Posts Tagged ‘ad copy’

« Older Entries

Another 7 magic words in advertising

February 9th, 2010

When it comes to your ad, certain words will deliver more sales than others. For example…

I need money! Please click here…

$50 off the price! Please click here…

You save a whopping $50 – today only. But please hurry, you must click here now!

As you can see, each of the above sentences injects a little extra excitement than the one preceding it. The words and phrases you use in your ad matter. These seven words can help you liven up even the dullest of products.

  1. Revolutionary
  2. Secret
  3. Money
  4. Whopping
  5. Extra
  6. Hurry
  7. Certified

Revolutionary

Is your product new to market? Does it offer something nobody else is currently able to offer? Then you can use this word without leaving a bad taste in the mouth of your reader.

But be warned, you should not use revolutionary to describe something hum-drum. There is no such thing as a revolutionary paper-clip. And if even you actually have such a thing, nobody will believe you.

In other words, don’t confuse revolutionary with new. Do you have breakthrough pricing? Then use the word breakthrough. Is your product new to market, but otherwise unremarkable? Then use the word new.

Secret

The word secret speaks to us on a primitive level. We all love secrets, as long as we’re the ones in the know.

You can benefit from the excitement implied by the word secret, when you invoke it in your ad. Naturally, you should only do so if you can credibly claim to know something others don’t. Your use of this word must imply special knowledge that you have, or that has come into your possession.

In other words, tell a story that lends credibility to your use of the word. Don’t make the mistake of disabling the power of this word by cheapening it. For example, the ‘best-known secrets’ doesn’t work because anything that’s ‘best-known’ can’t be a secret!

Money

It makes the world go round. It’s filthy (as in filthy lucre). And the love of it is said to be the root of all evil.

Despite all this bad press, money is something we’re all attracted to. The mere thought of it can set our heart racing. You can borrow this excitement, and inject in your ad when you talk about money.

But here’s the rub. Money is only exciting when you tell the reader how much of it he or she is going to get. It has the exact opposite effect when you start talking about how much of it the reader is going to have to pay.

In other words, when it comes to money you need to focus on what the reader gets.

Whopping

This fantastic word magnifies the thing you’re describing. Assuming that’s of benefit to the reader, it can be substituted for more mundane words like big or large.

Another corker of a word you can try is humongous.

Extra

We all love to get something extra. This word tells the reader they’re getting something for nothing. It’s a great way to imply that your offer is a bargain, without actually saying so.

This works better than saying so, because the reader comes to his/her own conclusion. In other words, he/she doesn’t have to take your word for it. The end result? Your ad is more believable.

Hurry

When you want to turn up the urgency, and give your client the impression that your offer will expire if he/she doesn’t act immediately, tell him/her to hurry.

And by tell, I mean order. For example…

But you must hurry, because this offer expires tomorrow. Quick, click here now!

The entire point of these two sentences, is to introduce a little panic to your prospect’s world. If you don’t, he/she will lumber along in his/her usual dream-like state while you continue to scratch around trying to come up with next week’s rent.

In advertising, urgency pays the bills.

Certified

No, not certifiable! Certified.

It’s one of those dependable words that reek of stability. It’s a word that helps by eliminating doubt.

The word implies that some independent body has tested your product, and given it’s stamp of approval. Here’s an example…

Our certified professionals will help you to…

This one little word immediately raises the credibility of the sentence. The implication is that ‘our professionals’ are able to help you, because they’re ‘certified’. And by implication, they’re also better than some other company’s ‘professionals’.

Certified by whom? It may occur to an especially skeptical people to ask. Most people won’t.

Naturally, if you can provide details about the certification process your people/product goes through, it will lends even more credibility to your ad.

1 comment »

Posted in Advertising

Tags:

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.

3 comments »

Posted in copywriting

Tags:

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).

No comments »

Posted in Advertising, copywriting

Tags:

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.

No comments »

Posted in Advertising, copywriting

Tags:

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.

No comments »

Posted in copywriting

Tags:

The 3 things your ad must have

December 1st, 2009

Your Internet advertising (or sales page) must have three ingredients before it make you money. These three things are…

  1. Clarity
  2. Benefit
  3. Credibility

In fact, I’ll go one step further. If your ad has all three ingredients, it will succeed. That is, you will make sales.

When advertising goes bad

Every advertiser will eventually run into a situation where they simply can’t seem to make sales. They’re getting visitors to their site. The site is online. But nobody is buying.

In such a situation, it’s highly likely the problem lies with the content of the sales page itself. The ad must be in breech of one of the three ingredients listed above.

The problem the advertiser faces, is working out what’s going wrong. This is especially true if he/she wrote the ad, because the author of the copy is often too close to judge it objectively. What can you do, next time you find yourself in this situation?

Get someone else to read your ad

Yes, it sounds so simple. Get someone else to read the ad, and tell you what’s wrong with it. The thing is, who do you know that has the necessary experience to provide useful feedback?

Unless you’re lucky enough to know an experienced copywriter, there’s a good chance you have nobody who can provide a professional opinion. Fortunately, you don’t need a professional opinion. What you really need is a person in your target market with no self-interest in preserving your ego!

If you know somebody for whom your product would be ideal, show them your ad. If you’re spoiled for choice, pick the person with the least tact. You’re looking for someone who will speak their mind, with little regard for your feelings.

Most people are tactful, so you may have to coax out their true opinion. Don’t simply accept everything they say at face value.

How to get the most from your critic

Once you’ve selected one or more people to judge your ad, and got them to agree to tell you what they think, it’s time to explain what you want from them.

Ask them to read your ad twice. The first time through, they should read the ad without thinking about it critically. To approach it as they would any ad for a product that might interest them. The second time through, they should make a mental note of anything that stands out. In particular, anything they found confusing or that put them off.

Leave your critic to read the ad. Don’t hang around, looking over their shoulder. Actually leave the room, and let him/her get on with it. Once your critic has read the ad, ask them what they thought of it. This is a deliberately open question, designed only to get things going.

Your critic’s reply will probably lack detail. For example, you may hear “it was good.” Ask what they liked about it. Ask questions that invite the critic to provide more detail, without being too enthusiastic in your approach.

Your critic knows you want him/her to provide negative feedback. Like most people, he/she probably doesn’t want to give you negative feedback. Past experience has taught people it’s not safe to engage in negative feedback. Naturally enough, we try to avoid doing so.

As a result, your initial questions may not turn up any useful information. But what they allow you to do, is establish a safe-environment. You can demonstrate you genuinely want to receive all the information your critic has to give (not just the good stuff). By taking things slowly, you’re showing it’s safe for him/her to be completely honest with you.

The way to do this, is to simply accept anything the critic tells you. Don’t challenge it. Don’t explain why you did X. Don’t defend your ad in any way. Simply accept the answer, thank the critic for giving it, and move on.

Any attempt to question or challenge the feedback you get, is a warning sign to your critic. It tells him/her to be careful.

Ask the key question

Once you feel the conversation is flowing freely, and that your critic is comfortable discussing the ad with you, you can ask the key question. It’s this question that is most likely to bring out the information you need. And it’s why your critic must be in the target market for your product.

Ask your critic if he or she would buy the product from this ad. If everything is going well, you’ll be told “No.” You can now cut to the chase, and home in on the reasons why the ad isn’t working.

Chances are, your critic will say “Yes.” Assuming the critic is in the target market, this is almost certainly a lie. If it were true, you’d have already taken his/her order! I suggest you test this response, and say “Great! I’ll get my order book.”

If the critic does actually buy, that’s great. You made a sale. If the critic starts backing down, you can be sure he/she was lying. This kind of lie tells you two things…

  1. Your critic isn’t comfortable being truthful with you
  2. You may as well cut your losses

If you get to this point, it’s very unlikely you’ll get anything useful from your critic. You may as well cut your losses, and find another critic.

When the critic won’t buy

If your critic tells you he/she wouldn’t buy from your ad, you have exactly what you need. You have someone who can help you work out why the ad isn’t performing. Say to the critic, “obviously you have a good reason for feeling that way. Would you mind if I ask what it was?”

This sentence is much softer, and less threatening, than “Why not?” It’s far more likely to elicit a useful response. Your critic will provide his/her answers. You’re now free to explore them in more detail.

Remember, ask questions. Don’t defend or explain. If your critic says “X put me off,” don’t make the mistake of explaining why “X” is necessary to the ad. By doing so, you invalidate the critics opinion. This will staunch the flow of information, and you won’t find out what you need to know.

Instead, ask a question about “X” to get more specific information about why the critic feels that way.

This simple approach will help you understand what’s missing from the ad. You’ll discover what the prospect isn’t getting from the ad. You’ll find out what he/she needs from the ad to make a positive buying decision. This information allows you to write a far more powerful ad.

What’s more, the process can be repeated using the more powerful ad (and ideally, a different critic). It may take 2 or 3 sessions to really get down to the nitty-gritty of what you need to say to get the sale.

1 comment »

Posted in Advertising, copywriting

Tags:

Uncompromising ads sell more

November 30th, 2009

Want to make more sales from your advertising? Then you’ll want to eliminate conditional words and phrases from your ad.

Take a look at the following sentence…

This offer is strictly limited. We’re going to have to remove the special discount on Friday. To make sure you don’t miss out, please fill out the form and place your order now.

At first glance, there’s nothing wrong with this close. But let’s zoom in a little closer, and find the conditional words and phrases that weaken this call-to-action.

We’re going to…

The phrase “we’re going to,” weakens the urgency of the close by reinforcing the fact that the offer isn’t being removed immediately. Consider this more powerful version…

This offer is strictly limited. The special discount expires on Friday.

This new version removes all doubt. The special discount will go. And notice how, in the original, the special discount will be “removed.” In the new version, it’s going to “expire.”

The original makes it clear the offer is going to be removed by a human agent. In doing so, it implies it may be possible to negotiate an extension to the offer. This leaves the reader an out, removing urgency and draining power from the call-to-action.

The new version doesn’t compromise. It states the offer “will expire,” implying a natural process where negotiation is impossible. It enhances the urgency of the close, increasing the chance of a sale.

Which Friday?

The original call-to-action stated the special discount will end on Friday. But which Friday? An advertiser injects an enormous amount of power into an ad by being specific…

This offer is strictly limited. The special discount expires this Friday.

This second version removes any doubt about which Friday the advertiser is talking about. Imagine how much more powerful the call-to-action becomes, if it’s read late in the week.

Command action

A call-to-action is made more powerful when the advertiser tells the prospect what to do, rather than asks. Here are the last two sentences in the original…

To make sure you don’t miss out, please fill out the form and place your order now.

At first glance, this may seem like a powerful close. In fact, it suffers from a sudden attack of reticence. Why say “To make sure,” when the advertiser can be totally uncompromising?

The word “please” implies the advertiser is asking the prospect to act. Why ask, when the advertiser can tell? At this point in the ad, the advertiser desperately wants the prospect to order. Surely, it makes sense to go ahead and tell the prospect to do so? Here’s a more powerful version that is far less compromising…

Place your order right now. Fill out this form and click the Submit button…

The new version doesn’t bother to talk about missing out on the special discount. It’s implied by the rest of the paragraph, so why bring it up again? Doing so only forces the reader to wade through unnecessary words before the magic point where the advertiser asks for the sale.

The new version gets right to the point. It literally orders the product to buy. And then explains what he or she must do to actually place an order.

Putting it all together

Let’s bring the two parts of the call-to-action together, and see what we have…

This offer is strictly limited. The special discount will expire this Friday. Place your order right now. Fill out this form and click the Submit button…

We’ve removed many unnecessary words, ensuring the prospect can read these sentences fast. That increases the speed at which the reader gets to the point where the advertiser asks for the sale. It also makes the paragraph easier to understand.

The shorter call-to-action imparts a greater sense of urgency in and of itself. This is reinforced by the language we’re using. As a result, the call-to-action is made more demanding, less polite, and is far less compromising.

It doesn’t leave the prospect with an out. It’s clear that if he or she wants the product at the discounted rate, he or she has to act now. In isolation, the above call-to-action may seem terse. There are two reasons for this…

  • You’re a polite person
  • You’re reading it in isolation

The call-to-action will seem less terse, and make more sense, in its proper context. That is, when it completes a properly constructed ad that gets the prospect excited about the product on offer.

Assuming the rest of the ad achieves its goal, even something as terse as our call-to-action will seem perfectly natural to the reader. He or she will want the product, and appreciate being told how to get it as quickly as possible.

No comments »

Posted in copywriting

Tags:

Features and benefits in advertising

November 30th, 2009

Every advertiser knows their product comes complete with its own features and benefits. Every advertiser also knows sales are made on benefits, not features.

Ask an advertiser to tell you the difference between a feature and a benefit, and you may well draw a blank.

Is it a feature or a benefit?

Take a quick look at the following list…

  1. 64-bit processor
  2. You get your work done faster
  3. 1 megabyte of RAM
  4. Powerful enough to do everything you’re going to want to do
  5. 24 inch 1900 x 1200 pixel TFT LCD
  6. A big clear screen with plenty of room for your documents

I’m sure you already know the odd-numbered items are features, and the even-numbered items are benefits. It’s pretty obvious when they’re listed this way.

People make their buying decisions at an emotional level, which is why its the benefits offered by your product that ultimately influence the sale. This doesn’t mean features aren’t important too. Features help establish the credibility of your claim, and may also provide the buyer with a rational justification for his/her purchase.

Features and benefits both belong in your ad. The key is knowing when to introduce them, and the best way to use them.

What is a benefit?

A benefit is a desirable outcome that arises through the use or ownership of your product. For example, the benefits of car ownership may include…

  • Prestige
  • Flexibility
  • Save time

You can regard something as a benefit if it clearly describes an improvement in the buyer’s life. It’s not a benefit if the buyer has to translate the meaning of what you say. For example, prestige may be a benefit to a buyer of a luxury car. Plenty of legroom, expensive leather, lots of gadgets and a V12 engine are features that convey prestige.

What is a feature?

A feature is some aspect or component of a product that delivers an outcome. For example, a V12 engine delivers speed.

It’s certainly true that some features are so well understood by the buyer, they’re instantly translated into benefits. Despite this, your ad should still describe the benefit. This ensures the buyer responds on an emotional level. What’s more, the buyer may not be interested in the specific features that deliver the desired benefit.

The buyer’s subconscious will bring your ad to the attention of his/her conscious mind, as soon as it detects the particular benefit that motives him/her. If your target market consists of speed-freaks, you better make it very clear that your product delivers plenty of speed.

Lead with your #1 benefit

Your ad must lead with the product’s #1 benefit. That is, the number one thing your target market most wants to get from a product like yours. And by “lead”, I mean start talking about the benefit in the ad’s headline.

Here are two examples that illustrate the point. Which of these would you put at the top of your ad?

Do this and you’ll earn $25 million

Do this and you’ll never have to work again

It’s a tricky choice to make, isn’t it? After all, $25 million is a lot of money. But that first headline isn’t without its problems…

  • Such a large amount of money may be dismissed as fantasy
  • The reader has to translate the money into an actual benefit
  • The reader may not regard this amount as enough

The first headline asks the reader to think. It forces the prospect to use a technical part of his/her brain, and translate the amount into a clear benefit. The problem with doing that right at the start of an ad is we don’t want the reader to think. We want the reader to start fantasizing. We want him/her getting excited about the benefit our product conveys.

We want the reader to respond on an emotional level.

If the reader is bogged down with facts and figures, he/she isn’t getting excited. Despite the large sum of money being discussed, the ad starts out with the reader in the wrong frame of mind.

Benefits are exciting

The second headline puts the reader in a different frame of mind. Instead of dealing with facts and figures, it talks about the benefit directly. No thinking involved!

This greatly increases the chance the reader will accept the statement at face value. And if that happens, the reader will start day-dreaming about the joys of not having to work. This will motivate the reader to find out what it is he or she has to do. It has the prospect start reading the ad.

Benefits are exciting. The benefit is the thing people who buy the product actually want. For example, a car-buyer doesn’t really want a specific brand of car. The buyer wants whatever he or she thinks that brand signifies. It might be prestige, performance, environmental responsibility, fuel economy, size or safety.

Of course, your ad can’t dwell exclusively in benefits. A product’s features are important too, because they lend credibility to the benefit on offer.

An ad headline should get the prospect interested enough to read the ad. The introduction should build on this interest. Once you’ve secured it, the reader will want to know why your product is able to deliver the promised benefit. And this is the point where you should introduce the product’s features.

Each feature ought to be explained with the benefit (or benefits) in mind. It must be made perfectly clear to the prospect exactly what benefit a particular feature delivers.

Features belong in the middle part of the ad. They’re there to help the reader understand how the product delivers on the claims (benefits) made for it. The ad must then end by talking about benefits.

End with the benefit

The buyer wants the desired outcome (benefit) that comes with owning or using the product. A prospect will buy only if he/she believes the product will deliver those benefits. The middle part of your ad should prove that your product delivers everything you claim for it.

You must then turn your focus back to the product’s benefits. Remember, a person responds to your product on an emotional level. He or she will make a buying decision based on the benefits alone.

Your ad needs to close by restating the benefits, now made credible in the mind of the buyer, and explain exactly what the prospect has to do to get the product. In particular, you should find a way to remind the prospect that the main benefit is available just as soon as he/she places an order.

1 comment »

Posted in Advertising, copywriting, online selling

Tags:

Instantly make your ad less powerful

November 29th, 2009

The words you use in your ad, and the way you use them, make a big difference to your results. Two sentences may have the exact same meaning, but one is guaranteed to outsell the other.

Is your ad looking a little iffy?

The word “if” has the power to rob a sentence of its persuasive power. It does this when it appears after a beneficial statement. For example…

You will earn $7,500 per week, if you can refer five people!

The sentence leads with a positive, stating a specific amount of money that will be earned. This positive, of interest to any MLMer, is then weakened by the qualifier that follows. It weakens the ad, because the qualifier (a negative) casts doubt on the benefit.

Take a look at the same sentence when we lead with the negative…

If you can refer five people, you will earn $7,500 per week!

This version of the sentence ends with the positive. The reader is left with the thought of earning $7,500 (benefit), instead of having to recruit 5 people (chore).

Remove every last trace

Of course, the sentence can be made more powerful by leaving out the word “if” altogether…

Refer five people, and you will earn $7,500 per week!

Removing the word “if” helps to disguise the qualifier. As soon as “if” appears in a sentence, it automatically implies a qualification. And in the context of advertising, we run the risk of the reader automatically assuming the qualification is there specifically to exclude him or her from the benefit.

Why take the risk that the reader will leap to this conclusion?

Further masking the qualification

Our sentence can be further strengthened by including language that minimizes the qualifier in the mind of the reader. For example…

Only 5 people. That’s all you need to bank $7,500 a week!

This version uses the word “only” to imply a small quantity. To reinforce this effect, I’ve substituted the numeric 5 for the longer (and so larger) word five. I’ve also removed the word “refer,” which implies work. I split the sentence in two as this further separates the work (referring) from the benefit (money). And finally, I’ve replaced the word “earn” with “bank.” The word “earn” implies doing work. The word “bank” implies something far more beneficial and solid.

This two-sentence approach carries a certain reckless disregard for the usual rules of grammar. This may upset one or two people. Ignore them, and instead focus on the impact on the majority of your readers.

You may also notice that I’ve replaced “per week” with “a week”. The meaning is unchanged, but the sentence is easier to read. This gets the reader to the end of the sentence faster, and is generally less demanding on the reader.

It does make a difference

The way you use words and phrases in advertising does matter. The way you construct a sentence, and your use of grammar will help or harm your results.

It pays to study the art of writing advertising copy. You will make more money by learning more about it.

Stay tuned for more in-depth articles like this one right here in The Online Marketing Blog.

No comments »

Posted in copywriting

Tags:

When should you disclose the price?

November 28th, 2009

I see a lot of ads in my business. I get to look at dozens of new ads every day, and it’s interesting to note the point at which an advertiser decides to introduce the price.

I’ve seen people disclose the price in the headline of an ad. I’ve seen people disclose the price in the opening paragraph of a sales page. I’ve seen people leave the price until the very last minute, and disclose it just before they ask for the sale.

I guess some advertisers think it doesn’t matter all that much. In fact, the reverse is true.

The point in the ad where you introduce the price is very important. The price can make or break a sale, and it’s essential to introduce it at exactly the right time.

The price is never a benefit

An advertiser that discloses the price at the start of an ad, has killed the sale before it’s even started. A potential client never regards the price as a benefit.

It’s easy for the seller to confuse the price with a benefit, because it is a benefit to him or her! It pays to remember that the reverse is true for the buyer.

Actually, there is one possible exception to this rule. If the product and its regular price are very well known, a massive discount may be viewed as an advantage. The problem is, you can’t be certain that…

  • The prospect knows the product and its regular price. He or she may not understand the significance of the discount
  • The prospect will accept the discount without getting suspicious about the reasons behind it

In my view, it’s far to risky to begin an ad with the price. The odds are overwhelmingly against your prospect seeing the price (or a discount) as anything like a benefit to get excited about.

It’s more likely that revealing the price too early, will kill the sale.

A price without benefits

A price without benefits, is like a pub without beer (i.e. pointless). For that reason, it’s best to leave the price until you’ve first had a chance to introduce your client to the benefits of owning and/or using your product.

The price of something is never good news. It’s a roadblock placed directly in the path of the sale. You must replace the issue of price in the mind of the prospect, with the benefits offered by your product. If the client doesn’t come to believe that the benefits are more valuable to him/her, than the money he/she will have to pay, the sale won’t occur.

That’s why it’s essential that the benefits of owning/using your product are described first.

The price signals reality

As soon as you introduce the price of your product, it brings a potential client back down to earth. It’s the moment of truth. The price forces a potential client to make up his or her mind. To decide whether he or she is truly interested.

You can imagine how disastrous this could be. The last thing you need, is to have your prospect make a buying decision before he/she knows what the benefits of ownership are.

The price forces the prospect to make a decision, and that means there’s only one logical place to put it.

Disclose the price just before you ask for sale

The best place to disclose the price is just before you ask the prospect to buy.

The price brings your prospect back down to reality, and this is reinforced by the request for the sale. It’s the make or break moment, which is why it belongs at the end of your ad.

Assuming the rest of your ad has done its job, only now will the prospect be able to make an informed decision. Specifically, does he/she want the benefits offered by your product more than the money it costs?

No comments »

Posted in copywriting, online selling

Tags: