How to Create Successful Classified Ads

Classified advertising is an economical way to buy or sell products or services, and even promote a business and drive traffic to a website. Ads that are placed in the appropriate section will naturally draw a qualified audience of potential customers, and so it is important to maximise this benefit by creating the most effective advert possible. Poor planning, inattention to detail or other mistakes can cause an ad to fail; all of which can be avoided by following some simple guidelines and basic facts.

General Rules

• Choose publications that have the largest number of adverts as this is a good indicator of how much reader traffic there will be for your classified.
• Determine how the adverts are sorted or ranked within each category and attempt to be listed at or near the top.
• Create an ad that is compelling and concise, starting with an engaging headline to draw people in. Keep them reading with interesting, informative, unique content.

The 4 Essential Ingredients

The four essential ingredients of an effective classified ad are:

1. Attention

It is essential to be able to grab the readers attention. As classified ads normally lack graphics, this is usually achieved by the words you use, or the way you use them.

2. Interest

The advert must create interest and appeal. Think about your potential audience; what benefits of your product or service is most likely to appeal to this group?

3. Desire

Once you have gained the reader's interest, it's important to spark a further emotional reaction to make them really want the product. Is there something about the product that will make them feel excited, good, confident, secure, happy or powerful?

4. Action

The final essential element to the advert is to make the reader act and buy the product. This is achieved simply by making a directive, such as "call this number now" or "go to our website to order". If the first three ingredients (attention, interest, and desire) have been carried out well, and the reader is a qualified customer, then they will most likely take the action you direct them to take.

The Headline

With online classified ads, you will usually have about 4-8 words in your subject line or headline. Readers are often in a hurry when they're scouring the classifieds and so don't want to waste time on irrelevant content. They will typically only spend a second or less to determine whether or not they want to read further, so to attract the reader's attention, the words of the headline must be engaging and include powerful words that command attention. Using powerful words, conveying critical messages with few words, and making every word count are critical to successful headlines.

• Ask a question to intrigue people to find the answer such as "Need Help With Your Housework?".
• Use a list of words rather than an actual statement or sentence. Try something like "Sofa, Armchair, Coffee Table- Stylish and Cheap!".
• Tell people how to solve a problem or do something; they'll read further to find out how. For example, "How To Learn Spanish in 30 Days", or "How To Transform Your Garden", and similar solutions.
• Use commanding words that challenge readers to take action such as "Give Our Cleaning Service a Try!".
• Focusing on claims such as "Flowers Guaranteed to Thrive" can attract attention.
• Avoid sensationalist words, such as "Must have", "Must see", "Get rich" as these may make your ad look 'fake'. Overdone and misleading words and phrases will be quickly discounted by readers.

Some publications may allow you to include graphics or photos within the classified ad; this can help attract more attention from a target audience and engage your readers.

Writing the Main Body

When writing the main body of the ad, make sure that you use powerful words to spark your readers interest. These words should elicit certain feelings and responses in your readers, getting them to engage in the ad, and want to buy your product or service. Some of the most powerful words in the English language have been found to be:

• Discovery
• Easy
• Free
• Guarantee
• Health
• Love
• Money
• New
• Proven
• Results
• Save
• You

However, try scanning through some classified ads, and see which words attract your attention; do this until you have a list of around 50 words. Keep this list at hand when you are designing your classified ad.

To start writing the ad, draw up a list of words that describes a particular benefit or feature of your product. Include verbs (which show action) and adjectives (descriptive) as they are proven to cause readers to react with feelings.

For example:

Want a Dependable Used Car that Looks the Business?
2007 BMW M5 - low mileage - MP3 player - tinted glass - alloys - air conditioning - black metallic paint - superb looking car that will make people stare with envy when you drive by - Call today (xxxx) xxxxxxx and ask for Bob.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Does the title grab the reader's attention?
• Does the ad offer features or benefits of interest to buyers?
• Is some emotional desire created to further stimulate the reader?
• Does the ad direct the reader's action?