If you’re looking for a way to make your ads more effective, capture more attention and get you more clients… this article will show you exactly that.
I vividly remember writing my first ad. I hated every second of it.
You know what the worst part was? My boss gave me the job to write that ad because I had just spent three years in an online business school studying psychology, majoring in marketing and sales.
We analyzed the biggest and most successful companies in the world. But when I tried to use that knowledge to write an ad for our local business… I had no idea how to do it!
Looking at that blank page I realized I was in over my head. And the longer I sat there, the more stupid I felt.
The Secret Reason Why Most Ads Don’t Perform
So I did some research to find the formula.
Some sources told me to use a cute baby animal in my ad. Others said that wasn’t professional.
Some sources told me to repeat my message again and again. Others said repetition annoys people and makes them NOT buy from you.
With the deadline rapidly approaching I took a shortcut. I looked at the ads of our competitors and did roughly the same. Like copying your classmate’s homework and changing it up slightly so it’s not an exact copy.
I showed it to my boss, he said it was OK and we ran the ad.
A few days go by and I don’t hear anything about the results. So I asked my boss what the ad results were. He seemed slightly confused by the question:
“Uhhh… what do you mean ‘results’?”
“The results from the ad we ran. Did we make any sales from it? Did many people call in?” I asked him.
My boss smiled, leaned back and said:
“Nooooo, John. That’s not how ads work! This ad was for brand name recognition. Top of mind awareness. It’s all about branding, you know?”
I played it cool and said: “Sure, I understand”.
That was a lie. Because I didn’t understand at all how those things got us more sales.
And now, almost 20 years later, I’ll let you in on a little secret: I was lying to my boss. But he was also lying to me.
Because he had no idea what he was talking about either.
Fixing Your Marketing
When we spend money on something we measure the result.
Doesn’t matter if we're spending money on equipment, lunch or vendors - we make sure that we get what we pay for, right?
When I started my own business I tried to do the same with marketing. Instead of results I got wordsalad.
‘Well, this ad is for brand name recognition’
‘We’re focused on top of mind awareness in our market’
‘This campaign is set up to solidify our branding and brand positioning’
This is usually said in a slightly condescending tone designed to make you feel dumb for even asking the question.
Here’s the ugly truth:
“Most businesses throw away at least half of their marketing budget. Maybe even more than half.”
And that just didn’t sit right with me
How I Stopped Throwing Money Away…
...And How You Can Do The Same
I decided to get to the bottom of this and figure out the formula for effective marketing.
The good news? There was a formula and I figured it out.
The bad news? It took years and years of study, puzzling pieces together, testing it and using trial and error to figure out what actually worked.
If I had to write out all the elements of the formula we would be sitting here for weeks, so let me give you one of the best shortcuts I found.
Some might recognize it as ‘Pearson’s Law’.
“What is measured, improves.”
Want to immediately and dramatically increase ad results?
Make them measurable by adding a response mechanism. A call to action in every ad that asks the prospect to do something.
And then you monitor that action like a hawk.
Now you can measure. Test. Figure out what works and what doesn’t.
One of the first things I do when I start working with a client is implement this simple rule:
“Every ad we run needs to be measurable, no exceptions.”
No more jargon. No more vague marketing gobbledygook. Measurable, tangible, solid results.
There’s plenty of ways to do this and it’s doable for every single business, yours included. If you want to know how we would do this in your business, get in touch with us today.