I have read thousands of ad copies online and offline over my lifetime. I have read excellent ad copies that made me buy right away and some that may have had a decent product, but had a poor ad copy that turned me away.

Now that I am in business, I have written some of my own ad copies. Some of them have worked, some of them have bombed. The key is to keep changing and testing your ad copy, don’t just write one and then stop. I don’t have a college degree in copywriting, but I know to learn from the mistakes and never give up.

Below I’ve made a list of 42 deadly ad copy sins that I’ve made over the years and that you can learn from:

-no compelling headline
-no believable testimonials
-no sub headlines
-no attractive benefits
-no features
-no strong guarantees
-no asking or answering questions
-no proof of benefits offered
-no contact information for questions
-no endorsements
-no conversational writing
-too long of sentences
-no deadline to order
-no free trials
-spelling mistakes
-grammar mistakes
-too light of text
-too dark of background
-ad copy doesn’t blend together
-no breaks in ad copy
-no bullets
-ad copy in all CAPS
-few ordering options
-no visual aids
-no comparison to competition
-no reminding of benefits or deadlines
-no information about your business
-no appealing adjectives
-no appealing phrases
-too large of text
-too small of text
-no emotional appeal
-too large of paragraphs
-no story telling
-no underlining or bolding of keywords
-too short of ad copy
-too long of ad copy
-no facts or case studies
-hard to understand jargon
-no free bonuses
-too low of price
-too high of price

1. Directory Linking
Create a directory of web sites on a specific topic. Give people the option of adding the directory to their web site by linking to it. Put your business advertisement at the top of the director’s home page. This technique will get lots of people to link to your web site and give you free advertising.

2. Bonus Advertising
Do you have a product or service that doesn’t sell good? Offer it as a free bonus for someone else’s product or service. Get free advertising by placing your web site or business ad on the product or in the product package.
3. Autoresponder Trade

Trade autoresponder ads with other businesses. If both of you send out information with auto- responders just exchange a small classified ad to put at the bottom or top of each other’s autoresponder message.

4. Tip Line
Start a free tip line. Offer a free daily, weekly, or monthly tip recorded on your voice mail. The tips should be related to your business. Include your ad for your web site or business at the beginning or end of your message.

5. Content Swap
Exchange content with other web sites and ezines. You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both parties could include a resource box at the end of the content.

Promoting your business through your article builds credibility in your field and expands your exposure to a broad audience. Listed below are some strategies you can apply in writing articles for your business.

1. Submit them to e-zines and web sites for publishing. Include your resource box at the end of the article to get free advertising.

2. Combine your articles into a free e-book. You can place your business ad in the e-book. Give it away to visitors and allow them to do the same to multiply your advertising.

3. Create an article directory on your web site. People will visit your web site to get the free information.

4. Submit your articles to print publications that pay for submissions. You can make extra income getting paid as a freelance writer.

5. Combine a few of your articles together into a free report. Give away the free report as a bonus for buying your main product or service.

6. Publish a book with all your articles. Make extra money selling the book from your web site.

7. Give people an instant article directory. Tell visitors they can instantly add a free article directory to their web site by linking to yours. All those links can add up to a large amount of traffic to your web site.

8. Post your articles in related online communities. This can give you free advertising in newsgroups, forums and e-mail discussion lists.

9. Allow people to include your articles in their free e-books. Your article could end up being in 20 to 30 e-books in no time. You won’t even have to promote the e-books.

10. Let people access your articles by auto responder. Include your full page e-mail ad with the article.

Business Quote for the Day:
“The first rule of business is.. do other men for they would do you.” — Charles Dickens

1. Most people like surprises because it’s a change of pace from their routine. Tell your prospects that they’ll get a surprise free bonus for ordering.

2. Most people want life to be easier. Give your prospects easy ordering instructions, easy product instructions, etc.

3. Most people want to feel secure and safe. Tell your prospects that you have secure ordering and a privacy policy.

4. Most people want to receive compliments for their achievements. Give your prospects plenty of compliments for them considering your product.

5. Most people are curious about things that could affect their current lifestyle. You could use words like ‘Secret’ or ‘Confidential’ in your ad.

6. Most people want to invest in their future. Tell your prospects to ‘invest in your product’ instead of ‘buy our product’.

7. Most people want the latest and newest things in life. Use words and phrases in your ad copy like ‘New’, ‘Just Released’, etc.

8. Most people want to solve their problems. Tell your prospects what problems they have and how your product can solve them.

9. Most people want to make the people around them happy. Tell your prospects how happy their friends or family will be if they buy your product.

10. Most people want to get over obstacles so they can achieve their goals. Tell your prospects which goals they’ll achieve by ordering your product.

Business Quote for the Day:
“Drive thy business or it will drive thee”. — Benjamin Franklin

1. Offer a free eBook that’s published right on your web site. They would have to stay at your web site
to read it.

2. Give your visitors a different free bonus for each link they click-through on your web site. Example:
“If you click on this link you’ll get a FREE course!”

3. Make your content into a story format. They will want to keep reading to find out what happens at
the end of the story.

4. Offer a search option on your web site. People will stay longer because it gives them the option of
searching through your web site using keywords.

5. Provide a chat room on your web site. They will want to chat with other people that are interested in
the subject.

6. Write your content so it attracts their five senses. Use plenty of adjectives. The will stay focused on
your web site and block out other distractions.

7. Add a “FAQ - Frequently Ask Questions” part on your web site. People won’t email you a question
and leave. They will stay to find out the answer.

8. Offer easy navigation. People will leave quicker if they have a hard time finding what they’re looking
for. Don’t get them lost or they will leave.

9. Give them plenty of things to do at your web site. Allow them to submit classified ads, play interactive
games, add their link, sign your guest book, etc.

10. Offer free online tools they can use right at your web site. It could be a search engine submitter, ad
or letter templates, eBook compiler, etc.

Business Quote of the Day:
“Do not hire a person who does your work for money, but him or her who does it for love of it.” — Henry David Thoreau