I vividly remember writing my first Ad. I hated every second of it.
You know what the worst part was? I was given the job to write an Ad because I was the “NEW INTERN”.
We analyzed the biggest and most successful companies. But when I tried to use the knowledge to write an Ad… I had no idea how to do it.
Staring at the blank page I was very confused. And the longer I sat there, the more stupid I felt.
The Reason why most Ads don’t perform.
I did some research to find the formula.
Some sources told me to use some cute, happy people/children/animals in my ad. Others said that wasn’t professional.
Some told me to repeat my offer again and again. Others said repetition annoys the buyer.
With the deadline rapidly approaching I took a shortcut. I looked at the ads of our competitors and did roughly the same. Like copying your classmates’ homework and changing it up slightly so it’s not an exact copy.
I drafted the AD, and we launched it.
A few days went by and I asked my boss what was the result of the ad. He seemed slightly confused by the question…..
Uhhhh…what do you mean ‘results’?
“The results from the ad we ran. Did we make any sales from it? Did people put out an inquiry?”I asked him..
My boss smiled, leaned back and said:
NOOOO…. That is not how ads work! This ad was for banding?
Branding?
Top of the mind awareness…..It’s about brand recognition etc etc…….
I played it cool and said : “Yes…. I understand”
That was a lie because I didn’t know how these got us more sales.
Now 6 years later, I’ll let you know a secret: I was lying to my boss and so was he.
Because he had no idea what he was talking about.
Fixing your marketing
When we spend money on something we measure the result.
Doesn’t matter what we spend our money on – we make sure that we get what we pay for…right?
When I started my own business I tried to do the same with marketing. Instead of results I got word salad.
‘Well, this ad is for brand name recognition’
‘We’re focused on bringing awareness in our market’
‘This campaign is to solidify branding and brand positioning’
This is usually said in a slightly condescending tone to make you feel dumb for even asking the truth.
Here’s the truth:
“Most business owners burn at least half of their marketing budget. Probably much more”
And that just doesn’t sit right with me.
How I stopped Burning Money Away…..
And How You Could Do the Same
I decided to get to the root of this and figure out the formula for effective Marketing.
And I did figure out the formula..
BUT….It took months and years of study, research and testing it and a lot of trial and errors to figure out what even actually worked.
If I had to write out all the elements of the formula, we would be sitting here for weeks, so let me give you one of the best shortcuts I found.
Some recognise it as: Pearson’s Law.
“That Which is measured, improves.”
Want to immediately and drastically increase ad results?
Make them measurable by adding a response mechanism. A call to action in every ad that asks the prospects to do something.
And then you monitor that action.
Now you can measure. Test. Figure out what works and what doesn’t.
One of the first things I do when I start working with a client is implement this simple rule.
“Every ad we run has to be measurable, no exception.”
No more burning money, no more vague marketing strategies(“in the name of Branding”). Everything should be Measurable, Substantial, Solid Results.
There are plenty of ways to do this and can be done to every business, including yours. If you want to know how we would do this in your business, get in touch with us today.