA they're instinctual. And still others are the more complex forces of the social conditioning that governs our behavior in groups.

The point is, our responses to incoming messages are almost automatic and unquestioned. These powerful forces comprise the FILTER your ad must pass through to reach your prospect and cause a response.

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Here's the list of competitors and some basic strategies to overcome them.

Attention Deficit Disorder: Research says people in the U.S. see roughly 16.5 marketing messages a minute...about 16,000 a day, which includes 3,400 ads. To survive the overload people reject most "incoming" information.

To overcome resistance: Target your ad to a specific

readernot to everyone. Identify the prospect's wants or

aspirations prominently in the headline. Make headlines 4 to 5 times bigger than body copy.

2. Physical Comfort of Readers: Research says people seek comfort for privacy and to avoid threats or stress. When readers get comfortable with the paper they "detach" and are less likely to respond to ads or interact with others.

To overcome resistance: Make the offer in the headline more

rewarding than the reader's "relaxed" state or to "painful'1' to consider not responding.

Use a commanding voice in the Call to Action phrase that tells prospect's how to respond.

Give readers a ""gift" or ""reward" for responding; more people will.

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In this section you'll learn: - How to target ideal prospects - How to know what prospects are really buying - How to romance your prospects to "YES!" - How to make your offer REALLY irresistible - How to write a compelling headline - How to write a call to action phrase - How to determine if you need "short" or "long" copy - How to give readers the "proof" they need to respond - How to use pictures that support your offer - How to use type that's instantly readable - How to design an effective layout - How to test your ads - How to use the "Direct Response Ad-Builder Strategy" Form

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Target the ideal prospect

OVERVIEW: The first step in creating an effective ad is targeting those prospects perfectly suited to your offering. This step will show you how to identify the ideal prospects so you can target your ad message more effectively.

The secret to getting a greater response to your ads is to target your message to a specific individual who best represents your ideal "core" customer.

Narrowing your target to an "individual" may seem restrictive. You might think you're limiting your potential sales opportunities.

Actually the opposite is true.

If you target a specific individual with a specific problem or a specific desire, you'll attract more of those ideal customers. And just as importantly, attracting the ideal customer helps you limit the number of responses from people who aren't your ideal customers...those people who will (guaranteed) waste your time and the money it takes to find out they're wasting your time.

Here's how you define your best customers: 1. They want and need your specific products and services. 2. They're willing to pay for your products and services. 3. They have the authority to buy your products and services. 4. They purchase your products and services more frequently than anyone else. 5. They spend more money re-purchasing your products and services than anyone else.

Attracting ideal customers is how you're going to make more money.

Because once you have them, it costs you very little to market to them repeatedly. Plus, your ideal core customers are more likely to refer you to their friends, who are for the most part just like them.

By thoroughly identifying the specific individual who represents your ideal prospect, you can create advertising messages that speak directly to your customers' real wants, concerns, and problems. And highly targeted messages to the right target audience will give your ads greater sales impact.

First find your IDEAL core customer

You should select customers who have a "strategic" purpose for being your customer.

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By "strategic" I mean they not only bring you more money more often, they also do so in a way you prefer them to. Like they pay "cash," pay "50% up front," or "pre-pay." And just as importantly, "strategic" customers should have the values, behaviors, and personal characteristics YOU want to attract.

Attracting the ideal customers makes your business more fun because you're attracting the kind of customers you really like doing business with.

Don't make the mistake of failing to identify your core strategic customer.

And don't make the common mistake of assuming "everyone" is your customer. Because "everyone" is not your customer. If you think they are, you'll be forever trying to please everybody...which pleases nobody.

But you won't make that critical mistake. Will you? So let's move on.

If you're a bricks and mortal business, your first step is to identify the "geographic" range of customers.

Geographies (Segmentation of the market based on where people live)

Are your customers city, urban, suburban, or rural dwellers? Percentage of each?

What radius do you draw from?

Now determine the "demographic" profile of your ideal customer.

Demographics (The common physical characteristics that segment a prospective audience)

Are your prospects male or female? Or both? What percentage of each? What is their age range? Are your prospects married? Or single? Separated? Just divorced? How educated are they? What's their occupation? Are they homeowners? Or renters? How much do they own in assets? What kind of car do they drive?

In the next step, you have to get further inside your customer's head to understand how they think, reason, and rationalize. Then you can more accurately target your message to join the conversation going on in their head.

There's no way around it. You've got to spend time with customers to find the answers.

Or you can do what one large car dealership here in Southern California did. You can by-pass this important learning and assume you know what motivates your customers. The dealership bought a very expensive full page ad in the newspaper and used the following headline: "Help us reach our sales goals!"

Yes, it is a dumb, self-absorbed headline. And no, it didn't work.

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Nobody's motivated by helping you reach your sales goals. Your prospects are motivated by what they want, not by what you want them to want. And their buying decisions are motivated by a complex combination of conscious and unconscious emotions.

Which you need to understand.

So spend face-to-face time with your customers. Find out their real "hot buttons." Learn how they rationalize making a buying decision. Figure out what psychological obstacles you face inside your prospect's head.

But whatever you do, DON'T substitute your own assumptions about what you think customer's think for what customers actually think.

Don't be lazy about this. Get the answers to the following questions...

Psychographics (The psychological and attitudinal characteristics that identify the prospect's personality)

Are your prospects conservative? Liberal? Independent? What characterizes their lifestyle? What thoughts are they preoccupied with? How important is their appearance? Why? What are their aspirations? What fears do they have? What are they frustrated about? What are they angry about? What are their interests? Are they spenders? Or are they savers? Are they investors? What do they invest in? What magazines do your prospects subscribe to? What labels do they buy? Who influences your their buying decisions? A spouse or parent? Why? What common "life philosophy" binds your most ardent customers?

Hidden Desires (The powerful, sometimes irrational, and unconscious forces that influence behavior)

What do your prospects secretly, ardently desire most? What do your prospects want but don't think they deserve or can have?

How would your prospects react and feel if they achieved their most sought after desire?

Once you've identified the core customer, analyze your findings.

What similarities do your best customers share in common?

What patterns do you see among customers?

What lifestyle do they share in common?

What life philosophy and values identify them? 48

By looking for the meaning behind the facts, you'll discover things about customers you probably didn't knowfacts that will help you create ad messages that relate specifically to your target customer.

Using research to improve ads

Interesting enough, the owner of the Glass Doctor franchise in a small, rural California town knows exactly who his clients are. He's done a lot of "research" to support what he knows. But the ads he runs (see sample below) don't reflect his knowledge. He ignored what his own research said. Not unusual.

Like the Glass Doctor, you have to translate your customer research into the right words and phrases that motivate prospects to read and respond to your ad. And before he could solve his ad's biggest problems...all solve-able...he had to first see the problems. Here they are:

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AD STEP 2 Know what prospects are really buying

OVERVIEW: What are your customers really buying when they buy your products and services? No, they're not buying the products or services just for themselves. It's more than that. This step will help you understand the psychological benefits your customers are buying and why they want them.

What really attracts customers to your products and services are the "benefits" they receive.

No one really buys concert tickets, motorcycles, or swimming pools for the "things" themselves.

They're buying an evening with friends they'll always remember; they're buying freedom and independence on an open road; they're buying years of family togetherness and fond memories with friends.

If you stand in your customers' shoes and ask, "What benefits are they really buying?" you'll learn what you're really selling.

And when you learn what you're really selling, you'll be able to sell a LOT more of it.

For example:

You are not selling pre-owned luxury cars. You are selling affordable status and admiration of others.

You are not selling whiter teeth. You are selling happier smiles and greater self-confidence.

You are not selling flowers. You are selling beauty, inspiration, and romance.

One of my favorite quotes on this topic is from Charles Revlon, the lipstick and nail polish king, who said, "In the factory we make cosmetics. In the store we sell hope."

This great ad below by Steve Wexler hits a lot of psychological hot buttons and sells a lot of product. So what does this ad sell women? Can you spell "S-E-X"...as in "sex appeal"?

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If you know your prospects "psychological triggers" you can create the emotion you want your prospects to "pre-experience" in the ad itself. In other words, if you want prospects to feel "aroused", "bothered", "on edge" or "sweety"so they'll immediately respond to your ad, you need to infuse these emotions into the ad. Like Steve Wexler does in another of his "emotionally charged" ads...

So that you can learn to identify the "hot button" response triggers in your prospects, I 'd like you to make 2 lists. On the first list write the direct product or service benefits you sell. On the second list write the psychological and emotional benefits you offer.

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For example, if you have a store that sells Big Screen TVs, the first list of direct product benefits would most likely include:

Increased viewing impactpulls you into the action Sharper, more defined color Sharper image clarity Sharper sound quality Thinner and lightereasier to move Easy to mount on any wall Stylish home decor accessory Multiple channel viewing Can be used as a computer monitor

Let's continue with the Big Screen TV store. If your target customer is a man, you would probably rank his psychological benefits in the following order:

Escape Distraction Entertainment/amusement Admiration Approval Status Influence Prestige Power

Be aware that psychological and emotional benefits have a ranking. And it goes like this. Those psychological or emotional benefits with the most emotional "charge" for your target audience rank closest to the top, and those with the least emotional "charge" are at the bottom.

Of course you can't know which benefit has the most charge until you test your ad on prospects. In fact, testing psychological and emotional benefits for "charge" is so important, I recommend you create several ads and pre-test them before you place the ads in the paper to see the winner.

I've found that the psychological benefits outsell direct benefits because they tap the prospect's deeper desire. But direct benefits are important motivators as well.

Let's switch gears. Suppose you sell a solution to "back pain" which millions of Americans suffer

The following ad by Bill Fryer demonstrates his ability to tap into the suffer's painful problem and solve it: "Blissful relief in 12 minutes!" No wonder this ad averaged better than $8: $1.

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The following list can help you identify some of the most common psychological and emotional benefits we humans desire.

Love Health Energy Romance Sex Desirability Attraction Admiration Approval Security Safety Confidence Freedom Knowledge Information Protection Power Achievement One-upmanship: owning something others don't have Advancement Recognition Independence Importance Status Influence Happiness Wealth Money Peace Comfort Self-Esteem Hope

Just remember, emotions are the fire of human motivation. By linking psychological and emotional benefits with the most "charge" to your offer, your prospects will become hyper in response to your ad.

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One dating coach in Manhattan offers a "bootcamp" that teaches men how to get a date from hot women. It applies to ads. Here's the short course that teaches what's involved in getting a date:

Make eye contact Smile Have a non-threatening approach Have good opening lines that interest and intrigue woman Be natural and authentic Be cocky and funny to get a woman to laugh and feel at ease Be interesting and know what to say Be a tease Induce sexual tension

And the biggest key to getting the date? The guy cannot apply pressure to the outcome; he must be so appealing that when he does ask, she can't help but say "Yes!"

According to the dating coach, the most successful men do not SELL the woman on the date...she does that herself!

The "slam-bam" man, on the other hand, starts off being needy. And it goes downhill from there.

He approaches a woman with the motivation of "closing the sale." He comes on strong. He pushes hard. He insists. And throughout the whole painful ordeal he doesn't realize his intentions make the woman feel trapped like a rabid dog backed into a corner. Her back against the wall the inevitable happens he gets rejected.

Getting a woman to say "Yes!" to a date and getting your prospects to say "Yes!" to your ads are nearly identical.

Drawing from the dating analogy, here's how your ad can go from "zero" to "Yes!" in no time: 1) Your ad must make "eye contact" with the right target audience. 2) Your ad must have a "smile;" it should be positive, warm, and inviting. 3) Your ad should have a good opening line, like "Free Laser Hair Removal" or "Have dinner for 2 on us

tonight!" 4) Your ad must be non-threateningthere's no pressure because you're not selling anything! 5) Your ad should have something interesting to say which the prospect wants to hear... Again, the word

"free" is very interesting. 6) Your ad should be honest and straightforward...no hidden agendas. 7) Your ad can be cocky and funny; in fact "friendly" works just fine. 8) Your ad says how to take advantage of the offer. 9) Your ad is definitely a "teaser;" it intrigues the hell out of your prospect. 10) Your ad induces "tension" because your prospect wants it before it becomes unavailable.

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Speaking of removing the "pressure" off this prospect in order to romance an easy "YES!" this powerful small space ad does it. Created by Steve Wexler, there's a lot of romancing the prospect and very little to say no to. It offers a"Pain-Free Bracelet", a "Free 30 day Trial", and a "FREE Bonus pouch" A lot of good romance here....

Disarm the prospect's automatic rejection button

While it's true people like to buy, it's also true nobody likes being sold. We resist sales advances whether it's coming from an ad or a used car salesman.

THE KEY to getting your target audience to consider your offer is to make them an offer they cannot resist. And you'll greatly improve your success if you...

Clyde Hopkins, one of the founders of modern advertising, was one of the first to truly understand the problem that advertiser's face. He said, "Any effort to sell creates corresponding resistance."

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That's true, isn't it? Pick up today's newspaper. You'll find ads with headlines like the ones I found, that seem like a man desperately seeking a date...

"Lose 50 lbs in 2 months!" "Make $1,000 a day on the internet!" "We'll beat anybody's carpet cleaning prices!" "Best deli sandwiches in town"

Yikes. Let me hit the "Reject Button."

So the question is how do you remove the obvious SELLING copy from your ads and still sell your products and services?

You have to make the "first sale" first. And the first sale is to sell your prospects on giving you their time and attention.

If you don't want the prospect to push the auto reject button and blast you to kingdom come...then don't try to sell your products or services in the ad.

In the next step, I'll show you how to get to first base with your prospects by making them easy-to-accept, non-threatening offers...

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AD STEP 4 Make your offer REALLY irresistible

OVERVIEW: Very few ads are truly irresistible. Not that promoting an irresistible offer is hard. It's not. But few advertisers know what bait to use to attract large volumes of response. This step will show you how to make offers that compel prospects to respond.

It's all in the offer you propose, silly!

Like an attractive women bombarded with propositions, your prospects are bombarded with marketing propositions all the time.

And because your prospects are hit on so much, they've been conditioned to expect the moon and stars. And not only do they want discounts, deals, premiums, free gifts, and prizes...

They feel "entitled" to them.

That pretty much sums up the NEW MARKETING REALITY.

And if you're not prepared to give the "entitled prospect" what they want, your competitors on the internet, TV, radio, or in magazines, direct mail, or Yellow Pages, will.

Remember, in the last step I told you the first sale is to sell the prospect on giving you their time and attention. This is your most important sale.

Marketers call it "making the sale before the sale."

You will be able to gently persuade your prospects to lower their guard and give you their time and attention with irresistible offers like:

"Free teeth cleaning while schedule openings last" "Free Low Fat Yogurt Dish Topped with Fresh Fruit" "Free Storage for 2 months and we pick up and deliver free too" "Free Report: 6 Steps to Immediately Stop Foreclosure, Save Your House

and Your Credit"

The dictionary says the word "irresistible" means "that which cannot be successfully resisted or opposed; overpowering."

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Do the offers above fit this description?

Here's the point: The offer is the sole purpose for your ad. So spend the majority of your time coming up with an irresistible offer. The rest of the ad will follow.

The question is, "What offers do 'busy' and 'distracted' prospects find the most attractive and irresistible?"

Ready?...

The 3 most "irresistible" offers

Irresistible offers, those most capable of grabbing the prospect's attention, are: Desirable now Easy to understand Easy to obtain Benefit laden Free or easily affordable

Below are the 3 types of offers prospects find most exciting, interesting, and appealing. There is the "free" offer, followed by the "self-liquidating leads" offer, followed by the "discount and premium" offer. Each includes some samples so you can see how you migh