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WRITING 2-LINE EZINE ADS THAT WORK!
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
We offer free two-line classified ads and get
complaints that that isn't enough to promote
a business.
Why?
First of all, the ads are free. And Secondly, you
can market with two-line ads. It's a fact.
Newspapers use headlines every day of the week to
draw readers. This is one line of copy that is meant
to grab the reader and keep them.
Two line ads are very common and attract more attention
than longer ads. Many email signatures are two lines
and many pens have advertising that are two lines long.
The main thing that will attract attention and clicks
on your link is the headline. Is your headline attracting
attention? Would it work if it ran on the front page
of your daily newspaper?
Many email signatures (sigs) say something like:
"Joe's Bike Shop"
http://www.Joesbikeshop.com
This is fine, but will it get results? How about:
"Save 30% This Week on Schwinn Bikes!"
Visit us on line at: http://www.Joesbikeshop.com
Notice the quotes on the first line. This is an attention
grabber. Quotes draw more readers. Always use quotes.
For our printing site, we often use this:
"I saved up to 50% ordering on line!"
http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
Or for the first line: "Save up to 50% at our eCatalog!"
This is a personalized approach. The quotes are there and
it is a personal message to anyone reading the sigs.
We know that the sigs are read because one of our sigs
promoting t-shirts got mistaken for an order we were
verifying about post-it notes. The customer read the
t-shirt part and was confused. So of course we cleared
up the sigs, but it was proof that they are read.
Many people advertise on pens, and why not? all the pros
do it. Every major business advertises on pens.
Pens are limited in space, they can hold up to a few lines
of copy but why not keep it clean and just state what you
need to in two lines?
How about this:
"New domain names now $5.00 per month!"
Sign up now: http://fivedollars.com
Or how about:
"Lonely? Need a Date? Free this weekend?"
http://www.HappyDatingService.com
These are two fictitious ads, so don't try to contact
them! But you get the idea.
Two lines are perfect for tight situations. They are
used in small ezine ads, on pens, t-shirts, even
bumper stickers.
Use the first line as a teaser. You don't have to give
all the information in your ad. Your goal is to get
the reader to click on your link or call your phone
number for more information. Don't try to sell the
product in the one ad. The goal is to get the reader
to react and ask for more information by going to the
website or contacting you.
If you do this, you have accomplished your goal.
Again -- don't expect to give all the information in
the ad. Entice the reader to reach you for further
details.
Can you increase your business by making a punchy
headline sell? What are your benefits? What can
you do for your customer? State that in line one.
In line two put your web address, phone number or
address, whichever way you want to be reached.
But remember to grab the reader. This is headline
writing at its finest. The most famous headline was
on the front page of "The New York Post" some years
ago. It said in big bold letters:
"HEADLESS BODY FOUND IN TOPLESS BAR"
Now if that doesn't get you to buy the paper, nothing
will! That is headline writing at its best.
So think out your business or website. What do you offer?
What would people want? Do you offer anything free? Do
you offer discounts or have sales? Do you have something
unique? Well tell the world. Grab your reader, then sock
them with the contact information in the next line.
Leave them wanting more. Make them click that link or
call that number! Make them curious and interested in
you and your product.
Bingo, there you have your two line sig or ezine ad!
An ad that pulls and can be used over and over again.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
======================================
KISS
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
You know the saying: "Keep it Simple, Stupid!"
This should be your mantra when you are designing
your website, especially your home page or gateway
pages.
The longer it takes for these pages to open, the more
people you will lose. There are far too many other
sites on the internet like yours, or damn well close
and most people will not wait for your splashy graphics
or time consuming downloads.
People are coming to your site for information or with
the intent on purchasing something and it is important
to get them to stay. Even if it is just an information site
that represents a company or service, it is important
not to bore people with slow downloads.
If you need to have splash graphics and long lists or
photos, please save them for another page and let the
page that your visitors will enter through be easy to
navigate and fast to download.
Many e-commerce sites have a logo and not much else
on their first page and they just lead the visitors to an
"eCatalog" or something similar, where the visitors can root
around for what they would like to find after being introduced to
your site the proper way.
How many times have you left a site while you waited and waited
for the page to open? Don't let this happen to you.
Look at your site now. Look at every gateway page and
of course, the homepage. Are they slow?
Keep in mind that many people don't have DSL or 56K modems.
Just because you are up on the latest tech items and
computer peripherals, don't take for granted that many
people are using slow, older computers. Most organizations,
schools, smaller offices and such are using older computers.
This is a fact. Keep this in mind when designing your site.
If you run a commercial site, remember that people are visiting
your site to purchase something, not to be dazzled with graphics
and special effects. When a person wants to purchase a bouquet
of flowers, they want to get on and get off in as short a time as possible.
They don't want all that song and dance involved with java and other
programs. Many commercial sites "remember" your name and credit
card and past purchases in order to speed up your transaction. Why
frustrate all this by confusing people with too much on one page?
If your site is an entertainment site, focus on what you are trying to portray.
Is that flash screen entrance necessary? You may be losing many visitors
just so you can show off your entrance screen. Save the flashy stuff for
later. Let people get a feel for your site, let them see what you have to
offer and let them feel around and navigate until they are comfortable.
Then you can bombard them with your graphics prowess.
It is a great thing to get lots of unique hits. But what good is it if people
aren't sticking around? You need to keep your site sticky. Don't turn
people away with long downloads and graphics.
KISS: Keep it simple stupid!
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
=========================================
Why you should not abandon
your web pages
and never use 'under construction' pages
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
How many times have you clicked on a link at a website
or search engine just to find that the page is no longer
there - usually an error message comes up.
The reason for this is that the webmaster has taken that page
off the site and just abandoned it. In doing this, they have lost
a customer probably for good.
If you need to remove a page or its contents from your website
don't just remove the page and leave nothing there. It's important
to redirect the visitor to another page with similar information or even
your homepage. But don't just let them receive an error message.
Many times we change products or remove products from our site,
but if a person clicks on that page, we'll tell them that we no longer
carry so-and-so, and we redirect them to our replacement page or
a site map. Many times we just send them to the home page. But we
never ever just ignore their request and leave them stranded on a
dead page.
This is just as bad as "under construction" pages. If you must put an
"under construction" page on your site or URL, why not add some
content like address or phone number or something that helps the
visitor and not makes them leave discouraged and with a bad impression of your business.
This also will cause the search engines to drop you from the list. If a page keeps coming up with error messages, the spiders or editors of the search engines will drop that page. Why lose a valuable listing on the
search engines due to something like that?
Search engines also hate "under construction" pages and usually won't list them at all.
People try everything to get visitors to their site and having a dead page or "under construction" page is just plain stupid. You got the visitor, now
what? Have them leave in a huff because there is nothing there for them? Do you actually expect them to bookmark that "under construction" page
in their "favorite places" so they can keep checking back for when you are good and ready to actually publish your site?
I don't think so. When was the last time you bookmarked a broken link
or dead page?
Be smart. Don't lose visitors by being lazy or inefficient. Link them to
something, even if it is just a phone number. Don't lose that client to
stupidity.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
===========================================
ARE YOU GETTING FREE PUBLICITY?
DO YOU KNOW HOW?
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
In the last issue, we spoke about writing two-line
ezine ads or signatures, but what about if you need
something more?
One excellent way to get tons of free advertising is
by sending out press releases to various newspapers
and magazines. Many times, if the press release is
interesting enough, they will run it as filler.
Publications are always interested in filler material.
Usually smaller publications like community newspapers
and smaller magazines are in need of interesting copy
and since it is free, they jump at it.
Even better, many publications will follow-up on press
releases and interview you as a subject for a more
lengthy story with photos, etc. This is if they find
you and/or your story interesting enough.
The press release needs to be a "news story." It needs
to be of interest to the readers of any given publication
and it needs to have information that people would find
interesting.
You can't just send out a press release saying "Click
here for free stuff," or "We have the best web site
in town."
You have to promote it as news. Is your business or
website sponsoring a local event? Are you going to show
your products at a local trade show? Are you promoting
something brand new that will be of interest to a
certain readership?
A press release about your new pet sitting service really
wouldn't fit in with a magazine or newspaper geared toward
model trains and hobbies. Although many people who are into
model trains may also need pet sitters, this isn't targeting
the market, and your release would be ignored by the editors
of that publication.
The press release must be written as a news story. It can
be a feature or news, but it must fit in with the rest of
the copy in the publication.
In the event that you don't feel that you could write your
own news story or release, we found a great service that
will actually write you press releases for you. It's called
TheEasyWriter.com.
It makes no sense trying to write if you aren't a writer
and this is important to your business. If you have the
right press release, you can have the same one run over
and over again all over the country, even all over the
world! One press release can get you worldwide business.
For help with your press release, check out TheEasyWriter.com
at: http://www.TheEasyWriter.com.
Joan Nielsen and her crew of professionals can whip up a
press release, brochure, even poems and speeches if needed.
Let the experts do it if you need to. It is well worth
the investment.
We have sent out the same press releases to newspapers
all over the country and just changed the name of the
city in each release to be geared to that specific location.
A good release will be run over and over again and there
is no need to rewrite it once it is fine tuned and ready.
It's great to be at the top of the search engines and on
links pages, etc. But why not reach the truly larger market
that isn't looking for you on search engines or surfing the
web for your product or service?
Why not let them read it in the news pages of their local
newspaper or favorite magazine? They are more apt to check
out your business if it is written as a news story. It will
open doors to new customers and clients. People that wouldn't
have known about you otherwise will have a chance to read
about you and what you have to offer.
Again, visit http://www.TheEasyWriter.com. They will give
you hints on writing your own press releases and if needed,
they will write the releases for you.
Mention XpectMore.com eZine and they'll give you a good
deal. Tell them Tom sent you!
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Email signatures that sell
A great way to get results from your email signature
(sig) is to make is appear as a post script -- you know, P.S.
If you make your sig appear as an afterthought it will
get read. In sales letters, the P.S. is usually the most
important part. It is the part that is read all the time.
We use P.S. sigs for many of our businesses and email
accounts. We use this one for this very ezine:
"P.S. We would like to invite you to subscribe FREE to
our XpectMore.com Marketing & Promotion Newsletter
visit: http://www.XpectMore.com/ezine.htm
or mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe"
This appears (without the quotes) after the actual name
and title, for instance:
Sincerely,
Tom Falco
Editor, XpectMore.com
P.S. We would like to invite you to subscribe FREE to
our XpectMore.com Marketing & Promotion Newsletter
visit: http://www.XpectMore.com/ezine.htm
or mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
This can be used for any type of business. Here are some
examples:
REALTOR
P.S. We have a lot of new listings this week and with
interest rates so low it really makes sense to buy now!
Give us a call today! (555) 555-5555
SOCIETY MAGAZINE
P.S. Did you see the new issue yet? We have tons
of new photos and features. You can visit us now at:
http://www.SocialCovers.htm
P.S. Did you place your event on our Dadebook page?
It's FREE! Do it now: http://www.SocialCovers.htm
AFFILIATE SITE
P.S. We would like to invite you to receive a FREE
Credit Card today! Fast and easy approvals.
http://www.whatever-whatever.com
PET STORE
P.S. Our new line of bird food is now in! And we have
some of the cutest puppies right now. Come on in!
Joe's Pet-O-Rama, 111 First Street, www.joe's.net
You get the idea? It's easy, fun and will get results
Use this techinque with all of your outgoing emails
and you can mix and match and change the sigs as
often as you like.
Email is the most powerful selling tool on the internet.
This little sig file is the best compliment to the email
message. It works and is so unobtrusive that most
people don't even realize it is your sig.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Be a walking billboard
T-shirts are great ways to promote your business
but have you thought of caps?
You can get single embroidered caps with your
own imprint on each for as little as $21.93 at
http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com/eCatalog.htm
.
Buy more and the price drops per unit.
This is a professional way to market. Baseball
caps are very popular and they do get read.
These are top quality caps with clear, clean
embroidery. Why not put your web address
across the front of a nice cap.
You can design and order right on line and
use lots of full color clip art. It makes a wondeful
gift for anyone who owns a business. It is personal
and unique and will help generate businesss for
the business being advertised on the cap.
It's a win-win situation for anyone. Check out the
embroidered caps, along with other embroidered
items like sweatshirts, denim shirts and more at:
http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com/eCatalog.htm
You can also custom design many other items like
bumper stickers, post-it notes, labels, rubber stamps
and more.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Increase business with full color
biz
cards
In our continuing efforts to bring you ideas
and products that will prove to drive sales
and profits, we're happy to formally introduce
a new line of "Brilliant Business Cards".
This line of full color business cards is sure
to be a great addition to your business. These
cards are available with more than 2,000 full color
backgrounds in a wide variety of popular categories
ranging from Business and Technology to Family
and Sports.
These business cards can be fully customized right
on line, using a full array of templates. They produced
quickly and are very affordable.
Full color business cards are a very good way to
promote any type business and it seems that dull
black and white cards are a thing of the past.
You may check out the cards at:
http://www.thediscountprinter.com/BusinessCards.htm
and you may find a new selection of full color business
card magnets there, as well.
FREE CLASSIFIEDS HELP WITH RANKINGS
IN SEARCH ENGINES
One of the best ways to get your site to the
top of the search engines is through links
to your site.
The more links you have back to your website,
the more the search engines like you. They
feel that you are popular and relevant.
One great way to have links is to swap links
with other sites, but one fast and easy way
to do it yourself is through Free Classifieds.
There are many sites that offer Free Classifieds
for various reasons, mostly it is just a service
for loyal customers to use.
We at XpectMore.com offer a wonderful Free
Classified section which is seen world wide.
You may choose to run your advertisement
within your own country or location or you
may share your info with the world.
We offer many other features like search engine
placement and banner ads, but the Free
Classifieds are there to be taken advantage of
and we would like to invite you to place your
ad right now.
Add a link right back to your site. It will help
twofold: 1) You have a free ad for everyone
to see. 2) You have an all-powerful link right
back to your site, which the search engines
love!
Do it now, please go to: http://www.xpectmore.com
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