After all, if you don't tell them, how will they find you?

There are all types of advertising venues available to the home based business marketer, from print, radio, to online paid, free, TV, etc. Deciding which one is best for you and your business can be a challenge.

First, you need to decide who your target market is. The closer you can define it, the better your chances for success. If you simply say "everybody", then your campaign is doomed to fail. Decide who your product or service would appeal to, and why. Then, think of the best way to reach them.

For Instance, let's say you are marketing a nutritional health and wellness product. A publishing company offers you a "great deal" on a package of ads in several "body building" magazines. On the surface, this seems like a great way to market. Or is it? Most Body Builders are interested in gaining muscle mass mass and bulk. Many are spending lots every month on supplements already, those that can provide their needs for bulk and muscle mass. A secondary benefit may be energy and anti-oxidants. If the supplement you market is for well being only, a body builder publication may not be the best choice. A better option may be a publication that caters to those who are interested in feeling better and looking younger. Maybe there is a local publication in your area that caters to health and wellness in your community, or there are lots of choices for regional and national publications.

Regardless of the vehicle you choose, it is important to find a niche for your product or service. There are probably many markets that you haven't thought about.

OK, so you defined your niche market, and you have found a way to reach them economically. So you put together some graphics, a few bullet points, and place your ad. Your ads run with little or no response. You get discouraged, try another vehicle, and the same thing happens. And you give up. Saying something is not as important as what you say and how you say it.

I have a friend that uses a Voice Broadcast System to generate leads. he told me of a Utility Company that purchased the system to reach customers for marketing purposes. After several broadcasts and virtually no response, they changed their message, and were inundated with calls!

it was virtually the same message, just how they said it that produced the response.

All advertising should have a headline, a body , or description, and a call to action. A headline might be something like "Don't Spend a Dime on your Next Opportunity until you Talk with Us, Financial Freedom in 30 days, Lose 15 lbs in 10 days, Guaranteed. etc. A headline needs to be something that captures the readers attention, in order that you may get your message read. Without capturing the prospects attention first, you have no chance to get them to explore the offering.

In the body, you want to describe the offering in terms of features and benefit to the prospect. If a weight loss product, and the prospect is overweight, a feature benefit relationship might elicit a response. You may want to tell how the product enables you to lose weight, through increased metabolism, improved energy, or a cleansing effect.

That's why it is so important to define your target market.

After you have described your offering and the feature benefit relationship, you should have a call to action in closing. this can be a phone number, email address, website, etc. To add extra sizzle, you may want to include something like a free sample, or special offering to the first 20 to callers.

The next time you think about advertising, look at some other ads, and think about the context of how they are presented and laid out. Do they have an effective attention grabbing headline? Does the body of the ad explain the product or service? And , is there a closing "call to action"?

Is it easy to respond to the offer, and how do I respond? Is the advertising targeted? By using this simple evaluation criteria, you're on your way to writing and placing more effective ads and generating leads and sales.