Yes, writing classified ads is an art, one that can be learned, developed, and perfected in a very quick period of time. Depending on the nature of your business, a really well written classified ad can bring in a flow of business and loyal customers that generates profits as high as $10,000 to $25,000 annually, if not more! As with any kind of advertising (and classifieds are very popular, especially on a low budget) you must first become aware of the effectiveness of such copy writing, in order to then understand exactly what they are capable of, and what kind of ROI you can get

First of all, You can't actually sell your product in the ad. Some "gurus" will tell you that classified ads can actually generate cash orders up to $3 up front, but this is generally not the accepted practice, nor is it common to see such results. Even if some cash could be earned, this rarely develops in to loyal customers or any much profits later on. Instead of playing a guessing game with your advertising, losing $100s at every attempt, you should concentrate on simply giving away free advice in order to entice as many interested prospects as possible for your promotion or offer.

Ads only really have one truly effective purpose, and that is to reach out to your target niche market of people who are truly looking for what you have to offer, as opposed to people who don't care, and then end up becoming horrible leads later on, unresponsive to any promotions you send out. You want people to ask questions through your ad. Send it through notes, postcards, even letters, on which you can prompt your prospect to finding out more about what you have to offer. Only after they reply, should you send them your professional sales letter, and thus make your sales pitch. This is a quick and easy way to save $1000s in horrible leads, by making sure they opt-in first, before sending them your main material. Usually a wise sales pitch consists of just a flyer or sales letter, with a return addressed envelope for them to quickly and easily make their purchase.

CLOSE IN ON YOUR TARGET MARKET

Unlike bright neon lights which are often used to attract people to big strip malls, classified ads are simply placed under specific headings and subjects, unable to create any kind of really eye-catching response. People interested in what you offering will simply skim your title as if they were skimming through a large directory. They ARE looking for you, all YOU need to do is tell them you have what they are looking for, nothing too fancy, just merely descriptive. Never try to deceive your prospect with what you say in your ad. You want high quality prospects that will convert, not some random prospect who just found it interesting, always browsing around, yet never BUYING anything. It would be easy to promise millions of dollars in your ad, but if such an offer is completely unrealistic, not only will you not sell the prospect, but he/she will also be alienated by your deception, and thus consider you an outright scam as well, and thus will never be receptive to your offer, in addition to spreading bad word of mouth. Just place your ad under the heading that is most appropriate. If what you're offering appeals to Computer enthusiasts, it would probably best be placed under TECHNOLOGY. If you're aiming for a particular kind of technology, then you might want to classify it as a peripheral, computer, laptop, or server, depending on the offer. Sometimes the publication can create a heading for you for an additional expense, but it would be worth the extra penny.

BE CONCISE WITH WORDING

In order to write the best ad, it's usually good to not think about how big, or how much it will cost when you first write it. That way you will simply write what you think will attract readers, and tell them the whole story. You can emphasize how much they need it, will benefit from it, what to expect, and even how much their standard of living will increase after purchasing it. When you are done writing, you may have a lot more material than you need, THIS is when you should begin thinking about its size and cost. You can then shorten it and thus only put in the words that are truly killer. Thus making your ad as great as it can be, as opposed to some economical worrisome disaster.