Want to know how to write an ad that works? Get this book: Newspaper Ads That Make Sales Jump.

Classified ads in CityNews now get cataloged by the top three search engines, making your ad easily findable by over 90% of internet users.

Now - about our website...

First, here's a list of what we don't allow (Porn, etc) and the Federal Trade Commission has a set of Advertising Rules that you need to follow. And here's an explanation of the various Ad Options that you have available to increase the response to your ad.

Setting up your ad

Get Your E-mail address right -- We've gotten a lot of ads with bad e-mail addresses (believe it or not) - your customers can't mail you if your address is no good.

And don't put your e-mail address in the body of the ad -- Spammers will get it, and flood you with unwanted mail. Our ads have a reply that will allow customers to contact you without displaying your email.

Ad Title: this most important part

Above all, always use a descriptive text in your ad title. Never use an image, a redirect, or HTML tages. If you do, the search engines will ignore your ad, resulting in lost sales. Because of the importance of a strong text title, CityNews reserves the right to modify any title that violates these common sense rules.

The good news is that the major search engines catalog all our ads - giving them a huge reach. But, you have to follow these rules: the ad title has to say exactly what you are selling - for example - say

'1957 chevy convertible - $5000 - in Nevada

instead of

Great car cheap'

instead of

'Deli Manager $32k+ San Rafeal, Ca'

instead of

'Great job'

And - you need to repeat the title in the body of the ad for maximum impact.

Get Attention with your Title! Unless you do, people won't read your ad. Use Strong Attention-Getting words In Your Ad Titles. Grab their attention by using strong emotional words in your Titles such as:

New Free Power Secret Romance Money Love Breakthru Revealed Magic Fear Win Prize Reward

Look in the list of Most Popular Searches to see what people actually look for -- and see if you can use these words in your ad title.

If you are looking to buy, put "WTB" in the title! If you're looking for a missing person, for instance, put in his/her NAME in the title - don't just say - Missing Person....

DON'T USE ALL CAPS! (like this) - it makes the Title harder to read.

Don't make your title too long; short and to the point is the best way to catch yuor customer's eyes.

If you have 5 items - do a separate ad for each item.

If you are selling a service or program - put the Main Benefit in the Title.

We offer BIG RED TITLES for a small extra charge and that may help your ad get noticed.

Picture: A picture is worth 1000 words!

Use a picture if you have one. This system will accept GIFs or JPG's up to 40KB in size. If it isn't immediately obvious how to upload the picture, then you'll need to go get an up-to-date browser; the upload capability isn't built in to some older browsers.

In most cities Kinko's will scan photos for you for about $10. Tell them 72 DPI, GIF, no larger than 40KB.

You can use Graphics from your own website - because each ad is a Web page & HTML is ok in the ad. If you haven't got any graphic art, get some free at ClipArtCastle.

Details: be informative

DON'T USE ALL CAPS! (like this) - people will think that you don't know what you are doing! We automatically reject all-caps ads.

Describe as completely as you can what you are offering - the Car, the Job, the Relationship - whatever it is, tell all you can. Tell the price and the terms. Use as many words as you need to - we don't have a 25-word limit!!

Give your phone number. It's even better if you have an 800 number. Tell what credit cards you accept. Put in a link to your website if you have one.

DON'T put your E-mail Address in the Ad - spammers colllect them. Instead we automatically link the ad to your e-mail address to hide it from spammers.

Then...

• Tell the reader what they have to do - click on a link, call a phone number, - whatever it is, describe it simply and completely.
• Tell them what it's going to cost. For the item, for shipping and for anything else.
• People have advertised with us with poor ad copy and received zero responses -- even though their ad was seen by lots of people. What is the problem? Poor ad copy! Just placing an ad that says "come visit my *way* cool site," or "buy Pool Cleaning supplies from me" doesn't work!. What is it that makes your site cool, or your Pool Cleaning products special? Give the reader Reasons! Make them curious about what lurks around the corner.
• Use the Chat Rooms - set a time in your ad when you will be available to answer questions on-line in the chat room.
• Don't put in your autoresponder as your e-mail address or a redirect to another web site; we'll cancel your ad and charge you $25 if you do. You can link to other sweb sites, just don't make it an automatic redirect.
• If you see an Error in your ad once you've submitted it - don't worry. Just go to our adedit page and change the ad.

Testing

Try many different versions of your ad -- with different titles and different ad copy. Testing is the only way you'll be able to find out what works.

Style tips

Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives. (attributed to William Safire)

Extra Features

For a small additional fee, we offer some additional features to help get your ad noticed by potential customers

• All Cities - If your ad is for a missing person or a business or something you can sell anywhere, then the All Cities option may make sense. We will put your ad in each of the 850+ United States Cities in our index, so buyers all over North America can see it, without you having to key it in 810 times. Ditto for World Cities at $19.95 - we have 210 major world cities, with more on the way soon!
• Longer-duration ads - If your ad is for a Business, then you will want to use our 3-month, 6- month, or 1-year plans so you don't have to re-key the ad every month.

If you'd like some other kind of ad,or have any questions about the above, , or see also our Advertising Guide.

We want your ad to be a success! If you want some help getting your ad 'Just Right' - we'll give you a hand. Just read through these hints, then key in your ad. You'll get an e-mail 'Thank You' note - forward that ad to us and change the subject to HELP so we'll know what you want - and we'll look at your ad & tell you how it can be improved.

You can change your ad at any time with our new Edit screen, so if you see an error, or want to change your prices, you can do so immediately.