How to write a effective business ad for a small town paper?

I have started a home business of selling gift baskets and I need a effective ad to place in my small town paper to draw people to my website.

How to write a effective business ad for a small town paper?
Since it is a small town it seems likely that folks know your name. So just be short and sweet. Tell em who, what, when, and where.
Reply:I agree. Most people don't respond to ads that seem like an infomercial. Keep it short, direct, and to the point.











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Reply:Hi,



I'm a Webmaster. I create Web sites for small businesses and individuals.



The problem with ads in newpapers is that they cost a lot and are usually ineffective. I have a friend who is a landscaper and he complains that he spends $65 a month and no body calls.



Warning...do not follow the advice of those who precede this answer. They are well-intentioned, but lacking in detail. Most are someone else's dream. Following someone elses dream never pans out and leads to depression and failure. Why make someone else rich, when you can do what you want. You may not get rich, but you'll be happy doing what you love.



All these gurus telling you what to do is nonsense. It might have worked for them, and they look successful, and they are perhaps following their dream, if they aren't scammers. Someone elses goal can never be your own goal. You have to sit down and think.



You need to create your own business and get out of the rat-race, be your own boss, so you are free to do what you love and when that happens you won't be working at all, you'll be doing something you love and having fun.



You need your own Web site. You do not need special skills or a college degree to create a successful Web site. And it doesn't cost much. But it does take some effort and work. You're not afraid of work, are you?



Here's a free course that may help you -(http://wahm-masters.sitesell.com/waltera...



You create a Web site about something you love, a passion, something that really interests you. In your case, gift baskets. You write information about it and put it on your Web site. You need many pages of information. It won't happen overnight. Just remember, the Tortoise or Turtle won the race - slow and eary does it.



In the language of the Web, information is called content.



Listen. Content is King. Just keep adding quality content to your Web site. This is what the search engines (SE's) love. This is what's real. All the other stuff about secrets is just smoke and mirrors designed to seperate you from your money.



The good news is that even with absolutely no programming ability, you can create your own Web site.



Listen! - you do not have to be a geek to create your own Web site which can have a Global reach. That means you are not limited to just customers in your backyard. You can go nationaql or even international.



Think big, start small.



It doesn't matter that you are in India or USA. The Internet knows no boundaries and while you sleep in USA, other people from all over the world can access your Web site. It's international in scope.



I can give you the basics, but much more work is required to create your own Web site. You want a Web site that works, don't you? One that produces an income, one that is an asset you could sell if you wanted? That's what you want, isn't it?



I helped a local boatyard owner create his Web site - (http://www.wareham-boatyard-marina.com/)... He did most of the planning and I just helped with stuff like pictures of boats he wanted to sell. He could have done it himself, but I'm his friend and I enjoyed helping him.



First of all, how do you determine what's a great Web site?



One tool to evaluate the popularity of a Web site is Alexa which is owned by Amazon. You enter a URL and it will show you where it stands based on 65,000,000 websites. Google and other search engines are in the low hundreds. However, some individual Web sites have an Alexa rank of 100,000 or less. These Web sites attract a lot of traffic. Even a Web site with an Alexa rank of 500,000 is still in the top 1% of all Web sites ranked by Alexa. Most Web sites come up with an Alexa rank of "no data" which means no traffic for that Web site. As far as the 'net is concerned, the Web site does not exist and is a waste of money. It may be a hobby site and the owner doesn't care. See - (http://traffic-test.sitesell.com/waltera...



Another test is your page rank in Google. It you have a Google page rank of 1, that is excellent and it means that when a certain keyword is entered in Google, that keyword will display the 10 best ranked Web sites for that keyword. There is even a PageRank icon that Google supplies that is like a guage of the Web sites popularity.



There is only one Web site creation system that can get your Web site into the top 1% of all Web sites. I use that system. I also know FrontPage 2003, HTML, Javascript and perl and I could use those to create a Web site, but this system is faster, more comprehensive, and easier to use.



Most of the answers tell you where to go to set up a Web site. Get a hosting company and domain name. Sure, you can use GoDaddy and it's a good service, but that is not where you want to start.



That is putting the cart in front of the horse. Completely, back***wards.



First, you need to do some research on keywords and find out if there is a demand for your product or service. You need to find out if there is a huge demand for what you are selling and very little supply. Anyone of those places mentioned can create a Web site, but you need a Web site that works. One that has a low rank in Alexa and a low page rank in Google and the other search engines - (http://compare.sitesell.com/waltera1.htm...



99% of your efforts should be in promoting your Web site. Almost all Web site creation products ignore this salient fact.



Creating it is easy. There are hundreds of Web sites that will let you create a Web site. That's the easy part. None of them will help you with Internet marketing.



Dont' take my word for it. Apply your own due diligence.



Look! (http://proof.sitesell.com/waltera1.html)...



Driving traffic to your Web site is your main concern. Without traffic your Web site will fail because it will be invisible to Web surfers.



Hey! You don't need any advertising or marketing companies to get your Web site recognized by the search engines.



In fact, you don't need to do any advertising. For example, to get your Web site known, you can create press releases and send them to various newspapers, radio, and TV stations. This is free advertising. You can announce that you have just created a Web site, or that you have created another page on your Web site, etc.



Another way to get free advertising is to write an article and submit it to various Website that publish articles. It doesn't have to be more than 300 words and you sign the article and it has your Web site address or URL in it and people will be curious and visit your Web site.



The last way to get traffic to your Web site is to buy it. Google AdWords will sell you space on the right-hand side of the page. It might cost you $.20 per click or more. I would try for $.10 per click. Every time someone clicks on you AdWord ad, it costs you money. But the good part is that you can put a limit on how much you want to spend. Say $20 for the month. Then when the clicks reach $20, your ad is removed.



The local boatyard owner put up his Web site. He really loves it.



We already have one page of the Web site ranked number one with Google and we did not do any advertising. That means the first page that comes up on Google with specific keywords, has a page from the boaryard on the first page of Google. It only took a few days to analyze the keywords and create the Web site. The best thing about it is that anyone can do it with only rudimentary knowledge of the Internet and computers.



No technical knowledge is required. Isn't that what you really want?



Hey! Here's a free course - (http://wahm-masters.sitesell.com/waltera...



If you're using Yahoo!, you have more than enough knowledge to start your own Web site. But you want a Web site that works. One that creates some income. This is known as Monitising your Web site. There are several ways to Monitize. You can put up Google AdSense ads that cost nothing and when people click on the ads, you make money. You can become an affiliate of many companies and when some one buys, you make a commission. You can sell ads on your Web site, etc.



You can begin to Monitize when you have 30 pages in your Web site. People come to the Wordl Wide Web looking for information or content. They are not looking for your Web site or business.



Content is king. If your Web site has quality content that people like and admire, that content will drive traffic to your Web site. Lots of traffic means many people are clicking on your Web site. The more traffic you get, the more chances you have to make money.



However, I would caution you not to try the free Web sites as they will not help you in the Internet marketing side of the business. You want to pick a system that does it all from keyword analysis to Internet marketing. Like the one the boatyard owner used.



And don't be distracted by the "noisy minority". Most of them do not know what they are talking about and have a "smarter than thou" attitude which is usually based on false information and rumors.. Do your own due diligence.



Once you decide on your little niche which you found by doing keyword analysis, you name your domain and you get published on the Internet. Keyword analysis finds out things like how popular your keyword is, how much that keyword is in demand, etc. You want to pick keywords that have huge demand, but very little supply; this is where the money is.



You may have a hobby like collecting stuff or you like to set up home theaters. Something you are passionate about. With passion, you can write lots of content on your favorite interest that will interest other people. Here are some real site subjects:

Cookie Kitchen, your own biz, small biz guide, home biz guide, remote control cars and trucks, gear for motorcycles, Tunscany villas for rent, Beaches in Anguilla, Poker, juggling, pregnancy guide, flat stomach, doggie quotations, women's health, puppy names, etc. The list goes on and on.



Most Web sites exist to sell something. They are one huge ad for whatever it is your selling. It could be hard goods or soft goods or even electronic books, sometimes called e-books. E-books are books you download online, One company that sells them is called ClickBank.



You must find a niche for your Web site. You already have that. You need something to hook that surfer. Something unique. That's why you need a niche. None of those sites listed will help you find a niche.



People find your site via keywords. They are not looking for you or your Web site. Like Kayak Rentals. They enter Kayak Rentals into Google and Google finds all the Web sites with that keyword. If your Web iste is popular, your Web site will be on the first page of Google. The boatyard Web site has one page ranked number one in Google.



How do you know which keywords will make money? There are keyword analyzers on the Interent. Most of the good ones cost money, not a lot but some. After all, you can't expect to start your own business without some investment, even if it's on a shoestring budget.



The boatyard bought a system. It has 50+ software modules that allow anyone with practically no technical knowledge to create their own Web site. This is a company that has been around since 1997. It has helped 20,000+ people world-wide to create their own Web sites.



Can 20,000+ people be wrong?



Look! - another free course - (http://aff-masters.sitesell.com/waltera1... I'm not kidding.



What is great about this system is that they also have a forum where you can go and chat or ask questions about creating Web sites and experts will answer your questions free of charge. There are many steps to creating a Web site that works - one that produces an income. Free web sites just don't cut it. You need this industrial strength system to create a Web site that works and makes money.



You need to know how to Brainstorm keywords, how to write to presell, how to build your site, how to attract traffic, when to Monitize, how to Monitize, how to find the best niche for you, interpreting keyword supply, demand and profitability, RRS and blogs, E-zines, look and feel templates, how and where to get graphics, setting up forms, etc.



Check this out - (http://results.sitesell.com/waltera1.htm... Real people with real Web sites.



Then, when you have a Web site, you can submit it to the Forum and they will critique for free. There is even a Water Cooler where you can chat, gossip, rumors, etc. all in a friendly manner by people who really care.



With all the free Web sites out there, many people can create a Web site. But after wasting a lot of time on these free sites, they come to realize that they just don't work and that's when they give up.



It's like the gold miner in California who struck gold and he went to get some machinery to get the gold out of the ground. When he came back to his gold site, he dug a little with the new machine and the gold vein gave out. He gave up and sold the machine to a couple of miners down on their luck. They dug in the same place and bingo, just 3 or 4 feet from where the vein gave out, they struck another gold vein even bigger than the first.



So don't give up. Keep digging. There's gold in them thar hills!
Reply:Hello,



First let me say congrats on starting your own business. Secondly I will say that I agree with another poster in that short and sweet is the way to go for an ad. but I was wondering if you have tried to get free publicity? Paying for an ad will only reach people scanning the ad section where as free publicity in a newspaper, radio and/or television station will be heard by everyone that reads listens or watches.



I also live in a small town and I work for one of the local television affiliates, we are constantly doing stories on local business openings especially when they are associated with a charity. So lets say you decide to give 10% of the first 50 baskets sold in October to a local charity. Or that you will donate say, 5 baskets for Christmas to the local childrens home for every 100 you sell. You can create a one sheeter, which is basically a short press release on your letterhead stating when you officially opened/or are opening for business, what types of products you supply and the fact that a certain percentage of a certain amount of basket sales will go to XYZ charity, give your website address and your contact information.



Send the one sheeter to your local papers small business or business section as well as the lifestyle section - then send it to all local television and radio stations, call in advance and get the names of each stations news editor or assignment editor and address each one sheeter to that person.
Reply:Getting involved with your community newspaper can't hurt. Art department can help you.There is an assumption on the part of the technologically advanced that everyone would first go to a web site to look for a gift basket. This concept, especially in a small town, is simply not the case. Join the local chamber of commerce, get to know the people in your community, donate a basket or two to a charitable organization for a raffle, have a modest brochure and price list available for handouts. Do some research on local disposable income in your town, establish a price range. Then go global on the web. A gift basket company donates at least five beautiful creations to our charitable organization, with wine, crackers, pate, etc, they sell for 50 to a hundred USD on the Internet, they have been in business for 20 years, very successful before the worldwide web. Good luck in your enterprise.
Reply:The ad dept of the paper should have graphics they can put in the ad for you. I would suggest a picture of a Mom and daughter or husband and wife, with one of them giving the other a basket. I've outlined some good things to think about before you place your ad. If you are planning on just doing a line ad (classified) then I suggest you spend the extra to put a box around it.



Something like this:



Show the special person in your life just how much they mean to you. Jane's Gift Baskets www.youraddress.com



Or



Tired of the giving the same old Gift Certificates? Show them just how much you care with Gift Baskets by Jane.



Maybe list a couple of the types of baskets, bath %26amp; body, cookies, etc.



1. When people look at ads they look from the top left corner and then down in a z formation.



2. Ads with pictures of people in them get noticed more than just words or pictures.



3. BE SIMPLE you do not want alot of stuff cluttering up the space



4. Make sure they use an easy to read font, a fancy font will distract the eye.



5. Most of all, be prepared to run the ad for several days. If the paper is everyday, then run the ad for 4 or 5 days straight. Be sure to run the ad on Sunday as it is normally the biggest circulation day. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to try an ad for one or two days. You have to be consistent to make progress.



I worked in advertising for a very long time. Send me an email if you would like help, or just an opinion on what you end up with. Good luck with your new business.
Reply:Hi Cindy,

Decide what kind of audience you want to attract (local, women, etc.) and word your ad accordingly. Also, because you are selling gift baskets specifically, definitely tie your ad in with the different holidays that are coming up: Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Definitely run your ad on Wednesdays (hump day) and Sundays and run it for a while. The more times people see it, the more likely they are to respond. You might try bold print, but keep it short and definitely capitalize on the fact that you are local and perhaps you can offer something free, or a customized basket, (ie. for the first 5 who respond to the ad or something). Then, prepare to diversify as the previous respondent suggested, into other media such as the internet. There's tons of fall fairs this time of year, I wonder if you could showcase your wares there? Perhaps your paper can run a story on your business as a short piece...that would be great publicity!