Ways to Make Your Advertising More Effective: Good Copy
Advertising is expensive. You don’t want to
In this six part series, we’ll be talking about how to make your advertising more effective. Make sure to check out the other posts in the series to get the big picture!
In our first installment, we’ll discuss one way to make advertising more effective – GOOD COPY.
“Copy” is not just what you do at the Xerox machine. In the advertising world, the word copy refers to the text in your message. If you want your ad to be effective, you have to have good copy. In fact, you’ve got to have excellent copy.
To often, advertisements end up as little more than a business card. To me, that’s the equivalent of standing inside the window at your store, and waving and smiling to people as they drive by. You might get someone to respond, but for the most part, you’re just throwing your money away. Your ad HAS to have more than just your name and phone number.
While some ads may have more detail then others, this is my breakdown of what a successful ad contains:
Introduce Yourself
Tell us who you are. Your logo, your branding, or your history or background will help you establish your brand, and prime the listener for your message.
Identify the Pain
Every product or service is meant to solve a problem, right? Identify what problem YOU solve for your potential customer. Make sure it is relatable, and tangible.
Explain the Benefits
How does your product or service answer “the pain” or the problem? What do you have to offer?
Identify the Value
Explain the WORTH (not necessarily the price) of your product. This might include comparisons or testimonials.
Risk Reversal
Do you offer a money back guarantee? If so, this is a good place to make it clear that you’ll take the risk away for them. It doesn’t work for every situation, but if you offer any kind of guarantee, this amps up the VALUE of your offer.
Call to Action
A call to action is best when it is CLEAR, BOLD, and IMMEDIATE.
“Call us TODAY for more information!”
“Stop in today and ask for Mike!”
“Click here to subscribe!”
This is the second most important part of your ad – some would say it’s the most important. Give them clear instruction for what you want them to do, when you want them to do it, and be sure to make it bold, capital, and/or have exclamation points! Make it sound and seem exciting!
Contact Information
This should be included near or in your call to action. Give them clear instruction for how to give you the money. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this simple, and MOST IMPORTANT step missed!
Need to make YOUR advertising more effective? Need some help with copywriting?
I can help you out! Shoot me a message, and let me know how I can help!
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