If you have run an expensive ad with little to no noticeable results, you are not alone.

You probably don’t know why your ad failed, or what you can do better next time, all you know is you didn’t get the ROI you hoped for.

The good news is that you can dramatically improve the effectiveness of your online and print ads by avoiding these colossal cash killing mistakes.

1. Selfishness

If you are trying to sell your prospects with an ad, stop being so selfish.

“A single ad, no matter how well produced, no matter how compelling, is almost never enough to sell your product,” says Seth Godin in Permission Marketing.

Instead, open a line of communication by offering something of value with no strings attached.  Focus on what’s in it for them.  I’m not just talking about benefits here, I mean give them some immediate gratification.

Hooked on Phonics went from $0 to $100 million in revenue without selling anything in their ads.  Instead, they asked customers to call their toll free number for free information about the benefits of their product.

No cost, no obligation, no selling.

What can you give away that will communicate the benefits of your service?  A free 1 hour consultation?  A copy of your latest book?

2. Dead Beat Dad

Do you follow through with your customers, or are you a Dead Beat Dad?

Once you open up a line of communication, you have to follow through.  Keep the dialogue going until the customer is satisfied that you are trustworthy.

Frequency builds trust, and trust = sales.

3. Blindness

If you ran 3 different ads at the same time, how would you know which one worked best?

If you can’t test your ads, every new ad you run is a guess.  And if you are guessing whether you can put food on the table each month, you are simply delaying starvation.

Use tracking software like Google Analytics to test different ads online, and you could double your revenue pretty easily.  Never stop making tweaks until you get a 100% response rate.

In summary, give your prospects something of value in your ads instead of a sales pitch.  Open a line of communication, and keep it open by following through.  Then test your ads to separate the wheat from the chaff.