Below are my top 10 tips for getting good results from an ad in Web Digest For Marketers, and in many other marketing publications for that matter.

1. Focus, Focus, Focus: Be absolutely single-minded in the intent of your ad. When advertisers try to make a hybrid branding/direct response ad, response rates usually suffer.

2. Make Just One Offer: An ad in Web Digest has 65 words. If it were to go much longer the reader is apt to skip it. The shortness forces brevity. It also forces every single word to work hard and have a reason for being in the ad.

3. Skip the Hyperbole: Face it, you dislike overblown, hype-heavy ads as much as anybody and maybe more so. It's a good bet that if you don't like the language yourself, your target audience isn't going to like it either.

4. Use Facts: That's why readers read trade newsletters. Even if readers aren't ready to buy your service right then, they'll get a factoid from you they'll remember when they are ready to buy or step into the buying cycle.

5. It's the Offer, Stupid: Before writing copy, think about an offer that will stop readers cold in their tracks. A great offer that's poorly written will draw better than a finely worded ad that offers bupkiss (nothing).

6. WIFM: "What's In It For Me?" is what all readers, listeners, viewers, or any consumers of media look for. They don't typically care about how many awards you've won, unless those facts support a claim or benefit that you're making elsewhere in the ad.

7. Details Please: Give readers exact details about what they can expect if they take the action your ad encourages. Be very specific. The more specific, the more believable and enticing.

8. PDFs, Webinars and Trial Offers: Readers of Web Digest For Marketers love instant gratification, which is why pdf downloads full of solid, high-value information work so well and some of the most popular offerings. Webinars and trial offers can work if people see an obvious advantage and especially if they are already familiar with the firm making the offer.

9. Context Helps a Lot: An issue on SEO will pull very well for firms selling SEO products and services. When buying ads in my publication (or anyone else's, for that matter) ask not only about the run dates, but about what the editorial calendar is for that particular issue.

10. Plan Ahead: Plan what your offer will be months in advance so you have time to prepare the loss-leader pdf or Webinar. This will also give you time to formulate your offer and ad copy. Doing this at the last minute will hurt your results.

11. Bonus Tip: Ask an outsider what he or she thinks of your offer. Honest, frank feedback with no spin is hard to come by, but it is one of the most valuable components of an advertising campaign. To any advertiser in WDFM that wants it, I give them my no-holds-barred opinion of their offer and copy.

Excerpted from Larry Chase’s Web Digest for Marketers, 2005

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