Dental Classified Ads that Really Work
When it comes to dental marketing, classified ads are inexpensive and easy to create. By following these few tips, you can create a dental classified ad that brings in new patients on a regular basis.
1. Start with an attention-getting headline.
One big mistake that many dentists make with their classified ads is that they either don’t include a headline at all or they use the name of their dental practice as the headline. The purpose to your headline is to get your prospective patient to read the rest of your dental ad. And let’s face it, your new patients are not going to drop everything they’re doing and give undivided attention to your dental classified ad because it has “Smith Family Dentistry” as the headline.
2. Continue with benefits-laden text.
You don’t want your ad to focus on the features of your dental practice. Instead, you should focus on the benefits that your dental practice will bring to your patients. If you offer one-hour teeth whitening, you Can’T Afford Dentist Have Toothache don’t want to sell “fast teeth whitening”. You want to sell “Dazzling smiles on your lunch break. Your coworkers will wonder what you’ve been up, and why you came back from lunch looking ten years younger.”
3. Ask your prospective dental patients to do something.
In marketing this is known as a call-to-action. But we’re dentists, not marketers: we don’t even know what a call-to-action is, let alone how to incorporate it into our classified ads. Simply stated, you must lay out exactly what you want the reader of your ad to do. Do you want her to call your toll-free number? Do you want her to go to your website to download your free report about the dangers of at-home teeth whitening kits? Be sure to spell out, in very specific terms, what the next step is.
4. Don’t try to get the appointment.
I know this seems contradictory to the entire reason why you’re advertising your dental practice. But keep in mind that it’s very difficult to “sell” a personal service like dental care through a single, tiny ad. Your dental ad is not a sales page.A� Think of your ad as a lead-generator. Offer something of value that your prospective patients would be interested in, and, when the reader calls your 800 number or sends an email to request the item, add her contact information to your follow-up database.
After your ad has been created, run it in a few publications that reach your target market. You might try the local newspaper, the Chamber of Commerce newsletter, even the free sales flyer at the grocery store. Run only one ad at a time so you can track Jaw Pain After Tooth Extraction the effectiveness of each publication. That way you can determine which ad publication your new dental patients originated from, eliminate any publications that aren’t effective, and make sure your dental marketing dollars are working for you.