Most people don’t appreciate power of well written classified ads. They think classified ads are for selling cars, or finding jobs, and not for expanding a business. While it’s true a classified ad is a good way to achieve above, it is also true that classified ads can be used to launch and expand multi million pound businesses.

Many businesses rely exclusively on these low cost ads to generate a substantial amount of their annual turn over. The reason is simple. Once you have discovered how to harness power of these classified ads, you really won’t need to run expensive display ads at all.

Note that key point about classified ads is that they are most effective when used as lead generators, and not to sell from. In these ads you are not trying to convince someone to spend money with you. You are trying to identify a potential customer by having that customer contact you as a result of ad. Once potential customers have identified themselves, you can then follow up with your direct mail offer for product or service you are selling.

Writing an effective classified ad is one of most exacting forms of copywriting. In twenty words or less you have to grab customer’s attention, and excite them enough to prompt them into calling you for more information. You can’t rely on eye catching illustrations or professional layouts to catch reader’s attention. It’s all in what you say.

Here’s how you write a good classified ad that works:

1. First you need to define what you want ad to accomplish. Do you want customer to read ad and smile? Or do you want them to read your ad and call you immediately? Obviously answer is latter of two.

2. Next decide what type of person is most likely to purchase your product or service. This is called creating a customer profile. Ask yourself questions like: Are they a man or a woman? Are they young or old? Are they rich or poor? Ask yourself as many questions as possible to help create a profile for your potential customers. If you struggle to identify who you are going to sell your product or service to, then it is almost impossible to write an ad that will grab their attention.

Never forget that it costs your business far more to attract new customers, than it does to market to your existing customer base. In fact, research shows that in some cases it can cost up to fifteen times more to attract new customers, than it does to keep existing ones. So it really does pay to look after your existing loyal customers, strive to meet, and even exceed all their needs, however demanding. Remember phrase “the customer is always right”.