Avoid Common Advertising Mistakes

Paying too much for advertising or marketing that looks good but flops?
Here’s tested tips from the trenches to help you avoid these expensive advertising mistakes.
Everyone’s An Expert “…most national advertising is done without justification. It is merely presumed to pay. A little test might show a way to multiply returns.”
Advertising Campaigns: “Almost any advertising question can be answered cheaply, quickly and finally by a test campaign. And that’s the way to answer them — not by arguments around a table.”
Things Too Costly: “Many things are possible in advertising which are too costly to attempt. That is another reason why every project and method should be weighed and determined by a known scale of cost and result.”
Offer Service: “Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or your profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising.”
Salesmanship: “Advertising is salesmanship. Treat it like a salesman. Force it to justify itself….A mediocre salesman may affect a small part of your trade. Mediocre advertising affects all of your trade.”

What you’ve just read is from an advertising guide first published in 1927.

Called Scientific Advertising it’s packed with tips on what makes people buy.
I never tire of this guide because it tells you how people think. The author — Claude Hopkins — was a terrific ad writer and used his savy insights on human psychology to write winning ads.
I’m a huge fan of his strategy and recommend you give it a try.

Develop your ads like a scientist works an experiment
Run trial projects
Track & measure response rates
Drop the losers and project the winners
In this way loses from advertising mistakes are kept at a safe level
While gains from profitable ads are multiplied

Think this strategy outdated? Think again.
Scientific Advertising has been recommended by more advertising gurus than any other guide.

direct response lead generation — David Ogilvy

“Nobody at any level should have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times.” …David Ogilvy

Become A Better Marketer

Get updates on ways business development phone prospecting can help your business development lead generation process —especially in this economy.

Also, go here for DMA 2012 response rate reports for lead generation marketing media. Plus this Advertising Age update on B2B phone marketing.

Also, for further study: