If you've got an online venture of any kind, at some point you'll probably need to write some kind of advert. Be it a classified ad , ezine ad, banner ad , the age-old problem of ensuring you get a good response remains.
You may have heard of the advertising formula AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire & Action. Universally known, but on it's own, not enough. In the Internet World, where people are bombarded with information and offers on a daily basis, we must go beyond AIDA in order to get results.
If you are unfamiliar or a little rusty, AIDA comprises the four things your advert must arouse in the reader. First grab his attention, to stop him passing over your ad. Next, arouse his interest so he reads on. Thirdly, arouse his desire, that unstoppable inner force and you're virtually there. And finally, prompt him to take immediate action and you've got yourself a killer ad. Easy eh?. Easier said than done, I hear you say.
The first step is to know your audience, for each particular medium where you are going advertise. This will play a large part in dictating how you write the ad. For instance, your products might appeal to both existing business people and people who wish to start a new business. Therefore you could advertise in Business Opportunity ezines and Marketing ezines. However, using the same ad would be wasteful. Therefore, you should tailor the wording of each ad to match the particular market -know what the reader is likely to be looking for, and appeal to that desire.
Next, know what you are trying to achieve. Is it a click through to your website, a telephone call, or email to an autoresponder. Be clear about your objective. There's no use in trying to sell a product from an ad when you've got a website - just stimulate enough curiosity and interest to get the prospect to your site, where you've got more space to really sell.
List out the benefits of your product, as opposed to it's features. What will it help the reader achieve? Match those benefits to the likely desire of the reader, as earlier discussed. Remember, a businessperson will have different needs to a new opportunity seeker.
Your attention-grabbing headline can then be your biggest benefit, or a teaser to it. Make it intriguing, so it stops the reader, but don't make it unbelievable. It should feed nicely into the main body of your ad, where you can capitalise on the interest and arouse that desire.
Pack in some benefits, and convey them to your reader in emotional words so that it really sizzles. Inject enthusiasm into your writing - it's infectious. Flat adverts are a no no. Create an air of mystery to ensure they are intrigued to click through.
Be specific if you can, as it's far more believable. Instead of .."this product will make you more money" how about "...increase your income by 250%".
Once the desire has been aroused, motivate the reader to take action. Tell him to click through to your site, rather than just leaving your URL and expecting him to work it out. Give him an incentive to do it now, through the offer being time limited, limited product availability. The use of a stunning offer is a good technique, especially as the word "Free" has had it's impact diluted through overuse. If you're giving away something free, state it's perceived value e.g. "Free Widget worth $49.99 - limited stocks!"
If you're not confident about writing ads, scan through the classified ad sites and ezines and set up a clippings file. Keep a copy of ads that stop you and create interest. Go through and analyse them to discover the common features that make them hot.
Good ad writing is an ongoing process so make sure you learn what is working by tracking your ads to measure the responses. You can use software or a question mark followed by a code in your URL e.g. the internetmarketingwizards.com/index.htm?cca .This will show up in most statistics packages.
As with most things practice makes perfect. So scribble away as many versions as you can, pick the best ones and test, test, test. Good luck!
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