Creating Killer Copy for Ads

One of the most important aspects to writing killer copy is a belief in your product or service. If you don’t, forget it. If you truly believe your product or service is something very special, everything you write, say, or do in connection with it, will be done with enthusiasm, including your sales letter, literature, and ad copy.

Here are some tips that will help to make your ads stand out:

1. Make the ad enticing.

2. Use short words and short sentences if possible. People can’t and won’t read long complicated copy.

3. Make sure every sentence flows into another. Explain who you are, what your product is and what benefits will the buyer get out of using the product or your service.

4. Get testimonials and publish them. This will create credibility for you and your business.

5. Write your ad like you are talking to somebody, not at them. Use informal language and keep it simple and easy to understand.

6. Make sure all your information is clear, concise, effective and error free. Remember the acronym AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action). You must write your copy to grab his or her attention. Create interest in your product or service. Once you have sparked the person’s interest then stir in him or her a desire for your product. You can do this by using carefully selected words. Of course, after this you need to have him or her take action.

7. Use "FREE" in your ads, especially when offering information.

8. Describe your products using benefits rather than features. For example, don’t say "this xxxx has a, b, c and d" instead say xxxx will save you time and money because it has a, b and c features.

Remember, your customer only cares about what it will do for them. Show them how your product is a solution to their problem. Here is an example of what I’m talking about:

Did you buy a car with air conditioning just because it had a/c or because it would keep you very cool and comfortable on hot days? Did you buy it because it had antilock brakes and airbags, or because it was very safe for you and your family?

Benefits are not "quality and service" or "cheapest". They are the answers to "why should I keep reading?" or "why should I order?" Make sure to give specifics.

Try to place yourself in the position of the buyer and understand what he or she wants, and then show how to fulfill that need. You are selling a solution to a problem remember that.

Remember step 7 above, well let’s expound on that a bit. Be careful with words that you use. For example, saying, "We are the best and we are cheaper than everyone else" is too strong, and poorly written. It makes you look like a cheap small business. However saying, "Serving you with quality and low prices" promises or conveys a benefit to the reader. Also it uses the word "you" and the promise is not overstated.

There are certain words that have the power to turn prospects on and motivate them to buy. Some examples are:

Free, love, safe, new, benefits, right, you, alternative, security, sale, now, value, fun, save, gain, money, happy, advice, how to, discover, introduce, easy, your, proven, penetrate, suddenly, proud, healthy, guarantee, natural, fast, precious, secret, solution, magic, and comfortable.

Words to avoid are:

Buy, difficult, death, obligation, wrong, failure, decision, fail, bad, deal, cost, sell, taxes, liability, worry, loss, hard, and contract.

Always transfer ownership in your ads to make them more personal by using "you" and "your".

When you are finished writing the ad make sure to put it down and come back to it later when your mind is clear and refreshed. Then read the ad and edit it if necessary. After you are satisfied the ad is good, submit it to as many classified ad sites as possible. If your ad is well written you will start receiving inquiries within 24 to 48 hours.

But don’t stop there. Keep on updating the ad on a consistent basis, evaluating the results. You want to find out what ad pulls in the greatest responses.

Placing Ads in E-zines

As for where to place your classified ads, the best place is in e-zines. Online newsletters tend to narrowly focus their content to meet the needs and capture the loyalty of a very specific readership, giving you the perfect opportunity to get your ad in front of your best potential customers.

What's more, provided that the newsletter you are advertising in doesn't permit more than 4 or 5 ads per issue, you need not worry about your ad disappearing among the others.

Of course, in order for this type of advertising to work, you need to be very careful when choosing which newsletters to purchase ad space in. There are several factors that should be taken into consideration including:

1. Who are the readers? Do they fit the profile of your best potential customer?

2. How many subscribers are there? This question is particularly important when deciding what you're willing to pay to advertise in a particular newsletter.

3. Where will your ad be placed? At the top, the middle, or the bottom?

4. How big can your ad be? Will it only be a few lines of text? A paragraph? An entire article?

These are all factors that should be taken into consideration when deciding what an ad in a particular newsletter is worth to you.

Classified Ad Sites

Did you know there are well over 1,000 free classified ad sites on the Internet? Of course, you need to be prepared to work at it. Placing your ad on one or two sites will not cut it. Placing your ad on these free sites is a numbers game cause you never know when someone will respond to your ad.

If you use a ad submission to submit your ad to these free sites automatically, you can get more coverage with more possible returns.

Harry is a freelance writer, computer consultant, and Internet marketer. His writing projects include ghostwriting, copywriting, web site content, DTP, editing, and technical writing. His computer consulting work includes installation, setup, and troubleshooting computer systems. His credits include articles for Internet Day, Internet World, Advertising Today, Advertising Age, L-Advertising, Computer Edge, and a host of others. Harry recently published a book on computer repair and copywriting. You can check out his samples and what he offers at his site by going to http://www.writeformedia.com/portfolio.htm.

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