2007 November

SAPATodayAltering Our Attitudes and Habits

The Bi-Monthly Newsletter for the Free Paper Industry November & December|2007

In this Issue:

visit us at www.sapatoday.com

By Tim SmithSince the moment of birth, we have been engaged in a constant process of forming habits, breaking them and forming new ones. As much as 95 percent of what we do each day is done from habit. Habits include attitudes and dominant patterns of thought as well as actions. Habit formation is a constructive way to meet life’s challenges. Every day we encounter situations and experiences that require a conscious choice or a decision. But once a satisfactory decision has been made in a common set of circumstances, it is a waste of time and mental eff ort to make the conscious decision again and again. Instead our brain “stores” for future use all the data from that fi rst satisfactory decision. � at, in simple terms, is the process of habit formation, a constructive

and mentally economical way of dealing with routine day to day activities.For example, in meeting a new situation, we make a bad choice or a poor decision – one that produces an unsatisfactory result - we mentally reject that choice and make a diff erent one each time that situation occurs until we fi nd an acceptable choice. Once we have found a satisfactory response, we adopt it

Southeastern Adver t i s ing Publ i shers Associat ion (800) 334-0649 (888) 334-0649 fax

page 2SAPA Board of Directors

page 3Believable Ads

page 4Is Leopard Ready For You?

page 9The Apple iPhone

page 10Calendar of Events

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association

continued on page 10

Q:A:

How do you increase your circulation without the

printing and distribution costs?

With a Page-Flip Digital Edition

by JB Multimedia

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For the first time ever, CVC® is officially including readership of your JB Multimedia-produced Digital Edition in your next circulation audit. All of your online readers will now count–imagine what that will do for your numbers!

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The Pioneers in Page-Flip Technology - www.jbmultimedia.net

2 SAPAToday

Insight always precedes change. Changes in attitudes that follow insight into ourselves become permanent changes; any others are usually temporary. An attitude formed by blind acceptance of another’s infl uence is subject to rapid change; but attitudes based on insight, commitment and belief and supported by a carefully planned course of action gain permanence. It follows naturally that our eff ectiveness in making attitude changes depends primarily on the extent of our insight into the reasons such changes are desirable. As we gain insight, we develop personal leadership. Our program of personal goals is the best possible tool for gaining that insight. Another factor in the willingness to change is our attitude toward change itself. If we consistently resist change, we live in a dull, drab life. But when we accept change, we find joy in living and the excitement of new experiences, new challenges and new wins. Capture the spirit of enthusiasm and recognize the “thrill of the chase” as a reward of goal seeking and goal achievement.We are not born winners or losers, we are born choosers – but in the process of adjusting to the complexities of the world, we are sometimes so occupied with satisfying short term basic needs that we give little thought, time or

attention to self-fulfillment and development of personal leadership and long term accomplishments. Habits developed in this context become demotivators. Most demotivators can be lumped together as fear (false evidence appearing real), worry and doubt. These demotivators can control only those who l a c k self-confi dence. Build our self-confi dence and the demotivators disappear. Build a consistent attitude of self-confidence, substitute if for fear and fear is dissolved. � en we live a rewarding life full of self-realization, achievement and success. A personal goals program is the most positive approach we can make to breaking through demotivators and building a strong sense of personal leadership. Tim Smith is President of Tim Smith Consulting which is an employee training corporation located in Allentown, PA. Tim has worked with the IFPA for the past fi ve years doing seminars and workshops for the newspaper industry. If you would like information on Tim doing a FREE Customer Service seminar for your customers thanking them for doing business with you, Tim can be reached at [email protected] or 610-435-0661.

The Goal of your

Organization – does everyone know what it

is, specifically?

11 SAPAToday

SAPA Board of Directors

Past PresidentGreg LedfordShelby Shopper &

InfoShelby, NC

704-484-1047

PresidentMike WoodardTuscaloosa Shopper

& ReporterNorthport, AL205-333-7525

Vice PresidentBill Bowman

Up & Coming Weekly

Fayetteville, NC 910-484-6200

TreasurerRussell

QuattlebaumSoutheast Sun

Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969

Past PresidentMolly Richard

Quik Quarter Classifi eds

Lafayette, LA337-234-3463

Board MemberGarth HawkenFlashes Shopping GuideStuart, FL772-287-0650

SecretaryTony Onellion

Bargains PlusSlidell, LA

985-649-9515

Past PresidentGary Benton

Peddler ADvantageParis, TN

731-644-9595

Board MemberAlan Lingerfelt

The Piedmont Shopper

Danville, VA434-822-1800

Past PresidentBrenda Finchum

Coffee County Shopper

Manchester, TN931-728-3273

Past President

Mark your calendar today to attend

CAMP SAPAin Asheville, North Carolina on August 22 & 23, 2008

By John Foust, Raleigh, NC

� e headline is the most important part of an ad. Research shows that eight out of ten readers do not read past the headline of any given ad. You know from experience that, if a headline doesn’t arouse interest, you simply turn the page.

Print is an information medium. � at’s why the best print ads – and their headlines – provide information to readers. It’s as simple as that.

I recently ran across an ad in my fi les that provides a classic example of what not to do. � e headline shouts, “Unbelievable opportunity” in big bold type. Does this headline provide information? No. Does it establish credibility for the advertiser? No. Does it communicate anything of value? No. To understand why, let’s take a closer look:

“Unbelievable.” When something is exceptionally good – or exceptionally bad – it is often labeled as being unbelievable. As a sports fan, I’ve heard countless touchdowns, home runs, and birdie putts described as “unbelievable.” While “unbelievable” may be harmless in sports broadcasts, this word creates more trouble then it’s worth in advertising.

What does “unbelievable” really mean? Technically speaking, “un” means “against” or “the opposite of.” � at means that advertisers who use the word

“unbelievable” are actually saying, “Don’t believe this ad. It’s fi lled with lies.” Obviously, that’s not the message they want to send, but that’s the real meaning.

� e fi rst lesson here is to be believable. If you want your advertising to have the clear ring of authenticity – if you want it to convey information – start by eliminating baseless claims and exaggerations.

“Opportunity.” � e second lesson is to be specifi c. In the context of this advertiser’s two-word headline,

“opportunity” means nothing at all. To what kind of opportunity are they referring? We don’t know,

because they don’t say.

Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said, “Don’t become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific.” The same can be said of advertising. Legendary copywriter Claude Hopkins wrote, “� e weight of an argument may often be multiplied by making it specific.” To prove his point, he compared two advertising statements: (1) “Our prices have been reduced,” and (2) “Our prices have been reduced by 25 percent.” It’s obvious that the second headline has more impact

– because it is specifi c.

� e only way to make “opportunity” work is to use it as an idea generator – and not in a headline. � e fi rst step might be to ask, “Opportunity for whom?” or

“Opportunity to do what?” First, identify a specifi c target audience. � en fi gure out how that group can benefi t from buying that advertiser’s product or service.

Once a specific benefit is identified, the word “opportunity” can be dropped. For example, an ad for lakeside homes might evolve from “Unbelievable opportunity” to “Here’s your opportunity to live by the lake”…or “Live by the lake.”

If you’re looking for a guideline to create better advertising, consider the opposite of what is represented by the words “unbelievable” and

“opportunity.” Be believable, and be specifi c.

Do this, and your ads will be more eff ective.

(c)Copyright 2007 by John Foust. All rights reserved. E-mail John Foust for information about his training videos for ad departments: [email protected]

The headline is the most important part of an ad.

“The first lesson

here is to be

believable.”

3 SAPAToday

as a standard for the future – a new habit is formed. Bad habits creep in only when not recognized as bad. For example, someone who talks too much and listens too little may have formed that habit to gain stature and prestige by always having “something to say”. � e habit seems good because it gives one kind of satisfaction.Remember that habits include both attitudes and actions. An attitude is a habit of reacting or responding in a certain way each time we encounter the same situation. It is especially important to personal leadership to form success attitudes. Such attitudes of self-confidence, self-respect, enthusiasm and determination are merely special kinds of habits. � ey are mental and emotional habits as distinguished from action habits. And such internal habits control our behaviors.Attitudes, since they are habits of thought, are formed in the same way as habits of action. We fi nd a thought pattern that gives us pleasure and/or satisfaction. We repeat it, and it becomes habitual. Negative attitudes begin when people try to protect themselves from failure or from the fear of failure by saying to themselves, “I can’t” or “I won’t”. � e tragedy is that the satisfaction gained in this manner is insignifi cant compared to the exhilaration of achievement that could have been experienced by believing in “I can” or “I will”.Any change in attitude must come from internal understanding and acceptance.

Kidsville News January 2008: � e 2008 Kidsville News Conference to be held at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux, Fayetteville, North Carolina. Potential Publishers Session on Sunday, January 27, 2008. For more information call 910-222-6200 and ask for Joy Kirkpatrick.

S A PA J a n u a r y 2 0 0 8 Publishers Retreat: the Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association will hold its fi rst Publishers Retreat in conjunction with their annual board meeting on January 18 & 19, 2008 at the Disney Yacht Club in Orlando, Florida. Space is limited so make your plans now to attend this planning, training, energizing conference.

AFCP Conference 2008: � e Association of Free Community Papers hosts its annual conference at the Westin Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California. � is is in the Coachella Valley adjacent to Palm Springs.Westin Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage, CA 4/24/2008 To 4/26/2008

SAPA Conference 2008: We contracted the Renaissance Hotel in refreshing Asheville, NC on August 22 & 23, 2008 for our Fall Conference. Mark your calendars today. And please give us a call at 1-800-334-0649 or email: [email protected] if you would like more information.

IFPA Conference 2008: Seattle, Washington is the site for the Fall Conference for IFPA., September 24 - 27, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency in nearby Bellevue. A trip to the Space Needle and dinner there promises a great time.

Calendar of Events

10 SAPAToday

Make Your AdsBelievable &

Specific

Altering Our Attitudesand Habits


by Douglas Fry

One of my jobs as Executive Director of SAPA is to boldly go where no one has gone before. Software-wise anyway. So, when the latest version of the Macintosh operating system, Leopard, came out I was first in line to try it out. �e following is a rather painful explanation of what happened. If you are easily offended or have a heart condition you may want to skip this article.

When the shipping date of October 26, 2007 was announced I immediately went to the Apple website and ordered SAPA’s copies. However, the day before it was to arrive we read that FileMaker Pro, our most used program at the office, would not work properly with Leopard. So I did what any true geek would do, I fired off a nasty email to FileMaker.

�at resulted in absolutely nothing. So, on Friday morning as I read emails and attended to SAPA business I wasn’t looking forward to the arrival of Leopard. Around 9:00 am I read that the FileMaker problem would only affect certain installations, of which we were NOT one. With that bit of information I started looking out the window for the UPS delivery. It arrived that Friday morning around 10:00 am.

I went to work and installed it on our extra iMac with zero

problems. It was beautiful. �e way everything worked together was simply amazing to me. I was ready to test it out. Kevin and I worked tirelessly attempting to make it “break.” But it kept running smoothly without a single problem.

Vickie’s machine was next. �is installation was a bit more difficult. I inserted the DVD into Vickie’s machine only to have it pop out in about 5 seconds. I tried this maneuver over and over again with the same result. I scoured the internet and found that the

“Family Pack” of Leopard had a nasty habit of breaking DVD drives.

What would you do in a case like that? I got out the trusty powerBook and fired it up in the Target Disk mode (Hold down the T key as it starts up). Connected it to Vickie’s machine and waited for the DVD to launch

from the powerBook. It worked and soon enough I had Leopard installed on Vickie’s PowerMac G5. It wasn’t a particularly pretty way to install it, but it worked.

Emboldened by my recent successes I attempted to install Leopard on my Mac. It is a beautiful G5 dual processor with 6 GB of RAM and over 2 Terrabytes of Hard Disk space with two flat panel LCD screens to gaze at. It is my baby. Yes, it means that much to me because it is our internet server, voice mail system, website server, ftp server, FileMaker Pro server, and the machine I do all my “directorly duties” on. So, this installation had to be perfect.

Well it wasn’t. When I first tried to install on Monday morning it told me that it couldn’t install on my hard disk but that it could on a backup drive I had attached. �at wasn’t what I wanted so I backed off. I backed up the machine a

second time and tried to install again. �is time it actually started working but stopped about half way through. I tried a third time with the same result.

Tuesday morning I came back to the office refreshed and ready to tackle the beastly Leopard and vanquish it once and for all. I backed up a fourth time and installed to the external drive. It worked! I now had a crisp new copy of Leopard running on our most important machine at the office. However, it was running on a hard drive that kept indexing,

over and over again.

As a result, I backed that drive up to a different internal drive but kept getting “Kernal Panics” whenever I tried to start up with that drive. But I’m not one to give up easily.

By �ursday after re-formating the main hard drive several times I finally got it installed. But it kept doing the same indexing that it had previously. �is slowed the computer down to a crawl. �inking that it would just take some time I let it run over the weekend. Imagine my chagrin

when I returned the next Monday to find that it was still indexing!

I fiddled, futzed and cursed under my breath. �at seemed to do the trick because after 9 days of work I finally have a functioning copy of Leopard.

It will be a great system once the bugs are worked out. I suggest to all Macintosh folks to upgrade to this system after the first of the year. Automatic backups in Time Machine, virtual desktops with Spaces, and HTML email are some of my favorites. You’ll have some too next year, not now.

9 SAPAToday4 SAPAToday

Are You Ready For Leopard?Is Leopard Ready For You?


continued on page 9

www.kidsvillenews.com1.877.4KVNEWS

Kidsville News! is the nation’s favorite and fastest-growing children’s newspaper. From a humble but persistent start of four

publications just two years ago, to over 96 editions today, Kidsville News! is making an educational

impact all across the country. Why? Because children need to

read and Kidsville News! creates new revenue streams and higher profi ts for newspaper publishers.

With a circulation of over one million, Kidsville News! has proven itself to be a fun and effective learning resource for children, teachers and parents.

Find out the revenue and profi t potential in your community and explore the Kidsville News! opportunity by attending our 2008 Publishers’ Conference.

Some of our conference speakers include:

TIM BINGAMAN, President & CEO of Circulation Verifi cation Council, founded CVC in 1992 with 13 member editions.

CVC now audits over 4,900 editions in North America with a combined circulation of over 70,000,000.

BILL BOWMAN is President of Kidsville News Inc. In 1996, he started Cumberland County’s fi rst free commu-nity newspaper, Up & Com-

ing Weekly. In 2005, Bill purchased Kidsville News Incorporated and has since expanded the publication nation-wide.

DIANNE CIOTTA has been successfully presenting captivating skills refi nement seminars to advertising sales

executives and managers for 18 years. Diane is also a Kidsville News! Publisher for central Jersey.

CRAIG S. MCMULLIN is the executive director of the Association of Free Community Papers, which represents nearly 3,000

community papers across North America. Since taking the helm in 1999, AFCP membership has more than tripled, classifi ed revenues have grown from $600,000 to nearly $4 million and conference attendance has increased 800%.

Kidsville Curious? Make a point to join us...

The Nation’s Fun Family Newspaper

For more information or to reserve your spot at the conference

call 910-222-6200 today!

If you read about our experience with Leopard you might think that I am not pleased with Apple right now. But that’s not the case because of the iPhone. It is simply the best single device I have ever used.Before the iPhone was released to the public the SAPA Board of Directors suggested that I should get one and try to out to see if other publishers would benefi t from it. I’m nothing if not obedient so I stood in line, in the pouring rain, that June 29th evening to purchase the iPhone of my dreams.It only took an hour or so to go through the Byzantine process at AT&T before they would actually take my money. But once that was done I headed home for the fun.� e very thin manual recommended that I simply plug it into my Mac. I did this and went through a few steps in iTunes. In a matter of minutes I had a phone that not only looked cool but actually made it possible to make phone calls!As if by magic all my contacts (Yes, all the SAPA members), address information, email addresses, calendar items, photos, internet book marks, music, and movies were available on this tiny hand held device.

I began using it. It was intuitive, easy to learn, and most of all very cool. Anyone from a Grandmother to the youngest kids simply “get it.” It just works. I began looking for excuses to show it off .On an airplane, in an elevator, at the free paper conferences I attended, or at dinner in our local favorite restaurant, I found ways to show it off . I knew I had a problem when I took it to church hoping someone would ask how to get from Bethlehem to Cairo. But no one did so I casually whipped it out to view photos. But you can do so much more.Email, internet, music, movies, weather, calculator, text messaging, calendar, camera, YouTube, stocks, maps, alarm clocks, notes, and (most of all) a phone built in to one beautifully thin, sleek package is simply more than I could have hoped for. � e day will come that I don’t have to carry around a computer because I have an iPhone. And so should you.


I stood in line, in the pouring rain, that June 29th evening to purchase

the iPhone of my dreams.

The Apple iPhone: After 4 Months I’m Still Hooked

32 Quarterfold

37 Broadsheet or Tabloid

32 Digest

32 Magazine

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Will Parks(309) 797-0302

IPC CHARLIE HENCYE

800-243-7659 [email protected] FAX: 941-484-0828

140 Triple Diamond Blvd * Suite C * N. Venice, FL 34275www.ipcpoly.com

PRESIDENT

International Poly&

Promotions

Plastic BagsPromotional Items

Advertising Specialties

300 North DriveSuite 100

Melbourne, FL 32934

321.242.5000 x2214321.242.4074727.492.3562

phonefax

mobile

John Pourtlessdirector of sales - southeast

[email protected]

If you read about our experience with Leopard you might think that I am not pleased with Apple right now. But that’s not the case because of the iPhone. It is simply the best single device I have ever used.Before the iPhone was released to the public the SAPA Board of Directors suggested that I should get one and try to out to see if other publishers would benefi t from it. I’m nothing if not obedient so I stood in line, in the pouring rain, that June 29th evening to purchase the iPhone of my dreams.It only took an hour or so to go through the Byzantine process at AT&T before they would actually take my money. But once that was done I headed home for the fun.� e very thin manual recommended that I simply plug it into my Mac. I did this and went through a few steps in iTunes. In a matter of minutes I had a phone that not only looked cool but actually made it possible to make phone calls!As if by magic all my contacts (Yes, all the SAPA members), address information, email addresses, calendar items, photos, internet book marks, music, and movies were available on this tiny hand held device.

I began using it. It was intuitive, easy to learn, and most of all very cool. Anyone from a Grandmother to the youngest kids simply “get it.” It just works. I began looking for excuses to show it off .On an airplane, in an elevator, at the free paper conferences I attended, or at dinner in our local favorite restaurant, I found ways to show it off . I knew I had a problem when I took it to church hoping someone would ask how to get from Bethlehem to Cairo. But no one did so I casually whipped it out to view photos. But you can do so much more.Email, internet, music, movies, weather, calculator, text messaging, calendar, camera, YouTube, stocks, maps, alarm clocks, notes, and (most of all) a phone built in to one beautifully thin, sleek package is simply more than I could have hoped for. � e day will come that I don’t have to carry around a computer because I have an iPhone. And so should you.


I stood in line, in the pouring rain, that June 29th evening to purchase

the iPhone of my dreams.

The Apple iPhone: After 4 Months I’m Still Hooked

32 Quarterfold

37 Broadsheet or Tabloid

32 Digest

32 Magazine

C-91SD C-2003SD

C-6SDPoly Bags

SS-5SS-6SS-7 RT SS-8

800-398-2427www.theservicechamps.com

[email protected] - 708-946-3733

WireDisplays

Tubes andSteel Posts

Steel Distribution BoxesPlastic Displays

Carrier BagsRubber Bands ST-91SD

by Douglas Fry

One of my jobs as Executive Director of SAPA is to boldly go where no one has gone before. Software-wise anyway. So, when the latest version of the Macintosh operating system, Leopard, came out I was first in line to try it out. �e following is a rather painful explanation of what happened. If you are easily offended or have a heart condition you may want to skip this article.

When the shipping date of October 26, 2007 was announced I immediately went to the Apple website and ordered SAPA’s copies. However, the day before it was to arrive we read that FileMaker Pro, our most used program at the office, would not work properly with Leopard. So I did what any true geek would do, I fired off a nasty email to FileMaker.

�at resulted in absolutely nothing. So, on Friday morning as I read emails and attended to SAPA business I wasn’t looking forward to the arrival of Leopard. Around 9:00 am I read that the FileMaker problem would only affect certain installations, of which we were NOT one. With that bit of information I started looking out the window for the UPS delivery. It arrived that Friday morning around 10:00 am.

I went to work and installed it on our extra iMac with zero

problems. It was beautiful. �e way everything worked together was simply amazing to me. I was ready to test it out. Kevin and I worked tirelessly attempting to make it “break.” But it kept running smoothly without a single problem.

Vickie’s machine was next. �is installation was a bit more difficult. I inserted the DVD into Vickie’s machine only to have it pop out in about 5 seconds. I tried this maneuver over and over again with the same result. I scoured the internet and found that the

“Family Pack” of Leopard had a nasty habit of breaking DVD drives.

What would you do in a case like that? I got out the trusty powerBook and fired it up in the Target Disk mode (Hold down the T key as it starts up). Connected it to Vickie’s machine and waited for the DVD to launch

from the powerBook. It worked and soon enough I had Leopard installed on Vickie’s PowerMac G5. It wasn’t a particularly pretty way to install it, but it worked.

Emboldened by my recent successes I attempted to install Leopard on my Mac. It is a beautiful G5 dual processor with 6 GB of RAM and over 2 Terrabytes of Hard Disk space with two flat panel LCD screens to gaze at. It is my baby. Yes, it means that much to me because it is our internet server, voice mail system, website server, ftp server, FileMaker Pro server, and the machine I do all my “directorly duties” on. So, this installation had to be perfect.

Well it wasn’t. When I first tried to install on Monday morning it told me that it couldn’t install on my hard disk but that it could on a backup drive I had attached. �at wasn’t what I wanted so I backed off. I backed up the machine a

second time and tried to install again. �is time it actually started working but stopped about half way through. I tried a third time with the same result.

Tuesday morning I came back to the office refreshed and ready to tackle the beastly Leopard and vanquish it once and for all. I backed up a fourth time and installed to the external drive. It worked! I now had a crisp new copy of Leopard running on our most important machine at the office. However, it was running on a hard drive that kept indexing,

over and over again.

As a result, I backed that drive up to a different internal drive but kept getting “Kernal Panics” whenever I tried to start up with that drive. But I’m not one to give up easily.

By �ursday after re-formating the main hard drive several times I finally got it installed. But it kept doing the same indexing that it had previously. �is slowed the computer down to a crawl. �inking that it would just take some time I let it run over the weekend. Imagine my chagrin

when I returned the next Monday to find that it was still indexing!

I fiddled, futzed and cursed under my breath. �at seemed to do the trick because after 9 days of work I finally have a functioning copy of Leopard.

It will be a great system once the bugs are worked out. I suggest to all Macintosh folks to upgrade to this system after the first of the year. Automatic backups in Time Machine, virtual desktops with Spaces, and HTML email are some of my favorites. You’ll have some too next year, not now.




continued on page 9

www.kidsvillenews.com1.877.4KVNEWS

Kidsville News! is the nation’s favorite and fastest-growing children’s newspaper. From a humble but persistent start of four

publications just two years ago, to over 96 editions today, Kidsville News! is making an educational

impact all across the country. Why? Because children need to

read and Kidsville News! creates new revenue streams and higher profi ts for newspaper publishers.

With a circulation of over one million, Kidsville News! has proven itself to be a fun and effective learning resource for children, teachers and parents.

Find out the revenue and profi t potential in your community and explore the Kidsville News! opportunity by attending our 2008 Publishers’ Conference.

Some of our conference speakers include:

TIM BINGAMAN, President & CEO of Circulation Verifi cation Council, founded CVC in 1992 with 13 member editions.

CVC now audits over 4,900 editions in North America with a combined circulation of over 70,000,000.

BILL BOWMAN is President of Kidsville News Inc. In 1996, he started Cumberland County’s fi rst free commu-nity newspaper, Up & Com-

ing Weekly. In 2005, Bill purchased Kidsville News Incorporated and has since expanded the publication nation-wide.

DIANNE CIOTTA has been successfully presenting captivating skills refi nement seminars to advertising sales

executives and managers for 18 years. Diane is also a Kidsville News! Publisher for central Jersey.

CRAIG S. MCMULLIN is the executive director of the Association of Free Community Papers, which represents nearly 3,000

community papers across North America. Since taking the helm in 1999, AFCP membership has more than tripled, classifi ed revenues have grown from $600,000 to nearly $4 million and conference attendance has increased 800%.

Kidsville Curious? Make a point to join us...

The Nation’s Fun Family Newspaper

For more information or to reserve your spot at the conference

call 910-222-6200 today!

By John Foust, Raleigh, NC

� e headline is the most important part of an ad. Research shows that eight out of ten readers do not read past the headline of any given ad. You know from experience that, if a headline doesn’t arouse interest, you simply turn the page.

Print is an information medium. � at’s why the best print ads – and their headlines – provide information to readers. It’s as simple as that.

I recently ran across an ad in my fi les that provides a classic example of what not to do. � e headline shouts, “Unbelievable opportunity” in big bold type. Does this headline provide information? No. Does it establish credibility for the advertiser? No. Does it communicate anything of value? No. To understand why, let’s take a closer look:

“Unbelievable.” When something is exceptionally good – or exceptionally bad – it is often labeled as being unbelievable. As a sports fan, I’ve heard countless touchdowns, home runs, and birdie putts described as “unbelievable.” While “unbelievable” may be harmless in sports broadcasts, this word creates more trouble then it’s worth in advertising.

What does “unbelievable” really mean? Technically speaking, “un” means “against” or “the opposite of.” � at means that advertisers who use the word

“unbelievable” are actually saying, “Don’t believe this ad. It’s fi lled with lies.” Obviously, that’s not the message they want to send, but that’s the real meaning.

� e fi rst lesson here is to be believable. If you want your advertising to have the clear ring of authenticity – if you want it to convey information – start by eliminating baseless claims and exaggerations.

“Opportunity.” � e second lesson is to be specifi c. In the context of this advertiser’s two-word headline,

“opportunity” means nothing at all. To what kind of opportunity are they referring? We don’t know,

because they don’t say.

Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said, “Don’t become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific.” The same can be said of advertising. Legendary copywriter Claude Hopkins wrote, “� e weight of an argument may often be multiplied by making it specific.” To prove his point, he compared two advertising statements: (1) “Our prices have been reduced,” and (2) “Our prices have been reduced by 25 percent.” It’s obvious that the second headline has more impact

– because it is specifi c.

� e only way to make “opportunity” work is to use it as an idea generator – and not in a headline. � e fi rst step might be to ask, “Opportunity for whom?” or

“Opportunity to do what?” First, identify a specifi c target audience. � en fi gure out how that group can benefi t from buying that advertiser’s product or service.

Once a specific benefit is identified, the word “opportunity” can be dropped. For example, an ad for lakeside homes might evolve from “Unbelievable opportunity” to “Here’s your opportunity to live by the lake”…or “Live by the lake.”

If you’re looking for a guideline to create better advertising, consider the opposite of what is represented by the words “unbelievable” and

“opportunity.” Be believable, and be specifi c.

Do this, and your ads will be more eff ective.

(c)Copyright 2007 by John Foust. All rights reserved. E-mail John Foust for information about his training videos for ad departments: [email protected]

The headline is the most important part of an ad.

“The first lesson

here is to be

believable.”

3 SAPAToday

as a standard for the future – a new habit is formed. Bad habits creep in only when not recognized as bad. For example, someone who talks too much and listens too little may have formed that habit to gain stature and prestige by always having “something to say”. � e habit seems good because it gives one kind of satisfaction.Remember that habits include both attitudes and actions. An attitude is a habit of reacting or responding in a certain way each time we encounter the same situation. It is especially important to personal leadership to form success attitudes. Such attitudes of self-confidence, self-respect, enthusiasm and determination are merely special kinds of habits. � ey are mental and emotional habits as distinguished from action habits. And such internal habits control our behaviors.Attitudes, since they are habits of thought, are formed in the same way as habits of action. We fi nd a thought pattern that gives us pleasure and/or satisfaction. We repeat it, and it becomes habitual. Negative attitudes begin when people try to protect themselves from failure or from the fear of failure by saying to themselves, “I can’t” or “I won’t”. � e tragedy is that the satisfaction gained in this manner is insignifi cant compared to the exhilaration of achievement that could have been experienced by believing in “I can” or “I will”.Any change in attitude must come from internal understanding and acceptance.

Kidsville News January 2008: � e 2008 Kidsville News Conference to be held at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux, Fayetteville, North Carolina. Potential Publishers Session on Sunday, January 27, 2008. For more information call 910-222-6200 and ask for Joy Kirkpatrick.

S A PA J a n u a r y 2 0 0 8 Publishers Retreat: the Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association will hold its fi rst Publishers Retreat in conjunction with their annual board meeting on January 18 & 19, 2008 at the Disney Yacht Club in Orlando, Florida. Space is limited so make your plans now to attend this planning, training, energizing conference.

AFCP Conference 2008: � e Association of Free Community Papers hosts its annual conference at the Westin Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California. � is is in the Coachella Valley adjacent to Palm Springs.Westin Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage, CA 4/24/2008 To 4/26/2008

SAPA Conference 2008: We contracted the Renaissance Hotel in refreshing Asheville, NC on August 22 & 23, 2008 for our Fall Conference. Mark your calendars today. And please give us a call at 1-800-334-0649 or email: [email protected] if you would like more information.

IFPA Conference 2008: Seattle, Washington is the site for the Fall Conference for IFPA., September 24 - 27, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency in nearby Bellevue. A trip to the Space Needle and dinner there promises a great time.

Calendar of Events

10 SAPAToday

Make Your AdsBelievable &

Specific

Altering Our Attitudesand Habits


2 SAPAToday

Insight always precedes change. Changes in attitudes that follow insight into ourselves become permanent changes; any others are usually temporary. An attitude formed by blind acceptance of another’s infl uence is subject to rapid change; but attitudes based on insight, commitment and belief and supported by a carefully planned course of action gain permanence. It follows naturally that our eff ectiveness in making attitude changes depends primarily on the extent of our insight into the reasons such changes are desirable. As we gain insight, we develop personal leadership. Our program of personal goals is the best possible tool for gaining that insight. Another factor in the willingness to change is our attitude toward change itself. If we consistently resist change, we live in a dull, drab life. But when we accept change, we find joy in living and the excitement of new experiences, new challenges and new wins. Capture the spirit of enthusiasm and recognize the “thrill of the chase” as a reward of goal seeking and goal achievement.We are not born winners or losers, we are born choosers – but in the process of adjusting to the complexities of the world, we are sometimes so occupied with satisfying short term basic needs that we give little thought, time or

attention to self-fulfillment and development of personal leadership and long term accomplishments. Habits developed in this context become demotivators. Most demotivators can be lumped together as fear (false evidence appearing real), worry and doubt. These demotivators can control only those who l a c k self-confi dence. Build our self-confi dence and the demotivators disappear. Build a consistent attitude of self-confidence, substitute if for fear and fear is dissolved. � en we live a rewarding life full of self-realization, achievement and success. A personal goals program is the most positive approach we can make to breaking through demotivators and building a strong sense of personal leadership. Tim Smith is President of Tim Smith Consulting which is an employee training corporation located in Allentown, PA. Tim has worked with the IFPA for the past fi ve years doing seminars and workshops for the newspaper industry. If you would like information on Tim doing a FREE Customer Service seminar for your customers thanking them for doing business with you, Tim can be reached at [email protected] or 610-435-0661.

The Goal of your

Organization – does everyone know what it

is, specifically?

11 SAPAToday

SAPA Board of Directors

Past PresidentGreg LedfordShelby Shopper &

InfoShelby, NC

704-484-1047

PresidentMike WoodardTuscaloosa Shopper

& ReporterNorthport, AL205-333-7525

Vice PresidentBill Bowman

Up & Coming Weekly

Fayetteville, NC 910-484-6200

TreasurerRussell

QuattlebaumSoutheast Sun

Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969

Past PresidentMolly Richard

Quik Quarter Classifi eds

Lafayette, LA337-234-3463

Board MemberGarth HawkenFlashes Shopping GuideStuart, FL772-287-0650

SecretaryTony Onellion

Bargains PlusSlidell, LA

985-649-9515

Past PresidentGary Benton

Peddler ADvantageParis, TN

731-644-9595

Board MemberAlan Lingerfelt

The Piedmont Shopper

Danville, VA434-822-1800

Past PresidentBrenda Finchum

Coffee County Shopper

Manchester, TN931-728-3273

Past President

Mark your calendar today to attend

CAMP SAPAin Asheville, North Carolina on August 22 & 23, 2008

SAPATodayAltering Our Attitudes and Habits

The Bi-Monthly Newsletter for the Free Paper Industry November & December|2007

In this Issue:

visit us at www.sapatoday.com

By Tim SmithSince the moment of birth, we have been engaged in a constant process of forming habits, breaking them and forming new ones. As much as 95 percent of what we do each day is done from habit. Habits include attitudes and dominant patterns of thought as well as actions. Habit formation is a constructive way to meet life’s challenges. Every day we encounter situations and experiences that require a conscious choice or a decision. But once a satisfactory decision has been made in a common set of circumstances, it is a waste of time and mental eff ort to make the conscious decision again and again. Instead our brain “stores” for future use all the data from that fi rst satisfactory decision. � at, in simple terms, is the process of habit formation, a constructive

and mentally economical way of dealing with routine day to day activities.For example, in meeting a new situation, we make a bad choice or a poor decision – one that produces an unsatisfactory result - we mentally reject that choice and make a diff erent one each time that situation occurs until we fi nd an acceptable choice. Once we have found a satisfactory response, we adopt it

Southeastern Adver t i s ing Publ i shers Associat ion (800) 334-0649 (888) 334-0649 fax

page 2SAPA Board of Directors

page 3Believable Ads

page 4Is Leopard Ready For You?

page 9The Apple iPhone

page 10Calendar of Events

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association


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2007 November

Documents

Transcript of 2007 November