eAction

If you have followed the previous training sessions for promoting your site and products, you should be ready now to to try classfied ads.

You need to watch out for bad sites that promise you classified ads, but are really just a trap to get your email so they can dump loads of advertising emails on you. True, if they are sending out the ads that have been submitted, then others are getting your ad in with all this un-requested dump of ads too. But my philosophy is that if I’m not enjoying reading those ads, others will not either.

All that being said, there are some classified sites that have a good reputation for effectiveness without such low down dirty tricks. The key is to find them. But once we start looking for those sites, we also want to have our ads ready to submit, or we are wasting precious time. So let’s focus on writing good ads today, and we’ll look for suitable locations next time.

Now do you remember those descriptions of your site I suggested you write up to go list your site at all those directories? Let’s use that text as our starting point. It is a fairly brief summary of your site, right? You want people to come to the site… however, effective sales people tell us that just a description isn’t going to bring in the droves of visitors. You need to adjust the wording in such a way that readers will think, “That’s just what I want! I must go see that site!”

So let’s re-write our description to read more like a lure to a great benefit to the reader. Let me show you my site descriptions as an example.

…………..DIRECTORY DESCRIPTIONS…………
Ruthe’s Secret Roses - Making Friends Everywhere! Ruth promotes her novel of Christian Spiritual fiction with a site themed around friendship and mentoring especially in Christian living and writing. She has a Sharing Library with articles and book reviews.

This Bouquet of Enterprises - is meant to bring Ruth an income large enough to accomplish her publishing goals, and to be able to give away generously. She longs to be a Giver like God! Along the way, She’s always ready to teach and share what she knows, particularly if you too, are eager to have God involved in Your business ventures, and are willing to live by high ethical standards.
………………………..

Hmm…? My novel site is all about friendship and mentoring and writing, and has lots of articles and reviews, but it doesn’t promise the reader any unique benefit does it? I would like them to find a friend there, in fact, introduce them to my Best Friend. How shall I write my ad to appeal to the lonely who really would love to have such a friend?

I would also like them to buy my novel. I will have to ask them directly to do so, else they won’t know, will they?

Maybe, without further ado and fuss, I should just tell them that they’ll find a good friend here! and they ought to buy this book about friendship.

RSR AD: Come meet my Best Friend! Buy the novel, Ruthe’s Secret Roses. It’s about a wonderful friend who gets involved in your life - who really cares and helps you. This book can lift you out of your loneliness! Read sample chapters at Ruthe’s Secret Roses

That’s 43 words. Great. Because some classifieds have a word limit. This will save me having to edit it down if they don’t allow more than 50 words. it can stand some more polishing and refining yet, but I’ll accept that as a first draft.

I could of course, write more ads for the same book, but focus on other benefits in it. But for variety’s sake, let’s try the second one for my business site.

The description talks about my high goals and willingness to teach others. What is in that for someone speed reading through a page of classifieds?

BE AD: Keep God involved in your online business. Learn to maintain high ethical standards by following Ruth, a business woman with great goals and self-discipline, by reading her eAction blog, and her site, where she shares a Bouquet of Enterprise ideas. You will be blessed if you become one of her downline! Bouquet of Enterprises

55 words. Hmm… needs more work. But I trust you now catch on to how you must think and write your ads.

Write as many ads as you can in one sitting. Then set them aside a day or two, and when you can devote some time, bring them to your computer screen again, and pour over them. You may be surprised how many spots you see that you can improve because now your eyes will see short-comings or too many words, or whatever.

It may also help to go browsing some classifieds sites just to learn from others.

When you have a list of classified ads written, and you are satisfied that they are as good as you are likely to get them… then it is time to set up go posting them on the better sites that allow submissions of classifieds. We’ll talk about that in two weeks.