My Flyer for services - How Bad is It?

guess I should put a link somewhere!: copyservice

"your response is required"


a far better headline than Do Your Ads Suck? and should be ended with a multi choice option such as your preferred contact method is


. contact us by phone
. contact us by email

or similar, you currently have Call now followed by chat soon ? that sort of kills the first part.

Like Steve, I'd suggest you ditch the flyer and contact a few select prospects directly.

Look for businesses that are already advertising - a lot - and whose ads you think you can improve. Find out who the relevant person in charge of their marketing is. Contact them and introduce yourself, (e.g. "Hi I'm Eric Red and I happened to notice that you were advertising in ______. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of response are you getting from this ad?")

Typically, the prospect is going to ask why you want to know. Which gives you your opening to showboat your expertise and offer.

I believe you'll get a MUCH better ROI for your time and effort if you focus your efforts on a few good prospects, rather than taking the scattershot approach.

I agree with Collette. Find a couple ads that are easy to fix, do it, and then approach the businesses directly. The fix will only take a few minutes if you're good at writing up ads for direct response. I would give it to them, not for free, but for a testimonial for your work. That way, not only will you have something added to your portfolio (with their permission, of course), but you'll be getting some testimonials as well.

Your headline does stand out, but I think it carries too much of a negative connotation to warrant the response you're looking for. It's more of a book title, or perhaps something you use once you've got a really stable footing in the market and people know you. When you're just starting out, I wouldn't go that far.

Good luck!

Just the headline alone hurts the piece, imo.

Most people whose ads 'SUCK' do not know or believe they suck.
For instance, if the ad or piece does not pull they will blame the media or delivery for the failure. ...but rarely blame the ad itself.

So, you have not addressed the audience yet.
_____
Bruce

Re: the flyer

Try flipping the headline to a benefit, instead of the problem.

For example: "Double The Response From Your Ads!"

Your flyer does too much telling and not enough selling. You're not there to educate them about the difference between direct response and... everything else.

Your job is to instill a belief that their ads could be producing double the response, that you're the man to do it, and to grab their phone and call you right now.

Re: the strategy

You've been given excellent advice in this thread already and I would heed it. Al the same, if a $40 box of flyers generates just one paying client, it was a successful test.

: )

Brian

Hi Eric,

Rather than educate your prospects about direct-response (they don't care)... tell them what it does for them (I wouldn't even mention the word "direct-response" in your lead gen ad)

It's 100% accountable... trackable... and it just plain works. It ensures that you not just make back your investment from your yellow page ads... direct mail pieces... and so on. BUT if you're not blown away by the amount of new leads, sales, and customers you have walking in your door... then you know right away. If the phone doesn't ring... you know immediately. Just compare that to any other ad "experts" who bilk you for months before you ever find out if their ads work.

Another note is that you're not "slightly deranged"... but, if you want to go this route... then, you're a "maverick"... someone who "doesn't follow the 'rules,' but gets amazing results. "

Finally, make the offer risk free and build-up your value. Tell them what they normally would have to pay to use your services and why they don't have anything to lose by giving you a shot.

Best of luck,
Hans Klein