This Success Tip Provided Courtesy of Paul Tulenko

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This is Part 3 on how to use your local newspaper to make money. Part 1 provided an overview of newspaper advertising and explained how to generate newspaper contacts. Part 2 helped you design ‘grabber’ headlines! This final part will identify what you absolutely MUST include that almost forces the customer to contact you. If you missed the earlier parts, ask your newspaper to find them in their archives, or go to http://www.tulenko.com, enter the “Success Tip Archives”, and click on “N1”. No your editor has NOT paid me to write this series, but I have heard from a number of them!

WOULD A 10% INCREASE IN POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS INTEREST YOU?
Maybe 20%? How about 200%? Larger? “Okay Paul”, you say, “Show me how! What’s the secret?” The secret is to include something in your advertisements that absolutely and positively draws the reader’s attention to your ad. The word FREE doesn’t do it alone (although you may offer a FREE Tool, FREE Inspection, FREE Massage, FREE Celebrity Photo), and your gift must be something a customer would be willing to step out of their comfort zone to obtain. Here are two examples.

Given: spa treatments are expensive. Ladies, what if you saw an offer something like this in the body of the ad: “Tour our spa and receive ABSOLUTELY FREE a facial massage by the team of George & Marcia’s during the month of September. No gimmicks, no pressures, just our way of saying. ‘Hello and Welcome to Beauty’. But that’s not all! Every visitor will receive a coupon good for a special one-time-only ‘2-fer’, a complete treatment for you and a friend for the price of one. “Wow!” you say! But we’re not done. As our special visitor you will receive Marcia’s recipe for her famous facial scrub including instructions on how to prepare and use it to beautify your skin.

Men: here’s your offer. The ad title: “JOE THE TOOL-GUY STRIKES AGAIN!” ‘Yes, Joe the Tool-Guy will be visiting ZXY Tool shop at four different (secret) times every day of our ‘Fall Tool Festival’ to personally autograph his latest book, “I Love Tools!” Joe will draw a name at each surprise visit and give-away one of his famous autographed ‘Joe’s Household Chore Bags’. Be there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! Different door prizes each day!’

WHAT THIS MEANS
Your goal is to get more business. To do this you need more people in your store or more people to visit (for a service businesses). The ‘grabber’ headline will get the reader to pause long enough to actually scan your ad. This is the ONLY shot you are going to get, so make it good! (Copy Writers, listed in your phone book, are another excellent source of ‘grabber’ headlines.) After you have ‘grabbed’ the reader, it is your job to offer them something they want, would, or could use that either cost them nothing or that they get when they buy something else. How-To booklets, free services, free inspections, one free carwash, autograph of celebrity, or anything similar could work, but make sure it is something you KNOW your potential customers would want. If you offer junk, your reader will instantly spot your offer as just a ‘gimmick’. The goal is to take one giant step towards customer loyalty.

BUT I’M NOT MADE OF MONEY! I CAN’T DO THAT!
Here’s your challenge. In today’s competitive business climate the firm that satisfies the customer gets the business. If you doubt this, visit your local mall or strip mall and note the closed doors. If you provide low-cost give-away items for visiting your store or for you to visit the prospect’s home (low cost being a relative term consistent with the size of your business), you have the opportunity to gather new prospects, and if you follow through with great products and services at reasonable prices, offer email specials and actually communicate with people, you can retain these prospects as customers or entice them to become future customers.

Two final points: 1. The customer needs to end up with something useful. 2. Examine your local newspaper ads to see if ANYONE uses these techniques. You will stand out…big time!

(NOTE TO EDITORS: PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING.)
Paul Tulenko is an International Small Business Success Consultant based in New Mexico, USA. Additional tips and suggestions are available at www.tulenko.com or call (toll-free) 1-866-TULENKO.