Ways To Improve Your Ad Copy by Robert Kleine

Ways To Improve Your Ad Copy by Robert Kleine

1. You could decrease or increase the length of
your ad copy. There is no rule on how long your
ad copy should be unless space is a consideration.
The ad should be long enough to sell your product.

2. You could add some sub headlines on your ad
copy. Sub headlines act just like headlines; they
grab the readers attention. They'll keep the readers
interested as they continue to read your ad.

3. You could ask your reader questions through out
the ad copy. They will answer the questions in their
own head as they read your ad copy. The questions
you ask should persuade the reader into buying.

4. You could highlight keywords through out your
ad copy. The keywords should be attractive to
your target audience. You could highlight them with
color, underlines, italics, etc.

5. You could bullet or indent your benefits on your
ad copy. Must people won't read a whole ad copy,
so make your products benefits standout and you
won't lose the sales from all the skimmers.

6. You could change the size of your text on your
ad copy. You want to make your text large enough
so it's not hard to read. You also want your headline
and major points to be larger so they will standout.

7. You could raise or lower the price on your ad
copy. A higher price could increase the perceived
value of your product and a lower price could
lesson your product's value.

8. You could add proof of results on your ad copy.
You should include testimonials, endorsements,
and factual statistics to prove your product's claims.

9. You could add special offers on your ad copy.
It's usually easier to sell the offer than the product.
You could use discounts, free bonuses, volume
sales, etc.

10. You could eliminate the hard-to-understand
jargon on your ad copy. Unless your product calls
for technical words, you want your ad to be read
without people pulling out a dictionary.

About the Author
Robert Kleine is the owner and webmaster of OpportunityKnoxx
http://www.opportunityknoxx.com
where you will find thousands of free webmaster resources, free ebooks and software.

TESTING HEADLINES by Patrick Quinn

TESTING HEADLINES by Patrick Quinn

TESTING HEADLINES

A correspondent to AdBriefing, my monthly newsletter, has posed a very sticky question. How, she asks, can you tell whether a headline you have written is a good oneor not? What she means by this, I imagine, is whether the headline will actually help to make sales, rather than just act as a passing amusement to its readers.

The latter precept, that a headline should actually try to sell something, is not as universally known as it might be. The vast proportion of headlines actually say nothing whatsoever about the product and the benefits of owning it. And the reason for this is that good, selling headlines are not easy to write. So the majority of so-called copywriters take the easy route and produce something which they think is humorous or eye-catching and hope that this will do the job. That it wont and doesnt can be witnessed day in and day out in press ads, brochures and websites worldwide.

But I digress.

There is sadly no absolute test that a headline will do the job it is paid to do. If there were, we benighted copywriters would be earning ten times what we are earning now, on the grounds that our work would be foolproof. Every headline we conceived would be irresistible; and products would move off shelves like Spring snow off a dyke.

But there is a testa very good and worthwhile testthat you can apply to any headline you create. I call it the So What? test.

Allow me to give you an example of So What? in action. If you produce a headline that says: Our Widget works twice as fast as any other Widget, and then ask yourself So What?, it immediately becomes clear that the line is bereft of a sales proposition. Because there is no obvious benefit to the potential customer.

On the other hand, if you write: Our Widget works twice as fast, so you do the job in half the time, then the So What? has been answered. Your customer can cut his production time by 50%.

Likewise, were you to write: Our Widget is so small, it fits into the palm of your hand, you simply invoke So What?. Which results in: Our Widget fits into the palm of your hand, so it goes wherever you go. In this case, the benefit is portability. You can use it anywhere.

Over the years, I have found the So What? test to be invaluable. You might care to give it a try yourself.

And on the subject of headlines consider this.

When trying to write a headline many people tend to go off half-cocked. They consider the marketing brief, then bash down a headline or two to satisfy it. After that, they write the body copy.

Experience shows, however, that if you write the body copy first, the odds are that there will be the makings of a headline within it struggling to get out.

Body copy is, or should be, a carefully worked and logical encapsulation of the marketing brief. In other words, the whys, the wherefores and the benefits of owning the product or service. It makes sense, then, that if it is properly written, there is a very real chance of finding an embryo headline lurking within it.

Why not give it a whirl? You may be agreeably surprised.

Patrick Quinn is an award winning copywriter with 40 years' experience of the advertising business in London, Miami, Dublin and Edinburgh.
He publishes a FREE monthly newsletter, AdBriefing. Subscriptions are available at: http://www.adbriefing.com


About the Author
Patrick Quinn is an award winning copywriter with 40 years' experience of the advertising business in London, Miami, Dublin and Edinburgh.
He publishes a FREE monthly newsletter, AdBriefing. Subscriptions are available at: http://www.adbriefing.com

Knowing Your Market ~ The Key to Good Sales Copy by Linda Offenheiser

Knowing Your Market ~ The Key to Good Sales Copy by Linda Offenheiser

One of the most important facets of good copywriting is
knowing the market youre writing for. You must know what
this market is looking for and what problems it needs to
solve. Once you know the answers to those two questions you
can write effective persuasive copy that will bring you
results.

Writing generic ads that arent directed to a specific
target group wont work no matter how well crafted the ads
are. So, the first thing you need to do is learn everything
you can about your market.

There are several ways you can do this:

Surveys - You can simply ask what your prospective
customers are looking for.

Canvass your customersAsk your present customers what
they like about your product or service. Ask them what
specific thing makes them keep coming back to you.

Forums and Message BoardsVisit as many as you can
every week. Youll be able to tell from the discussions
what problems your market is confronting and how you can
best offer solutions.

Ezines and NewslettersRead everything you can find
that reflects the thoughts and feelings of your market.
The more you can learn the stronger you can make your
sales copy.

Once you know what your prospective customers are looking
for, you can write sales copy that targets their problems
and offers them solutions. No matter how wonderful your
product or service may be, if your sales copy doesnt offer
solutions it wont be effective.

Youve heard it a million times and are about to hear it
once more ~ because its that important ~ your target
market is only interested in what your product/service can
do for them. Thats what your copy must stress if you want
response.

Push Those Emotional Buttons . . .

When you know what problems your product can solve, show
your prospective customers how theyre going to feel once
they have that solution. Thats where so-called hot
buttons come into play. Since most purchases are made on
an emotional level, thats where you must appeal to your
market.

In other words, if youre selling a diet program tell your
reader how shell feel once shes lost 20 pounds. If your
words can make her feel shell be more attractive, full of
energy, more confident, ready to take on the world with her
new body and attitude, chances are youll gain a new
customer.

Writing effective ad copy comes down to knowing what
problem your prospect has, providing a solution and
describing that solution in terms that appeal to her
emotions.

When you apply this formula to your copywriting youll find
your response will increase many times over.

About the Author
Linda Offenheiser is the owner of Stress-Free Copy, a copywriting and editing service designed for small home
businesses. You'll find the write words at the right prices.
She also publishes a weekly free ezine, All the Write Stuff!, that's informative, friendly and fun! You can visit her at
http://www.stress-freecopy.com or subscribe at
http://www.stress-freecopy.com/subscribe.htm