•8:47 AM
You would think with all the fancy pictures in advertising contests that the glossier the picture the better the sale. Not so!
Fancy pictures are great for branding, long term campaigns where you want to have your product linked to an image – think a curved M of McDonalds.
Chances you can’t afford such long term projects – you need results, and need them now.
So here a re seven simple advertising steps:
1. A Great Headline
80% of people only read headlines so make headlines count. A Headline is not a logo or a business name.
An offer is a promise – perhaps the offer itself:
“How to lose 20 pounds in 70 days”
Add photo that relates to your offer. A photo is checked out before the headline. So make the image count. Are you really adventurous? Add a fake check to a male out. I recently received a lotto ticket from a company as my birthday is approaching. It gets attention.
2. Keep people reading until the very end
Keep your sentences short.
Use subheadings to break up the advert. Each subheading is a mini headline so make it count. Don’t throw in useless witticisms that mean nothing.
Use bullet points and list Benefits. Tell the customer how your product will make them money, remove their aches and pains.
List benefits not features. No one cares about your features unless they benefit him. How many people list fancy technology in their ads putting the reader to sleep!
3. Develop Trust
Put your intentions up front. Don’t con your reader with a wonderful article and then throw a sale at the end as if you never intended it to be a sale. You could put your offer in the headline.
Turn your guarantee into a selling point. Chances are your product has a guarantee anyway so use it to prove the worth of your product.
List your qualifications IF they relate to the benefits of the customer.
Show testimonials that prove others trust your service.
4. Get People to respect the value of your service.
If people don’t value your product then they will value in terms of price and you will be found in a price war with competitors.
So tell them, in terms of benefit to them, the effort you put into your product.
“To guarantee the quality that Brilliant widgets is known for we have installed ......, guaranteeing the intricate work you expect. All our staff are trained for a minimum of two months before they can begin making......"
5. Your Unique Selling Position
Which company has “11 Secret Herbs and spices ....”?
Do you go to a favourite restaurant? Do you always buy your spices at the same store? Why? What is the reason? Why does a customer come back to you? What needs are unsatisfied in your industry? How can I satisfy them? The answer to the question is what sold you to this service.
To find your Unique Selling Position (USP) advertising master Jay Abraham offers a 3 step process:
• You know how ........
• Well, what we do is .......
Step 1: On a sheet of paper write “You know how” and brain storm the industries problems or the weaknesses of your opposition.
“You know how, the chain stores uses cheep supplier with poorlt sewn cotton ...
“You know how most stores use cheap older meat for their hamburgers....’
“You know how, the chain stores uses cheep supplier with poorlt sewn cotton ...
“You know how most stores use cheap older meat for their hamburgers....’
Step 2: On sheet two write “Well, what we do is .......”
“Well, what we do is buy only the highest quality silk from...
“Well, what we do is grow our own meat and guarantee young tender cuts...”
“Well, what we do is buy only the highest quality silk from...
“Well, what we do is grow our own meat and guarantee young tender cuts...”
Step 3: Rewrite these differences as a benefit to the customer.
How do these benefits better serve the customer? What experience can the customer expect using your service?
What problems do these benefits solve? Feature the solutions you offer.
6. Get the Customer Excited
In other words, how does the product make your customer feel good? Does it save him money? Does it increase her wealth? Perhaps they will feel lean, strong, sexy, muscle bound? Or perhaps they will be able to influence others better.
How will the customer feel using your service? Get them to experience those feelings through your ad. Get them to feel the joy of your product right now.
7. Sensational Offers
The offer has to be so great that they wont put off buying the product. A purchase put off risks being caught up in the distractions of life.
Add so much perceived value that they will want to get it before their friends. Think late night infomercial. Yes those advertisements go on and on – sometimes for half an hour – yet they hold people to the end because they keep laying benefit upon benefit, value upon value. Remember many benefits, especially informational extras cost you little, but can add greatly to the perceived value of your offer.
Finally, make them feel the pain of losing out if they don’t buy now. “If you don’t buy my new customer grabbing software then you can continue to spend thousands with traditional advertising methods.”
Of course there is the time deadline before the price goes up method. Sadly we all know of adverts that months later disintegrously still claim the price will go up after midnight in the hope of creating a sense of urgency. This goes back to developing trust. Is your price deadline real or just a fake ploy?
If your offer is that good do you really need to create a false sense of urgency?
Give an offer that leaves you wondering whether it’s too good – if you begin to feel that then the chances are your customer will too.
How do these benefits better serve the customer? What experience can the customer expect using your service?
What problems do these benefits solve? Feature the solutions you offer.
6. Get the Customer Excited
In other words, how does the product make your customer feel good? Does it save him money? Does it increase her wealth? Perhaps they will feel lean, strong, sexy, muscle bound? Or perhaps they will be able to influence others better.
How will the customer feel using your service? Get them to experience those feelings through your ad. Get them to feel the joy of your product right now.
7. Sensational Offers
The offer has to be so great that they wont put off buying the product. A purchase put off risks being caught up in the distractions of life.
Add so much perceived value that they will want to get it before their friends. Think late night infomercial. Yes those advertisements go on and on – sometimes for half an hour – yet they hold people to the end because they keep laying benefit upon benefit, value upon value. Remember many benefits, especially informational extras cost you little, but can add greatly to the perceived value of your offer.
Finally, make them feel the pain of losing out if they don’t buy now. “If you don’t buy my new customer grabbing software then you can continue to spend thousands with traditional advertising methods.”
Of course there is the time deadline before the price goes up method. Sadly we all know of adverts that months later disintegrously still claim the price will go up after midnight in the hope of creating a sense of urgency. This goes back to developing trust. Is your price deadline real or just a fake ploy?
If your offer is that good do you really need to create a false sense of urgency?
Give an offer that leaves you wondering whether it’s too good – if you begin to feel that then the chances are your customer will too.
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