6. Save Ads In Text Editor

Keep a file of all your ads in a text editor like Notepad or Microsoft Word. This way you will always have them readily available.

7. Thank The Publisher

When you submit your free ad, be sure to thank publisher for free advertising. This kind gesture may get your ad placed before all other free ads.

8. Submit Often

Whenever you see an opportunity to submit a free ad, take it. Submit as often and as many ads as each ezine will allow.

9. Keep Your Ads Tasteful

Make sure that your ads are G-rated and are not offensive. Publishers are very concerned about their ezine's image and are quick to delete ads that they feel may harm it.

10. Keep Stats

Keep track of results of each ad. Find out which ads work, and which don't. Reuse ads that are effective, and discard ones that are not.

copyright 2002

The brutal reality of advertising: An ad with a good headline, and even mediocre copy, will get you a response and generate sales. But with a poor headline, even most brilliant copy will get you little or no response. Why? Because without a good headline to get their attention, most people won't read any further.

The good news is, once you have identified a good headline that works in one industry or market, you can adapt it (like we did with Dale Carnegie headline, above) for your own business. Great headlines work as subject lines in emails, titles on Web pages, and of course as headlines in print ads and sales letters. Great headlines will literally transform your sales.

How does this work in today's economy?

Recently a client asked me to help him introduce a new service to Internet Service Providers. (Note: To understand what you are about to read, you should know that ISPs call their suppliers "backbone providers.") I wrote a direct mail letter and my client sent it out to ISPs. Because my client was revealing new information his prospects hadn't heard before, we used following "teaser headline" on front of envelope:

What Your Backbone Provider Isn't Telling You

Was this an entirely original headline? No. I had seen a similar "teaser headline" on a successful mailing to promote an investment newsletter:

What Your Broker Isn't Telling You About High-Tech Stocks

So I merely identified "secret code" in original winning headline, and applied it to my client's market, ISPs.

The response to mailing was overwhelming! Nearly 10% of entire ISP industry responded to our letter -- and my client has added eight figures of new annual revenues as a result of business that developed.

I'm telling you this not to brag, but to point out awesome power of good headlines. While many people spend hours and hours trying to come up with "the perfect headline" for their ads, there is an easier way. Find proven headlines that already work for another business in another industry, and adapt them to your business.

Then prepare for a flood of new customers!