Almost ALL advertisements fall short of the advertiser's expectations and most of them are just a plain waste of money! How can I say that?

Just look around, you'll see ads everywhere. How many of them actually make you stop and pay attention. Not many, right? Why? Because most of them only look good. They DON'T:

As you will see, the design of a successful piece of marketing material is not that hard to put together. The goal is simply to get your message across in the clearest way possible.

Effective copy is fundamental for the success of any marketing material. For a marketing piece to be effective, it only needs to contain the elements described below:

1. Grab their attention
Fight for their attention with a powerful headline that brings up emotion! Depending on your product or service, and your target market, your headlines should promise them one of two things: Promise to take them away from their problem or promise to bring them towards pleasure.

• Dentists remind us that our untreated cavities will lead to loss of our teeth
• Cosmetic Dentists focus their advertising on how beautiful our smile will be if our teeth are straight and "pearly white". How confident we will feel...

Think about your target market, what's their state of mind? Are they more likely to take action to gain pleasure? Or to make the pain they're in go away?

2. Shake their confidence in what they are doing NOW!
OK, you’ve got their attention. For you to keep your prospects’ full attention, so they will continue to pay attention to your message, they need to wonder:

• Are they getting the best possible service or product for their money?
• Are they doing enough?
• Are they doing the best they can?

3. Build their confidence in you
Now that you have shaken their confidence in what they are doing, you need to build their confidence in you…

• You have to prove you have the solution to their problem.
• You’ve got to convince the prospect that you are good at what you do and that you’re qualified to solve their problem.
• Show them how your product is something they can count on to do what you promise.
• Prove to them that your product can do what you promise. Start by telling them:
  
  o How you differ from the competition?
  o What are your credentials?
  o Do you have documented test results?
  o Do you have a very high percentage of satisfied customers?
  o Do you have professional recognition from peers within your field?

4. Wow them with your service
You may be the best at what you do or have the best product but if your customers can’t get a hold of you when they need you, how valuable are you? Here are some examples:

• 24 hour hotline - to answer common questions
• Do you make house calls? (especially if it's not the norm in your industry)
• Do you offer one on one service, convenient hours or pickup & delivery - going that extra mile brings great rewards

5. Address and Overcome their objections
It makes no difference what business you are in; there will always be objections to buying what you are selling. Most often the biggest objection is the price. You should confront them head-on by explaining why it's worth paying your price. You need to put their fears to rest before they will be ready to buy.

6. Remove the obstacle of risk with your Guarantee
Most people associate the strength and the length of the guarantee with the quality of the product. It can make or break the sale, the longer your guarantee the better your chance of making a sale. The guarantee also says that you are an honest business person.

7. Roll in the testimonials
What others say about you carries much more weight than what you say about yourself. Make sure you testimonial addresses a problem your customer had and how they benefited by your product or service. The more testimonials you have the better.

8. Make it easy to contact you
Provide your prospects a reason to contact you and makes it safe and easy to do. The easiest thing is to offer a FREE consultation or demonstration. This type of an offer appeals to the consumer's curiosity and at the same time minimize the risk to them.

9. The Win - Win bonus pile-on
Offer Special Bonuses and discounts for those who act NOW! Your customers win by getting a special value that they normally wouldn't get. And you win by making a sale. You have to make them think about how much value they are getting for their money. When the perceived value of the product or service exceeds the perceived cost, you have successfully tipped the scales in your favor.

As you can see, designing effective marketing materials requires a great deal of preparation. I can promise you this: if you follow these guidelines I've just presented to you, you will immediately increase your response rates and ultimately your sales. How high a response rate you get depends on how well you've applied this 9 Touch Point System to your marketing message.

Qualify your prospects BEFORE you spend any money marketing to them!

How often do you receive an expensive, classy looking direct mail ad for a product you don't need? No matter how fancy the package you will NEVER buy anything from that company, so why don't THEY know that? Simple, they never took the time to qualify you as a potential prospect. Smart marketing starts with investing your money where it will bring you the best return.

To find out about Developing YOUR Marketing Blueprint and successfully marketing your business go to: http://MarketingBlueprintDeveloper.com

Marketing is all about understanding your customer. When you know what your customer wants — you are in the unique position to develop a marketing message that addresses their wants and needs and easily walks them through your sales process.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ann DeVere is a senior partner of NORconcepts; a San Diego based Marketing Firm. Ann customizes small business marketing, helping other entrepreneurial business owners learn to put their marketing and advertising dollars to the best use and how to recognize their full potential. Visit www.anndevere.com to discover the crucial pieces of information to develop your marketing tool that guarantees your succes.