Your first job is to get your customers to see your ad!
If you have read my manual "The Secrets Uncovered: How To Write Headlines That Could Make You A Fortune", you will recall that every ad should follow the AIDA formula: 1. Get Attention 2. Generate Interest 3. Create Desire 4. Call for Action
The problem is that most ads just aim to get attention by using bold or unusual graphic gimmicks. It is a bit like walking up to a customer and grabbing them by both shoulders, staring them in the face, and shaking them.
I suspect you'll get their attention but will they buy? You see, getting their attention is only part of the job.
I have a more effective way of getting attention ... the right kind of attention that will generate interest in what you have to sell.
The secret is:
Make your ad look like a news story!
Don't make it look like an ad. Don't use line art. Don't use arrows, cute graphics, reverse type, (except maybe to highlight a phone number), weird typesets . . .
Or anything else that might win an award for graphic design!
Come closer and listen. Here is how to think about your newspaper ads. Think about what could be the best possible piece of luck you could have. Think about the reporter who heard a rumour about your product or service and decided to check it out. And then he fell in love with it. In fact he loved it so much, he went back to his PC and wrote a full page rave article about what you are selling.
Wouldn't that be great? But it's unlikely to happen just like that, So . . .
You be that reporter! You write the 'rave' article just like a reporter would.
And at the end of the article, you perform a 'public service' for your readers by telling them where and how to order. Having done all this, please don't waste it all by having your 'article' typeset to look like an ad. No! No!
It should be typeset to look like the article it is. You know, ad agencies just love to quote studies that prove how much people love to read advertising.
Rubbish! Rubbish! Rubbish!
Editorial material (or material that appears to be editorial) gets 500% more readership than material that is obviously advertising. If you don't believe me, just flick through the pages of your newspaper and take notice of where you eyes are drawn. I'll wager that it's not to the ads.
About the author: Noel Peebles noel@marketleadersltd.com The Quick And Easy Ways To Get Better Results From Your Advertising...Increase Your Sales At Higher Profit Margins Than You've Ever Done Before. FREE newsletter. FREE ebook. http://www.betterbizprofits.com