The Conspiracy Theory Of Print Advertising
"This Will Be The Most Important Article You Ever Read On Advertising!"
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If you've
tried advertising in a newspaper, magazine, or trade publication and you've
had poor results, the chances are you've concluded that advertising doesn't
work.
For many
this is the harsh reality. But it needn't be.
People waste millions of dollars each year on ineffective advertising.
It's not their fault. Their ads are almost doomed to failure before the
campaign even starts.
Why would
I say this?
Quite simply
the whole mainstream advertising industry including all the publications
is set up to ensure your ads fail. It's one big *CONSPIRACY* against the
business owner and her hard earned money.
I know this
sounds almost ridiculous. I can see the emails hitting my PC almost instantly,
but it's true. There are 3 reasons for this. Let me explain
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1. Almost
all the ad agencies use 'brand' advertising, or
'Institutionalised Advertising,' rather than what we call
'Direct Response Advertising.' The difference between the two is the difference
between success and failure.
Brand or
institutionalised advertising is created to make people aware of the product
or service in the hope that when a person needs that type of product or
service they remember the ad and then seek out the advertiser.
Results cannot
be gauged accurately, if at all. This is how
99% of ads are created. They look pleasing to the eye, but they don't
ask for a response, and the ad agencies producing them - don't want them
to, because that makes them accountable!
On the other
hand, direct response advertising is created to get an immediate response.
Ads tend to look 'ugly' but they are accurately measured by using coupons,
and other measurable response devices.
To those
of us who use this method it is the ONLY way.
Sure this
type of advertising leaves you wide open for criticism, because you know
in a few short days or weeks how much income the ad generated.
But what
would you prefer - an ad that instantly gives you leads and sales, or
an ad that looks good, and may or may not influence people to buy your
service some time in the future?
*****
2. Because
everyone uses brand advertising - the agencies are never accountable for
the ads they produce, and the business owner accepts this situation.
When using
brand advertising there is no way of gauging the results...
-- "We're
building the brand Mr Jones."
-- "The
ads are getting your name recognised in the minds of
the consumer."
-- "You're
making a great impression on the trade."
These are
common things said by people producing brand advertising.
And because
the business owner is happy to think that people are becoming more aware
of his or her service 'brand' they keep paying for the ads, and so on.
It's a 'vicious circle.'
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3. The publishers
are 'in' on this 'game' because they don't want you to have accountable
results, and they want to ensure you book a series of ads rather than
one at a time.
Let's get
one thing straight before I plough on in. If I was advising a publication
on their advertising strategy I would tell them to sell a series of ad
insertions, rather than one offs.
This automatically
increases the average order value, and gets a longer term commitment.
So this strategy is sensible for the publication.
However for
the advertiser this can be catastrophic. Here's why
I'm sure
you've heard this before, "Mr Smith if you book a series of 6 ads,
you'll get a discount of 10 - 15%. Also you need to advertise for at least
four or five times before people become aware of you" - blah, blah,
blah!
Here's a
reality check...
If your ad
doesn't work (i.e. generate high quality leads and/or sales) the first
time, it won't work after the second... third... fourth etc. It's vital
you appreciate this fact.
However,
if your ad works the first time you can be 99% certain it will work the
second and so on. The key is to negotiate for one insertion. If it works
great. Book another. If it doesn't, you need to either change the ad,
or decide the publication just isn't right.
Remember
this. If you book a series of ads you must be prepared to lose the money
you've paid for the ads - and how many businesses can afford to do that?
*****
Hopefully
you can now understand why the odds are stacked against you - unless of
course you take on board my advice.
Not knowing
these myths has probably already cost you hundreds even thousands of dollars.
Now you know you've been taken for a ride it's time to STOP! Smart people
will kill their current ad campaigns and make the changes. Fools won't.
Which one are you?
© Hackney
Marketing Ltd
Steve Hackney has spent 10 years and over $800,000 to
discover the secrets of how service businesses can generate
5 or 6 figure profits every single month.
Better still
he reveals every closely guarded secret in his
amazing free mini-course titled, "How To Skyrocket The Sales
And Profits Of Your Service Business - Closely Guarded
Secrets Revealed."
You can get
Steve's FREE 5 part mini marketing course by
clicking...
http://www.powermarketingstrategy.com
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