Creative Outdoor Ads

They are big, bold and beautiful. Billboards have been around for quite a while. In almost all places nowadays you can find billboards of just about every product there is in the market.

No matter how you see it, billboard advertising is on the rise. Compared to other forms of advertising, billboards are a more affordable way of getting your message across to the public.

If newspaper advertising lasts only for a day and a television advertisement last for only about forty seconds, billboard adverting last 24/7.

Billboards can connect easily with potential markets because more people are mobile nowadays - referring to the increasing number of commuters and more time spent outside of the house. Advances in technology have also made billboards more cost effective.

Advances in digital printing have also allowed billboards to be printed cheaply and quickly on canvas. Lately, billboards have been getting pocket-friendly as well.

But before you get your creative juices flowing and before you plunge into the exciting world of billboard advertising there things you need to understand. First, don’t expect the billboard to contain a lot of information. This is not just possible. The number one rule in billboard advertising is simplicity.

This rule simply means that you need to use only a few words to get your message across. But this doesn’t mean that you can no longer make complex, intelligent and intriguing statements. You still can but in the simplest way you can.

Say three balls are thrown to you at the same time. Chances are you will not catch all these balls let alone catch one. Throwing three balls at the same time is like throwing several ideas and message to your audience at the same time.

If you throw one idea at a time chances are most of your readers will grasp it and walk away with the message. But if you throw two ideas at the same time only few will be able to get your message. So pay attention to the golden rule and keep your billboard simple.

The price for disregarding the rule is wastage of thousands of dollars but the reward can lead to huge fame and fortune.

In billboard advertising it is also important to know your market. It pays to be aware of what your customers need and where most of your customers are to be able to strategically and effectively place your billboard. If billboards are put up in the wrong place and at the wrong crowd you might as well forget your chance of getting a lot of customers.

Money is indeed being made in billboard advertising, lots of it in fact, although trying to keep track of just how much the outdoor-advertising industry is collecting in can be tricky, since there is no system for measuring the budgets and revenues of those connected with it.

But the opportunity is there. Businesses just have to make an effort and take advantage of it.

A Good Autoresponder

How many free autoresponders have you tried? Really how many? And how many emails did you get through using them? How do you know? How many people opened your followup message?

My point here is that if you have no clue for the answers above you probably are not operating a followup campaign successfully. These are crucial element that must be explored when you are choosing an autoresponder.

Some good steps to take to ensure you are getting what you need out of a autoresponder include... Compare your autoresponder with those of top marketers, chances are they are using the best in the business. You can't go wrong with this step!

Other observations you might make are related to spam filters. Have you ever gotten an e-mail and seen something like this..."F`R`E`E" Yes this is a good way to beat the spam filters as they won't read Free they will read something totally different. However it can be time consuming going through your article and finding which words are "Danger" words. This can go along way in your marketing efforts. So make sure you find an autoresponder that has a spam rating feature... these features will automatically show you where in your article your "Danger" words are.

Another crucial element of e-mail marketing are your statistics. How many e-mails are being opened can tell you if your subject line is any good or if you did a good job branding your name. If you know your e-mail statistics you are one step in the right direction in optimizing your potential sales. Finding an autoresponder that shows in depth analysis with your followups are also key.

What should a followup contain? Good question... My personally experience suggests directing your subscribers to a full article located on the web. There are some good reasons for this. You can create an excitement teaser in the followup e-mail and beg your article to be read on the web. There is also the chance that since you have an article archive on the web many subscribers will often read more than just your original article. Your subscriber might not be interested in one article but they may find what they are looking for browsing through your previous articles.

Broadcasting! So your subscribers are finished receiving their original followup series... now what? Find an auto responder that allows you to broadcast an update or an offer to the entire subscriber list. Don't let your subscribers go to waste, this feature is a must!

Remember not to bore your hard earned subscribers. Present them with a problem and offer them a solution! Its that easy...

Find my recommended autoresponder on my marketing blog!

3 Elements That Make Your Ad Successful

When was the last time you bought a car? Did you really NEED a car? I mean REALLY need a car? Chances are the one you were driving was still running when you bought the car you have now. Yep, Americans rarely buy because they need... they buy because they want to experience the feeling that comes with buying.

We enjoy new purchases. Sure, we can convince ourselves that we really needed a new one, but if we're totally honest we'll have to admit that would could've got by without it. What does this mean to your advertising campaign?

1. State The Benefits Of Your Product or Service
Capitalize on the ways a customer will improve his lifestyle by making the purchase. Will he increase his own business profits by 50 percent? Say so in the opening statement of your sales letter, or at the top of your Web page.

Don't obsess with the features of the product itself or your credibility. Frankly, customers could care less. Let's face it... they're a bit selfish when it comes to dishing out their hard earned money. All they want to know is what's in it for them.

2. Paint Word Picture That Let Them Experience the Benefits
"Wake up tomorrow, with no boss! You can spend the day with your family or on the golf course... there's nobody to tell you what to do."

A Multi Level Marketer may want his audience to feel the freedom of having no one to answer to if they become successful in the business. He'll dramatize that desire, and put the listener in the seat to inspire it to take hold until the listener is ready to sign up and get started.

3. Inspire Immediate Action
Hey, let's face it... the longer a customer lolly gags, the greater the chances he'll never take the plunge. Don't let him off the hook that easily!

Set a deadline. Put on the pressure to buy now, or miss out on the deal. Chances are pretty good that the procrastinator will get with it just to save a few bucks.

What about your sales materials? Have you taken a good look at the things you are advertising? Make sure you are focused on the benefits the consumer will experience from the purchase, and not on the features of the product or service.