A friend of mine often asks me questions about Internet marketing. Sometimes a technical question, sometimes about layout of a publication or any 'how to .. ' question.

But the other day he asked me a question that so many other people asked me that I thought I'd write a short piece on it so you can also check your work.

That question, "Why don't my advertisements attract any sales?"

I was able to give him some pointers as to just why this was the case and to help make his ads sell like crazy.

He had placed an ad in a very popular home business publication. The name of his business was in large bold print across the top of the box. In smaller print he told how long he was in business for. In the smallest print he told of what he sales.

I answered that, if I was looking through the publication I wouldn't be at all interested in his business name. How long he had been in business didn't benefit me at all and, hence, I wouldn't even bother to read the body of the advert.

Firstly, your headline must attract attention to your ad.

If I'm browsing through any publication that carries advertising, what would attract my attention ... an attention grabbing headline, that's what.

A business name could not interest me less but something like, "Are You Finding It Impossible To Make Money From Home Business?", would certainly make me look further into the advert. The subheading, rather than say how long he'd been in business, should carry on with something that is going to convert me to the ads purpose, for example, "At Last - The Fortune-Making Solution Is Here For You!", so I read on, they have mentioned my problem and say they have the solution.

The body of the advert will give details. Not a long paragraph but a short, to the point offer of how I can gain more information.

The thing is, I explained to my friend, you need them to read your ad before they will take any action. The headline needs to attract attention, the sub-headline needs to be the converter and the body needs to be the consumption. In other words, they send or call for more information which is when they purchase your product or service, of course.

If your headline is poor, your sales will be too.

I can look through any publication and about 80% of the ads are a total waste of time and money, the business will lose money for it.

So, how do you choose a headline? You can ask a question in your headline, like the one I made above about making money with home business. Questions are good to ask in a headline because a reader will think, 'What's the answer?' and read on, which is what you want.

It could be problem based, where your headline mentions a problem that the reader could be having and your ad offers the solution, of course.

Curiosity is another method. 'Do you know why you're losing money from every ad you ever place?' or 'Six ways in which you could improve your income ten-fold' will create a curiosity feeling in the readers mind and they'll read on.

Another very widely used method is the 'How to' technique. 'How to pay off all your home business debts in four easy steps' would certainly attract my attention and make me read on.

So, a question, problem based, curiosity or how to, are the best forms of headline, it's been proven, beyond doubt, that they pull more than any other type.

Always give benefits in your ads. Don’t shout about how good you are or how long you've been in business as this doesn’t mean a thing to the reader.

They want to know how your product benefits THEM, what do they get out of it?

Offer a SOLUTION to their problem and entice them to take action. Don’t worry about how long your headline is. The longer the headline, the more you can sell, that's also been proven.

Using a main headline with a sub-headline below it works exceedingly well for most people. Just ensure it really does attract their attention, by using one or more of the methods above and keep the reader interested to the end.

Take a look at your current advertising and see what you can do to improve it. Make the changes and see the difference in your response rates, they'll soar.