7 Advertising Mistakes Made By Most Local Businesses – And How To Avoid Them!

iMarketing Leader | Todd McPartlin imarketingleader.com


Small businesses simply can’t afford to be wasteful…

• Smaller budgets

• Don’t have a lot of “extra” money

to waste on non-performing ads

• Need high-performing ads that

deliver consistent sales

• You MUST Track It


…are you making any of these below?

1. Trying to advertise to everybody

2. Not taking into account the true value of a customer

3. Focusing only on one form of advertising

4. Creating weak ads

5. Not having a strong landing page

6. Cutting back when times are slow

7. Not capturing leads and following up8. Not Tracking Your Advertis

ing


Mistake #1: Trying to advertise to everybody

• Really advertising to “no one”

• Need to define your best

prospects

• Understand their

needs/desires/challenges/fears

• Speak directly to them through

targeted advertising


Get to know your ideal prospect

CollegeHumor.com from Quantcast.com


Market specifically to them


Mistake #2: Not taking into account the true value of a customer

• Must know lifetime value of

customer

• Not knowing this will misrepresent

your advertising ROI

• Don’t focus just on one-time sale…

customers come back for more!


Mistake #3: Focusing only on one form of advertising

• Yellow Pages – not as effective as

it once was

• Direct Mail – still great, but

expensive and lacking online reach

• PPC – pay-per-click, but only

reaches about 8% of interested

prospects


Let the little green lizard be your guide!

• Advertise everywhere you can

• Consistent message

• Multiple forms of media at the

same time to hit from multiple

angles


Mistake #4: Creating weak ads• Poor ads don’t perform and waste

valuable dollars

• 5 keys to a strong ad: Headline

Image

Brand

Offer

Call-to-Action


Headlines must make them want to read more

• Headlines are the first thing people

see and should make them want to

learn more or take action

• Must appeal to their curiosity,

fears, or desires (combine the 3 for

an even better ad!)

• Needs to be targeted to your best

prospect


Images must grab their attention

• Use high-quality images

• Creative, unique, and jarring

ones are best for catching

people’s eyes

• Should be relevant to your brand


Make sure to incorporate your brand

• Don’t forget to include your

unique brand elements (style,

voice, logo, tagline, etc.)

• Helps you cement your company

name into your prospect’s minds


Include an irresistible offer

• Reward them for interacting

with and/or mentioning the ad

(i.e., discount, promotion, free

gift, contest, etc.)

• Contests and sweepstakes are

very popular


End with clear call-to-action

• Be clear and precise on exactly

what you want the viewer to do

• Don’t have more than one call-

to-action on each advertisement

• Leave zero room for confusion


Mistake #5: Not having strong landing page

• Landing page is where you send

your visitors after viewing/clicking

your ad (typically your website home

page)

• Can be used to capture leads (via

email, forms, or phone) or make

direct sales


5 main purposes for a landing page1. Get a visitor to click to go to

another page

2. Get a visitor to buy

3. Get a visitor to give permission for you to follow up by email, phone, etc.

4. Get a visitor to tell a friend

5. Get a visitor to comment or give you some sort of feedback


Same principles for good ads also apply to landing pages

• Engaging headline

• Simple, specific copy

• Benefits over features

• Irresistible offer

• Clear call-to-action


Mistake #6: Cutting back when times are slow

• Don’t limit yourself to short-

term thinking

• Running ads today are an

investment in the future

• Cut advertising today, risk

losing business tomorrow


Mistake #7: Not capturing leads and following up

• Building a list is extremely

valuable

• Most prospects don’t buy the

first time they hear about you

• Follow up with qualified

leads and sell them later on


Best practices for building a high-quality email list

• Offer a “bribe” (free e-book or

whitepaper)

• Host webinars or local events

• Promote online contests

• Cross-promote with other

businesses


Follow up with them afterwards

• Deliver remarkable email

content (helpful + relevant)

• Reward them with exclusive

offers and discounts

• Be careful not to “over-sell”


So…how are you doing?1. Trying to advertise to everybody

2. Not taking into account the true value of a customer

3. Focusing only on one form of advertising

4. Creating weak ads

5. Not having a strong landing page

6. Cutting back when times are slow

7. Not capturing leads and following up


Contact us if you have any more questions or if you’d like help!

Making some mistakes? Now’s the time to correct them!

7 Advertising Mistakes Made By Most Local Businesses – And How To Avoid Them!

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Transcript of 7 Advertising Mistakes Made By Most Local Businesses – And How To Avoid Them!