In my work as a copywriter, I am often asked by clients how they can improve the return they get on their investments in marketing and advertising. I'd like to tell you about the mistakes which small businesses tend to make in their ads so that you can avoid making them yourself.

Layout

A lot of small businesses ads end up reading like a list; this is not a good format.

They'll put the company name at the top instead of an attention getting headline and follow with dry copy which simply does not hold the reader's interest. No compelling reason is given to follow up; and the ad concludes with a phone number and address.

These ads are ineffective; they don't get prospective customers to care about your company. Your reader wants to know one thing: what's in it for him or her.

This is a much more effective ad layout:

You need a headline to lead in, it doesn't have to be all that clever, just clearly state the biggest benefit of your product or service to the consumer.

The bottom right (known in the business as the "anchor point") should have a contact number and coupon, if you are using coupons in your ad.

Company name and address should go in the bottom left corner. You want to use your adspace to make the case for your business. Once you convince the reader, they'll find your address.

Put headlines under photos or illustrations, so the reader's eye goes from photo to headline to copy in that logical order. (Illustration layouts also depend on the size and concept of the ad)

A series of benefit-rich bullet points (long copy is also great, but much more difficult to write.)

How are your ads? Do they read like a shopping list, or a compelling story ending with a call to action? If the former, I know you'll get great results from changing your formats.

Failing to Test and Track Ad Response

You should always test and track your ads. Even a slight change can generate many more sales for the same product or service. Testing and tracking can help you to cut out what isn't working and keep what performs well.

How to Track Advertising Response

It's very simple to track your ads. For instance, you can ask callers how they found out about your business. If you have a lot of different ads out there, you can track things with more complex methods such as the following:

Your coupons can be colour coded, you can include coupon codes or ask callers to ask for a specific person or mention an offer mentioned in the ad.

If you're advertising online, it's even easier, you can use tracking software to compare response rates between different ads.

One of my clients a while back tracked their advertising response rates and found that their expensive print ad campaign was bringing in almost no responses, while a nearly free flyering campaign was generating a lot of business. They were able to drop the print ads and save a lot of money while having a more effective advertising and marketing campaign.

What To Test

Test these parts of your ads:

Headlines Offers Body Copy Guarantee Price

Headlines are the most important, test and fine tune these first.

If you hit on something which works well, stick with it until you find something which works even better.

Taking the time to ensure that your ads are effective at generating responses can make a huge difference to your business. It may even be worthwhile for your company to take on a copywriter. Having an expert on hand to create your advertising can be more than worth the salary you'll pay him or her.

Not Making The Most of a Powerful Guarantee

A lot of small businesses fail to offer a strong guarantee in their ads. You need to do this, since a guarantee can increase your response rates by 50% and up.

A strong guarantee makes customers more willing to buy from you, since the perceived risk is eliminated. If you project confidence in your business, prospective customers will feel it too.

Here are a few tips for successfully incorporating your guarantee into your ads:

1. Your guarantee should make specific promises about results.

Don't use boilerplate phrases like "Satisfaction Guaranteed" or even "Money-Back Guaranteed". While these are probably better than nothing, they don't have a fraction of the effect of a specific promise like:

"Be thrilled with your treatment or we'll pay you to go to the competition"

" 50% increase in traffic to your site in 60 days or your money back"

"Send $35 to [Your Company Name and Address]. $40 refund if you're not completely satisfied."

2. Test Your Guarantee

Being a small business consultant and copywriter, I spend a lot of time helping clients to come up with attention getting guarantees for their advertisements. Many business owners are nervous about making money back guarantees, fearing that they will lose money if too many people take advantage of these guarantees. However, I can tell you that in practice, the amount of additional business which a strong guarantee can bring in dwarfs the outlay you'll see in refunds. Track the response to your ad and compare it against the returns. If the guarantee is working for your business, continue offering it.

In almost every case, a good guarantee will bring in much more in sales than you'll end up paying out in refunds. Fine tune your guarantee (wording, conditions and so on). You may see a huge difference in sales between a 30 day and 60 day guarantee.

3. Make your guarantee highly visible

If you have a strong guarantee, don't hide it away where it won't be seen. Strong guarantees make great headlines. Visual devices such as a "Money-Back Guarantee" rosette also work well but remember to enlarge on your guarantee statement.

What powerful guarantee can you offer your prospects to make it easier for them to do business with you?