Do not undertake advertising unless you have a mechanism by which you can measure the response to your advertisement. You can do this through:

• Coupons for information, ordering or entry into competitions
• 1800 or information telephone numbers
• Offers specific to the advertisement

Compare the response to each advertisement you place, considering where you are advertising, the time of year, your competitor’s promotion, and any other factors that may affect it. Then, when you find an advertisement that works well, use it as your benchmark, but still, keep trying new offers or new headlines to see if they are more effective. Be careful of the outcomes experienced by others referred to you by the advertising provider – question how the measurements are made and reported.

Open a hard copy or online publication to any page and examine the advertisements. Look at what most of them have as a headline or top line on the ad. The majority of the ads you see have a business name at the top. Is this appropriate?

Out of all these advertisements, how many of them excite you? How many would make you rush to call? Of course, the business owner is the one who is most excited about these ads, and you may feel the same way when you see your business ad. However, as wonderful as it may feel to see your name in big letters, you are not the target audience for your business. The person you want to impress is not interested in the name of your business, but they are interested in solving their problem, whatever it may be.

Your headline should focus on solving your potential buyer's problem.

The headline serves as the "ad for the ad" - if it isn't read, there is little chance that your ad will be read either. Studies indicate that most people spend around four seconds scanning a page in a newspaper or magazine. Will your advertisement catch someone's attention in four seconds? Consider the following example: The headline in the advertisement for a carpet cleaning business reads, "How to Remove Stains from Your Carpet - Not Just Hide Them." The ad is a great success and results in many calls each week. Do you believe that "ABC Carpet Cleaners" would have had the same result? This business receives calls from clients looking to have their carpets cleaned.

We would assume that ABC receives calls from clients inquiring about pricing.

'Copy' refers to the words you use, and good copy is critical to the success of your written advertisements. Many 'experts' follow the KISS principle (Keep it Simple, Stupid) when it comes to ads. That is okay if you can convey your message, offer, difference, or guarantee in a few words, but you should not be afraid to use more copy.

If you say what your customers want to hear, they will not mind reading every word. Explain how you can solve their problem, why you are the best option (from their perspective, not yours), and any offers or guarantees you may have.

Do not forget to include your phone number in large print.

A well-written advertisement copy can increase your response by up to 50%, so it is worthwhile to put time and effort into writing it.

Graphics refer to the images you use, such as diagrams, drawings, and photos. A change in graphics, particularly incorporating photographs of people in your ads, can increase ad response by 150%. People enjoy looking at others.

Review the page you selected in the Yellow Pages again. How many of the ads feature pictures? Do the ads with photos stand out? They do. Utilize images in your ads to demonstrate that you are a 'people' company since customers ultimately deal with people they like

Offers can have a significant impact on your response rate, so if you do not have an offer in your ads, consider including one. Offers can increase your response by up to 300%, and you can also use them to grow your database.

You could offer a discount for bringing in the ad. Alternatively, have your customer request a free booklet on 'how to' do something. Free information is highly effective. You could also enter them into a contest. Consider what offers you can make to entice people to respond.

Ensure that your offer has an expiration date, as this will create urgency and eliminate ambiguity. Also, ensure that your offer is not vague in any way, as this could harm your relationship with your customer.

Many businesses discuss the value of establishing brand awareness. Some even acknowledge that their advertising is intended to make potential customers aware of their brand and do not anticipate direct sales from the advertising. But why not?

Brand awareness is crucial, but there is no definitive evidence that brand awareness alone will increase sales for most products or businesses, except for some consumable items such as soft drinks and toothpaste. Brand awareness may be sufficient for Coca-Cola, and they can likely afford it, but you are not Coca-Cola, nor do you have their advertising budget! A brand is often a company's most valuable intellectual property.

Instead of simply 'trying to get your name out there', strive to ensure that every ad you place also sells for you.

Advertising agencies indeed win awards for their clever advertisements, but the awards are not given for responses to those advertisements, they’re given for creativity.

Do not try to be clever or smart. Just say what you mean and what you can do for your customer, and you will be more than happy with the response you get. Please take a look at your advertising and see what it says about you. See if you have clearly articulated your message. And make sure you have made it easy for your customers to respond to you, including a telephone number and contact details.

If you are advertising in newspapers and magazines, you can often get the publication to give you editorial support. This means having an article (for which you do not pay) written and published in the magazine or paper.

Because editorial is considered to be written from a non-biased point of view, you may find that it generates a much better response than your advertisement. Whenever possible, use your advertising dollars as a bargaining tool to get a bit of editorial coverage.

Have several editorial pieces written that complement the advertisement and give them to the journalist; if they are well written, the journalist may use them pretty much, giving you precisely the type of coverage you want.

To a lesser extent, television and radio are the most expensive mediums of all and are often the domain of large companies with lots of dollars to spend.

If you consider advertising on television or radio, make sure you apply all of the above rules. In addition, have an appealing angle, a great offer, a response mechanism, and spell out WIIFM for the customer.

Consult the experts if you are making an advertisement; do not try to wade through it yourself. If you are spending big money, do it with style. It will pay off in the long run.

Note: If you are dealing with customer or prospective customer information, you should always ensure all forms deal with the requirements of the Privacy Act.