How to Write a Classified Ad for Your Car - Part 2

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In part 1 of this series I talked about some key points when advertising your car in classifieds. To get the most out of this final article in the series, I suggest you read Part 1 first.

Now, I promised I was going to give you a sample advertisement. So here goes.

The way I,m going to do it is to give you the ad first. See if you can work out why each element has been included and why? You should be able to do this if you have read and understood part 1.

*** 00 Ford Contour***
V6 2.5l,only 30k,1 female owner
n/smok,all pwr opt,auto,dual air,
exc cond,must see,must sell
$5100 call xxx-xxxx-xxxx

Now that looks harmless enough doesn't it. A classified ad usually doesn't have the punch that a full page ad can have or a TV ad.

But this is not a problem. Why? Because you are only really competing with other ads in a similar format. The only people putting better ads in than you are dealers and people looking at classifieds don't want to buy from a dealer.

So in that little space is where you need to shine.

Ok, so let's break it down.

The first line you have the little stars "***" and it's in bold. That's your attention grabber. It's not huge but remember you only need to make it stand out in relation to other ads.

It also has the make, model and don't forget the year - if you leave this out you are costing yourself inquiries.

Now, the next section "V6 2.5l" gives more specific info about the car. It's the V6 2.5l engine version. More car identifying. It's important to identify the car fully.

The next part - "only 30k" - states that it is low kilometres. Cars generally wear out faster the more they are driven. So this is a good selling point.

1 female owner - female drivers are statistically less hard on their vehicles than males. Good selling point so mention it. (For security reasons if you do this it is a good idea to have the car viewed off your property in a public place with a male to help you sell it)

"Non-smoker"- shows not just that you don't smoke but that you are aware of the cleanliness factor in your car and hints that you most likely have kept it clean, without stating it.

"All pwr options" - more identifying data - has to be mentioned because it ads extra value. And the same goes for dual air - this adds the safety dimension.

"Exc Condition"- you basically have to make a statement of condition. A car in excellent condition has not been in an accident, has no rust, clean title and has had no bodywork. The paint looks new and interior is very clean. As well as being mechanically sound.

"Must See" and "Must Sell" - these little gems add a little bit of urgency. They work best in combination with this ad because the ad is for a pretty good car. If you were selling a wreck I wouldn't use them.

Include the price

Now you must include the price in my opinion. I don't have the space to go into why fully. It has to do with buyer confidence. He doesn't want to have a price change done based on the sound of his voice or the way he dresses. It just takes one factor out of the buyer's confusion.

The last part is the call to action. Pretty simple. Instead of putting the phone number alone, add the word "call" in front of it. People actually respond to direct commands to do things. It's a principle of direct selling.

So that's it. I hope that has been helpful.

Happy Selling

Graeme Sprigge