I love using solo ads to advertise my, and other people’s websites. I believe that the power behind a solo ad, an email that is sent to each member of a mailing list or ezine, is in two-fold. There are two major ingredients in using solo ads for your online advertising that have to work together for a complete package.
One would be the writing of the ad itself. While this article isn’t about the actual writing of the ad, there are tons of them available at EzineArticles.com, it would be incomplete if I didn’t touch on it just a little.
The writing of the ad will be a major catalyst to driving people to your website. It must contain certain elements to make it exciting and instill an emotional desire within the reader to want to visit your site. Any ad without these elements is doomed to failure.
But on the other hand, there is another part to a solo ad campaign that is sorely lacking. A lot of people just figure that writing an ad, even an earth-shattering, mind-blowing, super extraordinary, sent to a mailing list, one time, will bring in the swarms of traffic and they’ll sell their product like crazy. Doesn’t happen.
Your overall campaign must include multiple mailings in order to be effective. Many studies have been done, and I’m sure that you’ve read this before, that it takes, on average, at least 7-9 exposures to something before you react to it. Why do you think you see 40 different commercials on TV for the same product in the same day?
The question now is, “How do I achieve those multiple exposures with my solo ad?”
I’ve developed a five part strategy for a lot of the ads I write. Here’s how it goes.
Step One… Think in multiplesOne ad just isn’t enough. Two mailings of the same ad isn’t enough. But three, or more, will start to make things happen.
Step Two… think progressive
We’ve just touched on the topic of multiple mailings. You must first understand that fact about reaching maximum effectiveness with solo ads. However, you do need a little more than that. When people see the same ad, over and over and over again, they start to be a little “put off” by it. Meaning they’ve seen it so many times they don’t react to it anymore.
So they key to multiple mailings is to think progressively. Each ad will start to work off of the previous.
For example, write two ads for a three part mailing campaign. Three ads for a four part mailing and so on.
Trade Secret… Most ezine
publishers sell their ad space in twos. This means that
when you buy ad space you will get your ad mailed out
twice. Take advantage of this!
Each ad should pick up and build from the last.
Step Three… Don’t be so boring
The very first copywriting “secret” I ever learned in writing ads is not to sound so boring. Think of what you do when you’re reading a book. If it starts out pretty boring, uneventful, unenthusiastic…. just plain dry, what do you do? 9.9 times out of 10 you put it down. But, a book that captures your interest right off the bat and promises to bring more… you’ll have a hard time putting it down.
Solo ads are pretty much the same. If they start out boring, or “dry”, they don’t get read. Let’s take that concept one step further. How does an author really capitalize on their writing? They write a series of books about the same thing. Harry Potter, Eragon, Lemony Snicket, Left Behind… they are all series of books that people can’t wait to get their hands on. Why? Because they are exciting and appeal to their targeted audience.
Step Four… Make each ad a little more personal and immediate
When writing an ad remember one thing. People will only do what you tell them.
If your ad sounds like they have an eternity before making a decision the reader will take that long. If your ad has an impression of immediacy your reader will react to it. With a multiple mailing each ad should also progress in the urgency of the opportunity.
In a four part mailing campaign, the first two ads are the same. They are urgent but not overwhelmingly so. The third is a bit more personal (a friendly reminder from one friend to another about the opportunity and that they need to act soon) but the intensity is kicked up a little. The fourth email should be all about the urgency of the situation.
Why go through all this trouble?
Your main goal is two fold. You want to create a desire for the reader to visit your site. Your odds of that happening go way up with multiple mailings. Another goal is that you want to lower your advertising budget. By taking advantage of the way most ezine publishers structure their mailing schedule you are actually getting more impact for your website than using the same ad over and over.
Step Five… Connect the ads together with one main idea
You can have a progressive, multiple mailing that is exciting and urgent but if you don’t connect them all with the same main idea, you’re just shooting yourself in the foot.
What is the main idea? It’s what you want to accomplish through each ad. Or why do you want that person to visit your site? No, it’s not to make more money. It has to be something that person can “do”. An action. Something like sign up for a newsletter, watch a video, read a story… whatever, just something that they do.
That same idea should be the focus of each ad. If your first two ads are about signing up for a free report, then the other two must have the same thing. That doesn’t mean you can’t add a little more incentive. You just can’t stray away from what you want that person to do.
Try it out…
Is your solo ad campaign a little dull right now? Give this strategy a quick try. I’m sure you’ll see an amazing transformation in your results.