Harness the Power of Print Ads by Scott Campbell

So what's the magic formula for making your money multiply in print advertising? For small and medium sized businesses, print advertising feels much like going to Las Vegas and putting money down on the table. And often times, the owner gets burned.

Well, the problem centers on the way you're going about it. The first step is a realization of what's going on around you. I suggest that you pull out a phone book and open it up to an area of specialization that is not yours (this will give you a less emotional, more objective perspective). There are typically a minimum of 15-20 competitors in any niche. Next, I suggest putting yourself in the position of a consumer
trying to determine who they should spend their time calling.

As you can plainly see, everyone follows a pretty set formula (which they basically copied from each other). And that is..."here's our logo, here's what we do, please decide you want our services and call so we can close the sale". There's little that really differentiates one vendor from another. And so, the truth of the matter is that a number of the vendors you're looking at don't get good lead traffic from their yellow page ads. And it's for this reason that you can shine in print advertising.

What would happen if you were to approach it differently and more elegantly for your prospect. What if, instead of 'let me sell to you right out of the gate', you would offer them some information they could use. What if you were to give of yourself before the transaction and assisted them immediately? The answer is that the consumer would bust down the door looking for you.

For example, let's say that you're a roofing contractor. You could put an ad in the yellow pages that shows the logo, says, "We're Johnson Roofers.. we specialize in repairs, maintenance, replacement, and planning. Here's a phone number for our representative. Please go ahead and call." What if, instead, you were to immediately report called "5 Mistakes to Avoid When Selecting a Roofing Contractor" or "Transform Your House into a Dream Home - 5 Roofing Options to Suit any Budget"?

This technique is called permission marketing where you're offering information up front in order to get information from them which will enable you to continue to market to them (remember, it takes about 7, 8 and 9 times for them to have contact with you before they're ready to buy). The technique is applicable for all forms of advertising...newspaper ads, internet ads, direct mailers, etc.

The truth of the matter is that people don't want to be sold to...the want to buy. And when you approach them in a non-intrusive, friendly, information-sharing way, they will respond positively. Now a lot of owners are frightened using this approach because it's "unorthodox". Yes, I suppose it is if you consider "orthodox" to mean ineffective. My suggestion is to use this technique and at least see what it yield.

Author Resource: Scott Campbell owns Impact Marketing, Inc out of Atlanta, GA. He installs a marketing system, called the "Ultimate Marketing System", into small businesses and practices in the Atlanta, GA area.

Learn more about Impact Marketing and its solutions here at http://www.impactyourcompany.com.

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