What follows are my random thoughts on advertising your product or service to the readers of these trade publications.

1. Newspapers are not dead.

Everyone thinks that the Internet has killed most of the print media. But it is simply not true. The truth is that you have to watch your costs. Your cost per lead and cost per sale. But don’t count the newspapers and magazines just yet. I have a client who advertises in the Reno, Nevada newspaper. Run 3 ads a week for $ 483.00. He gets about 12 tracks a week. And close 40% of leads on a $ 4,000 product / service.

They are good numbers. You pay about $ 40 per lead with your newspaper marketing. By other means, you admit that you pay between $ 250 and $ 300 for a potential customer.

The newspapers are not dead. WSJ and IBD are good means of generating leads and sales. Readers have above-average discretionary spending money. They are the first buyers. That is, they will often be the risk takers and buy new and unheard of products before they really catch on. Joe Sugarman made a good income from full-page ads at WSJ in the 1970s selling high-tech gadgets that were new to the market. He operated in the basement of his home in the Chicago area.

Readers of this post believe they are more thoughtful than other buyers. Therefore, they will read a long ad, feeling like they are getting information … not talking to a “salesperson.” But YOU, the smart marketer, know the truth. You know that every ad, especially a long ad … IS your salesperson. A commissioned salesperson who doesn’t sell doesn’t cost you much. But an ad that doesn’t sell costs you a lot.

2. Pay close attention to this concept. Write it. It’s important: people won’t read wordy ads!

Purpose PERSPECTIVES.

If you want them to spend money with you. It should provide them with interesting and useful information. You can’t bore them into reading your ad. But if it’s written in an interesting and useful way … Prospects will read any amount of text. If you think nobody reads anymore … then why or why do they buy the WSJ or the IBD? They want information.

They want products and services that help them earn more money … Enjoy life more … advance their career … prepare for the future … They want more sex. They want more time. They want solutions to a number of problems they are having. They want peace of mind. They want pride of ownership. They don’t want to be embarrassed by the decisions they have to make. Can your product / service solve some of these problems? Then YOU should consider advertising on WSJ or IBD.

3. They are passionate audiences.

Years ago, my postman told me that the two most annoying customers on his route were those who DID NOT get their Wall Street Journal … or those who DID NOT get their National Inquirer. Please note: The two extremes in hearings. But they were both passionate about their posts. In general, you can find out which posts had a passionate audience. It is the publication that has a healthy classified section. For example: Popular Mechanics magazine has several classified ad pages. Here’s your suggestion that a full page ad in that post will have a lot of selling power for you – passionate audiences.

4. The newspapers are not dead, but they are fighting.

Therefore, you can negotiate the price. Like the customer mentioned above, if you are selling a $ 4,000 product, you can afford to attract leads at a cost of several hundred dollars. But you must know your costs. Lead generation cost, conversion cost, customer repeat buyer cost, churn cost, etc.

5. Generally speaking, your message on the IBD or WSJ should be the same message that you are using on the Internet or in your sales presentations. Especially if you have tested your message and found that THIS message is the one that gives you the best response. Buyers who come to you from the newspaper or the web or direct mail … they are all the same. Everyone wants the benefits of your product or service. What is your strongest message? That is the message you want in your newspaper ad.

6. Give your ad a title.

It’s ridiculous how many ads on WSJ or IBD don’t have headlines. The title is the part that ad readers scan to see if they want to spend more time on your ad. If you don’t have a title, you better not run your ad. Headlines are so important that for years and years, marketers testing multiple items will tell you that one headline can generate 19 times more orders than the same ad with another headline. Give your ad a title and turn it into a good one.

7. Note the second “honey”.

Very often, if you are selling a high-priced item, the potential customer will read your ad and be convinced that it is a good deal. But there is a “honey” with which they must discuss things BEFORE the purchase decision is made. If your ad is good, they will often cut it out of the paper to use as ammunition with which they can convince their spouse or boss, etc. that they also buy the product or service. Give them all the ammo they will need to make a convincing argument. They want the comforts and benefits you offer, but you have to convince them. Then they must convince themselves. Then they must convince others that they might say “Why do you want to buy that?”

8. Call your audience.

Who reads these posts? Investors. Entrepreneurs. Managers CEOs. CFOs. Politicians. Inventors Some educators. People who long to get ahead. These two posts are read by people who are at the forefront of social evolution. They are the ones who shake and move. They are the debaters of our day. If you want to sell your product to a small segment of your readers, CALL THEM. Say: Attention investors. Now, ATTENTION BUSINESS OWNERS. Etc.

9. Talk to all groups of readers.

Some people are visual. Some are sensitive. Some are accountants. Some are types of audio. Do you hear what I’m saying? Can you see the good in this? Doesn’t this fit your thinking? The same house can be described as being full of light coming through the windows. Or build to withstand the strongest winds.

10. Repeat yourself.

Repetition is the juice of good direct response advertising. If you make a statement once, it won’t sink in so easily. But if you say the same thing three different times, from three different angles, you increase the chances that the reader will be OWN of the idea and think that it is their idea to own the product.

11. Repeat yourself.

Brand advertisers repeat the message many times throughout a year. Direct response advertisers should repeat the sales pitch in the same ad, long enough until it is created and acted upon.

12. Give them a call to action.

It’s one thing to make your case for buying your product or service. But you must tell them what to do next. Call now. Order by Wednesday for a free sample. Mention my name for a special delivery.

13. Use a “fireside chat” approach.

Most of us have emotions. We don’t want to do business with a nameless, faceless corporation. We want to deal with a real person. We want to trust the seller. We want to know that you have done your homework and are feeling our pain. We want to know that your solution has been tried and tested. Let others have tried it and are delighted with the results. Consider today’s Chrysler and GM bailouts … with the Chrysler bailout in the 1980s under Lee Iacocca. Mr. Iacocca splashed his face in all the ads that were published selling cars. He spoke to us “man to man”. We are sorry for your honesty and sincerity. Chrysler sold a lot of cars then. Today, the rescue of car companies has no name … it has no face … no one with a home that we can identify. In the depths of our souls we hate collectivism. We want to deal with someone who is real. Someone who will sit with us and have a “fireside chat.”

14. Use these ideas and you can be an advertiser without fire.

Even in a medium that, on the surface, seems expensive. But when you measure cost per lead and cost per sale, it will likely turn out much cheaper than a $ 1 classified.

Call me if you want to discuss these ideas for your marketing.