Success in Classified Advertising

Our aim is to help advertisers become more proficient in using online classifieds to meet their communication objectives.

Whatever the topic of advertising, we usually seek favourable decisions from a certain target group. The principles of persuasive communication, or "selling", apply generally to all advertising.

You are encouraged to post your questions and comments; also to pass on the fruits of your experiences. As ever, the more we put in, the more we get out.

Let's address one issue right up front. Some people say that online classifieds don't work and that response rates are too low to be interesting. In fact, millions of people regularly browse the classifieds.

It is true that response rates to a single ad can be modest. Happily, there are many remedies to overcome low response. With a skilled approach, regular targeted traffic will result.

Rewards from classified advertising are the product of serveral factors as follows:
1) Targeting
2) The Offer
3) Copy - headline and message
4) Market Reach
5) Consistency

1) Target Profiling

Addressed to the wrong people, any message will fall on deaf ears.
So obvious with hindsight, yet so often overlooked as the problem, inappropriate targeting is the greatest single cause of failure in marketing. Age, gender, location, disposable income, family circumstances, experience, interests, objectives, and many other such variables will define the target market.

The first and most vital of all advertising tasks is to profile the target population very precisely in relation to the desired outcome. Who are they? How can they be identified in the crowd - what distinguishes them? What do you want them to do? What are their sensitivities or "hot buttons"? What shared problem, need or interest might become the focus to hook and retain attention?

Do not be afraid to run multiple campaigns, each tailored to a target market segment, in preference to a "one size fits all" compromise which typically fits nobody.

2) The Offer

If an offer is unappealing then few willl accept it.
More mastery of the obvious you may say - but how often do we see bad offers?

The vendor's desire to sell something, does not automatically make it compellingly attractive to a prospective customer. The trick is to visaulize the offer through the eyes of the buyer. It's a challenge of empathy.

Mark Joyner (the inventor of viral marketing) put it brilliantly when he advised marketers to: "find a thirsty crowd and make them an offer they can't refuse - then sell them another one".

Remember also that there is a lot of fear and suspicion on the internet, so trust cannot be taken for granted and must be earned. Any offer must take this insecurity into account.

3) Advertising Copy

Has anyone noticed that I haven't said a word about copy until now? That's because the prior points are killers if omitted or got wrong. Superb copy will be wholly ineffective for a weak offer, put to the wrong people, with little exposure.

a) Headline

The first challenge of copy is to get the message read - and that is the job of the headline.
If the headline does not instantly snag attention, the superb sales message following will never be read. Invest as much time on the headline as in the rest of the copy.

There is a least one software gizmo on the market for generating headlines which is worth consideration by regular advertisers. Inexperienced copywriters fall down on headlines more than any other aspect of copywriting.

b) Sales Message

Copywriting is a science and an art - very highly paid because it is so difficult to do well.

However, most people can achieve reasonable competence with some study and thought.

Copy is a big topic for return to in later posts. For the moment, let me just plant three seeds:

Firstly, understand that people buy for emotional reasons and later rationalize their decision objectively to justify the expense. To write good copy you have to understand the emotional triggers driving human responses and then write copy that appeals as much or more to the emotions as it does to reason and economics.

Secondly, understand that most folks are not much interested in what you want, or in your opinion. They want to know WIIFM - "what's in it for me?" They are interested in benefits, not nifty features. Sorry if that sounds cynical, but to write good copy requires a realistic appreciation of human nature.

Thirdly, evolution has programmed our responses to ensure the survival and progress of the species. In consequence, we are more responsive to pain and fear than we are to pleasure and benefits. Yes, we want the good, but pain and fear of loss paints up larger on our radar.

It has been experimentally proven that the possibility of losing $X causes more pain than the pleasure drawn from an equal possibility of winning $X.

So, you'll gain more attention if you identify a problem causing discomfort and distress and then offer a solution, rather than leading off with benefits to unmotivated audiences.

Well, that's plenty to reflect on for today.

In our next post we will conclude this introductory article with discussion of the topics "Market Reach" and "Consistency of Campaign and Message".

Take Care,

Steven Henderson
4mostClassifieds.com