How To Halve The Cost Of Your Advertising
Topics: advertising strategies, direct response, marketing, copywriting
My goal in this article is to share with you some very simple strategies and techniques you can put to work in your business starting TODAY to halve the cost of your advertising (and that means DOUBLING your ROI).
I don’t know the specifics of where you advertise so I can’t make any promises, although in a moment I’m going to share with you 5 simple things you can do to halve the cost of your advertising.
First though, a caveat…
Most Small Business Advertising Doesn’t Work!
But the other side of the coin is when it does work, it can work fabulously well, because it brings to you a never ending stream of new business. So I’m not saying don’t do it. What I’m saying is test, cheaply, until you find that sweet spot.
One of the reasons advertising doesn’t work for small businesses is the advertisers are paying far too much for advertising space.
If you can reduce the cost of your advertising by 20%, 30% or more, then you can increase your ROI and get through that break-even point from loss to profit.
Most people worry about increasing their ROI by increasing response to the ad itself — when really, the easiest way to increase your ROI is to…
Pay Less For Your Ad!
Imagine you pay $300 for an ad and get $600 of business; then you get the ad for $150 and get the same amount of business.
Your ROI has just gone from 2:1 to 4:1, without changing the ad or doing any work at all.
Now, the problem is the media reps who sell you advertising are in it to sell you as much space as they can for as much money as they can squeeze out of you. Many of them are on commission only, and they are very good at their jobs - and they do this day in, day out.
We small business owners don’t do it day in, day out, so we’re at something of a disadvantage. That’s how we get ripped off, over-paying for our advertising.
Negotiate Your Rates.
This is the fundamental principle. When they give you their rate card, they are expecting you to negotiate. Most ad agencies do. The rate-card figures you see are usually just made up. They’re fantasy.
In fact, a lot of places have two rate-cards: if you work for an ad agency and buy space for big campaigns, you pay a rate determined by the number of people your ad reaches. If you don’t work for an ad agency, then the chances are you don’t know what those rates are, so you get bamboozled by these made up numbers.
The rate card figure you get to see is much, much higher than the one these agencies pay.
If you want to halve your advertising costs, the best place to start is by going hard and cheap: if they want $500 for an ad, offer then $250. Halve the rate-card figure.
And be tough. On the phone you say to the rep, “look, this is a new campaign, it’s a new ad and I’m testing it. If I get good results, I’ll be doing something with you long-term, but this is a test and I’m not willing to risk $500 on it. So it’s $250, take it or leave it”.
Some of the time you’ll get this if you’re that tough. Most of the time you won’t get what you want, but you’ll get maybe half-way, at $375. Often you’ll get more. A client of mine in the UK recently got a $500 ad for $90. That’s a saving of 82%, just by playing hardball.
So, negotiate.
Give in slowly - if it’s a weekly and you’re talking about next week’s publication, let it go. Show them time’s on your side. Remember: in any negotiation, the one most willing to walk away has all the power.
One trick they use is to call you up and say “We’ve got a full page ad, and normally it’s $1500, but you can get it for this reason and that for $750, and we’ll give you some editorial space for free”.
Sounds great, but really all the numbers are fantasy.
Don’t fall for it. If they do this and you say “that’s great, but I can’t go any higher than $300, take it or leave it”. Often you’ll get it.
Understand Deadlines
The more ad agencies and reps sell, the more they earn. But as the deadline gets closer, they are more and more willing to do a deal.
Why?
Because empty ad space is worthless, just like an empty aircraft seat after takeoff.
So call them the day before the deadline, and say look, “I know tomorrow’s the deadline and I was wondering if you have any space left. We don’t have any more than $240 in the budget this month. How about it?”
And they might come back at you and say “no”. But does “no” really mean “no”? You lose nothing by being willing to let it go and call them another day.
At the point the deadline you’re in a stronger position. Negotiate as close to the deadlines as you can.
Run Smaller Ads
A smaller ad getting the same results as a big one increases ROI. Because of what you know about writing an ad now, you can do this.
Test all this, but in general how to make them smaller: lose graphics, write better copy (esp. bullet points).
Change The Ad Completely
Rather than sending a whole sales message in your ad, turn it into a lead generating one. Give them reasons to go to a website or a phone number rather than trying to do the whole thing on the ad.
Send them to a recorded message. Not done often here.
Get Someone Else To Buy It!
I’m not a big fan of agencies. Don’t let them create your ad.
But, agencies and media buyers are better at buying media space than we are. They have all the contacts and the information to hand. And they buy in bulk, so they’re given preferential rates.
Most small businesses won’t think they can deal with agencies, but you’ll find them if you ask around.
Test - you have little to lose by contacting them and asking.
Call a couple and say “I want to advertise in the Daily Windbag and they want a $1000 for an ad; can you get me a lower rate?”
You don’t usually pay a fee — the media pay them.
So just to round up, there are the 5 things you can do to halve the cost of your advertising.
Jon McCulloch, The Small Business Saviour, is Europe’s leading direct marketer. His sole aim is to grow YOUR business by 50% to 250% in the next 12 months, regardless of the economy or the downturn. Discover the truth about advertising here: www.small-business-marketing-tips.com
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