Many businesses think that classified ads are hard to attract readers, so they rarely, or even never, use them. Such a concept often means that businesses do not fully understand classified ads and do not have adequate, satisfactory preparation for this type of advertising.
According to marketing experts, in fact, classified advertising has great power if you know how to exploit this form of marketing...
When talking about classified ads, most businesses can immediately think of its disadvantages: due to the size being too small, the content is limited and cannot fully describe the benefits of the product, does not allow inserting images, is not suitable for detailed advertising needs, is drowned in a "bunch" of other text-filled ads, has no place to quote statements from witnesses...
However, marketing and advertising experts say it also has the following benefits:
Not too expensive
This is the biggest advantage of classified ads. Advertising costs are usually based on the number of rows of the ad. With low costs, businesses can post ads repeatedly, reaching potential customers regularly, something that full-page ads cannot do.
Suitable for low cost test advertising
For large ads that take up a full page, businesses cannot test ads multiple times because of the high advertising costs. But with classified ads, businesses are completely capable of doing this. In addition, businesses can also use classified ads to test new ideas, such as testing the effects of different headlines, from which they choose the headline with the greatest effect.
Very effective in creating relationships and sales transactions for businesses.
Customers who take the time to find information from classified ads are often customers with real needs. Therefore, when these customers read the business's advertisement, they will contact the business to ask for information about the business's products and services and make immediate purchases, especially when the business advertises giving customers gifts such as books, CDs, free consultations, catalogs, etc.
Can reach customers across a wide geographic area
Newspapers that carry classified ads are usually distributed locally, regionally, or nationally. According to marketing experts, classified ads are a tool that helps small businesses increase their competitiveness.
To advertise physical objects to bring the best results, businesses must adhere to the following principles:
1) Choose suitable newspapers and magazines
Choosing the right newspaper will help businesses save a lot of money and effort. A newspaper suitable for classified advertising must meet the following conditions: it must be a newspaper read by the majority of the business's target customers, the business's competitors also use this newspaper to advertise and advertise, and it must be a newspaper with clear and reasonable classification so that readers can easily find the items they need. Newspapers or magazines will be the top priority, but businesses can also consider advertising in other publications such as the local chamber of commerce newsletter.
2) Ask newspapers to provide details of their advertising activities (media kit)In addition to cost information, media kits provide businesses with circulation figures, ad submission deadlines, and local demographic information.
3) Review the classified ads section of selected newspapers
Factors to consider include the maximum amount of space (words, lines) for an ad, the cost (whether you charge per word or per line), the competitors that appear in the ad, and the categories where you can place your ad. Also, make sure the ad allows for images, bolding or enlarging the title, using different colors, and using text boxes or borders.
4) Choose a suitable advertising item
Maybe pick an ad that is used quite often by competitors and see if it would be suitable for your business's ad copy?
5) Write an attractive title
The headline is the most important part of any advertisement, so it is necessary to invest a lot of time to have the best headline, attract attention and leave the most impression on the reader. You should start by listing all the benefits of the product or service of the business, then choose the most prominent benefit, the one that consumers are most interested in, to make the topic of the headline. If you have difficulty with the headline this way, you can suggest a pressing need, a concern of the customer. Sometimes, the headline consists of only one word to attract the attention of the customer.
6) Write a complete marketing message about your business's product or service.
The best way is to write a paragraph to talk about the company's products and services, then cut it down until it fits the space and word count limits of the advertisement. The basic elements of a paragraph of the product, the company's proposals (invitation, promotion, etc.), the customer's call to action, the information for customers to contact (regular mail address, email, contact phone number, website address, etc.). In addition, you can focus on talking about the main benefits of the product with a detailed paragraph, emphasizing that using the company's products will bring customers specific benefits (such as saving time, money, improving health, ensuring promotion opportunities, etc.).
7) Determine the required length of the ad
First, it is necessary to check the number of words and lines required for the advertisement, cutting out unnecessary sentences and words that are not directly related to the main theme of the message.
8) Use concise language and use abbreviations where allowed.Abbreviate if allowed. For example: “This machine is easy to use, works quickly and saves you a lot of time and money”, simply say “Simple to use, fast, saves time and money”!
