How would you like to learn how to write a great ad and get more people to see it as the “Crown Jewel” out of all the other ads that you are competing against whether online or offline? And, how would you like to get greater click-through rates (CTR’s) and open rates resulting in more sales conversions… regardless of what you are promoting?
The following ad writing techniques can be applied to making different types of ads including ones such as:
The size and scope of an ad can vary greatly from being a small one (like a small “headline-only” ppc text ad) to a much larger one (like a full-page magazine ad).
To get started with writing a great ad, you will need to have a good understanding of the following:
- You will need to have a good understanding of what you are promoting. You will need to know the major features and benefits of what you are promoting as well as what someone can expect to be gained (or lost) from using (or not using) your product or service.
- You will need to have a good understanding of the mindset of your target market. You will need to understand their underlying emotions, feelings, desires and fears. Your target market will always be asking the question “what is in it for me” and you will need to satisfy this question beyond their expectations by tapping into the mindset of your target market.
The Basic Ad Structure… 3 Elements
- Headline
- Body
- Call-to-Action
So, what is the most important element of an ad?… The Headline!
Headline
If the headline is not attention grabbing or not compelling enough right from the start, the reader might skip over it and not bother with reading or opening the rest of your ad. As a result, the reader will not respond to the call-to-action which is ultimately needed to proceed to the next step and get closer to the goal of your ad.
To make an attention grabbing or compelling headline, you can emphasize the biggest benefit to be gained (or lost) from using (or not using) your product or service and making it the focal point. Placing the focal point as close as possible to the beginning of your headline will help capture the reader’s attention faster since this is what they are most interested in.
You can also use your targeted keywords in the headline to attract the mindset of your target market of what you are promoting to help make it more attention grabbing and relevant.
Headlines can be composed in all kinds of different ways including:
Question Headline
“How Would You Like To Triple Your Email List… By Doing This One Small Easy Thing?”
Direct Headline
“This Saturday Only – Take An Additional 25% Off On All Sportswear”
How To Headline
“How To Safely Lose 10 Pounds… In Just 2 Short Weeks”
Self Interest Headline
“Don’t Put Your Family At Financial Risk… Protect Their Future Today With An Affordable Life Insurance Policy”
Emotions – The Secret To Writing Super Effective Headlines & Ads
Using emotions when writing headlines and ads can greatly influence a person’s decision making process. As a result, this can have a major impact on the goals of running a successful ad campaign with having increased click-through rates and open rates which can lead to much greater sales conversions.
Let’s look at an example of using Emotions to make your ad headline more powerful:
Without Emotions
“Find The Love Of Your Life By Joining Truelove.com”
With Emotions
“Find The Love Of Your Life By Joining Truelove.com… And, Turn Your Loneliness Into Great Happiness”
Now, let’s look at an example of using Logical Reasoning to make your ad headline more influential:
Without Logical Reasoning
“Look And Feel Great For The New Year”
With Logical Reasoning
“Look And Feel Great For The New Year… 10 Proven Ways With Thousand’s Of Satisfied Customers”
Body
The Body (main content) of your ad needs to get your readers even more excited and interested about what you are promoting or about the goal of your ad. The content needs to be persuasive and compelling to convince your readers that they are making the right decision to move forward with what you are promoting and confidently act upon the call-to-action.
When writing the body of your ad, you can use many different kinds of persuasive and compelling techniques such as:
- Write Great Convincing Content That is the Absolute Truth of What You are Promoting
- Emphasize the Key Benefits to be Gained or Lost
- Make the Perceived Value or Benefit of Your Promotion Much Greater Than its Implied Cost
- Create Urgency – “Get Limited Quantities While They Last”
- Display Relevant Pictures and Images for Mental Stimulation and Connection
- Use Impressive Supporting Graphics and Design to “Wow” Your Readers
- Use a Compelling Video
And… Establish Credibility & Trustworthiness In The Body
You can also use supportive evidence in the body of your ad to help establish credibility and trustworthiness to validate your product or service by doing the following:
- Include Empirical Data & Statistics
- Use Independent Testimonials
- Present Verified Research
- Show Superior Quality (or Cost Savings) Compared to Competing Products or Services
Call-To-Action
You will need to have a strong call-to-action to encourage your readers to take action now.
Examples of strong call-to-actions can be stated as follows:
- Accept Your No Risk Free Trial Offer Now!
- Buy Now… Lowest Price Guaranteed!
- Become Financially Free… Starting Today!
- Lose Weight… The Perfect Time Is Now!
Having a strong call-to-action will get your ad campaign one step closer to the finish line of its intended goal.
Headline & Ad Writing Tips
The following are some powerful tips to keep in mind when writing your headline and ad copy to make them standout:
- Write content that is irresistible
- Create a little mystery to peak interest and curiosity
- Words can be powerful (use them wisely)
- Say more by saying less (keep sentences short and simple, and to the point)
- Emphasize what makes you different (free shipping, no sales tax, or hard to find sizes)
- Use simple words instead of complicated technical language
- Get personal (write as if you are naturally talking to just one person with having the mindset characteristics of your target market. Use words like “you” and “your”)
- Be congruent & consistent throughout the entire flow of your ad campaign
- If possible, offer a money back guarantee (it helps to reduce risk and fear of buying)
- Adding a “P.S.” below your signature line is a big hot spot that is highly noticed among readers
- After you write your ad copy, put it aside and come back to it later. You will be surprised of the editing that you will do to it
- You have a lot of leeway for writing headlines and ads, but don’t be misleading or deceiving
What Is The Goal Of Your Ad?
You should know the goal of your ad before writing it. Your goal may be to:
- Promote Brand Recognition
- Generate More Sales
- Collect Personal Data (such as collecting emails for email marketing)
- Up-Sell, Cross-Sell or Down-Sell Customers
- Educate or Inform Your Readers
- Make an Important Announcement
Doing A/B Testing (Split Testing)
You can substantially improve the responsiveness of your readers such as improving open rates and click-through rates, or increasing conversions by doing A/B testing (split testing) on your ads. A/B testing is changing one element of your ad (Test B) to see the impact that it has compared to a controlled test (Test A).
Once you have identified which one performs better between the two tests, you can then incorporate that one into your ad campaign to make it perform even better to achieve the goal of your ad.
(to learn more, click on What is A/B Split Testing)
Finally
Once you learn how to write a great ad, you are now ready to make your own goal oriented or hot money making ads. Now, watch your online business and marketing campaigns begin to greatly prosper as a result of your new writing talent!