Internet Tip of the Week
by Bob Osgoodby
Only One ChanceThis is a real life story, so bear with me while I give some
background information.We have a "free ad" section at our web site where people can
place an ad for their business. Ads are submitted weekly and
published on the web. Now, to place an ad, someone has to visit
our web site and fill out a form, containing their email address
and the copy of the ad. We try to make it as easy as possible,
but the bottom line is many people are not serious, and don't
have a clue as to how to run a business on the web let alone
promote it.When the ads are received, we send an automatic response to the
person who submitted it. Perhaps one out of ten has an incorrect
email address and the response is returned as undeliverable.
What a waste of time.How do they think that someone could respond to their ad if their
email address is incorrect? Not only that, but bad addresses are
automatically purged from our file so their ad never even gets
posted.Going through our archives, I found some real gems - what do you
think about these offers?"Join our MLM and earn beg income". This is either a typo or
they are promising very little in the way of earnings. This
person obviously didn't proof their copy before submitting the
ad.Another ad promised huge earnings, but gave no contact
information. Not a web site URL or an email address to be
found. Guess they figure it is so powerful an offer, we will
"beat a path to their door" - another waste of time."Make Money! Turn $10 into $40,000 CASH like I did" - but wait -
this guy is using a free email account. If he's making all that
money, wouldn't you think he could afford one for ten bucks a
month - maybe he is saving all those $10 bills so he can earn
$40,000 CASH with each one."You can make 500% Profit without investing any money" - need I
say more!“Online Pharmacy - No Perscription Needed” – I knew the medical
profession had handwriting that was difficult to decipher, but I
thought they could at least spell. Run, don’t walk to the nearest
delete key on this one."Tired of the "Rat Race"? Free online training and no capitol
needed!" Did this guy mean "capital"? I'll hang on every word
he has to say."Exciting,EasyandProfitable" - guess this person never learned
how to use that big bar on the bottom of the keyboard. I think
you see where this article is going.If you are going to advertise a business on the web, and you
present less than a professional image - you're not going to do
business. If you present yourself like the above examples, enjoy
your "walk on the quiet side". Most people are not idiots, and
I'm sure the authors of the above ads are not either. But why
give that impression? I sure wouldn't do business with any one
of them.I read another ad for Web Design and the HTML coding in his ad
was wrong. That surely built a lot of confidence in his ability
to design sites for me.Most people scan poorly constructed ads and simply "click away".
Guess they feel like I do. If you don't care enough to write a
credible ad, why should I think you'll care about me if I buy
from you?Many people rely too heavily on the spell checker on their
computer. This is a mistake. After you do spell check, get
someone else to read it. When writing something, many times you
get so close to the article, you miss mistakes that someone else
would quickly find. Many words that are being used incorrectly
will pass spell check.Remember - you usually get only one chance to make a sale when a
person sees your ad. If it is well written, and has an attention
getting headline, you just might make that sale. If you want to
do business on the web, get serious or people will come to the
conclusion that you are someone who "Doesn't Have a Clue" and
look elsewhere.-----
Bob has been publishing online since 1996. All the “tricks of the trade” are contained in his latest E-book. Learn how to avoid being shut down by your ISP for Spamming, and where to find “E-mail friendly ISP's. Learn which software packages are available to easily manage and distribute your email. For more information - http://www.adv-marketing.com/business/handbook.htm
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