Understanding Classified Ads

Monday, August 31, 2009

Classified ads you find on the internet are practically the same as the ones you find in your local newspaper or magazines. The major difference is that online ads are larger, meaning that if you are the one placing the ad, you will be able to include all kinds of things that you would not be able to in a print ad. In most cases, if you call the newspaper they will only allow your ad to be a specific amount of words. With the majority of free classified ad websites, you will be allowed around 2 paragraphs or 100 words. You may not believe 100 words is much room for your ad, but consider only being allowed around 25 words in the local newspaper and you will see a huge difference and online you will not have to pay any money. Of course, you can also find classified ads online that charge for placing an ad, in most cases, these websites also offer free ad space, with the paid ads being first on the page or in a specific location that is seen more often. On the other hand, your local newspaper will charge you to place an ad on their website no matter where the ad may appear.

If you want to succeed using classified ads, you should first start with classified ads locally unless you can guarantee service to other states or countries. Remember, the internet is a vast community of people from all over the world. If you are not specific on the location you service, you may have individuals thousands of miles away wishing to try your service or buy your product. This is fine if you can provide these individuals with the product or service, but what if you are a landscaping company in Indiana. I doubt if it would be profitable to travel to Florida to work your wonders on someone's yard. On the other hand, if you have an internet business such as freelance writing, then you not have any worries about where your client may live. A matter of fact, you may wish to expand your services to individuals across the world that needs your service.

The main thing to remember when writing your classified ad is to use a catchy title, give a great description of your product or service, and always remember to provide contact details. You may not believe this but the mistakes made when writing a classified ad are often not providing a good description and forgetting to leave contact details. If you are advertising a store and do not provide an address or business telephone, how do you expect to have traffic.

As you write your classified ad, think about the person looking for your service or product. Try to answer their questions in your ad if possible or at least give them enough of an idea of your products or services that they want to learn more.