Page 156 - Duct Tape Marketing

Chapter 10

Run Advertising That Gets Results

Why Most Advertising Doesn’t Work

Small business owners are often leery of advertising. And that’s
because it’s expensive and it doesn’t work, right? Well, not exactly.
Most small businesses, particularly those adept in the art of copycat
marketing, run advertising that rarely produces results, and therefore
conclude that advertising is not a good way to generate leads or sales.

Advertising, when viewed properly, can be a very effective way
to grow your business. In fact, when a small business lands on an
effective advertising promotion, few things can match it for quickly
generating a flood of new business. The key lies in understanding
what advertising really is, or at least what it should be.

Advertising is salesmanship in print. I’m certainly not the first
to define advertising as such, but I think that definition fits perfectly
and should help clarify how to use advertising as a lead generation
tool. So think about that. If advertising is your salesperson in print,
what does your ad need to do to be an effective salesperson?

Why You Still Need to Include Advertising in the Mix

Sending e-mail is free, creating a Facebook page is free, Twitter out-
reach is free, cold-calling is free, publicity is free, referrals are free,
and advertising costs money. So why is it that, even with all of these

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