Articles on Adevertising Matters:

10 Tips to Higher Response Ads

You're ready to launch that new product or promotion, & you're really counting on a piece of advertising copy to come through for you.

You're looking for stellar results! And, you're determined to do everything in your power to get them. Which means surveys, thorough testing, and ongoing refinement of your ad copy.

Hold the phone!

When you've got your draft, run it through this 12-point inspection. Cover off these basics, and you can be sure you're off to a running start.

1 - Do You Have A Compelling Headline?

Does it generate curiosity or envy? Does it promise a benefit that will compel someone with an interest in what you're selling to keep reading. Remember, your headline is the ad for the ad.

When I am being paid to write direct response ad copy, or a sales letter, or have a very important sales objective of my own, I normally write 25 headlines before I begin the body of the piece.

Then I'll pick half a dozen that I think will work & test them. The best of the rest, I use as sub headings throughout the piece to propel readership, and draw skimmers & skippers back into the copy as they move down the page.

2 - Are Your Headlines Pleasing To The Eye?

I most often find that headlines work best when they are centered on the page, & present a balanced appearance in terms of the shape they create. Encasing them in quotation marks also serves to grab more attention.

Long top headlines tend to reduce readership, but if they help qualify more effectively they can improve sales! Try them, but look for ways to modularize the text using punctuation & spacing so your readers don't suffocate trying to read them. Sometimes a long top headline is better presented as two or even three separate headlines.

3 - Is Your Opening Provocative & Arresting?

Does it trip the reader, interrupting the internal turbulence of the day? Each line of your ad copy must serve to "sell" the reader on continued reading, especially at the beginning.

You are looking to build enough momentum & interest to convey the points necessary to generate a greater desire for the product than it's price. Generally speaking, the higher the cost of the product, the more words required.

4 - Are You FAB Balanced?

You must focus on painting a picture of your prospects future life, as a result of their purchase. Does your copy promise emotional benefits? Does it pledge the realization of positive feelings, or the relief of negative ones?

Does it show how these outcomes are achieved with concise descriptions of the features & advantages that will deliver them? Your ad copy must strike a balance between emotion & logic if it is to be effect.

5 - Are You Creating Excitement & Enthusiasm?

Demonstrate your personal belief in what you are selling. Will your message quicken the readers pulse? Is it upbeat, positive, & full of inspired energy? Is there a sense of WOW?

6 - Is Your Body Copy Highly Readable?

Remember simple is best. Keep sentences short. Use a plain 10-point to 12-point font. Paragraphs no more than a few lines. Words that are comfortable & specific to the audience you are targeting. Inject subheads to break up text. Highlight important points.

7 - Do You Have High YOU density?

Remember to you use the words YOU & YOUR to the hilt. Your reader is auto translating to ME & MINE.

8 - Are you speaking intimately?

Can you get a strong sense of personality when you review your letter after being away from it for a while? Visualize yourself, or the character you are personifying, writing a personal letter to your perfect prospect. Never write to a crowd.

9 - Are you inspiring the readers imagination?

You must trigger mental images with your writing. The mind has difficulty distinguishing between vividly painted word pictures, & reality. Daydreams enchant, & emotions flow in their wake.

When you have emotion, you have desire. When you have desire, you have suggestibility. When you have suggestibility, you can direct action. Your levers are allegory (storytelling), metaphor, similes, verbs, adjectives, & specificity.

10 - Do you offer proof?

Specific testimonials & convincing guarantees worked into your ad copy are essential.

Obono John
14 Mar 2007

Obono John is the owner of http://www.butterflymarketzone.blogspot.com, The Viral Marketing Experiment.

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Creating Ads That Ring Up Sales

If I asked you to watch two hours of primetime TV and pick the most effective ad spots, could you do it? Chances are, you could name the ones you found the most entertaining. But could you identify the commercials that had the power to move the audience--really motivate viewers to learn more about or buy what’s being advertised?

If you're a bit fuzzy on what it takes to create advertising that actually works, you'll be happy to know it's not your fault. There’s just so much ill-conceived advertising out there--throughout all marketing media. What makes it tough for entrepreneurs to understand how to create their own campaigns is the fact that so many of the big-budget ads from major advertisers are just plain bad. They're self-indulgent and cute, and although they may be creative, they probably sell very little.

The first duty of advertising is to make something happen. Any campaign worth its salt must produce a desired result. Rework your current ad campaign--or create a new one--that motivates prospects to take action by understanding these four important advertising rules.

Rule #1: Good advertising changes the customer's relationship with what's being marketed.
The first step to affecting the way your customers think is to make them look at what you offer in a new or different way. A good ad has the power to completely change the mind of the reader, viewer or listener, whether that applies to choosing the best tires to purchase for rainy locales or the qualifications of a political candidate. Your ads can open minds to possibilities by introducing a new type of service or revealing fresh discoveries or facts. Advertising that does a good job of educating audiences--such as in B2B trade publications--can demonstrate the advantages of a new product. And some advertising, such as direct mail, can allow you to tell a deeper story and create a strong, new connection with your customer.

Rule #2: Effective advertising tells prospects "why."
Good advertising makes it immediately clear why prospects should care about your marketing message. For best results, your ads must demonstrate a valuable, desirable benefit to your target audience. This benefit can be either tangible or intangible. For example, saving money is a tangible benefit while peace of mind may be intangible but equally desirable depending on your target audience and what you’re marketing. What benefits do your ads promise, and are your promises markedly different from those of your competitors? If not, you need to rethink your product or service offering from your customers’ point of view until the benefits you offer will help you stand out from your competitors.

Rule #3: The best ads ring true.
Broadcast ads on radio and TV work best when they present scenarios that feel real and true to the intended target audience. Prospects should be able to identify with the characters or situations presented and see themselves reflected in a positive light. Your offer should present a believable solution to fulfill a perceived need. Print advertising, out-of-home and online advertising, while less able to present real-life scenarios, still must offer reasonable solutions that meet the real needs of your target audience.

Rule #4: Successful advertising moves customers to the next level.
The bottom line is, marketing exists to support sales. If your current advertising doesn't produce, it's like having a slacker employee--your best option is to fire them. Before you design your next campaign, decide what you want your prospects to do in response to your advertising, and design each and every ad with that result in mind. Whether you want them to call for a free appointment, visit your website, go to your store or visit your trade show booth, be sure your call to action takes your prospects to the next level.

Finally, be prepared to track and measure the responses as they arrive. After all, you can't run an effective campaign unless you know what's worked in the past. Continually fine-tune your ad campaign to capitalize on the elements that make the phone or the cash register ring, and soon you'll have good ads that make all the right things happen.

Kim Gordon
26 Apr 2007

Kim T. Gordon is the "Marketing" coach at Entrepreneur.com and a multifaceted marketing expert, speaker, author and media spokesperson. Over the past 26 years, she's helped millions of small-business owners increase their success through her company,National Marketing Federation Inc. Her latest book, Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars, is now available.