A Simple Guide to Writing Great Newspaper Classified Advertisements

A good part of the work we do with the BC and Yukon Community Newspapers Association deals with community classifieds. Many businesses, people and community newspapers contact us looking to place classified advertisements across BC and Canada.

Reaching up to 11-million people throughout the country, it is important the ad is concise and strong. Most effective placements are truly great business-building tools that can be used to generate multiple leads for businesses. We wanted to give a few tips on writing great classified ads.

Remember you will be up against competitors, so the headline must grab attention immediately. Use a benefit written headline – This alone is the key to creating effective classified advertising. Some examples are:

HOW TO . . .
ARE YOU . . .
WARNING! DON’T . . .
DISCOVER . . .
FREE REPORT REVEALS . . .
INTRODUCING . . .

Also, one of the best ways to create a winning ad is by using the two-step method. The two-step method means the prospect must respond to your classified ad to get more info.

Think about the following:

What do you think could be so enticing that people would be moved to contact you? What could have so much power, that your prospects eagerly anticipate receiving it? What costs you almost nothing to produce? What could literally transform your business - irrespective of the business you’re in . . . A Free Special Report.

The special report can be on any subject to do with your service. For example, it could be a report on “31 Common Mistakes…” or “7 Secrets…” or a “How To…” report. It is really that simple. The great news is, as long as your report is focused on your service, your *BEST* prospects will request it. The letter or brochure you distribute does all the selling for the product.

The four basic secrets for writing lead generating classified ads:

1. Start with a short POWERFUL headline.
Like any form of advertising you should always (and I mean always) start your classified ad with a strong headline. Never, ever start with your company name. Classified ads lend themselves to shorter headlines due to the restrictions in space, but test longer headlines.

2. Give people a reason to call now.
Offer something FREE. It could be a FREE consultation, free no obligation meeting, free estimate or free Special Report.

3. Include your contact information.
Telephone numbers work best. But whatever method(s) of contact you use tell the reader what to do. For example: “Call now.” “Write to me at…” “Ring now for our free guide…” etc. This is known as your ‘call to action.’

4. Use short sentences that make sense.
Get to the point quickly. Keep your sentences short, and don’t use unusual words, abbreviations, acronyms, and punctuation marks.

You’ll be surprised at the response you get when you apply these four simple basics to your classified ads. If you would like more information about booking a classified ad check out our website with more information: http://www.bccommunitynews.com/files/place_classifieds.html.

Increasing Subscription Sales in 2010

In the Internet age it takes more than wishful thinking to grow your home delivery numbers. To sell newspaper subscriptions you need to get creative and use all available tools and resources. In this webinar, provided through the Ontario Community Newspapers Association, participants will learn how to create circulation sales plans and incorporate proven strategies to help move sales in the right direction.

Title: Subscription Sales Strategies
Date: Thursday, March 11, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements

PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/675244833

Gold Medal for our monthly winners!

The BCYCNA monthly member draw has not been announced for a while but the sales teams are booking ads faster than Alexandre Bilodeau is on skis. We have December, January and February winners to hand out. The following eager individuals have been selected to win the $500 monthly draw.

December - Kelly Pownall, Canwest Community Classifieds
January - Cameron Northcott, Burnaby Now
February - Kristy O’Connor, BC Classifieds (Black Press)

Once again, the BCYCNA hopes you and your team will continue to encourage one another with this campaign. ln order to qualify for the cash prize, all you have to do is sell the BCYCNA’s Community Classifieds! Every time you or a member of your team sells an ad, his/her name automatically goes in the hat for the monthly draw.

Classifieds Holiday deadlines & 2010 Rates

As 2010 is just around the corner, we wanted to notify everyone of important holiday deadlines and rate increases for the Community Classifieds.

HOLIDAY DEADLINES
Please note that due to holiday closures in some offices and newspapers across the country, regular deadlines will change over the next couple of weeks. Please send all ads to the BCYCNA office as usual.

You can fax ads to us at 604-684-4713
or email them to classifieds@bccommunitynews.com.

For ads running the week of December 21:

• In BC & Yukon – please have ads in by Wed.Dec.16 at 12 noon
• In Alberta & NWT – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.15 at 12 noon
• In Saskatchewan – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.15 at 4pm
• In Manitoba – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.14 at 12 noon
• In Ontario – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.15 at 4pm (note Dec.21 and Dec.28 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Quebec – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.14 at 4pm (note Dec.21 and Dec.28 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Atlantic – please have ads in by Mon. Dec.14 at 4pm

For ads running the week of December 28:

• In BC & Yukon – please have ads in by Wed.Dec.23 at 10am
• In Alberta & NWT – please have ads in by Thu.Dec.17 at 12 noon
• In Saskatchewan – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.21 at 4pm (note Dec.28 and Jan.4 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Manitoba – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.21 at 12 noon
• In Ontario – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.15 at 4pm (note Dec.21 and Dec.28 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Quebec – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.14 at 4pm (note Dec.21 and Dec.28 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Atlantic – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.21 at 12 noon

For ads running the week of January 4:

• In BC & Yukon – please have ads in by Wed.Dec.30 at 10am
• In Alberta & NWT – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.29 at 12 noon
• In Saskatchewan – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.21 at 4pm (note Dec.28 and Jan.4 are combined weeks – ads will run in one or the other week, but not both)
• In Manitoba – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.29 at 12 noon
• In Ontario – please have ads in by Tue.Dec.22 at 12 noon
• In Quebec – please have ads in by Thu. Dec.17 at 4pm
• In Atlantic – please have ads in by Mon.Dec.28 at 4pm

RATE INCREASES
All ads booked province-wide into Manitoba will now cost your customers $189 for a 25-word ad (up from $179).

All ads booked province-wide into Ontario will now cost your customers $449 for a 25-word ad (up from $429).

All other rates for 25-word ads will remain the same. National rates are thus as follows:

• BC & Yukon: $395 (+$9 per extra word)
• Alberta & NWT: $259 (+$8 per extra word)
• Saskatchewan: $209 (+$5 per extra word)
• Manitoba: $189 (+$5 per extra word)
• Ontario: $449 (+$6 per extra word)
• Quebec: $160 (+$6 per extra word)
• Atlantic: $159 (+$5 per extra word)

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the BCYCNA office toll-free at
1-866-669-9222 or email us at classifieds@bccommunitynews.com.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Monthly winners for Sales Initiative announced

It may not be a Christmas bonus but two sales reps are singing the Hallelujah Chorus this December. The monthly winners for the sales initiative have been announced.

For October the lucky recipient of the $500 draw was Arlene Wood of VanNet Classifieds.

November’s $500 recipient was Kristy O’Connor of BC Classifieds. Kristy had 77 ad placements in October and 98 ad placements in November. Well done Kristy and Congratulations to both winners!

The BCYCNA hopes you and your team will continue to encourage one another with this campaign. ln order to qualify for the cash prize, all you have to do is sell the BCYCNA’s Community Classifieds! Every time you or a member of your team sells an ad, their name automatically goes in the hat for the monthly draw.

BCYCNA Community Classifieds winners!

Beginning in August the BC and Yukon Community Newspapers Association reintroduced its initiative for member’s classified sales teams. As the members sell BCYCNA Community Classifieds their name is automatically entered in the monthly draw for a chance to win $500.

The lucky winner for the month of August was Keera Drinkall from the Fort Nelson News.

In September, Kristy O’Connor from BC Classifieds took home the cash prize of $500.

This could be you in October, just continue to sell the most BCYCNA Community Classifieds. Keep connected to find out who’s this month’s serendipitous salesperson!