How to Use Simple Classified Ads

(Offline and Online)

To Bring in an Endless River of Super-Hot

Leads Who are Desperate to Buy from You

(This is one of the most powerful of all lead generation tools)

By Ben Hart

This is another installment in my list building series.

There is no piece of marketing knowledge more important than knowing how to build your listed of leads -- of people who are interested in exactly what you are selling.

Your list of super-hot, ready-to-buy-from-you leads is your most valuable asset.

Even if you never use classified ads, the principles outlined here apply to all marketing.  So you should keep reading regardless of whether you ever try classified ads.

I have made millions of dollars by following exactly the strategy I’m describing to you here.

This is one of the very best strategies there is for building your list of super-qualified leads.

I first got started in direct marketing by spending $150 on some classified ads.

I used classified ads to build my lists of qualified leads – that is, my mailing lists.

Since that time, a little over 20 years ago, my direct marketing letters, ads and programs have generated nearly $1 BILLION in sales . . . largely because I understood how to build a big list of qualified leads – a big chunk of it by using classified ads.

And I still use good old fashioned classified ads as a major weapon in my marketing arsenal.

What I usually do in my classified ad is offer a free book.  Here is one example:

FREE BOOK - “How to Write Great Sales Letters”

One of America’s top mail-order copywriters reveals all his

secrets in this 236-page book. To get your free copy, call:

1-800-XYZ-XYZX

Or go to

www.xyzxyzxyz.com

And that’s it.  Pretty simple, isn’t it?

I run this ad in the “Business Opportunities” section of Entrepreneur magazine and other similar publications.  I also run a Internet variation of this ad on Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing and other pay-per-click programs on the Internet.

The reason these leads are so productive and profitable for me is I know that  anyone who answers this ad is an entrepreneur who is highly motivated to be successful in business.  I know this  because: 

1.      They read Entrepreneur magazine

2.      They are looking in the “Business Opportunities” section

3.      They answered my ad and clearly want to learn

I also know that those who answer this ad will respond to direct marketing offers . . . because they just answered my ad. 

This is extremely important to know.  Many people (about half the population) will never answer an ad or a direct mail marketing letter.

Half the population are not “direct marketing responsive” (to use industry jargon).

They go to stores to buy their stuff.  Of they only buy if they are actively searching for a specific product or service.

So you need to know whether your prospects are “direct marketing responsive.”

I also know that these names and addresses are current (which is not the case for many lists you rent).

So I know a lot of key information about anyone who answers a little classified ad like this.

I have built lists of hundreds of thousands of super-qualified leads by using this exact approach over and over again for two decades. 

A big portion of these leads became buyers – have, in fact, bought tens of millions of dollars in books and other products from me over the last two decades.

I also built a big portion of the Christian Coalition membership list this way during the 1990s.

I started by running a classified ad offering a free copy of my bestselling book Faith & Freedom: The Christian Roots of American Liberty.  The ad said this:

FREE BOOK

Faith & Freedom: The Christian Roots of American Liberty

Documents the strong Christian faith of America’s Founding Fathers.

To Get Your FREE Copy Call:

1-XYZ-XYZ-XYZQ

I did not use a toll-free number for this ad because I could not afford to at the time. But this tiny little ad worked great.  I ran this ad is Christian publications and built an enormous mailing list.

I was also able to distribute hundreds of thousands of copies of my book.

And classified ads are super cheap. 

I used this list to build a large portion of the Christian Coalition’s membership base of 2,000,000 members and supporters – a list that generated $27 MILLION per year in donations for the organization.

I also used this list (built by way of my ongoing classified ad campaign) to market all kinds of information products of interest to Christians.

I am still using and building this list today.

And I continue to use classified ads as a major lead-generation tool.  In fact, I find that good old-fashioned classified ads are working even better today than ever before.

There continues to be a unique fascination with classified ads.

People love reading them. 

People read them even if they are not looking for anything specific.  People will read a classified ad before they will read a big display ad run by a department store, produced by a big ad agency.

I think people like reading classified ads because these ads are written mostly by real people – average folks – not ad agencies (and also by some direct marketers like me who understand how to use classified ads).

It’s sort of like the “Letters-to-the-Editor” section of the newspaper.

Many people will read the “Letters-to-the-Editor” before they will read the articles. 

The “Letters-to-the-Editor” section is one of the most popular sections of any newspaper – because people like to read letters written by average folks (real people) who are not professional writers. 

Same with so-called “reality” shows on TV.

People prefer to watch real people rather than actors and slickly-produced, highly-scripted shows.

I think that’s what’s going on with classified ads. 

Most classified ads are written by amateurs. So people like to read them.  And the classifieds are broken down by category.  So readers can go directly to the category that interests them.

There’s really no easier way to build a huge list of super-qualified leads than by using classified ads exactly as I have described here.  

And there’s no easier way to make money. 

The Yellow Pages operate basically the same way.  So you can often adapt a successful classified ad campaign for the Yellow Pages.

By the way, EBAY is really just a jazzed up classified ads service.

That’s all it is.

All those programs you see advertised about how to make money on EBAY are almost exactly the same as how to make money with classified ads.

In fact, that’s what the entire Internet is. 

It’s just a big classified ads listing service. 

People type in keywords and keyword phrases into search engine browsers that best describe what they are looking for.  Those are your categories. 

It’s no different in principle than the old fashioned classified ads or Yellow pages – just a whole lot more efficient, targeted and detailed.

So start thinking of your Internet marketing that way – like a gigantic classified ads service – classified ads on super-steroids.

Classified ads are huge on the Internet. Craigslist.org is one of the biggest and most famous.  Classified ads on Craigslist are free.  MySpace.com and  Yahoo have huge classified ad sections. There are countless others, most free on the Internet.

But don’t forget about good old fashioned print for your classified ad lead-generation and marketing campaign.

Remember, advertising  that’s printed on paper still has far more impact than digital advertising – I think because print is still just more real to people.

Key Steps

To Success For Using Classified Ads

STEP #1

Start studying the classified ad sections  . . .

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