If you have followed me at all, you realize that I am not a big believer in advertising as defined by most people. I do believe in 2-step advertising and especially if you have something of perceived value that you can offer to a prospect.
Let us define 2-step by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing : "As the name implies, 2-step advertising is simply a form of advertising that motivates readers or listeners to take a step or action that essentially signals that you have your permission to begin marketing to them. Step 1 by the prospect signals Step 2 by you and the marketing dance is begun.
Step one: run and that offer the reader for a report, sample, or something of high perceived value.
Step two: send a report to all who respond and market to this group like crazy.
From this day forward, do not even think about placing an ad unless you are placing a direct response ad."
Effective advertising should follow a plan. I typically work with these questions when designing an advertising campaign:
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Who will manage the program?
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What is the budget for the program?
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What is the target market/ideal client that the ad will be directed towards?
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What is the message/offer we will convey?
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What types of media, will we use?
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How long should the campaign be in effect?
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How often should we change the ads?
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At what time/date’s is the best for the ads to appear?
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How will the effectiveness of the ad campaign be measured?
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How will the campaign be evaluated/controlled?
Seems a little elaborate, but actually it is very easy. The very best way to try this is to take an existing advertising campaign and answer these 10 questions. After completion, do you see any ways you can improve your existing campaign?