Good ads make a difference
Advertisement and marketing are often under-valued by new businesses that think they can make it on credit and quality alone. The sad truth is, in such a flamboyantly capitalist society, no one will notice you unless you sell yourself. A good ad can make all the difference in the world between success and failure. So sit tight, read on, and find out how you can design the best ad for your product!
Instructions
1. Brainstorm. Why would people want to buy your product? What benefits are there? Who is your target demographic and what's in it for them? Jot it all down on a piece of paper.
2. Identify your key selling point. A good ad should be brief and to the point - you don't have the luxury of analyzing all the pros and cons one by one because people do not have the patience to go through them. Find one, and only one point that you think is most relevant, and circle it. This will be the basis for your advertising technique.
3. Compose your headline. This is the single MOST IMPORTANT part of your ad, so take your time! Keep it brief - no more than one phrase or sentence - and try to make it catchy. Some examples of good headlines:
"The secret of making people like you"
"You can laugh at money worries -- if you follow this simple plan"
"Whose fault when children disobey?"
Note that all of these ads cut straight to the chase, appealing to basic wants and desires. They include no flowery language, because extraneous words add nothing of value to the ad and cost more. Let's take a look at a few more:
"Dennis Towing Collision & Repair Center"
"It's all about the O"
"Take a short survey -- your answers will be used strictly for research purposes"
Lo and behold, bad advertising technique. All of these ads have one thing in common: they offer nothing to the reader. Unfortunately, people tend to care only about themselves (especially when it comes to reading ads). So get down and dirty, and SELL that product!
4. Put in the tidbits. The important features, relevant information, stuff your customer would want to know. This should be smaller, but still readable, and still adhering to the rule of conciseness. Bullet points and lists are always a good bet, while paragraphs are not. And if you ever find yourself using semicolons, alarm bells should go off immediately.
5. End with specific instructions on how the customer should respond to the ad, e.g., "call this number" or "click here to order now!" You don't want your carefully crafted advertising strategy to go to waste just because your customer couldn't figure out respond.
6. Revise. Test. Truth is, you can never really know whether or not something will work for sure until you try it. So give things a shot, and if they don't seem to be working out, go back and revamp your advertising technique!
Tags: advertising technique, make difference, that think, want your, your advertising
