After sending a message about internet advertising to some of my friends online, one person named Cecil asked me:

"So tell me, Alan. What does a good ad look like?"

Here's what I said.

Off the top of my head effective internet advertising or any advertising has 5 characteristics, here's what they are:

1. The ad MUST TARGET a specific audience. No use selling plastic surgery to increase the breast size to a bunch of Catholic nuns! =) If you are trying to sell muscle bulking supplements to slim girls who want to look like Brittany Spears, you'll be out of business in no time.

2. Has a KILLER headline (GRABS ATTENTION) You are exposed to thousands upon THOUSANDS of marketing and advertising every single day. How do you get someone to stop on their tracks and read you advertisement. An attention grabbing headline is the most effective way to do it.

3. Compels the people in your particular niche to look at your advertisement a lot longer. (INTEREST) In other words - don't bore your viewers to tears by writing an advertisement that makes people want to click off.

In other words, if you can keep the viewer glued to your screen longer than when they see Paris Hilton in a bikini - you have yourself a winner.

4. Have them DESIRE to have what you have - and make them feel that they are missing out. (DESIRE) Some may say it's manipulative, but I think it's for my viewer's benefit.

It's generally true that the person reading your advertisement doesn't have the product or service you are advertising. You are just helping them make the decision to buy your product now so that they can have that feeling of owning your product.

5. A call to ACTION. Give them CLEAR instructions to sign up, purchase, or respond to your internet advertising. If you don't give them a clear and definite way to buy your product - you'll just frustrate your customer who truly wants to buy, and yourself by losing a sale.

Examine your internet advertising for a moment and make sure they have at least those 5 attributes to maximize the effectiveness of selling your product on the internet.