Tips On Writing a Successful Ad
DESIGNING AN awesome advertisement in the 21st century is still a very valuable skill. Even if you never advertise on printed publications.
The principals of advertising apply no matter where you run an ad… whether it’s on Facebook or in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The four essential ingredients of an awesome ad are:
ATTENTION – INTEREST – DESIRE – ACTION
If your ad is missing any of these, it is not an AWESOME Ad!
ATTENTION: You must first get the readers attention. Picture him scanning the page in which your ad is printed. For him or her it is much like which ride at the amusement park to take next. Something about your ad must grab their attention, to directs their focus toward your product.
Since ads may or may not have graphics, it then comes down to something about the words you use, or about the way you use them. Some advertisers seem to think that if you use lots of !!! (exclamation marks)or *** (asterisks) or maybe MAKE IT ALL CAPS that this will draw their attention. The problem here is that:
Everyone knows it’s glitter and meant to get your attention. This may often interfere with the reader’s ability to take your words seriously. Subconsciously he may even expect your ad to be some kind of gimmick. Right or wrong, stereotype or not, my advice is let your words speak for themselves and steer clear of such tactics. We will discuss guidelines for choosing the right words later.
INTEREST: The ad must have appeal. This is a good place to state the benefits or some attractive features of your product. Knowing the demographics of your readers or the category section your ad is placed in, helps in understanding their interests. What benefits of your product or service is most likely to appeal to this group? Develop a mental picture of some of the customers who would come from this demographic group, and will buy your product. What kinds of jobs do they have, cars do they drive… are they young, old, single, married…
Having a mental picture of your audience is important when you want to understand their interests and know what benefits of your product you should spotlight.
DESIRE: But appealing to their interest is not enough. The ad must then “further stimulate your reader.” While interest can generally be obtained by the practical properties of your product, desire needs to be sparked by a more emotional reaction.
Is there something about your product that will make them feel good, excited, confident, secure, hoperul or powerful? Think about what other emotions your product can ignite.
Does your product appeal to a particular sense. Can the reader taste, hear, smell, see or hear your product? Realise that most actions which we take are sparked by desire and most desire is stimulated by feelings.
We don’t really desire money. We desire the feelings that we think money will bring us, whether they be happy, secure, or powerful. Yet, the word “money” may trigger the desire that triggers the feelings which we value and want to experience.
ACTION: If your reader does not take action, then you are dead in the water. How do you get your reader to act? Believe it or not this is the simplest step. Simply use a directive. Psychologists tell us that when given a directive (unless obviously harmful) our first instinct is to comply.
Turn to the person in the seat next to you, and in a slightly commanding voice say, “give me your pen for a minute”… chances are they will, and usually, without question, for no other reason than “you told them to.”
Don’t say… “will you give me your pen for a minute” because now they have to think, and if they have to think they may refuse. In your ad simply say: “call this number now”, “email me for details”, “go to our website” etc.
If the first three ingredients (attention, interest, and desire) have been well done, and the reader is a qualified customer…. they will most likely take the action you direct them to take.
If you want to talk over these Get More Customers options, or the other effective tactics that I have, give me a call 0414 955 743 – advice is totally free of charge.
Cheers,
John