How to Make Your Advertising More Effective Using a Tried and Proven Technique

Many of the most successful advertisements and web pages

follow the AIDA formula which is -

1. Get ATTENTION

2. Generate INTEREST

3. Create DESIRE

4. Call for ACTION

The problem is that most ads just aim to get attention by using bold or unusual graphic gimmicks. Look through any magazine or newspaper and you will see what I mean. Many web sites fall into this same trap too with flashing, slow-loading, supposedly clever graphics. It is a bit like walking up to a customer and grabbing them by both shoulders, staring them in the face, and shaking them.

You may get their attention but will they buy? You see; getting their attention is only part of the job.

Now, listen closely because I have a more effective way of getting attention...the right kind of attention that will generate interest in what you have to sell.

The secret is -

Make your ad look like a news story!

Do not make it look like an ad. Do not use fancy graphics, reverse type, weird typefaces... or anything else that might win an award for graphic design!

That is all very clever stuff, but sometimes it pays to keep it simple, and present your message in editorial style.

Think about what could be the best possible piece of luck you could have. Think about the reporter who heard a rumor about your product or service, and decided to check it out. And then, he or she fell in love with it. In fact they loved it so much, they went back to their computer and wrote a full-page rave article about what you are selling.

Wouldn't that be great? But it is unlikely to happen just like that. So, you be that reporter! You write the 'rave' article just like a reporter would.

And, at the end of the article, you perform a 'public service' for your readers by telling them where and how to order. Having done all this, please do not waste it all by having your 'article' typeset to look like an ad. No! No!

It should be laid out to look like the article it is. You know, ad agencies just love to quote studies that prove how much people love to read advertising.

Rubbish! Rubbish! Rubbish!

It has been said, editorial material (or advertising that appears to be editorial) gets 500% more readership than material that is obviously advertising. If you do not believe me, just flick through the pages of your newspaper and take notice of where you eyes are drawn. I will wager that it is not to the ads. Your eye is drawn to anything that looks like a news story, after all that is why you purchased the newspaper.

Noel has a friend with a new mens jewelry website with helpful information on selecting a Mens Cross Necklace and Mens Titanium Rings. This site has helpful information for jewelry buyers male or female.

21 Ways to Maximize Profits From Your Advertising

You can maximize your profits from your advertising when you really understand the purchasing behavior of consumers - in your own specific marketplace!

Combined with that knowledge (of your consumer's purchasing behavior) -- and these tips that I am about to reveal to you -- You'll start seeing better results from your advertising.

Here are 21 Tips To Improve & Increase Your Profits Using Online Advertising

I'd like to share with you these 21 tips that will improve, increase, and shape the future of your internet business.

Marketers who implement these simple tips -- are seeing record breaking results.

And you can use it to improve your conversions and sales for your business

Here are 21 ways to maximize profits from your advertising campaigns.

#1 - Create A Great Offer And Put It On Your Ad

You'll be surprised to know - that - many marketers forget to mention the greatest benefits of their product on their ads.
As a result - they miss out on prospective clients and a valuable opportunity to gain more customers.
What's a great offer? A great offer Is a low risk - high benefit proposition that you offer to your marketplace.

#2 - The CPA Offers With the Highest Conversions are Simple Email or Zip Submits, Like Contests & Giveaways.

If you are working with CPA Networks - on a pay-per-action basis:
Pick offers that pay you for simple email leads.
Offers targeted to contests and giveaways - are most likely to convert at a much higher rate.

#3 - Never Ask For The Sale On Your Ad Copy. Capture Leads First.

It's like asking a partner to marry you on your first date!
Offer something of value to your marketplace and get the prospect's contact information.

#4 - Focus On Building Your Own Lists.

If you are an affiliate marketer - focus on building your own list, not the program owner's list.
If you plan to keep making money - prepare for the long run -- Build a list that only you have total control of.

#5 - Promote Clickbank Subscription Products.

If you are promoting Clickbank affiliate products - pick Clickbank's subscription products - instead of 'one time sale' products.
This way -- you make the sale one time - and establish multiple streams of recurring income.

#6 - Choose the right target category and demographics.

Pick the right target category and the right demographics for your offer.

Believe me. Not everybody is looking for a business opportunity -- even in this down economy.
If you are not sure about which target category you should be picking, call or email the company
you purchase the advertising from and ask for advice.

Even better: Call or email the product owner if possible.

#7 - Make Your Ad Look And Sound Different From The Rest.

Be Creative. Make your ad look and sound different from the rest.

#8 - Use Videos That Connect With People.

Videos are a great way to market your products.
Your personal experience and an honest message that connects with your marketplace --
is much more powerful than hyped up promises on a video ad.

#9 - Use Stories That Tie Into The Benefits.

Stories that tie in to the benefits of your product get more response than hyped up promises.

#10 - Put Your Contact Information On The Ad.

Show that you stand behind your offer by putting your picture and your contact information on your ad.
Let people know that you are a real person!

#11 - Follow Up With Leads Right Away.

Follow up with the leads coming in - as a result of your ad campaign - right away!

#12 - Use Surveys On The Ad.

Do a survey right on the ad and segment your lists.
You can give away something for free for their opinion -- in return ask for their contact information.

#13 - Test before spending more on advertising.

Always "Test Market" a new product personally - before spending on larger ad packages.
Conversion rates given to you by the 'Program Owner' are not always reliable.

#14 - Provide Valuable contents on follow up emails.

Provide valuable information and content on your email follow up messages.

#15 - Show Solid Proof.

Always back up your promises by showing solid proof on your sales page.

#16 - Offer Back End Products.

Offer Back-End Products that compliment your front-end product.

#17 - Sell 'Low-Risk' Low-Ticket' Items on the front end.

Sell 'Low-Risk' 'Low-Ticket' items on the front end -- and 'High-Ticket' items only after building better relationships with your list members.

#18 - Discuss Your Marketing goals With the Company You're Advertising With.

Call or email the advertising company to discuss your action plan and your marketing goals.

#19 - Let the Testimonials Sell The Deal.

Post Testimonials and case-studies on your ad. Let the testimonials sell the deal for you.

#20 - Design Your Ads Professionally.

Design Your Ads Professionally.
The layout and aesthetics of your ad is important for building trust in your brand.

#21 - Take Advantage Of Advertising Discount Sales.

Last but not least - Be on the lookout for discounts on the advertising that you purchase.
Lower advertising cost and more exposure - means - more profits and more cash flow for your business!

I hope that you got some valuable tips and direction from these 21 tips to maximize your advertising profits.

This article was written by Abe Cherian, CEO of AdClickMedia.com. AdClickMedia means PPC Advertising Solutions and Higher Ad Revenue for small businesses, Webmasters, and Bloggers.

Free PPC Advertising Credit: Use the link below to get $5 Free PPC Advertising Credit to promote your website for free -- Limited time offer: http://adclickmedia.com/m/index.cgi/article

Ten Reasons to Use Free Classifieds Pages - Earning Money Online Couldn't Be Easier

Make money:
Why let your unused items decrease in value as time goes by? Act now and make them available to potential buyers.

More products available:
The awareness of classified pages is steadily increasing thus making it easier to sell or buy any product.

Helping the environment:
Commuting, Recycling, Low energy consumption etc. are all great ways to contribute to the lowering of carbon dioxide emissions. Recycling is an old idea which works, however, one also needs to consider how products like electronics, furniture among other things are produced and their inherent qualities which also determines for how long they'll stay in the market. Consequently, regularly buying new products adds to the line of carbon dioxide emissions e.g. constructing the product entails a range of emission sources i.e. manufacturing and transportation. Why not also recycle these kinds of products just as carefully as recycling paper and plastic but posting them on a classifieds page.

Clean house:
Could you use some extra space, of course you could. Make a spring cleaning even though it's autumn. Why keep your unused items lying around, you'd be surprised how much money you can get to sell things you'd probably never use again, maybe along with a home improvement project.

Damaged items:
For sure there are people who find your damaged products interesting, either because they'll sell them after fixing them or as spare parts such as car parts.

Popular items have higher values:
Do you have an IPhone but something even better caught your eye? Then make sure to sell your IPhone quickly while it's still attractive to others.

Minimizing the damage to your private finance:
Are you a shopaholic and spend a lot of money in stores? Why not make bargains while shopping through classifieds instead?

Promoting your business:
Spend less on your marketing efforts. Widen the B2C reach through classified pages.
You could earn money by offering your services to others such as carpentry.

Save time:
Looking for a specific product takes time if you are doing conventional shopping. Use classifieds and browse through thousands of products in different categories and find anything you are looking for without leaving home.

New items cheap:
Without a doubt you can find products on classifieds that have just become available on the market. Some people are very early adopters and sell off their items in order to jump onto the next train.

Where to do all this? There are many sites such as Craigslist.org and Oodle.com that will provide all this.

However, I am quite impressed with a site called Americanlisted.com - http://www.americanlisted.com/ which is a well suited choice.

Best of luck!
Any comments on the article otherwise?

Cheers,
Richard

An Easy Plan to Create Custom Business Cards

Do you need a plan to develop your own custom business cards? Well below is my easy to follow and easy to do steps for business card printing.

It is the simplest and most straightforward way to create custom business cards without too much requirements and trouble. So read on and learn.

• Using built in wizards in your applications - The first thing you need to know is that most desktop publishing applications these days have built in "Wizards". These wizards basically take you through various questions regarding what you want in your business card. Once all the questions and information has been added, a small business card design should be produced from that data.

The whole process takes only minutes and you should have no trouble choosing the options you want. Depending on the application you are using though, you can create several themed business cards if you like, or a wholly blank one that you can customize later. Whichever the case, this will be a cakewalk as long as you are familiar with Office software. Applications like Microsoft Word and OpenOffice Writer usually have this wizard for you to use.

• Adding decorative shapes and images without trouble - After using a Wizard, you may probably want to stop there and use the simple business card created for printing. However, if you want to further customize your business card then you will have to add some shapes and images.

The beauty of most applications these days is that you can use them together. Therefore, to add images to your new custom business card, you can simply just copy and paste images from a source material (such as a browser or imaging software) to your business card template.

Either you can use a photograph from a file source, or you can even browse on the Internet and use the images there. Depending on your creative eye, you should be able to compose a nice and decent business card layout to your taste and specifications. All you have to do is to "copy-paste" the elements you want and resize when necessary, very easy indeed.

• Printing business cards easily - Finally, to print your custom business cards easily and with the proper attention, you can go online and submit your design to business card printings service. Online printing companies can provide printing for things like custom business cards and deliver them right to you within a day or so. For a small fee, you can even have them printed in high quality inks and papers. So printing your business cards is as simple as sending an email, paying for it online and then waiting for the cards to be delivered. Simple as that.

These steps are the easy ways to create, design and print custom business cards. With these steps, creating becomes even cheaper too. Try it out for yourself.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of the developments in custom business cards or business card printing industry.

Advertising Strategies For Small Businesses - 3 Effective Ways to Advertise Your Business

A lot of big companies thrive on advertising because they have the budget to create one-of-a-kind and attention grabbing ads. But what about their smaller counterparts? Are there effective advertising strategies for small businesses?

Have no fear. You don't necessarily need a large budget to come up with a successful marketing campaign. All it takes is a bit of ingenuity on your part. To help you get your business moving, here's some proven advertising strategies for small businesses.

1) The Rise Of Social Networking

These days, it doesn't take a lot of money to get your message across. If you're into Web 2.0, advertising strategies for small businesses should be a cinch for you.

A lot of people advertise their products and promos by posting a message on their social networks. Facebook and Twitter are among the most popular social networking web sites available.

The best thing about this is that everything is free. If you don't have an account, better get one now!

2) The Power Of Print

One of the most common advertising strategies for small businesses is working out a deal with your local newspaper or magazine. Despite the emergence of digital technology, people still like reading the paper in the morning.

It would be best to advertise in print media that targets your specific audience. So if you're selling golf shoes, advertising in golf magazines would reap the best results. And if you're running a local business with local customers, advertising in your local newspaper will be good for you.

This is especially appropriate if you have a new product or a promo coming up.

3) Good Old Fashioned Networking

One of the simplest - yet most powerful - advertising strategies for small businesses is good old networking. If you're invited to an event, make sure you always have a good supply of calling cards tucked under your belt. You never know just who you might meet there.

If you're a good entrepreneur, every moment is an opportunity to mingle and entice prospective clients. Just don't turn them off by talking about your business all throughout the conversation. Business cards help you look more professional as well.

Even if your business is not as big as other companies out there, there's no need to despair. There are plenty of advertising strategies for small businesses available for you. As long as you're creative and resourceful enough, there's no end to what you can think of. So take these tips into consideration and I wish you well on your advertising endeavors!

Want to know the success secrets of the world's richest business people? Discover their secrets, and take a FREE quiz to know if you have what it takes to get rich, at http://www.expertpersuader.com/successupgrade.

Advertising and Black Magic - Manipulative Methods For Influencing the Unconscious

Article: "The Morphological Approach for Unconscious Consumer Motivation Research, by Dirk Ziems, Journal of Advertising Research, June 2004

Abstract: Advertisers are encouraged to use the knowledge of Gestalt Theory of Psychology in order to research more effective ways of advertising their products and services. By using advertising campaigns that cater to unconscious processes of the psyche, consumers will be highly motivated to purchase certain products.

On the surface, to suggest that advertisers and marketing researchers are actually practicing "black magic" would appear to be the height of histrionics and puritanical paranoia. Yet, when one examines modern advertising practices of exploiting the unconscious drives, and compares that to ancient and modern forms of Black Magic, then such a conclusion becomes inescapable. First, however, let us examine the modern technique of "Morphological Market Research," as explained in Dirk Ziems' article in the Journal of Advertising Research, June 2004.

Ziems' article explains how the Morphological approach to market research takes into account later developments of Gestalt Theory of psychoanalysis. Advertising that takes into account the unconscious drives identified by Freud --- the Self-Preservation Instinct, the Sex Instinct, the Herd Instinct --- will be far more effective. While consumers may consciously make decisions based upon practical considerations, often more deeper, unconscious, motivations lie beneath these. As Ziems writes: 'Products and brands do not just serve the functional purpose for which they appear to be made. They regulate and negotiate --- usually unconsciously --- a more fundamental and more fundamentally motivating context.... As the mentioned examples, cars, furs, and paper towels demonstrate, products always combine utility values with symbolic values. The utility values are often used for a rationalization of purchase and use, while the symbolic values express deeper, psychological motives. Successful products and brands manage to address both sides and offer ways of mediating between them."

A man buying a fur for his wife, for example, may be motivated unconsciously to demonstrate his male potency as a hunter-gatherer-provider-figure for his wife. A man or woman buying a car might be motivated by unconscious escapist fantasies surrounding the concept of freedom. Symbolically, the absorbing quality of Paper towels transforms them into a magical symbol of being able to reverse everyday troubles and nuisances. Victoria's Secret successfully negotiated the Victorian sexual repression of the West by the very pun of its name, Victoria's Secret --- in other words, a hidden or repressed sexuality that can be worn underneath outer clothing.

True to the Gestalt Theory of Psychoanalysis, Ziems argues that more successful marketing campaigns should focus on one particular "gestalt" (overall aesthetic impression): "Undoubtedly, marketing strategies should limit themselves to one key message (the concept of single-minded proposition). Consequently, they should convey one 'core feeling,' I.e., 'emotional value' ..."

At any rate, Ziems concludes that a detailed knowledge of the unconscious processes is the key to successful marketing: "Knowledge about psychological images and psychological fundamental structures broadens the horizon of motivational market research immensely and enables marketers to create better and more appropriately targeted advertisements."

The largest system of Ceremonial Magic in the West was made public early in the 20th Century by the publishing of the secret rituals of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In the introduction to the system it is stated: "The Golden Dawn is a 'system' of discovering, dialoguing, and even negotiating with the collective unconscious and is not a religion, philosophy, or even a cult."[1] This form of "dialoguing" with the initiate would also awaken the complexes of the "personal unconscious" as well as to link the initiate with the archetypes of the "collective unconscious." As W.E. Butler, of the Society of Inner Light, well understood: "Magic, with its roots in the immemorial past, does just this, it speaks to the subconscious mind of man through the archaic images of its symbols and rituals, and thereby produces those 'changes in consciousness' which the magician seeks."[2]

The magician used these rites, symbolism and ceremonies to awaken the contents of the subconscious mind in order that the darker regions of the psyche could be reintegrated, and thereby transform the initiate and enable him to transcend the ego. This laudable endeavor prefigures and parallels psychoanalysis. Modern advertising, however, attempts to exploit the workings of the unconscious mind for egoistic and selfish purposes --- to make a profit by exploiting man's hidden psyche in a way he little understands or suspects. One can only conclude, therefore, that advertising and merchandising are a vile form of Black Magic which has been targeting Americans for over a century now.

By Corey Wicks

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Israel Regardie. The Golden Dawn: A Complete Course in Practical Ceremonial Magic. (St. Paul: MN: Llewellyn, 1994, pps. Xviii).

[2] W.E. Butler. Magic and the Magician. (London: Aquarian Press, 1991, pps. 21-22).

How to Make Your Advertising Poster Stand Out

Good poster printing can be hard to find. Some businesses clutter their posters with so much info you cannot tell what the heck is going on.

Other posters are so bare that you wonder why anyone even bothered. Here are some tips on how to create a good balance between overkill and barely-there to make your poster stand out from the rest and catch prospects' attention.

Focus your message
A big mistake that I believe stems from people wanting to get their money's worth out of their poster printing budget is to put too much info, too many graphics, just too much stuff on their poster. These are the cluttered posters I talked about earlier. You only have a few seconds to catch someone's attention and if you have 89 ideas going on in one poster, no one is going to read any of them.

Before you even start designing your poster, ask yourself what you want the poster to accomplish. Are you promoting an event? Introducing a new product? Introducing your business to a new community? You need to make sure everything on your poster contributes to that one message.

Good graphic design is key
An eye-popping photo or some kind of awesome graphic element that catches people's attention works best for posters. A rule of design is that the graphics should not upstage the content. In the case of posters though, the graphic is the content.

With only a few seconds to catch someone's attention, it is best to use a big graphic to pull them in because our brains process objects and images quicker than text. Try to make your design the main element of your poster, rather than making text your main element. If you are bent on getting details of your event or new product on the poster, save that text for the bottom of the poster. Use the top half of the poster to pull people in with few words that are huge (your poster should be readable from 20 feet away) and an interesting photo or image.

Use posters as more than lead generators
In many cases, posters are used to only draw people in. Do not get me wrong - that is their main use and great way to use them. However, consider also using them as a follow up method in your store.

Hang posters in your store that are reminiscent of the ones out on the streets or in your store windows. Alternatively, start a graphical story on one poster hanging in your store window and finish the story inside, on posters scattered throughout your store. This will intrigue people to come in and finish the story!

As with any advertisement, be honest
You should promote your business with integrity - do not lie in your posters or in any of your advertisements. As soon as people find out, they will tell their friends and family, and you will lose what could have been long-time customers. When it comes to advertising, under-promise and over-deliver.

Katie Marcus writes about the poster printing technologies used by businesses for their marketing and advertising campaigns.