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In my direct response print and Yellow Page ad design business, I offer a FREE 60 point ad audit at my website www.InstantYellowPageProfits.com. Because of this FREE Offer, I review hundreds of print and Yellow Page ads per year, and they all have the same 3 profit killing mistakes.

 

The first profit killing mistake I see in small business advertising is having a weak headline. The weakest headline you can usually have is the business name which normally contains no benefit for the consumer. Imagine you are a consumer with a leaking pipe and you go to the Yellow Pages under “Plumbers” to find someone to fix your leak.

 

You review ads under the heading, and the first 2 have the following headlines. Headline number 1 is “Joe’s Plumbing” and the second ad’s headline is, “Your Leak Fixed In 60 Minutes or It’s FREE!”?Which ad appeal most to you? When you use the headline, “Joe’s Plumbing” all you’ve proven is that Joe has a big ego. This headline fails to provide meaningful benefits to the comsumer. Getting your leak fixed in 60 minutes is a HUGE benefit to the consumer with a leak so this is a far better headline.

 

So when you are writing your headlines, ask yourself, “What is the greatest benefit I can offer my prospects, and what is their greatest desire when they are viewing my ad?” If you take those most sought after benefits and include them in your headline you will dramatically increase response to ALL your advertising.

 

The second profit killing mistake is to have no offer. Any ad without an offer is not a direct response marketing ad design. Not having an offer in your ad is advertising suicide.

 

So what is the best type of offer to include in your advertising? I recommend a New Client Offer. This could be a “dollars off” offer on their first service, or an added bonus for just for new clients. Since most print and Yellow Page ads fail to even include an offer, a well designed offer will make your advertising stand out from your competition.

 

The third profit killing mistake is to not include a guarantee. Every business can include some sort of guarantee in their advertising. Some businesses will be able to have a 100% Moneyback Guarantee which completely removes the risk for a new client doing business with you. I know what you’re thinking, “If I offer a 100% Moneyback Guarantee like Larry says, everyone will ask for their Moneyback and rip me off!”

 

I know how you feel, because I felt the same way before I included a 100% Moneyback Guarantee in my advertising. I worried that everyone would rip me off and not pay me, but when I implemented the guarantee good things happened. This 100% Moneyback Guarantee DOUBLED my advertising profits and ROI. In 7 years of having a Moneyback guarantee, only 2 people ever asked for their Moneyback. And both times everything conspired to go wrong outside my control and they deserved their money back. Failing to refund these 2 clients would have caused 2 lawsuits that would have been more expensive that his simple refund. This moneyback guarantee did double duty by increasing my advertising response and profits while simultaneously removing legal liability when unusual things happened.

 

Businesses that can not have a 100% money back guarantee, can guarantee a portion or part of the first purchase even if this means limiting what services you provide on their first purchase. When you reduce or remove the risk with a risk-free guarantee, you lower the barrier to entry and the downside of doing business with you.

 

So you can see that having doubled my business from the same size ad and having only 2 (deserved) refunds in 7 years and over 1500 jobs is a tremendous financial gain.

 

So upgrade your print and Yellow Page advertising by having a great headline, a money back guarantee and a new client offer. You’ll get more profits from the same size ad and new clients at 50% of what your competition has to pay which is a HUGE long-term competitive advantage for your business.

Larry Conn has been building his expertise in advertising and direct response marketing for the last 34 years. He is an in-demand direct response marketing expert, marketing strategist, copywriter, author and speaker. In just the last 24 months, 4 top direct response marketing experts have featured Larry in their top selling books and products due to his skills in designing profitable marketing strategies and writing copy for high ROI print and Yellow Page ad design. At his website www.InstantYellowPageProfits.com  Larry offers a FREE 60 point Advertising Audit worth $150.00.