Free classifieds don't work as well as they used to. I wouldn't advise spending too much time with them, but I wouldn't rule them out either. The market has become saturated with classified sites and there is a good chance no one will find your ad. If you are selling a business opportunity, you may find that very few search the free classifieds for money making opportunities.
Many sites claim a large amount of traffic, but a majority of traffic could be from thousands of online marketers like yourself, placing ads. Plus a lot of traffic is from people who use automatic ad submission software or who come to find e-mail addresses to send spam.
However, if you find some sites that work, they can be good for testing ads. They're free, so it won't be a strain on your budget. Even the sites that give you no response can be advantageous in search engine positioning, which I'll talk about later in the course.
When creating ads, be sure to use a lot of proven power words, words proven to invoke action such as free, guaranteed etc. Here is a list of words that have been proven through successful ads to get a response:
Absolutely.. Amazing.. Approved.. Attractive.. Authentic.. Bargain. Beautiful.. Better.. Big.. Colorful.. Colossal.. Complete.. Confidential.. Crammed.. Delivered.. Direct.. Discount.. Easily.. Endorsed.. Enormous.. Excellent.. Exciting.. Exclusive.. Expert.. Famous.. Fascinating.. Fortune.. Full.. Genuine.. Gift.. Gigantic.. Greatest.. Guaranteed.. Helpful.. Highest.. Huge.. Immediately.. Improved.. Informative. Instructive.. Interesting.. Largest.. Latest.. Lavishly.. Liberal.. Lifetime.. Limited.. Lowest.. Magic.. Mammoth.. Miracle.. Noted.. Odd.. Outstanding.. Personalized.. Popular.. Powerful.. Practical.. Professional.. Profitable.. Profusely.. Proven.. Quality.. Quickly.. Rare.. Reduced.. Refundable.. Remarkable.. Reliable.. Revealing.. Revolutionary.. Scarce.. Secrets.. Security.. Selected.. Sensational.. Simplified.. Sizable.. Special.. Startling.. Strange.. Strong.. Sturdy.. Successful.. Superior.. Surprise.. Terrific.. Tested.. Tremendous.. Unconditional.. Unique.. Unlimited.. Unparalleled.. Unsurpassed.. Unusual.. Useful.. Valuable.. Wealth.. Weird.. Wonderful.
Here is a list of proven action provoking phrases to use or study. Use these phrases or similar phrases at the end of your ad, to get the reader to respond:
Act now!.. Send your name.. All sent free to introduce.. Amazing literature.. Free.. Ask for free folder.. Bargain lists sent free.. Be first to qualify.. Booklet free!.. Catalog included free.. Complete details free.. Current list free.. Dealers write for prices.. Description sent free.. Details free!.. Dime brings details.. Everything supplied!.. Exciting details free.. Extra for promptness.. First lesson, 25 cents.. Folder free!.. For literature, write:.. Free booklet explains.. Free plans tell how.. Free selling kit.. Free wholesale plan.. Free with approvals.. Full particulars free.. Get facts that help.. Get started today!.. Get your copy now!.. Get yours wholesale.. Gifts with purchases.. Illustrated lists free.. Interesting details free.. Investigate today.. It's Free!.. Act Now!.. Literature free.. Mail material to:.. Money making facts free.. No obligation! Write!.. Offer limited!.. Send today.. Only 10 cents to introduce.. Order direct from:.. Order Now!.. Don't Delay!.. Particulars free.. Postcard brings details.. Request free literature.. Revealing booklet free.. Rush name for details.. Sales kit furnished.. Sample details free.. Samples sent on trial.. See before you buy.. Send for free details.. Send for it today.. Send no money.. Send post card today.. Send 15 cents for mailing.. Send today.. Send your want lists.. Stamp brings details.. Stamped envelope brings.. Test lesson free.. Unique sample offer.. Valuable details free.. Write for free booklet.. Write us first!.. Yours for the asking.. 15 cent stamp for details.. $1 brings complete.. 32-page catalog free
The best way to get people to respond to your ad is to offer something for free. You could offer "free details, catalogue, etc." Plus you could offer a free "mini" version of your product; once they see how great it is you can later approach them with the full version and point out the benefits.
Many authors selling e-books on the internet, offer their book to be downloaded and a few chapters read for free. After that, the person has to order and get an "unlock code" to read the rest. If you have a few good chapters and are able to get them hooked, you could get a lot of sales.
Always remember to track your ads. This can be as simple as using a different e-mail address to using an affiliate program. You can track ads by assigning them to different free e-mail addresses, different headlines etc. By doing this you'll be able to see which ads are working and which classified sites bring you the most leads. Always remember to test one part of your ad at a time. If you don't, you won't know exactly which part of the ad that you changed brought in the increased visitors.
If you have an affiliate system set up, one good way to track your ads, banners, postings etc. is to assign each one a different affiliate number. Keep track of which ad is used for each affiliate number and you'll easily be able to see where your best leads are coming from, along with your best ads.
Always make sure to test your headline. This is the most important part of your ad. The headline will decide whether someone actually takes the time to look at your ad or just ignores it.
Always remember to post your ad in multiple categories. You may get a better response from a category that you might have thought didn't relate to your product. Be creative and you can create an angle to gear your ad to that category.
Besides the best attention getting headline you can think of, you always want to have three other things in your ad. You want to make it clear what you're offering, what benefits it has to the ad reader and how the reader is to respond.
Always remember to keep your ads short. Never try to sell your product in your ad. Follow the K.I.S.S. rule. "Keep it simple stupid." What you want to do with your ads is to get qualified leads, by getting them intrigued about your product. Once you get them to your site, your autoresponder etc., your good sales copy should be able to do all of the work.
When placing free ads, be sure to get a separate e-mail account. You can get a free one with hotmail, yahoo, etc. You will receive a lot of spam and ad confirmations, and using a separate account will prevent clogging up your main account.
Another good idea is to use an autoresponder. An autoresponder is similar to an e-mail address but when someone sends a message to it, a message that you create is automatically sent back to him. So, if someone harvests your autoresponder to send you an offer, they'll get your salesletter!
If you're going to pay for an ad, make sure you're getting a good deal and won't be losing money. Don't be fooled by the numbers as we pointed out above. Ask how many visitors were there to place an ad. Ask for the specific number of visitors for the category of your ad and the average click-throughs for their ads."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
This report was written by John Karnish of the Internet Marketing Professional website.
Visit his site for a QUICK And EASY Way To Build A Profitable Business On The Internet. Start Today! Visit: http://internet-marketingpro.com
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