advertising

It's the Offer!

Advertising that works isn’t about your capabilities; it’s about having readers perceive real value in what they get from you. “The best place to start in creating a successful ad is with an offer,” asserts Aaron Emerson, founder and owner of Prevail PR, a marketing and Web development firm. “You should spend as much as 80% of your ad time developing offers encouraging consumers to get out and spend some money. The reason you use an offer as your headline is that 80% of readers never get past the headline. That means you’re spending 80 cents of every ad dollar on the headline. Make your ads count by putting the biggest benefit to your consumers in the headline itself.”

According to Emerson, the most effective headlines are those that either persuade the reader to delve further into your copy or take some other specific action. As you create your offer, think about the problems your customers have and how your product/service is the best solution. Some of the most effective headline types include:

• Direct—Create your offer and use it as your headline.
• Indirect—Play off your reader’s curiosity or present a situation that your body copy seeks to answer.
• Newsworthy—Look for ways to tie your products or services into solutions for current newsworthy issues (i.e., good for the environment, helps you save money in a down economy, etc.).
• How to—Headlines that promise to show the reader how to solve a specific problem.
• Ask a question—Promise to provide the reader with a specific answer to a compelling question
• Reason why—Lists often make good sales copy, but don’t work very well for shorter ads.
• Testimonial—Secure testimonials from customers in your target market to use as your headline.

“For small businesses, the best approaches are direct headlines and using testimonials,” Emerson suggests. “If you start your ad process by creating an irresistible offer, you’re definitely going to want to use that offer as the headline. If your offer is based more on the results your product or service provides, use the testimonial of a satisfied customer. One underutilized tactic is to run both ads and test them against each other to see which one gets the greater response.”

In terms of body copy, you simply don’t have time to tell a long story about the benefits of your product and service. Because the Internet has made more information available than ever before, people are actively seeking more content. Instead of only using your ads to sell your products and services, Emerson notes, focus on “selling” additional information that will help your prospects make an informed buying decision (e.g., the ways in which your product or service works to help solve problems or meet specific needs).

“In order to hold the reader’s attention, make every effort possible to write the copy from the perspective of the reader,” he adds. “What benefits can they expect to enjoy? What exactly is in it for them if they purchase your products/services? By focusing on what’s in it for them, you can be sure that the people that need your products/services will continue reading your ad.”

Every ad, whether print, periodicals, direct mail, banner ads, etc., or any other medium, should include a call to action. Emerson, who says he reads ads for fun, points out that more than 90% of those he comes across lack a call to action. At a minimum, you want readers to visit your website.”

One approach is to use calls-to-action that promise additional information that is not only valuable for the reader, but also pre-sells your product. By giving away free information, you do a better job prequalifying your prospects and have an opportunity to better prepare the reader to make an informed purchase decision, which builds trust in your brand.

“You should also test and track results,” he says. “The easiest way to track print ads is by using tracking codes. For example, you can ask the reader to mention the ad or a keyword phrase in the ad when calling you or to bring the ad into your store with them. For online ads, you’ll want to insert a referral code in the link to your ad so that you can use Google Analytics or some other free or affordable analytics program to see where your website traffic comes from. You can also insert a ‘promo code’ field on your contact form and mention the code in your ads.”

Once you have tracking devices in place, no matter what medium you use, consistently test all the aspects of your ads to see what pulls—headline, offer, call to action, prices, landing pages, contact forms, media, graphics, etc. “Test your ads long enough to get solid indicators of which are likely to give you the best ROI,” concludes Emerson. “There are plenty of free tools online you can use to help you test, track and optimize your ads, which is by far the easiest way to increase your bottom line without spending more money. If you can double the response of your ads, you’ve just doubled the size of your business without spending a cent more than you already are.”