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Ten
Ways to Blow Your Advertising Campaign
Ignore Your Target Audience
If you don't want any customers, be sure to
ignore your target audience. Don't worry that you're
trying to sell scooters for the elderly in a teen magazine.
Your target audience doesn't really matter, does it?
Knowing
your target audience is crucial to any successful ad
campaign. Always identify your potential customers before
beginning any work on your ad campaign.
Don't
Let the Pros Handle Your Materials
Save a buck and create your own materials.
It won't make that much difference right?
There's
a reason people hire ad agencies, freelance copywriters,
freelance graphic designers and production houses to
handle their ads. You're an expert in your field and
they're experts in their fields.
Writing
that brochure on your own and printing it out in black
and white on your printer may sound like a good idea
to save money.
All it will do, though, is make your company look unprofessional.
Copywriters are specifically trained to write copy that
sells. Graphic
designers are trained to create eye-catching materials
that make your company stand out. Taking a stab at it
yourself may sound like a good idea but the selling
message will suffer and your company will lose sales.
Plans?
Who Needs Plans?
Just start advertising willy nilly without
really thinking about your budget and the right places
for you to advertise and you're sure to blow your ad
campaign quickly.
Every
successful ad campaign begins with a well-conceived
plan. From identifying the target audience to knowing
exactly where you need to advertise, your plan is a
must for your ad budget to be spent wisely and your
potential customers to be turned into paying customers.
Run
That Ad Just Once
Your ad is so great, you only need it to appear
once to make a huge splash. Whether it's a commercial
or a print ad, just run it once and you'll instantly
blow your ad campaign.
Frequency
is the key. When you know your target audience, you
also know where you need to advertise. How often you
run the ad makes a big difference in if the ad will
be effective.
One
ad won't do the trick. It's better to run that one print
ad multiple times than just once if you really want
to gain customers.
Who
Needs Consistency?
Trash all of your hard work on an ad campaign
by making each ad different. Who needs the same tag
line in every ad? Who wants the logo to look the same
every time?
If
you're not keeping your materials consistent, you're
not making an impression with customers. The more people
see your logo, your tag line, even the same colors in
your ads, the more they'll begin to associate your company
and products with the place they need to be spending
their money.
Don't
Tell the Customer to Act Now
Your "Call to Action" is completely
optional if you want to turn your ad campaign into a
disaster. You might as well tell customers, "Contact
us if you want to or when you get around to it."
A
compelling Call to Action is crucial to completing the
sale. Tell customers to, "Call Now!" or "Hurry!
This offer expires soon." If you're not telling
the customers to act right away, they won't. They'll
put your company in the back of their mind and then
forget about you in a few minutes.
Budgets
are for Schmucks
Don't worry about the numbers and you'll find
yourself in a jam when it comes to advertising. Of course,
that means you'll lose out on advertising opportunities
you could've invested in but you didn't want any sales,
right? Plan out your ad budget to the penny.
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