Writing ads is an art. But, it is one that can easily be learnt with a little bit of discipline. Most small business owners need to learn this skill to successfully market their business. If you are working at home you will need to tailor your ads to suit how people are going to contact you and try to make that as easy as possible.

Small business marketing is not a lot different than that of a larger business. A very important point to remember before starting to write your ads is, not to rush in and write just 'any old ad'. You can work all day rushing around doing all sorts of jobs, but when it comes to writing your ads, stop and clearly focus on what you are doing. This is a very important money making job!

Using Keywords. Keywords are words that describe your products or services and align with your USP (Unique Selling Point). For example, 'candles guaranteed to throw a perfume' as opposed to 'candles', and the keyword is 'perfumed' and will attract buyers wanting perfumed candles. Another example would be 'home based business' as opposed to 'business', and the keyword would be 'home based'.

The reality is that the words 'candles' and 'business' are keywords in their own, right but they do not really hit the target market as they are too broad.

Selling Benefits. So, when writing your ads, describe your product or service specifically with a keyword, and then focus on the benefit. Your ad must state the benefit of your product or service to the client. Solve their problem! For example, 'your room will smell heavenly'. That is what you are doing when stating the benefit.

The Attention Grabbing Headline. Now that you know how you are going to focus your ad, and what you are going to promote, you must write an attention grabbing headline. You must get people to stop and read the rest of the ad. Write at least 10 headlines (better if you do 20+) and see which best suits the product and the benefit.

Use words like: Announcing..., Who Else Is Interested In..., Stop That (Backache)..., 9 Proven Ways To...., Have You Tried...., New In This Week..., Exposed..., Discover...., For This Week Only..., For This Week's Bonus.... There are a lot of really dynamic headlines, but you can see that by having a great headline your customers will want to know more.

Placing Your Business Name. This should always go at the bottom of the ad. If your customers are interested in the products you are advertising, they will look for your address. Don't forget to put in all your contact details. Don't detract from the heading by adding your business name at the top.

It is a good idea to sit down and write a dozen or so ads while you are focused and you can use them in the future. Also, if one particular time you are in an absolute hurry you wont commit the sin of scribbling a really bad ad to meant a deadline.

Learn from looking other ads and keep a grab file full of ads that you like.

Copyright (c) 2008 Kaye Dennan