Classified Ads - Make Them Work for You

Classified ads are still a very popular and powerful form of small-business advertising. Many people browse through them daily to see if anything catches their eye. They are a low-cost, simple and effective way of reaching a large target audience. If you are going to use this form of advertising though, you must make every word count.

Your headline must grab the reader's attention at once. Often it can be in the form of a question, such as: Would you like to earn $70K a year, working part-time from home? An effective type of question is something like this: Who else wants to become financially independent and quit their job? Strangely enough, a negative headline can be very effective: Don't sign up to Network Marketing! Read our free report first!

Whatever you do, involve the reader. They don't want to know about what you are doing, they want you to tell them what they can do.

Secondly, you should make your product or service sound as useful or interesting as you possibly can in the small space available. But you should take care never to say anything that is either not true or exaggerated. It is important to retain your credibility if the reader is to become your customer in the future.

Words like "free" are excellent for grabbing the attention, and if you are making some kind of free offer, you will be more likely to get readers following up your ad. Highlighted or capitalized words are effective, but only if used sparingly. Too many of them will more likely put the reader off. It must also be remembered that many platforms for classified ads prohibit the over-use of capitals and exclamation marks.

Use a spell checker, but remember that spell checkers do not pick up all mistakes, so check it carefully yourself as well. A badly spelled ad makes you look sloppy and inefficient, which is certainly not what you are trying to convey.

Finally, make sure that your ad communicates with the reader and makes it clear what benefits they can gain from taking up your ad. Also make it easy for them to contact you or to access your products and services. If you follow these steps, then your ad will have done its job.