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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