What Happened? Troubleshooting Poor Response from Ad Campaigns

Too many small syndicate owners today run ad campaigns that get little to no results, and they have no idea why. When you have the knowledge to troubleshoot the poor responses, you also have the knowledge to make the needed changes so that - next time - your sales improve! Let’s take a look at the hurting of an ad campaign, and how to determine what went wrong.

Response vs. Results

It’s important to understand the difference response rate and results. When a customer takes the deportment you want him/her to take (i.e., tick to your site, motive your 800 number, etc.), then you’ve discharged "response." This does NOT mean you’ve made a sale. The response rate of your ad turn can be high without ever selling one product or service.

"Results," on the other hand, are the sales you make in conjunction with the response rate. When a customer takes the temporary expedient you want him/her to take AND buys your product/service, then you’ve realized results.

No Response

When you get little to no response, luck are that one of two things happened. One - your ad was poorly written and didn’t generate enough interest to excite the customer to take action; or two - the ad didn’t reach your preferred target customer.

How do you determine which one is the culprit? Test! Use the same ad, but place it in a different ezine or on a different Web site. If response rate improves, you know the ad is most likely fine, but the exchange of views exposure was off. If the response rate does not improve, it’s probably best to rewrite the headline, the ad, or both.

Response But No Results

If you run an ezine ad, prime ad, etc., and get responses without making any sales, the most probable theory is that your supporting ad copy or offer is not doing its job. Ezine ads, title ads, and the like will never make a sale on their own. The customer is well-nigh internationally going to be directed to go over back to your Web site. If the copy/design of your ad is working, but no sales are subsistence made, take a good look at the copy or design of your site. are that *it* could be costing you sales.

Again, testing is the key. bottom out a headline, add links that direct to "more information" pages, and so on. Run the ad again, and see if your results improve.

You’ll notice that in either case, testing is the recommended course of action. So many small performance owners get in a hurry and neglect to test their ads. While it may seem costly to run an ad, flow an ad, and run it in any case - the truth is that running unproven ads all astride the ‘Net without gaining any return on investment (ROI) is a huge waste of money.

Yes, it does take a good deal of time. Yes, it can cost inessential money. However, once you’ve taken the time to test an ad, and the copy on the supporting Web site that customers will be directed to, you’ll be in a much desirable position to ensure consistent sales from your campaigns.

Copyright 2004 Diane Hughes