Ever notice how most space ads look so much alike?

Yellow pages, newspapers, magazines all profit from running space ads.

The advantage of a space ad is that it’s small. The disadvantage of a space ad is that it’s well…small.

There’s only a certain amount of space you can use, and in a small ad, you have to make every square millimeter count.

One of the biggest mistakes people make with space ads is that they try to sell too much in it.

If you’re selling something that’s $20 or so, your space ad may work (assuming it’s a great headline and offer)…

But – if your product is more expensive, people need more compelling sales copy showing the benefits and reasons why they should buy – and with a small ad, you just don’t have the room to do it. (Unless of course, you’ve mortgaged the house for a full page ad)

So my tip of the day for powerful space ads is this:

Instead of selling directly from the ad, use the space to generate qualified leads that have an interest in your product or service.

No selling – but strictly lead generation – get them to contact you…

Write a powerful headline that gets prospects to call you or email you, or go to a special web page on your site.

Offer them something of value for free, such as a free report with information about your service or something along those lines.

For example:

A lawyer could use this headline – “10 crucial things you need to know before you hire a lawyer”.

“Call today for your free report”

Then create a 2 or 3 page report describing 10 things people should look out for before hiring a lawyer. Things you don’t do that other lawyers do or vice versa. And then at the end of the report, offer a free consultation to the reader.

Now you’ll get pre-qualified leads that you can continue to market to because you know they’re interested in getting a lawyer.

My rule of thumb is: The more expensive your products or services are, the more you should use space ads to generate leads – not go for the throat to make a sale.

Build the relationship first. Then make the sale.

And the great thing about this lead generation idea is you can use it for any space ads or even postcards – basically anyplace where your ad space is limited so much that you couldn’t possibly write great copy that would make the sale on the first go round.

Any thoughts? I’d like to know.

And visit www.webcontentNH.com for help with Website design, writing SEO copy, e-mail marketing, or other online marketing strategies.

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter