The language of Advertising

Before delving into the intricacies of affiliate programs is good to know the meaning (at least roughly) the most frequently used terms in the world of online advertising:

Impression (s)
It literally means "display". In our field is used to quantify the number of views of a given spot. Essential in marketing based on branding, measuring impresions is also very useful in performance-based marketing, as it allows to calculate the relationship between views and action performance.

Click
It seems really stupid to define the term click, but for completeness we refrain from doing so: the click is the material realization of a web link (link) through its activation by means of pressing the left mouse button.
The customer sees the banner (impressions) and, if interested in more information on the product or service, click reaching the target site.

UV (Unique Visitor)
E 'a concept similar to the click, but with the difference that the count is made on the basis of individual IP performing a click in a given period of time (usually 24h). It follows that the multiple clicks will not be counted (and paid).

CTR (Click Through Rate)
The CTR is a percentage value that indicates the mathematical relationship between the number of impressions and the number of clicks.

ROI (Return of Investment)
It 'a very basic concept of economics and expresses the ratio between the investment and the gain. Obviously this concept mostly affects the franchisor (which certainly will not be happy to pay us amounts exceeding those he collected through our work), but we must also pay attention: if the ROI of our franchisor is insufficient, presumably our relationship affiliation will be short lived!

Conversion Ratio
Shows the relationship between the clicks and the number of sales generated. For example: if our site generates 1 sale for every 10 clicks, our conversion rate will be 10%.

Pay for ...
Indicates the mode of remuneration laid down. The most common are:
Pay per Click: payment for each click generated
Pay per Lead: payment for each subscription generated
Pay Per Sale: Payment for each sale generated

Cost for ...
Indicates the amount we are recognized on the basis of the contract signed. The codes are most often used:
CPC (Cost per Click)
Indicates the amount we are recognized for each click
CPA (Cost per Action)
Indicates the amount we are recognized for the action generated (eg. Registration)
CPS (Cost per Sale)
Indicates the amount we are recognized for each sale generated from our website

Advertising - How To Write Effective Classified Adverts

Now you probably know by now that there many ways to promote your product or service. One of the main problems for newbies is usually finance, so they do not want to spend money on advertising in the early stages. At least, not until they have started to make money, which can be reinvested in paid for advertising.

One of the most effective methods of free advertising is to use classified adverts. Not in magazines or newspapers of course as they are paid for advertising. There are many sites where you can place a classified advert free of charge. Google classifieds ads and you will be spoilt for choice.

However, if you want your classified ad to be noticed amongst the many others in your niche, and more importantly, clicked on to visit your site, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it.

If you think about your own surfing habits, even if you're looking for something specific, you're probably the same as most people, in that, if the advert you're looking at doesn't grab your attention in the first two seconds, you will move on. For you, as the advertiser, this means a potential loss of a customer. That loss means they more than likely won't come back.

So how do you ensure that your advert grabs, and retains your visitor's attention? There are three parts to an effective classified advert. They are, the headline, the body and the close. Let's look at each one in turn.

The Headline.

The purpose of the headline is to sell the ad. It must grab the attention of the reader and encourage them to continue reading. If your headline doesn't grab the reader's attention they are not going to read the rest of your advert. Depending on your particular niche there are several ways to create a killer headline. You can begin with action words.

Don't Read This Unless You Want To.....'

'Get Your Free Copy Now Of......'

'You Must Get This If you Want.......'

or, you could ask a question,

'Do You Really Want To........'

'Have You Ever Had To........'

'Does Your Debt Problems Cause You.......'

or you could make a bold statement,

'If You Want To Be 5 Times Healthier.........'

'You Could Look Much Younger If.........'

'Learn How You Could Quit Your Day Job In.......'

The above are just some ideas. You should be able to come up with something that is appropriate to your niche. Next is the body of your advert.

The Body

The reason that the body exists is to set up the call to action and get your reader to click onto your website. But not yet. You need to give your reader a reason to click onto your website. They are not going to just because you want them to. This means that you must give them a reason to click on your link. They will want to know 'what's in it for me, what benefit will I get out of going to this website.' So give them benefits...

Save Time,

Save Money,

Feel Fitter,

Weigh Less,

Look Younger.

Be Debt Free,

Make Money,

Quit Smoking,

Sleep Better.

You get the picture, sell benefits. This arouses curiosity as to how they can achieve those things and are almost ready to click on your link. Obviously you need to elaborate on the benefits that you use. The third step is the close.

The Close.

This is the call to action. This is where you tell your visitor what to do next. Here are some ideas.

'I've described how I can make you look younger, now it's up to you, click on the link for full details and a money back guarantee.'

'If you really want to quit smoking, drop what you're doing right now and click the link.'

'To make saying yes even easier for you, I offer you a full money back guarantee.'

'Check it out now, you've nothing to lose and everything to gain. Cast iron guarantee.'

'10,000 people can't be wrong. Follow their lead and click the link below.'

Naturally, you will want to tailor all three parts of the ad as described above, to your particular niche. Have a go. Try out several different ads for the same product and monitor which ones bring in the most visitors. Visit web sites yourself and check out those that grab your attention and see how they relate to the advice in this article. Also check out classified ads in your niche, and see which of those grab your attention and analyse what would attract you to read on and eventually click on the link. Best wishes and happy advertising.