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Trade Bulletin Boards are very effective in reaching
right audience. Whether you are buying, selling
or offering some service - trade BBS can get you
instant response at zero cost. However, quality
response depends a great deal on your advertisement
copy - how effectively it conveys your message.
The goal of this article is to
share with you my experience in writing what is
considered effective advertisement on the on-line
"Offer/Demand" Trade Bulletin Boards. Most of
these BBS are free and so attract hundreds of
advertisements from all over the world everyday.
How to make your advertisement stand out among
so many Demands and Offers ? Here are a few tips:
Let us keep in mind that our on-line
audience are trigger happy busy people. They love
to hit the delete button. They are intelligent
and bright so we are not going to insult their
intelligence. They hate words associated with
spam like: Get-Rich-Quick, Earn Easy Money, The
Best Product On The Net, Let Me Show You etc..
However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't
be creative in writing your ads.
Short
and Sweet:
Your ad has only few seconds to live on those
people monitors or die for ever. So we are not
going to write a long love story. Our ad should
just serve to trigger action (response). No more
no less. We wish people to visit our websites
looking for more detailed information or better
contact us for the same.
Let us start by writing the Ad:
In my opinion, the ingredients of any good ad
shall cover:
Subject:
30-40 characters (not words) that indicates the
content of the ad without using spam related attention-grabbers
similar to those in get-rich-quick ads. Write
about key benefits of your product/ service in
few words. Some of the words that work well in
the subject are: Quality, Reliable, Serious, Competitive,
Effective, Free, Your, How, Secrets, Improve and
Discover. However, this is only a suggestion,
you only know the keywords that generate curiosity
in reader. Think of yourself as the reader and
critically judge the words. Remember, the SUBJECT
is the most important aspect of your ad.
Body (copy):
To be short. 5-10 lines of 55 characters each.
Offer/Sell: The body shall cover the most important
benefits related to your product/Service. So think
Benefits ! Ask yourself: What do my buyers get
out of purchasing my product? Mention the benefits
not only the description and details of your product.
Demand/Buy:
The body shall cover the exact specifications
(if possible) of the required product. It should
also contain quantity, packing, delivery period,
payment terms and target price (if possible).
If you prefer products of particular origin/ brand
etc, please mention that to avoid irrelevant responses.
Misc
(miscellaneous):
The body could be any of the two above cases or
just a clear written announcement.
In all above three cases, it is recommended that
the ad ends with a Call For Action like: "Visit
our web site for more details" or "Write us for
more information and prices" etc.. You must tell
the readers what you want them to do. Remember
to provide your complete contact details.
In general every ad should contain 4 elements
- AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.
A few
more ground rules:
-
Prefer multi-post services that
re-post to BBS, Newsgroups and ETO
-
Stay focusased - do not write
unrelated facts. Stick to a single topic in
each ad copy. If necessary, place separate
ads for separate products.
-
Write in a lucid, simple manner
so that even a stranger can understand what
you wish to buy or sell. Avoid flowery, verbose
sentences. Before posting, ask an outsider
to read your ad copy for comprehension.
-
Always write down your complete
contact details (company, contact person,
mailing address, tel, fax, e-mail, web-site
URL). Absence of contact details may be perceived
as lack of seriousness by readers.
-
Do not write history of your
company. Leave that to a page in your web-site
for history lovers.
-
Be careful about spellings and
grammatical mistakes. It communicates a negative
image about the company.
-
Do not hesitate to re-post your
ad after 15 days in case it does not generate
enough response.
-
Reply to all responses within
24 hours.
Lastly, never write advertisements
on-line, you are likely to make mistakes. We should
keep in mind that ethical on-line FREE advertising
takes lots of time. Please prepare your ad material
with care, examine them critically taking as much
time as required and save these in a word-processor
file. Simply Cut and paste the ad at the BBS.
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