by Kim and Charles Petty
The most important aspect of any business is selling the product or service. Without sales, no business can exist for very long. All sales begin with some form of advertising. To build sales, this advertising must be seen or heard by potential buyers, and cause them to react to the advertising in some way. The credit for the success, or the blame for the failure of almost all ads, reverts back to the ad itself.
Generally, the “ad writer” wants the prospect to do one of the following:
Visit the store to see and judge the product for himself, or immediately write a check and send for the merchandise being advertised.
Phone for an appointment to hear the full sales presentation, or write for futher information which amounts to the same thing.
The bottom line in any ad is quite simple:
To make the reader buy the product or service. Any ad that causes the reader to only pause in his thinking, to just admire the product, or to simply believe what is written about the product–is not doing it’s job completely.
The “ad writer” must know exactly what he wants his reader to do, and any ad that does not elicit the desired action is an absolute waste of time and money.
In order to elicit the desired action from the prospect, all ads are written according to a simple “master formula” which is:
1) Attract the ATTENTION of your prospect 2) INTEREST your prospect in the product 3) Cause your prospect to DESIRE the product 4) Demand ACTION from the prospect
Never forget the basic rule of advertising copywriting; If the ad is not read, it won’t stimulate any sales, if it is not seen, it cannot be read; and if it does not command or grab the attention of the reader, it will not be seen!
Most successful advertising copywriters know these fundamentals backwards and forwards. Whether you know them already or you’re just now being exposed to them, your knowledge and practice of these fundamentals will determine the extent of your success as an advertising copywriter.
CLASSIFIED ADS:
Classified ads are the ads from which all successful businesses are started. These small, relatively inexpensive ads, give the beginner an opportunity to advertise his product or service without losing his shirt if the ad doesn’t pull or the people don’t break his door down with demand for his product. Classified ads are written according to all the advertising rules. What is said in a classified ad is the same that is said in an larger, more elaborate type of ad, expecting in condensed form.
To start learning how to write good classified ads, clip ten classified ads from ten different mail order type publications–ads that you think are pretty good. Paste each of these ads onto a separate sheet of paper.
Analyze each of these ads; How has the writer attracted your attention–what about the ads keeps your interest–are you stimulated to want to know more about the product being advertised–and finally, what action must you take? Are all of these points covered in the ad? How strongly are you “turned on” by each of these ads?
Rate these ads on a scale form one to ten, with ten being the best according to the formula I’ve given you. Now, just for practice, without, clipping the ads, do the same thing with ten different ads from Sears, Wards, or The Penny’s catalog. In fact, every ad you see from now on, quickly analyze it, and rate it somewhere on your scale. If you’ll practice this exercise on a regular basis, you’ll soon be able to quickly recognize the “Power Points” of any ad you see, and know within your own mind whether an ad is good, bad, or otherwise, and what makes it so.
Practice for an hour each day, write the ads you’ve rated 8, 9, and 10 exactly as they have been written. This will give you the “feel” of the fundamentals and style necessary in writing classified ads.
Your next project will be to pick out what you consider to be the ten ‘worst’ ads you can find in the classified section. Clip these out and paste them onto a sheet of paper so you can work with them.
Read these ads over a couple of times, and then beside each of them, write a short comment why you think it is bad; Lost in the crowd, doesn’t attract attention–doesn’t hold the readers interest–nothing special to make the reader want to own the product–no demand for action.
You probably already know what is coming next, and that is right. Break out those pencils, erasers and scratch paper– and start rewriting these ads to include the missing elements. Each day for the next month, practice writing the ten best ads for an hour, just the way the were originally written. Pick out the ten worst ads, analyze those ads, and then practice rewriting those until they measure up to doing the job they were intended to do.
Once you’re satisfied that the ads you’ve rewritten are perfect, go back into each ad and cross out the words that can be eliminated without detracting from the ad. Classified ads are almost always “finalized” in the style of a telegram.
EXAMPLE; I’ll arrive at 2-o’clock tomorrow afternoon, the 15th. Meet me at Sardi’s. All my love, Jim.
EDITED FOR SENDING; Arrive at 2-pm-15th Sardi’s. Love, Jim.
CLASSIFIED AD; Save on your food bills! Reduced prices on every shelf in the store! Stock up now while supplies are complete! Come in today, Jerrys’ Family Supermarket!
EDITED FOR PUBLICATION; Save on Food! Everything bargain priced! Limited supplies! Hurry! Jerry’s Markets!
It takes dedicated and regular practice, but you can do it. Simply recognize and understand the basic formula–practice reading and writing the good ones–and rewriting the bad ones to make them better. Practice, and keep at ie, over and over, every day–until the formula, the idea, and the feel of this kind of ad writing becomes second nature to you. This is the ONLY WAY to gain expertise writing good classified ads.
DISPLAY ADVERTISEMENTS
A display or space ad differs from a classified ad because it has headline, layout, and because the style is not telegraphic. However, the fundamentals of writing the display ad or space are exactly the same as for a classified ad. The basic difference is that you have more room in which to emphasize the “master formula”.
Most successful copywriters rate the headline and/or the lead sentence of an ad as the most important part of the ad, in reality, you should do the same. After all, when your ad is surrounded by hundreds of other ads, and information or entertainment, what makes you thing anyone is going to see your particular ad?
The truth is, they’re not going to see your ad unless you can “grab” their attention and entice them to real all of what your have to say. Your headline, or lead sentence when no headline is used, has to make it MORE DIFFICULT for your prospect to ignore, or pass over, than to stop and read your ad. If you don’t capture the attention of your reader with your headline, anything beyond is useless effort and wasted money.
Successful advertising headlines–in classified ads, your first three to five words serve as your headline–are written as promises, either implied or direct. The former promises to show you how to save money, make money, or attain a desired goal. The latter is a warning against something undesireable.
Example OF A PROMISE; Are You Ready To Become A Millionaire–In Just 18 Months?
EXAMPLE OF A WARNING; Do You Make These Mistakes In English?
In both examples. I have posed a question as the headline. Headlines that ask a question seem to attract the reader’s attention almost as surely as a moth is drawn to a flame. Once he has seen the question, he just can’t seem to keep himself from reading the rest of the ad to find out the answer. The best headline questions are those that challenge the reader; that involve his self esteem, and do not allow him to dismiss you question with a simple yes or no.
You’ll be the envy of your friends is another kind of “reader appeal” to incorporate into your headline whenever appropriate. The appeal has to do with basic psychology; everyone wants to be well thought of and consequently, will read into the body of your ad and find out how he can gain the respect and accolades of his friends.
Where ever and whenever possible, use colloquialisms or words that are usually found in advertisements. The idea is to shock or shake the reade out of his reverie and cause him to take notice of your ad. Most of the headlines you see today in and day out, have a certain sameness with just the words rearranged. The reader may see these headlines with his eyes, but his brain fails to focus on any of them because there is nothing different or out of the ordinary to arrest his attention.
Example OF COLLOQUIALISM; Are You Developing A POT BELLY?
Another attention–grabber kind of headline is the comparative price headline; Three For only $3, Regularly $3 Each! Still another of the “tried and proven” kind of headlines is the specific question; Do You Suffer From These Symptoms. And of course, if you offer a strong guarantee, you should say so in your headline; Your Money Refunded, If You Don’t Make $100,000 Your First Year.
How To headlines have a very strong basic appeal, but in some instances, they are better used as book titles than advertising headlines. Who else wants in on the finer things–which your product or service presumably offers–is another approach with a strong reader appeal. The psychology here being the need of everyone to belong to a group–complete with status and prestige motivations.
Whenever, and as often as you can possibly work it in, you should use the word “you” in your headline, and throughout your copy. After all, your ad should be directed to “one” person, and the person reading your ad wants to feel that you’re talking to him personally, not everyone who lives on his street.
Personalize, and be specific! You can throw the teachings of your English teachers out the window, and the rules of “third person, singular” or whatever else tends to inhibit your writing. Whenever you sit down to write advertising copy intended to pull the orders–sell the product–you should picture yourself in a one-on-one situation and “talk” to your reader just as if you are sitting across from him at your dining room table. Say what you mean, and sell HIM on the product your offering. Be specific and ask him if these are the things that bother him–are these the things he wants–and he is the one you want to buy the product…
The layout you devise for your ad, or the frame you build around it, should also command attention. either make it so spectacular that it stands out like a lobster at a chili dinner, or so uncommonly simple that it catches the reader’s eye because of its very simplicity. It’s also important that you don’t get cute with a lot of unrelated graphics and artwork. Your ad should convey the feeling of excitement and movement, but should not tire the eyes or disrupt the flow the message you are trying to present.
Any graphics or artwork you use should be relevant to your product, its use and/ or the copy you’ve written about it. Graphics should not be used as artistic touches, or to create an atmosphere. Any illustrates with your ad should compliment the selling of your product, and prove or substantiate specific points in your copy.
Once you have your reader’s attention, the only way you’re going to keep it, is by quickly and emphatically telling him what your product will do for him.
Your potential buyer doesn’t care in the least how long it’s taken you to produce the product, how long you have been in business, nor how many years you have spent learning your craft. He wants to know specifically how he’s going to benefit from the purchase of your product.
Generally, his wants will fall into one of the following categories: Better health, more comfort, more money, more leisure time, more popularity, greater beauty, success and/or security.
Even though you have your reader’s attention, you must follow through with an ennumeration of the benefits he can gain. In essence, you must reiterate the advantages, comfort and happiness he will enjoy–as you have implied in your headline.
Mentally picture your prospect–determine his wants and emotional needs–put yourself in his shoes, and ask yourself: If I were reading this ad, what are the things that would appeal to me? write your copy to appeal to your reader’s wants and emotional needs/ego cravings.
Remember, it’s not the “safety features” that have sold cars for the past 50 years–nor has it been the need of transportation–it has been, and almost certainly always will be the advertising writer’s recognition of the people’s wants and emotional needs/ego cravings. Visualize your prospect, recognize what he wants: and satisfy them. Writing good advertising copy is nothing more or less than knowing “who” your buyers are; recognizing what he wants; and telling him how your product will fulfill each of those wants. Remember this because it’s one of the “vitally important” keys to writing advertising copy that does the job you intend for it to do.
The “desire” portion of your ad is where you present the facts of your product; create and justify your prospect’s conviction, and cause him to demand “a piece of the action” for himself.
It’s vitally necessary that you present “proven facts” about your product because survey results show that at least 80% of the people reading your ad–especially those reading it for the first time–will tend to question its authenticity.
So, the more facts you can present in the ad, the more credible your offer. As you write this part of your ad, always remember that the more facts about the product you present, the more product you’ll sell. People want facts as reason, and/or excuses for buying a product–to justify to themselves and others, that they haven’t been “taken” by a slick copywriter.
It’s like the girl who wants to marry the guy her father calls a “no good bum”. Her heart–her emotions–tell her yes, but she needs facts to nullify the seed od doubt lingering in her mind–to rationalize her decision to go on with the wedding. In other words, the “desire” portion of your ad has to build belief and credibility in mind of your prospect. It has to assure him of his good judgement in the final decision to buy- furnish evidence of the benefits you’ve promised–and afford him a “safety net” in case anyone should question his decision to buy.
People tend to believe the things that appeal to their individual desires, fears and other emotions. Once you’ve established a belief in this manner, logic and reasoning are used to support it. People believe what they “want to believe. Your reader “wants” to believe your ad if he has read through this far–it’s up to you to support his initial desire.
Study your product and everything about it–visualize the wants of your prospective buyers–dig up the facts, and you’ll almost always find plenty of facts to support the buyer’s reason for buying.
Here is where you use the results of tests conducted, growing sales figures to prove increasing popularity, and “user” testimonials or endorsements. It’s also important that you present these facts-test results, sales figures and/or testimonials-from the consumer point of view, and not that of the manufacturer.
Before you end this portion of your ad and get into you demand for action, summarize everything you’ve presented thus far. Draw a mental picture for your potential buyer. Let him image owningthe product. Induce him to visualize all the benefits you’ve promised. Give him the keys to seeing himself richer, enjoying luxury, having time to do whatever he’d like to do, and with all of his dreams fulfilled.
This can be handled in one or two sentences, or spelled out in a paragraph or more, but it’s the absolute ingredient you must include prior to closing the sale. Study all the sales presentations you’ve ever heard-look at every winning ad-this is the element included in all of them that actually makes the sale for you. remember it, use it, and don’t try to sell anything without it.
As Victor Schwab puts so succinctly in his best selling book, How To Write a Good Advertisement: Every one of the fundamentals in the “master formula” is necessary. Those people who are “easy” to sell may perhaps be sold even if some of these factors are left out, but it’s wiser to plan advertisement so that it will have a powerful impact upon those who are the “hardest” to sell. For, unlike face-to-face selling, we cannot in printed advertising come to a “trail close” in our sales talk-in order to see if those who are easier to sell will welcome the dotted line without further persuasion. We must assume that we are talking to the hardest ones-and that the more thoroughly our copy sells both the hard and the easy, the better chance we have against the competition for the consumer’s dollar-and also the less dependent we will be upon the usual completely ineffective follow-through on our advertising effort which later takes place at the sales counter itself.
ASK FOR ACTION! DEMAND THE MONEY!
Lots of ads are beautiful, almost perfectly written, and quite convincing-yet they fail to ask for or demand action from the reader. If you want the reader to have your product, then tell him so and demand that he send his money now. Unless you enjoy entertaining your prospects with your beautiful writing skills, always demand that he complete the sale now, by taking action now-by calling a telephone number and ordering, or by writing his check and rushing it to the post office.
Once you’ve got him on the hook, land him! Don’t let him get away!
Probably, one of the most common and best methods of moving the reader to act now, is written in some of the following:
All of this can be yours! You can start enjoying this new way of life immediately, simply by sending a check for $xx! don’t put it off, then later wish you had gotten in on the ground floor! Make out that check now, and be IN on the ground floor! Act now, and as an “early bird” buyer, we’ll include a big bonus package-absolutely free, simply for acting immediately! You win all the way! We take all the risk! If you’re not satisfied simply return the product and we’ll quickly refund your money! Do it now! Get that check on its way to us today, and receive the big bonus package! After next week, we won’t be able to include the bonus as a part of this fantastic deal, so act now! The sooner you act, the more you win!
Offering a reward of some kind will almost always stimulate the prospect to take action. However, in mentioning the reward or bonus, be very careful that you don’t end up receiving primarily requests for the bonus with mountains of request for refunds on the product to follow. The bonus should be mentioned only casually if you’re asking for product orders; and with lots of fanfare only when you’re seeking inquiries.
Too often the copywriter, in his enthusiasm to pull in a record number of responses, confuse the reader by “forgetting about the product” and devoting his entire space allotted for the “demand for action” to sending for the bonus. Any reward offered should be closely related to the product, and a bonus offered only for immediate action on the part of the potential buyer.
Specify a time limit. Tell your prospect that he must act within a certain time limit or lose out on the bonus, face probably higher prices, or even the withdraw of your offer. This is always a good hook to get action.
Any kind of guarantee you offer always helps to produce action from the prospect. And the more liberal you can make your guarantee, the more product orders you’ll receive. Be sure you state the guarantee clearly and simply. Make it so easy to understand that even a child would not misinterpret what you’re saying.
The action you want your prospect to take should be easy-clearly stated-and devoid of any complicated procedural steps on his part, or numerous directions for him to follow.
Picture your prospect, very comfortable in his favorite easy chair, idly flipping thru a magazine while “half watching” tv. He notices your ad, reads thru it, and he is sold on your product. Now what does he do?
Remember, he is very comfortable-you’ve “grabbed” his attention, sparked his interest, painted a picture of him enjoying a new kind of satisfaction, and he is ready to buy…
Anything and everything you ask or cause him to do is going to disrupt this aura of comfort and contentment. Whatever he must do had better be simple, quick and easy!
Tell him without any ifs, ands or buts, what to do-fill out the coupon, include your check for the full amount, and send it in to us today! Make it as easy for him as you possibly can-simple and direct. And by all means, make sure your address is on the order form he is supposed to complete and mail in to you-your name and address on the order form, as well as just above it. People sometimes fill out the coupon, tear it off, seal it in an envelope and don’t know where to send it. The easier you make it for him to respond, the more responses you’ll get!
There you have it, a complete short course on how to write ads that will pull more orders for you-sell more of your product for you. It’s important to learn “why” ads are written as they are-to understand and use, the “master formula” in your own ad writing endeavors.
By conscientiously studying good advertising copy, and practice in writing ads of your own, now that you have the knowledge and understand what makes advertising copy work, you should be able to quickly develop your copywriting abilities to produce order pulling ads for your own products. Even so, and once you do become proficient in writing ads for your own products, you must never stop “noticing” how ads are written, designed and put together by other people. To stop learning would be comparable to shutting yourself off from the rest of the world.
The best ad writers are people with the world in which they live. Everytime they see a good ad, they clip it out and save it. Regularly, they pull out these files of good ads and study them, always analyzing what makes them good, and why they work. there is no school in the country that can give you the same kind of education and expertise so necessary in the field of ad writing. You must keep yourself up-to-date, aware of, and in-the-know about the other guy-his innovations, style changes, and the methods he is using to sell his product. On-the-job training-study and practice-that’s what it takes- and if you’ve got that burning ambition to succeed, you can do it too!
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1) WHAT IS THE MOST PROFITABLE WAY TO USE CLASSIFIEDS… Classifieds are best used to build your mailing list of qualified prospects. Use classifieds to offer a free catalog, booklet or report relative to your product line.
2) WHAT CAN YOU SELL “DIRECTLY” FROM CLASSIFIEDS… Generally, anything and everything, so long as it doesn’t cost more than five dollars which is about the most people will pay in response to an offer in the classifieds. These types of ads are great for pulling inquires such as: Write for further information; Send $3, get two for the price of one; Dealers wanted, send for product info and a real money making kit!
3) WHAT ARE THE BEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR TO ADVERTISE…
All twelve months of the year! Responses to your ads during some months will be slower in accumulating, but by keying your ads according to the month they appear, and a careful tabulation of your returns from each keyed ad, you’ll see that steady year round advertising will continue to pull orders for you, regardless of the month it’s published. I’ve personally received inquires and orders from ads placed as long as 2 years previous to the date of the response!
4) ARE MAIL ORDER PUBLICATIONS GOOD ADVERTISING BUYS… The least effective are the ad sheets. most of the ads in these publications are “exchange ads”, meaning that the publisher of ad sheet “A” runs the ads of publisher “B” without charge, because publisher “B” is running the ads of publisher “A” without charge. The “claimed” circulation figures of these publications are almost always based on “wishes, hopes and wants” while the “true” circulation goes out to similar small, part time mail order dealers. Very poor medium for investing advertising dollars because everyone receiving a copy is a “seller” and nobody is buying. When an ad sheet is received by someone not involved in mail order, it’s usually given a cursory glance and then discarded as “junk mail”.
Tabloid newspaper are slightly better than the ad sheets, but not by much! The important difference with the tabloids is in the “helpful information” articles they try to carry for the mail order beginner. A “fair media” recruiting dealers or independent sales reps for mail order products, and for renting mailing lists, but still circulated among “sellers” with very few buyers. Besides that, the life of a mail order tab sheet is about the same as a daily newspaper.
With mail order magazines, it depends on the quality of the publication and its business concepts. Some mail order magazines are nothing more than expanded ad sheets, while others–such as BOOK BUSINESS MART- strive to help the opportunity seekers with an on going advice and tips he can use in the development and growth of his own wealth building projects. BOOK BUSINESS MART is not just the fastest growing publication on the mail order scene today; it’s also the first publication in more than 20 years to offer real help anyone can use in achieving his own version of the “American Dream” of building one’s own business from a “shoestring beginning” into a multi-million dollar empire!
5) HOW CAN I DECIDE WHERE TO ADVERTISE MY PRODUCT… First of all, you have to determine who your prospective buyers are. Then do a little bit of market research. Talk to your friends, neighbors and people at random who might fit this profile. Ask them if they would be interested in a product such as yours, and then ask them which publications they read. Next, go to your public library for a listing of the publications of this type from the Standard Rate & Data Service catalogs.
Make a list of the addresses, circulation figures, reader demographics and advertising and decide which is the true costs of your advertising and decide which is the better buy, divide the total audited circulation figure into the cost for a one inch ad; $10 per inch with a publication showing 10,000 circulation would be 10,000 into $10 or 10 cents per thousands. Looking at the advertising rates for BOOK BUSINESS MART, you would tale 42,500 into $15 for and advertising rate of less then THREE TENTHS OF ONE CENT PER THOUSAND. Obviously, your best buy in this case would be BOOK BUSINESS MART because of the lowest price per thousand.
Write and ask for a sample copies of the magazines you’ve tentatively chosen to place your advertising in. Look over their advertising-be sure that they don’t or won’t put your ad in the “gutter” which is the inside column next to the binding. How many other mail order type ads are they carrying-you want to go with a publication that is busy, not one that has only a few ads. The more ads in the publication, the better response the advertisers are getting, or else they wouldn’t be investing their money in the publication.
To “properly” test your ad, you should let it run thru at least three consecutive issues of any publication. If your responses are small, try a different publication. Then, if your responses are still small, look at your ad and think about rewriting it for greater appeal, and pulling power. In a great many instances, it’s the ad not the publication’s pulling power that is at fault!
About the Author:
Kim and Charles Petty,experts in
Real Estate Market. For FREE Special Report and CD and to set up strategy session on how you can make Six or Seven Figures A Year Buying and Selling Propertiesacross the USA & abroad go to
VirtualRealEstateInvestingPRofits or call 1-800-311-9228
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