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The Challenge of the Sales Ad (part 3 of 3)

February 23rd, 2010

How to Write Ads for the Internet (part 3 of 3). See part 1. See part 2.

An effective sales ad is harder to create than a response ad. That’s because it’s much harder to get someone to give you their money, than to merely visit your site.

The only reason someone will voluntarily give you their money is in exchange for something they want. In the case of most businesses, that means solving a problem.

A famous marketing guru once said, ‘All marketing is about solving problems’. This statement is 100% correct. Your product is designed to solve a specific problem. If you don’t know what that problem is you can’t create a powerful sales ad.

For example, a car solves the problem of getting from point A to point B. A car does this so much better than anything else (fast, inexpensive, comfortable, fun) that it has become the #1 tool used by people to solve the point A to point B problem.

The entire focus of your sales ad needs to be the problem. Specifically…

  • What the problem is
  • Why the problem needs to be solved
  • How your product solves the problem
  • How your solution is different and/or better than other solutions
  • Why the prospect should trust you to solve it
  • What to do to have this problem solved

Your answers to these questions form the basis of your sales ad. They even fit into the following general overview of your sales ad.

A sales ad has four different sections. Each section has a specific job to do. The sections, and their specific purpose, are…

  • Gain a commitment to read the ad
  • Build the prospect’s interest
  • Create desire for the product
  • Ask the prospect to buy

Commitment to read the ad

This section consists of the ad’s headline and its first paragraph. Your goal is to make the ad so interesting to the prospect that he or she is compelled to read it.

The headline should state the specific problem that your product solves. That is, the outcome delivered by the product. For example…

The Cost of Security is Exploding. Now you can get better Security and Save Thousands!

The example headline promises to deliver something the prospect wants very badly. The use of the word ‘now’ also suggests something has changed, improving the credibility of the statement being made.

The first paragraph must immediately follow on from the headline. If it doesn’t do that, your prospect will quickly lose interest.

The first paragraph should also lend weight to the claim made in the ad headline. But it shouldn’t be too specific. At this point you’re looking for a commitment to read the ad, not a commitment to buy. For example…

Wouldn’t you love to get better security with SIA Licensed Guards, and cut the cost of your security? Not just for a limited time, but permanently. That’s exactly what you get from Check Security. Here’s how…

The example paragraph restates the product’s key promise, and then uses a hook to encourage further reading. Nobody interested in more security for less money will stop reading at the end of paragraph one.

That’s an important point. You want people to continue reading past the end of the first paragraph. The further into your ad you can get a person, the less likely it is he/she will stop reading. This is mainly down to the fact that your reader will have forgetten whatever it was he/she was doing before, and become increasingly interested in your offer.

Build the prospect’s interest

The example paragraph above is designed to lead the reader naturally into the second part of the ad. In this next section, you must build the prospect’s interest in what you have to sell. You do that by giving more detail about the product or service you’re selling.

This section should focus on what your product actually delivers, and how it works. You need to keep this section short and to the point. You must avoid getting bogged down in the detail. You’re not out to prove anything in this section. You’re simply whetting your prospect’s appetite for more.

Create desire for the product

At this point in your ad, only one thing will stop your prospect from buying. Doubt.

Doubt is the #1 sales killer. During the desire section of your ad you increase desire for the product by eliminating doubt. The doubts that rise in your prospect’s mind fall into these broad categories…

  • The product doesn’t do what you say
  • The product doesn’t exist (i.e. scam)
  • The product result doesn’t justify its price
  • The prospect doesn’t really have this problem
  • The problem isn’t more expensive than the price

Up to this point in your ad, you’ve simply made claims for your product. These are enough to get your prospect interested, and are the reason why he or she is still reading. But to get a sale, you need to create excitement. To convert interest into excitement, you must eliminate doubt. And to eliminate doubt, you must backup your claims.

You should do this with some subtlety. You can’t simply say ‘This isn’t a scam’, because all that does is raise the concern in the mind of the prospect. Here are some common ways to deal with doubt…

  • Testimonial evidence from existing customers. These should be scans of the original hard copy, or video testimonial
  • Scientific evidence
  • A free trial period
  • A money back guarantee
  • A generous warranty
  • A summary of your expertise (if you’re the product)

Your use of these techniques should be in conjunction with the benefit being delivered. In other words, you need to keep the prospect interested while you eliminate his or her natural doubts. The end result of reading this section of your ad should be an overwhelming desire to buy the product.

Ask the prospect to buy

It might seem obvious, yet one of the most common mistakes made by amateurs is forgetting to ask for the sale.

When asking for the sale, it’s best to order the prospect to buy. That is, to tell the prospect what to do. You should also restate your product’s main benefit in the form of a question when you do this. For example…

You’d to get more security, protect your business with SIA Licensed Guards and save thousands of dollars wouldn’t you? Click here and join now…

This example shows how to ask a question that can only be answered with ‘yes’. You get the prospect to agree that what your product delivers is something he or she wants. Then you tell the prospect what he or she must do to get it. In this case, to click a link.

Finishing off…

Many amateurs are uncomfortable with asking for the sale, especially in so blatant a manner as I have suggested. Amateurs tend to follow up with more words. It’s almost as if they’re apologizing for having had the temerity to try and sell something.

Don’t make this mistake. Ask for the sale, and be done with it. Don’t type another word.

You never really finish

At some point you have to stop writing your sales ad and post it to the web. You never really finish writing an ad. It’s more accurate to say that you abandon it.

I’ve found it worthwhile rewriting my sales ads every couple of weeks, in an attempt to improve them. My first effort is never my best. I encourage you to do the same, and let your ad evolve over time.


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The Art of Response Advertising (part 2 of 3)

February 22nd, 2010

How to Write Ads for the Internet (part 2 of 3). See part 1.

In theory, getting the response should be easy. After all, you’re only asking for a little of your prospect’s time. Of course, there’s often a difference between theory and practice.

In the case of a response ad, you’re up against the following…

  • Getting the prospect to notice your ad
  • Getting the prospect interested enough to read your ad
  • Persuading the prospect that finding out more about your product is a worthwhile use of his or her time
  • Overcoming the prospect’s natural skepticism

The Internet further compounds these problems as follows…

  • Your ad is often only one ad among millions
  • Web sites are often hard to read, especially compared to magazines and newspapers
  • Most website owners are not publishing professionals, and may botch your ad, rendering it useless
  • Most specialist online ad sites attract other people in business, rather than good prospects for your product
  • If your ad is on a slow-loading web page, nobody will wait around long enough to see it

The paradox of the Internet is that it makes it easier for the prospect to physically respond, but much harder to bring the ad to your prospect’s attention.

The successful response ad

A response ad needs to do the following…

  • Get the prospect to notice it
  • Get the prospect interested in your product
  • Persuade the prospect to respond

These three tasks are all a response ad has to do. You should remove anything else from a response ad. Here’s an example…

Not making money from business networking? I’ll show you how to turn business cards into cash – instantly! Discover Beyond Networking.

Getting noticed

The way to get people to notice your response ad is through its headline. The headline on a response ad has one job to do. It must attract attention to itself. It must…

  • Draw the prospect’s eyes toward it
  • Spark the prospect’s interest

A headline will draw attention to itself if it’s bold, startling, or shocking. It will be especially effective if the headline is written to appeal to people likely to buy your product.

When creating a new ad headline, you should start by looking at the most exciting thing that your product offers, and find a way to state it in a single sentence.

A response ad headline should also be…

  • Short
  • Punchy
  • Exciting

Most Internet advertisers write dull ad headlines. Many simply name their product, and expect people to notice their ad sitting there among hundreds of others.

That’s not going to happen. Nobody sets out to surf the web so they can read advertising. Your response ad won’t work if it’s not the most exciting thing on the page.

Your ad will be exciting to your prospect if it promises to deliver something he or she wants. If you can find a short, punchy, and exciting way to say it, your headline will draw attention to itself.

Your prospect’s subconscious mind will see the entire webpage, and notice anything interesting. If your ad headline is interesting, your prospect’s subconscious mind will bring it to your prospect’s attention.

You’ve probably noticed this when reading a newspaper. Your eye tends to be drawn, almost subconsciously, to things you find interesting.

Developing interest

Getting the prospect to look at your ad is the first battle. The next task is to get him/her to read it. This starts with the headline, which must promise something interesting.

You must immediately follow the headline with something that reinforces the promised benefit. The headline must lead logically into the first sentence of the ad.

The first sentence must then follow logically into the second. These sentences should also be short, punchy, and exciting.

Your goal is simply to get a response. You’re not selling your product in this ad. You’re selling your sales ad.

You want the person to become interested enough to volunteer to stop what he or she was doing, and click through to your sales page instead.

Don’t mention the price of your product, no matter how inexpensive it is. The price is never a benefit in the mind of the prospect. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule. It’s not likely the exception will apply to your product.

Getting the response

The culmination of your response ad is the response. Its reason for being is to attract people to your website.

For that to happen, your prospect must become excited about what he or she is reading. You should then invite the prospect to respond. Ideally, you will tell the prospect what to do in your invitation. For example: Click here now…

This ‘invitation’ is both an instruction that tells the client what to do, and an order to do it immediately.

In part one you looked at the two types of advertising. They are the response ad, and the sales ad. You also looked at how each type of ad fits into the 2-step process.


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How to Write Ads for the Internet (1 of 3)

February 21st, 2010

Advertising is one of the hardest things to get right. This is especially true on the Internet, where you’re competing with thousands of other advertisers.

Fortunately, most of the advertising on the Internet is written by amateurs who have no idea what they’re doing. This makes it easy for a skilled ad writer to stand out from the crowd.

This article is written for people new to advertising, and gives you an introduction to the two main types of advertising. It explains what each type is designed to do, and shows you when to use each one.

Most people don’t know what you’re about to discover, yet it’s not possible to create powerful online ads unless you know this information.

The two types of advertising

There are only 2 types of advertising that matter on the Internet. They are…

  1. Response advertising
  2. Sales advertising

Response advertising

A response ad is designed to get people to reply to the ad. This is the sole purpose of a response ad.

A response ad shouldn’t focus on selling a product, but on selling the response.

Sales advertising

A sales ad is designed to get people to buy a product or service. This is the sole purpose of a sales ad.

Two-step advertising

With two-step advertising, there are two distinct steps in the sales process…

  1. Get people to visit your sales page
  2. Ask for the sale

A response ad is used in step one, and a sales ad in step two.

Your goal in step one is to generate enough interest in your product or service that a person stops what he or she is doing, and visits your sales page instead. For example…

Wedding Reception Entertainment that will take your friends and family by surprise, and ensure they’ll talk about your wedding for years!

Your goal in step two is to generate enough desire for your product that the prospect buys it.

There are millions of suitable websites on the Internet. A suitable site is one that attracts people who are likely to have an interest in your product or service.

You need to find as many of these websites as you can, and put your response ad on as many of them as you can afford.

Your response ad then has the job of gaining the attention of the people who visit those websites, and persuading them to stop what they’re doing and visit your sales ad instead.

The Internet is especially suited to two-step advertising because every page can be linked to any another. If your prospect is interested in your ad, all he or she has to do to respond is click on it. As soon as your prospect does, he or she is taken to your sales page.

Take it from me, it’s much easier to get a person to click on an ad than it is to get him or her to send a reply coupon back through the mail. Or to dial an 800 number.

Despite the Internet’s ease of response, getting a prospect to reply to your ad is still a challenge. We’ll look at how to go about this in the next article.


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Weasel words, doubt and sales

December 28th, 2009

Weasel words are mostly used by politicians and journalists. As a result, most of us treat weasel words with the same contempt we normally reserve for politicians.

There are 2 kinds of weasel words…

1. Words carefully designed to mean nothing
2. Words that leave room for doubt

Words carefully designed to mean nothing

An excellent example of the first variety of weasel words was uttered by former US President, Bill Clinton, on a tour of New Zealand in 1999. In one of his many speeches he uttered the immortal phrase…

Example 1:
We are building a bridge to the 21st Century

Let’s take a look at this sentence. A bridge is a physical entity that spans 2 points in space. It makes it possible to get from one point to the other.

How on earth do you build a bridge between 2 points in time?

The sentence in example 1 contains nothing but feel-good nonsense. It sounds good, but is designed merely to have unthinking people overlay their own interpretation and respond in agreement with rapturous applause.

Weasel words of this variety should not be used by people in business.

Your business is more important than anything a politician does. You create wealth and opportunity with your business, and it’s vital you don’t waste your time wallowing in this type of language.

Words that leave room for doubt

The second variety of weasel words are also used by politicians, but the best practitioners are product reviewers. For example…

Example 2:
This could well be the best computer game I’ve ever played

At first glance you might think this is glowing praise. And coming from a journalist, it’s probably as close as he or she will ever get to glowing praise.

The words ‘could well be’ introduce an element of doubt into the sentence. The writer is saying that he or she isn’t prepared to fully endorse the game.

It’s an idiotic thing to say, anyway. Isn’t the reviewer sure? Then why say the sentence in the first place? And please do note the doubts this type of wording raises.

It doesn’t really matter in a computer game review. It does matter when it comes to your advertising.

The following examples demonstrate the difference…

Example 3:
This is the best computer game I’ve ever played

Example 4:
This is the single best computer game I’ve ever played

Examples 3 and 4 show you how to strengthen an endorsement even further by adding a single word (the word single).

It’s vital that you eliminate both kinds of weasel words from your advertising.

Now you’ll look at specific weasel words, and see how to replace them with words that increase the power of your advertising.

Up to

The phrase ‘up to’ occurs a lot in advertising. The following example shows a typical use…

Example 5:
Up to 50% off everything in store this week only

The phrase ‘up to’ has lost its power in advertising through over-use. You and I know that ‘up to 50% off’ includes the entire range of possible discounts from 1—50%!

Most of us will automatically assume that the item we’re likely to be interested in is one of the ones with the smallest discount.

The other problem with the phrase ‘up to,’ is that it describes an abstract concept. It’s left to the reader to apply the unspecific ‘up to 50% off’ to the specific item he or she actually wants.

That’s probably not going to happen. It’s far more powerful to list the items that you’ve discounted.

Make sure you contrast the original price against the discounted price. You inject more power by mentioning the specific amount saved. For example…

Example 6:
Huge savings on these items this week only…

  • 2-person UltraLite tent. Was $195. Now only $125. You save a whopping $70!
  • 4-season UltraLite down sleeping bag. Was $98. Now only $76. You save $22!

Naturally it works best when you list your biggest discount first, and your next biggest last.

Might or could

The word ‘might,’ when used to mean ‘maybe,’ immediately drains a sentence of its power. As shown in these examples…

Example 7:
This experience might change your life

Example 8:
This experience will change your life

Most of us wouldn’t cross the street for something that might change our lives, because we’re too busy to waste time on something that may or may not make a difference.


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Say what you mean

December 24th, 2009

I’m a fan of unintentional humor. I’ve previously listed a number of genuine road signs that demonstrated how easy it is to get things very wrong.

This article follows on from that one, with more unintentional humor and suggestions on how to avoid making the same mistake in your ad.

In two minds

Consider this sign, seen in tailors…

We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand.

Yes, it’s funny. But this type of mistake is all too easy to make. The problem is, the author knows exactly what he or she means to say, and doesn’t take the time to consider other possible meanings for the sentence.

You really do need to be in two minds when you’re writing, and then proofing your ad. One mind should focus on what you’re saying, while the other concentrates on what your words actually mean.

Here’s another example to illustrate the point…

No matter what your topcoat is made of, this miracle spray will make it really repellent.

Typos

Take a careful look at this exultation…

Save regularly in our bank. You’ll never reget it.

Did you spot the typo? You’ll never “re get” your money. This is probably not the kind of message a bank wants to send to its customers!

Yet such a typo is incredibly hard to spot. How easily did you find it? How much harder would it have been if you’d written that sentence, given that your mind will automatically take in groups of words and correct them on a subconscious level.

This is why it pays to get someone else to proof-read your ad. Here’s another example, just because…

This is the model home for your future. It was panned by Better Homes and Gardens.

Thinking things through

Thinking things through before you actually sit down and write an ad is a good idea. Here’s what happens when a person doesn’t bother…

Stock up and save! Limit: one

I suspect this advertiser is working his or her way through a list of “power” phrases, and giving little thought to what the words in those phrases actually mean.

Take it from me, an ad isn’t powerful simply because it contains “power” words. An ad is only powerful when it clearly communicates the benefit on offer.

Red face, anybody

Some people find themselves insulted and outraged over things I find amusing, and vice versa. It’s in our nature to make a virtue out of anything we love, and a sin out of the things we don’t.

That’s why it pays to keep a special look out for a double entendre. Here’s an example…

Modular Sofas. Only $299 for rest or fore play.

What would you pay to erase that unintentional “e,” had this been your ad in a highly conservative part of the world?

Mind you, sometimes you have to ask yourself whether or not the humor really was unintended…

Mixing bowl set designed to please a cook with round bottom for efficient beating.

And that’s the problem you face. Your reader doesn’t know whether or not you intended to be humorous. If your unintended humor causes offense, you may well lose several sales.

Going out with a bang

Here are a several more examples of unintended humor for your enjoyment.

Sheer stockings. Designed for fancy dress, but so serviceable that lots of women wear nothing else.

Used Cars: Why go elsewhere to be cheated? Come here first!

Our bikinis are exciting. They are simply the tops!

Tired of cleaning yourself? Let me do it.

Auto Repair Service. Free pickup and delivery. Try us once, you’ll never go anywhere again.

Ladies and gentlemen, now you can have a bikini for a ridiculous figure.

For Rent: 6-room hated apartment.


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Why do they buy? (part 2 of 2)

December 7th, 2009

NOTE: This is part 2 of a two-part series. Please read part 1 before starting part 2.

In the first installment, we looked at the number one killer of sales — doubt. In this article, we’ll look at what you need to do to overcome doubt and encourage people to buy.

Desire

There’s only one reason why a person buys a product or service. They want it. This sounds simple enough, but there’s more to it than first meets they eye. The would-be buyer has to want the product more than the money it costs. It’s up to you to bring the prospective buyer around to that conclusion.

Most advertising generates some degree of desire, but not enough to overcome natural human inertia. This article looks at how to generate desire through your advertising, and use it to get people to take the risk involved in making a purchase.

Doubt

In part one, we looked at the way doubt kills sales. Doubt has the ability to overcome desire. It acts as a warning bell, leaving the potential buyer with the feeling that taking no action is less risky than buying your product.

If doubt kills desire, what kills doubt?

Paradoxically, you can counter doubt with desire. Let me explain…

Desire is an emotion, and human beings are emotional creatures. We are driven to act on emotional impulses. The emotions that spur us to act are…

  • Fear
  • Greed
  • Need

Here are some examples of these three emotions to illustrate the point…

A man with a broken leg is in the path of a charging bull. His fear compels him to act in spite of his pain.

A woman with large debts is offered the chance to place her last $500 on a horse paying 100 to 1. She places the bet in the vein hope that a win might solve her financial problems.

A socially immature man joins a club he has little interest in because his need for approval overrides his desire to occupy his time with activities that interest him.

A woman with poor self esteem, and little money, spends $2,500 on a designer dress that she will wear only once. She believes the dress will compensate for her feelings of inadequacy.

A man borrows heavily to buy an expensive sports car. The car is impractical for his needs, but he believes his friends will admire the car, and that this admiration will extend to him.

In each case, a person was driven to act by an underlying emotion.

If you were to ask, these people wouldn’t consider their actions to be irrational. In fact, they’d give you seemingly rational reasons for acting the way they did. From their own point of view, they had a genuine need to take the action they did. In each case, the motivation to act was driven by desire, not need.

Fear of loss

Fear of loss is another powerful motivator. Some say the fear of loss is actually more powerful than the desire for gain.

You can combine desire with the fear of loss to create a powerful sales tool that inspires immediate action from potential clients. We’ll look at how to do that in an online ad later in this article.

When doubt is stopping someone from making that final commitment for something they desire, the fear of losing it is a useful countermeasure.

Greed

Greed is a powerful desire built into all of us. Greed is not so much a sin, as a powerful survival tool in a world where resources are scarce.

Our species has evolved in a world of scarce resources, and we’ve learned to horde things as a result. You can see this even in our body chemistry, which has us overeat when food is abundant so the excess can be stored as fat.

This natural greed extends to all areas of our lives, and can be used as a tool to sell products that promise to multiply any particular thing people might wish to horde.

A more “evolved” form of greed is exclusivity. Any product that generates an aura of exclusivity, instantly becomes more desirable. Modern art is an excellent example of this. Blotches of paint splashed on paper by a five year old, are worthless. Blotches of paint splashed on canvas by an Internationally recognized artist can command a small fortune.

Exclusivity is an extension of the principle of scarcity. As a general rule, an object is seen as more valuable if it’s desired by more than one person, it’s not easily duplicated, and there isn’t enough of them for everybody. How much would you pay for a glass of water right now? How much would you pay if you were lost in the desert, and hadn’t had a drink in 2 days? How much would you pay if two of you were lost in the desert, hadn’t had a drink in 2 days, and there was a single glass of water?

Guilt

Guilt is a by-product of our overdeveloped brains.

Certain types of product lend themselves to guilt, such as charity appeals. Guilt is paired with a need for approval, which is to say the need to feel good about ourselves. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with giving something away, and this may simply be the removal of guilt!

The need for approval runs through all of us, and is almost certainly related to our social evolution as a species. We developed abstract language as a tool to help us survive the predatory activities of creatures far more powerful and better equipped than we are. Our advantage requires that we cooperate, and it’s likely that our need for approval finds its source in this aspect of our species.

This need for approval can be used to generate desire for certain products. Overpriced automobiles, clothing, art, and jewelry spring to mind.

Buyer’s don’t believe they act on emotion

If you’re finding this article to be rather cynical about human beings, it may be due to this next point. People are generally not conscious of the emotions that underpin the actions they take. This applies as much to our buying decisions, as to any other area of human activity.

An excellent example of this can be seen in a colleague of mine, who once swore black and blue that every buying decision he made was based totally on logic, and was the result of painstaking research over several months. He believed that all his buying decisions were entirely rational.

My colleague failed to grasp two points…

  1. The way he went about purchasing is a separate step from taking the decision to purchase
  2. His desire to get the lowest price was still based on an emotional need

Yes, the person I have in mind does not strike you as one given to high emotion. Yet he buys things that he does not need to survive. Why does he do so?

For example, he already had a very expensive SLR camera. He didn’t need a digital camera. It will take around 10 years to recover the cost of not having to develop an entire film just to get the few photos he wants to keep. He’ll almost certainly have upgraded to another digital camera by then! More to the point, why does he want to take and keep photos anyway?

The plain fact is, despite his painstaking research to find the very best camera, and all the haggling to get the lowest possible price, his underlying motivation was emotional. Nobody needs a camera, but plenty of us desire the photos that result. They’re memories of good times, and rekindle the emotions that accompanied those events.

His desire to get the best price is not based on logic either. He enjoys the process of getting the lowest price on Earth for anything he buys. How do I know this? Because every time he buys something new, the first thing he tells me is how much he saved. The next thing he tells me is how he managed to save so much.

The point is, buying decisions are emotional acts. A person buys something to fulfill an emotional need. You will make more sales if you find a way to speak to that need.

Forcing the issue

Generating desire for a product or service isn’t difficult. Desire is easily aroused in people, simply by clearly communicating the manner in which a product or service meets one or more basic human needs.

Unfortunately for us, desire alone isn’t enough! People are reluctant to act. This tendency is seen during the sales process. A person may well make a decision to buy, yet doesn’t actually do so.

For whatever reason, he or she decides to delay the act of purchasing until some later date. All kinds of reasons may be given for the delay, and most will sound totally convincing. None of these reasons matter. The simple fact of the matter is, it’s usually safer to do nothing.

In a sense, your job as a writer of ads, is to make it safer to act now.

This is especially important on the Internet, because you’re relying on words and phrases to secure the sale. And you have little hope of ever seeing that person again if they don’t buy now.

You need to force the issue.

Use scarcity to force the issue

The way to force the issue is to use the law of scarcity. This law speaks to the fear of loss that resides in all of us, and has its basis in a fundamental understanding of economics that we all share.

Most of us know there is a limited amount of any given item, so it’s usually better to grab something while it’s available.

Capitalism has lessened the impact of this truth in all western nations. It’s very unusual for something to be scarce in a free market. Competing businesses will always outperform a monopoly. That’s especially true of a government-run monopoly.

The lack of scarcity that we all enjoy in the western world, has lessened the impact of scarcity as a selling tool. This is especially true for digital products, where the cost of manufacture is zero. Despite this, you can still use scarcity by imposing a time limit on a special offer.

The special offer

A special offer increases the desirability of any item that a person wants to buy. For example, if you’ve already been sold on a particular brand of car, the ability to get it with $3,000 worth of factory options at no extra cost increases the desirability of that particular car.

If you’re interested in several different models, the special offer is likely to affect your buying decision in favor of the car that includes the extras.

Of course, a special offer won’t get a person to act in and of itself. Why should someone act today, when they can still get the special offer tomorrow? Or next week? Or next month?

For a special offer to invoke action, it needs a time a limit.

The time limit

Consider the above special offer. You get your car at the agreed price, and then the dealer includes $3,000 worth of factory options.

This would certainly cause you to think about this model of car. But in an of itself, that’s all it does.

What if the dealer then told you that the special offer expired tomorrow?

This forces you to think a lot more seriously about the car. If you’re going to buy that model…if you’re really serious about it, you’re going to be better off if you act immediately.

If the special offer is desirable, and the time-limit reasonably strict, it’s safer to act now. It’s more risky to delay. The advertiser has successfully reversed the normal circumstances in which a buyer finds him or herself!

The time limit forces a person to make a real decision, rather than a theoretical one. And it helps get the buyer over the hurdle of risk, by rewarding him/her for taking the next step.

When to disclose the special offer

Time limited special offers are an excellent way to get people to act. But they only work if a person has already decided to buy.

You must first sell the person on buying your product or service. A person must first make a theoretical decision to buy. Once a person has decided to buy, in principle, you can then clinch the deal buy making it safer to act immediately.

Recap

Why does a person buy your product? Because they want the benefits that come with owning and using it.

What are the benefits of owning and using your product? If you don’t know, you’d better find out, because you can’t write a powerful sales ad until you know.

By clearly explaining the benefits of that come with using your product, you build desire for it. But desire usually isn’t enough to secure the sale. You’ll get more sales if you use a time-limited special offer, and make it more beneficial to act now.


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Why don’t they buy? (part 1 of 2)

December 7th, 2009

What is it that stops people from clicking the ‘buy now’ button, and entering their credit card details in your sales form?

The 6 reasons

There are 6 basic reasons why a person won’t buy a product or service. Each individual may refuse to buy for one or more of the following reasons…

  1. The benefits aren’t clear
  2. They have no need for the product
  3. They can’t afford it
  4. They’re not asked to buy
  5. They don’t believe the product can deliver on the benefits promised in the advertising
  6. They don’t trust seller

Benefits aren’t clear

A benefit is an emotional reward that the owner gets when he or she uses the product. For example, a man who buys a custom-tailored suit enjoys the pleasure that comes from looking as good as he can possibly look.

Most Internet advertising incorrectly focuses on describing the product itself, rather than the benefits of owning and using the product.

This is a mistake, because a person doesn’t set out to buy a collection of components. He or she is interested in what the product will do for them.

Every product has particular features, and they do need to be included in the ad. But a feature should only be included to support the benefit of using the product. It’s a product’s benefits that matter.

No need

Nobody voluntarily buys a product for which he or she has no need. It’s impossible to sell a person anything until he or she has decided they want what the product offers more than the amount of money required to obtain it.

Having said that, it isn’t necessarily true that a person has no need for a product. It may be that the person hasn’t understood what they’ll get if they buy the product. People don’t buy products. They buy the thing that the product promises to deliver.

For example, people don’t buy cars. They buy transportation, and/or status, and/or convenience, and/or thrills.

It’s highly likely that a sales page that doesn’t get many sales isn’t communicating what the product delivers. As a result, potential buyers don’t understand why they might need the product on offer.

Can’t afford it

Sometimes, a person really can’t afford to buy. In this situation, the solution is to find ways to help a buyer fund the purchase.

It’s more likely that the buyer can afford to buy, but has decided it’s not worth more to him or her than the money it costs. In this situation, the advertiser is almost certainly failing to describe the benefits of using the product in a way that excites the potential client.

For example, a Porsche 911 has several benefits. It will get you from point A to point B. It looks fantastic, with sensual lines and has the appearance of moving even when it’s standing still. It’s a very fast car, with superb handling and a solid reputation for bullet-proof construction. It’s also a very expensive automobile, and few people would pay the asking price if the company focused only on the ‘point A to point B’ benefit.

The phrase ‘can’t afford it’ may, or may not be true. If your product is expensive relative to the market, or involves a non-trivial amount of money, you need to focus on the more exciting things your product will do for its owner.

Not asked to buy

It’s such a simple thing, you’d think every advertiser on the planet would ask people to buy. In fact, amateurs seldom ask people to buy.

It’s more likely that an ad will end weakly, with the advertiser taking a ‘softly-softly’ approach in case the prospective client feels pressured to buy.

This is a mistake. Anyone who reads your ad through to the end is interested in your product, but hasn’t made a definite decision to buy at this point. Why not? Because most people try to avoid making decisions. Decisions involve commitment. Most people tend to avoid making commitments.

Likewise, most people tend to avoid taking action. When it comes to money, most of us have learned the hard way that it’s usually safer not to buy. Inaction is the natural state of your average human being!

An ordinary person, having read your ad, will not buy if you don’t ask him or her to do so. Advertising that doesn’t force the issue will end in failure. People will simply finish reading the ad and move on.

After asking a person to buy, you must now tell him or her what they need to do to physically make the purchase.

Don’t believe product will deliver benefits

An ad may well disclose all the benefits that come from owning and using a particular product, but if the potential client doesn’t believe the product can do all those things…the sale won’t happen.

Any advertiser that makes claims for a particular product must be able to back those claims up with credible evidence.

What constitutes evidence depends on the target market for a product. For example, an unsophisticated market will be happy to believe testimonial evidence. Such a person may accept that a health-product produced the results claimed for it by users of the product. A more sophisticated audience will understand the weakness inherent in such a claim and demand stronger evidence. A health product may have to show the results of peer-reviewed double-blind scientific testing.

You need to assess the requirements of your particular market, and provide supporting evidence that speaks directly to the expectations and experience of your target audience.

It may also be that the claims being made for a product are perfectly true, but the product is so far ahead of the rest of the market, the claims are totally unbelievable.

If you’re in this situation, you’re going to have work even harder to demonstrate the truth behind your claims.

Don’t trust seller

The 6th reason why people don’t buy is they simply don’t trust the seller. Some markets are less trusting than others, and you need to adapt your approach for the market you’re selling to.

You can increase your trustworthiness in a variety of ways…

  • Build a relationship over time
  • Join an industry body
  • Obtain certification for your product
  • Use a secure server with an up-to-date certificate
  • Use a trusted 3rd party to process credit cards. This gives the client an independent way to get their money back
  • Use a certified delivery service that allows people to track their order
  • Publish client testimonials with contact details (having obtained the necessary permissions)

In my opinion, it’s the first of these that has the most impact. If you can begin the relationship with something that requires a low level of commitment from a future client (i.e. something free), you give him or her the chance to get to know you.

Whatever you do during this process, it should involve enough client contact for the person to get used to dealing with you. He or she should come to trust you enough that you answer the question ‘can I trust you?’ and remove it from his mind.

Then 6 became one

All the reasons why they don’t buy come down to one thing — doubt.

Doubt is the #1 sales killer, because it dampens excitement and enthusiasm. If you can overcome doubt, you make it possible for today’s jaded consumer to get excited about your product.

And once they’re excited, the sale is in the bag.

If you remove doubt that a potential buyer wants your product, you’ve taken a giant step closer to the sale. If you remove doubt about what the person needs to do to place an order, you’re one step closer to the sale.

If you remove doubt that the product can do what you claim it can do, you’re one step closer to the sale. If you remove doubt about the trustworthiness of your business, you’re one step closer to the sale.

If you remove all doubt…you’ll get the sale! But how do you remove all doubt? That’s the subject of part two.


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Make Him Stop! The secret to writing ad copy that works…

December 3rd, 2009

How do you stop a visitor to your sales page in his or her tracks? How do you keep a potential client interested enough in your ad, that he or she sticks around long enough to buy?

Revealing the enemy

The very nature of the web is working against a sales page. It’s oh so easy to surf on to some other page just as soon as the visitor gets bored.

But it’s not the click-ability of the web you need to worry about. You and I can’t change that, although you can minimize it by making sure your sales page contains only your sales message.

In other words, remove all links from your sales page, except those essential to get the sale.

The real enemy is boredom, and it applies to any sales medium. If a sales page is boring, the potential client will click on to something more interesting. If a salesperson is boring, the potential client will make an excuse and leave. If a TV ad is boring, the viewer will change channel.

The sure-fire cure for boredom

An advertiser needs to take a certain perspective on human nature. He or she must recognize what human beings are like deep down inside.

We’re selfish, and self-obsessed.

Oh sure, you and I aren’t like that. You and I are different! But you can take it from me, everybody else is totally and completely given over to their own self-interest. This is especially true for your potential clients.

A web page stops being boring, just as soon as it stops talking about the advertiser, and starts talking about the what the potential client stands to gain.

Contrast this with most Internet advertisers. The majority of ads out there, start by telling the potential client either…

  • How great the product is
  • How great the advertiser is

Snoooooooooore. The potential client doesn’t care. To stop a potential client in his or her tracks, you (the seller) have to put your own unquestioned greatness to one side.

When the sales page is all about the potential client, it suddenly gets interesting for him or her. When the sales page is about what the potential client is going to get, it’s suddenly very interesting (assuming he or she wants the thing on offer).

Focus

Create a sales page that sells a specific item. Don’t go for the broad-brush approach (too bad if your site is as Internet Mall).

An Internet sales page is much more effective when it focuses on selling a thing. To do that, it needs to focus on the item being sold. And in particular, it needs to focus on what the item does for the buyer.

The sales page must make it absolutely blindingly clear what the buyer gets from the thing being sold. And what the buyer misses out on, if he or she doesn’t buy it.

Halt!

The way to make a potential client stop, and start reading your sales page, is to make it all about him or her. And in particular, what he or she gets from the product on offer.

So make sure your sales page gets right to the point. Immediately.

Which is to say, get to the benefit. Immediately. And by that, I mean the benefit to the buyer. Not the benefit to you (don’t laugh, you’d be surprised how many people get this the wrong way around).


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Why Time Matters in Advertising

December 2nd, 2009

The concept of time is very important in advertising. Your ad may be fabulously persuasive, but if it arrives at the wrong time, you still won’t get the sale. In advertising, timing is everything.

Your ad may arrive at the right time, but if the reader finds it slow-going, he or she will give up (or fall asleep) before you get a chance to ask for the sale. In advertising, time matters. And it pays off when you know how to take advantage of this fact.

Urgency

Urgency is important in advertising, because human beings are lazy. The advertiser might want us to “click here now,” but we’d much rather “click here later.”

Of course, your prospects never get around to coming back later. In fact, “later” is always some point in the future. It’s never “later,” because it’s always “now.” In other words, if you can’t persuade a person to click on your ad “now,” what makes you think you’ll be able to persuade them later?

The way to get past this natural human tendency, is to impart a sense of urgency. There are other articles in this Blog that talk about techniques you can use to create urgency (e.g. discount the price, but place a strict time limit on the reduction).

In this article, I’m going to discuss the words and phrases you can use to reinforce these techniques.

Words that impart urgency

The word “urgent” is an example of a word that imparts urgency. It can work especially well as a headline. For example…

Urgent notice! You must see this now…

This striking sentence must be followed up with something that is genuinely urgent. If you followed up the above headline with “Now we sell toasters,” your reader is likely to lose interest.

The above headline is also less suited to the beginning of an ad, that its end. Let’s say you’ve written an ad that makes a good case for buying your product. You’ve got the prospect to the point where they’re ready to buy.

Introducing the above headline at that point will impart a feeling that you’re about to given the reader some bad news. What you must then do, is give the reader some good news. And this news must also justify the “urgency” your headline claims. For example…

Urgent Notice! You Must See This Now…

Right now — today only — you get all five products for only $49. That’s a massive saving of $76! But please hurry, because this offer expires tonight. You must click here and order now.

This paragraph screams urgency, doesn’t it? It offers a tremendous saving as a reward for taken the action the advertiser wants you to take.

Of course, this technique and these words can only work if the reader has already accepted that the products in question are worth $125. The rest of the ad has to work hard at getting the prospect to believe the products are worth $125, and have the reader still want them at this price.

The “urgency” section then provides a large dollop of excitement, along with the threat of lost opportunity, that has a good chance of prodding the buyer into action.

Hurry

The above example used the words “please hurry.” In this context, the writer is literally pleading with the reader. By doing so, the writer implies that he/she has the reader’s best interests at heart.

Other phrases you can use in this context are…

  • You must act now
  • Don’t miss out
  • Rush
  • Strictly limited
  • Today only
  • Offer expires on…

These words are designed to imply scarcity. Either time, the discounted price, or the product itself will not be available for long. These words generate action, but only in people who have already decided to buy the product. Urgency only works with a buyer.

Urgency reinforcement

Words that reinforce urgency in your ad work on a subconscious level. They imply urgency and immediacy, helping you set up for the urgency section where you give the reason for acting immediately. For example…

  • As soon as
  • Just
  • Now
  • Going to versus About to

These words add value to your overall ad by injecting a little extra excitement. They’re also serve to reduce the impact of a delay between placing the order, and receiving the item (if there is one).

As soon as

Use “as soon as” instead of when or once, as demonstrated in this example…

When you get your Pro Marketing Pack…

Once you get your Pro Marketing Pack…

As soon as you get your Pro Marketing Pack…

The first of these sentences implies that some time will pass before the pack arrives. This serves to dampen enthusiasm among impulse buyers, because it removes the essential element of instant gratification.

The second sentence implies even more time will pass, and all but the most keen will find it hard to respond enthusiastically.

The phrase “as soon as” implies a far shorter period of time, perhaps even no time at all. It adds excitement to the sentence, rather than removing it.

Just

Advertisers often use “just” when they mean “only.” Yet this word is best employed with respect to time. For example…

Earn $5,000 in one week

Earn $5,000 in 7 days

Earn $5,000 in just 7 days

Notice how each sentence seems to shorten the length of time it takes to earn the promised $5,000? The fact that each sentence has exactly the same meaning is irrelevant.

Now

The word “now” implies immediately, and injects urgency into an instruction. For example…

Want to get yours? Then click here now!

The word “now” can also be used to imply that something has changed, leading the prospect to deduce even more benefits are available than previously. This is taken for granted by the prospect, even though the advertiser never explicitly says so. For example…

Now you no longer need to wait for your ad displays

Did you need to wait for your ad displays before? Maybe you did, and maybe you didn’t. The inclusion of the word “Now” certainly implies that you did, but something has changed. This creates the feeling that there is new benefit on offer. What’s great about this format, is it’s the reader who comes to that conclusion on his/her own. As a result, he or she will accept it.

Going to versus About to

The phrase “going to,” implies a longer wait than “about to.” For example…

I’m going to explain how to…

I’m about to explain how to…

Notice the difference? The phrase “going to” is less concrete, as if the promised event is too far in the future to be certain.

The phrase “about to,” implies the promised event will happen very soon. It’s far more concrete, which makes it more powerful.

There are countless examples like this, where your choice of words has a dramatic impact on the overall effectiveness of your ad. This example shows you what to look for when you consider which words and phrases to use.

Timing

They say timing is everything, and they’re right. Your ad can be shown to the same person 100 times, and have absolutely no impact. And then, for no apparent reason, the person buys on the 101st showing.

Why? Because the timing was right. The only way to make sure the timing is right for you, is to get your message out there as often as possible.


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The power of punctuation in your ad

December 1st, 2009

When it comes to writing powerful sales advertising copy, you can forget almost everything your high-school English teacher taught you about grammar.

Advertising isn’t like “normal” writing. It requires an alternative approach to language that you won’t find anywhere else. As you’ll see, this “underground” approach to grammar applies even to the punctuation you use in your ad.

How to use “quotation” marks

In “normal” writing, quotation marks are used to indicate that someone is speaking. If you read fiction, you’ll be familiar with the format…

“I can’t do it Paul,” Jane replied.
“But you must! We have no choice.”

There are very few advertising situations that call for quotation marks to be used in this fashion. This frees us up to consider another possible use for them. For example…

Nothing you promised to do has been done. If this is an example of your presale “service,” I dread to think…

In the example, the author has placed the word “service” in quotes to signify the exact opposite meaning for that word. The author is using the quotes to signify irony.

This use of quotes is common, and is even used to signify sarcasm or irony when speaking, using the first two fingers on each hand to represent quotation marks.

The advent of unformatted text-only ad media such as email, had lead to a third use for quotation marks. The advertiser, unable to use boldface or italics, will bring attention to a particular word or phrase by using quotation marks. For example…

You get 100,000 banner ad displays for “free”

The problem with this third use of quotation marks, is that it’s easily mistaken for the second. The reader is as likely to see the quotes around the word “free” as signifying the author is being ironic, and doesn’t really mean free.

This third use of quotes introduces an element of doubt to the ad. And as it’s doubt that kills sales, it’s best avoided.

Short sentences. Period.

Advertising works best when you keep sentences short. But don’t make the mistake of writing sentences that are artificially short. The sentence must still make sense to the reader. For example, this is likely to annoy, rather than help, the reader…

Make more money. Fast. Easy. Free!

The best way to keep a sentence short is to…

  • Limit a sentence to one concept
  • Look for “, and…” in a sentence. Replace the comma with a period, and start a new sentence.
  • Use the shortest version of a word (e.g. use get instead of receive)

A short sentence is read more quickly than a long one. It’s also easier to understand. It gets into the reader’s conscious mind faster, and keeps him or her interested for longer.

The exclamation mark!

Amateur advertisers love the exclamation mark. It’s not uncommon to see sentences like this…

Discover the fully-automated power of all-new MultiPlus Pro!!!!!

This author has used five exclamation marks, presumably to make it absolutely clear that he or she is very excited about all-new MultiPlus Pro!!!!!

But that sentence was the first in the ad. And at this early stage, the reader has no idea what MultiPlus Pro is, or why he/she ought to get excited about having a fully-automated version of it.

The writer has both misused, and abused the exclamation mark. As a result, the ad ends up being unintentionally funny (and no, that’s not a good thing).

It has been misused, because it’s not adding emphasis to a benefit for the reader. As the reader doesn’t even know what MultiPlus is, adding an exclamation mark to the end of the sentence is pointless.

It has been absued, because the writer has used five of them. Five exclamation marks will shift any ad from something credible, to something laughable. The reader simply can’t take such an overblown display of enthusiasm seriously.

Contrast the above example, with this benefit-enhancing use of the exclamation mark…

Wouldn’t you love to earn more money? And free up more time to do the things you love? In just 3 minutes, I can show you how to get exactly what you want!

In this example, the exclamation mark is used to add excitement to a statement of benefit. As the statement is already exciting, only one exclamation mark is needed. This avoids the risk of turning the ad into a parody of itself.

A comma here, a comma there

Short sentences get into the reader’s mind faster than long sentences. This helps keep the reader interested, and pushes him or her through to the closing part of the ad (where the sale is made) much faster.

Any sentence with a comma in it, is one you ought to eye with particular interest.

What is the purpose of that comma in your sentence? Is it there to help the reader make the connection between two separate concepts? If so, split the sentence. Here’s an example…

Wouldn’t you love to earn more money, and free up more time to do the things you love?

The sentence contains two competing concepts, both beneficial to the reader.

Ordinarily, this doesn’t matter. It’s what commas are for. In advertising, it matters. Cramming two or more benefits into a single sentence weakens the ad.

This happens, because the reader must process two separate thoughts at once (earn more, more free time). The brain will process this information more effectively, if it receives it in two distinct packets. Like this…

Wouldn’t you love to make more money? And free up more time to do the things you love?

This format has the reader subconsciously process the first sentence, before continuing to the next. This increases the likelihood that both benefits will stick.

It also allows the writer to inject more hyperbole into each sentence. Two sentences give you the opportunity to better describe the benefit in an exciting manner. For example…

Wouldn’t you love to make a lot more money? And free up your time so you can do the things you really love?

Boldface, underline and italics

Most Internet advertising formats allow you to use boldface, underline and italics. These help you to emphasize the things you want to bring to the reader’s attention.

You should use them sparingly, and only to emphasize benefits.

Boldface and underline are useful for bringing things to the attention of skim readers. For example…

You get everything you need to make more money, right here on…

Italics place emphasis on a certain word in a sentence, which can be used to alter the meaning of the sentence. For example…

Your ad is delivered to 125 people

The above sentence works better than it would without italicizing the word people. The emphasis changes the meaning of the sentence slightly, by making it clear that real people will see the ad (the writer would need to go on and explain the difference).

A capital offence

Which of the following do you find easiest to read?

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO MAKE MONEY ON THE INTERNET

Everything you need to make on the Internet

It’s the second sentence, isn’t it? Our eyes and mind find it easier to read correct casing, than a continuous string of capital letters. And easier translates into more sales. Using all-capitals does have its place, especially in formats where boldface and underline aren’t available (e.g. text-only email). The point is, you should use them sparingly. I suggest they be used to emphasize an occasional word in the ad. Never capitalize an entire sentence!

A colon or an ellipses?

Please note: ellipses work better than colons.

You’ll note in this article, that I use ellipses when a strict grammarian would use colons. I do this, because a colon tells the reader to stop reading. To pause, and expect a list of items. This causes a mental shift, and may well be the point at which the prospect stops reading.

I don’t want that. I want the reader to fall into the next sentence, example or bullet points. That’s why I use ellipses…

They serve the same purpose as a colon (e.g. to announce a list), without the pause.

Footnotes

Advertisers love to hide bad news. Lawyers love to make life tough for advertisers by insisting they include bad news in the ad. The endless battle between the marketing and legal departments eventually reached a stand-off, with the invention of the footnote.

Some bright spark in an ad agency decided, if he/she had to include bad news, he/she may as well disguise it through the use of footnotes.

The footnote is in widespread use in academia, and comes with all the associated baggage of academic writing.

Even worse, is the fact that your potential clients have learned that footnotes in advertising signal bad news. Whether you use symbols or numbers, the reader never regards the footnote to be good news.

So what can you do about it, assuming you must disclose the bad news? Simple. Use parenthesis, as shown in this example…

Now only $29.95 a month (excludes delivery)

This approach is less alarming to the reader, and serves another valuable purpose (see below).

The reader may not consider the “bad news” to be bad. A footnote implies bad news, alerting the reader to expect it. Parenthesis don’t, ensuring you don’t create an issue that wouldn’t otherwise be regarded as such.

When a potential client encounters a footnote, he or she is obliged to stop reading and find out what it’s there for. The last thing you want to do, is give your prospect an excuse to stop reading. Parenthesis avoid this problem by supplying the information immediately.

If that’s not enough, parenthesis also reduce the importance of the thing they contain. Placing information inside parenthesis implies the information is associated with, but less important, that the main point being made. And that’s exactly what you want to imply!

Read it again

I’ve deliberately written this article in such a way that it illustrates my “underground” rules of grammar. I recommend you read it again, this time looking for these cunningly-hidden examples.

It will reinforce what you’ve read here, and help illustrate its use in advertising.


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