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1. Know Your Target Audience
It’s vitally important to pitch your advertising at the right level, to the right type of person. You should be communicating directly to the consumer who wants to buy your product or use your service. Useful attributes to consider are age, gender, education, cultural background, and income. Certain consumers are easier to target than others; and try to anticipate which group is the most likely to make online purchases.
2. Set Your Budget
Knowing how much budget to set is never easy and there are no strict rules. Large companies are often advised to allocate 2-3% of their annual turnover, but if your company is at the launch stage, the amounts will be considerably higher. Too timid an approach to setting your budget often leads to disappointing results. Successful advertising is not for the faint hearted. See our guide to Setting the Right Budget.
3. Focus Your Marketing on the Benefits of Your Business
Successful marketing maintains a focus on the benefits your product or service brings to customers. Many companies make the mistake of paying too much attention to the details of what they offer, rather than focussing on how the customer will benefit from you. People generally only buy when they believe that your product or service will benefit them. Therefore, make sure that your marketing strategy centres round the advantages your company will bring. Ask your colleagues to name the top five benefits of your organisation – if they hesitate, you’ve identified areas in which you need to improve.
4. Concentrate On Direct Response Advertising
Brand building advertising is for businesses with multi-million pound budgets. If you want to really make a difference to your sales figures, an offer specific approach to hook readers’ attention is far better than something more general.
5. Keep Your Artwork Simple
Your heading is the most important part of any ad. Writing a benefit-related question is a favoured tactic by many experienced copy writers. Always include a strong call to action; prominent URL and/or telephone number. “A picture paints a thousand words,” so chose an image which explains at a glance what your product or service is. Ideally the picture should be simple, clear and immediately obvious. Once you’ve decided on the ad, avoid making radical changes with each insertion.
6. Always Book Series
Repetition of small ads is key. Nine out of ten buyers continue to look at the vendor’s adverts after making a purchase. Advertising reassures buyers that they have made a good decision. Double page spread adverts can be run once yielding brilliant results, but are extremely expensive. In the case of small ads, frequency is vital, with anything more than fortnightly to be avoided. Three or six adverts should yield a steady response that builds with each insertion. The longer the series the less risk you take and the greater the chances your campaign will work
7. Ask For Good Positions On The Page
Whereabouts on the page your advertisement appears can have an effect on response levels, so always ask to know what positions are available. Top half or outside edge positions generally perform best.
8. Maximise Your Coverage
The higher the readership, the greater the chances you’ll enjoy good response. Make sure the readership figures quoted are from the National Readership Survey (the gold standard for the media industry).
9. Avoid Specialist Press
Rarely do ads in low circulation publications work. Avoid the common mistake of thinking that selective targeting is less wasteful and therefore you’ll get better response. It seldom happens. High circulation publications generally equal high response. Coverage is king.
10. Be Willing To Learn From Your Experiences
Keep an open mind and don’t allow yourself to develop the attitude that you've "arrived" and there is nothing more for you to learn. The world of technology is changing rapidly and if you don’t maintain an adaptable frame of mind you could be easily left behind. Read articles, books, and other sales solicitations, and listen to people who know. These are sources of knowledge that could enhance your sales and marketing and strategy.
It’s vitally important to pitch your advertising at the right level, to the right type of person. You should be communicating directly to the consumer who wants to buy your product or use your service. Useful attributes to consider are age, gender, education, cultural background, and income. Certain consumers are easier to target than others; and try to anticipate which group is the most likely to make online purchases.
2. Set Your Budget
Knowing how much budget to set is never easy and there are no strict rules. Large companies are often advised to allocate 2-3% of their annual turnover, but if your company is at the launch stage, the amounts will be considerably higher. Too timid an approach to setting your budget often leads to disappointing results. Successful advertising is not for the faint hearted. See our guide to Setting the Right Budget.
3. Focus Your Marketing on the Benefits of Your Business
Successful marketing maintains a focus on the benefits your product or service brings to customers. Many companies make the mistake of paying too much attention to the details of what they offer, rather than focussing on how the customer will benefit from you. People generally only buy when they believe that your product or service will benefit them. Therefore, make sure that your marketing strategy centres round the advantages your company will bring. Ask your colleagues to name the top five benefits of your organisation – if they hesitate, you’ve identified areas in which you need to improve.
4. Concentrate On Direct Response Advertising
Brand building advertising is for businesses with multi-million pound budgets. If you want to really make a difference to your sales figures, an offer specific approach to hook readers’ attention is far better than something more general.
5. Keep Your Artwork Simple
Your heading is the most important part of any ad. Writing a benefit-related question is a favoured tactic by many experienced copy writers. Always include a strong call to action; prominent URL and/or telephone number. “A picture paints a thousand words,” so chose an image which explains at a glance what your product or service is. Ideally the picture should be simple, clear and immediately obvious. Once you’ve decided on the ad, avoid making radical changes with each insertion.
6. Always Book Series
Repetition of small ads is key. Nine out of ten buyers continue to look at the vendor’s adverts after making a purchase. Advertising reassures buyers that they have made a good decision. Double page spread adverts can be run once yielding brilliant results, but are extremely expensive. In the case of small ads, frequency is vital, with anything more than fortnightly to be avoided. Three or six adverts should yield a steady response that builds with each insertion. The longer the series the less risk you take and the greater the chances your campaign will work
7. Ask For Good Positions On The Page
Whereabouts on the page your advertisement appears can have an effect on response levels, so always ask to know what positions are available. Top half or outside edge positions generally perform best.
8. Maximise Your Coverage
The higher the readership, the greater the chances you’ll enjoy good response. Make sure the readership figures quoted are from the National Readership Survey (the gold standard for the media industry).
9. Avoid Specialist Press
Rarely do ads in low circulation publications work. Avoid the common mistake of thinking that selective targeting is less wasteful and therefore you’ll get better response. It seldom happens. High circulation publications generally equal high response. Coverage is king.
10. Be Willing To Learn From Your Experiences
Keep an open mind and don’t allow yourself to develop the attitude that you've "arrived" and there is nothing more for you to learn. The world of technology is changing rapidly and if you don’t maintain an adaptable frame of mind you could be easily left behind. Read articles, books, and other sales solicitations, and listen to people who know. These are sources of knowledge that could enhance your sales and marketing and strategy.