Read This Before You Write Your Ad

Think about it. What are two reasons people react to what they read? They want instant satisfaction. They want to know what's in it for them. Will their lives improve by buying your product? In order for you to grab peoples' attention you have to tell them that they cannot get along in life without your product, otherwise forget about it.

How can you accomplish this? By writing a convincing ad that will be noticed. You have to start with an attention-grabbing headline. You have to provide such a promise that the reader will have to stop and read your ad. Look at the following headlines. Which one would grab your attention?

1. My Product Will Save You Time and Money 2. Cut Your Time in Half and Save Up to 917% With This Proven Formula

Which one grabbed your attention? Number two, right? That is exactly what you have to do in order to get your customers to notice your ad. That is just part of the course, however. Once you got the customer hooked, you have to feed him more enticing information. You have to generate a no-holds-barred opening paragraph that will immediately answer the question your headline presents.

Remember, you have only a few seconds to capture your reader's attention. Anything short of this, and you lost a customer. You must deliver on the promise made in you headline right away. Do you recall the AIDA principal? It means Attract, Interest, Desire, and Action. This is important in creating successful ads. If you use the AIDA principal correctly, you will write winning ads that will get the results you want every single time.

One of the ways I entice people to read my ads is by providing at least one testimonial in the ad copy. You may not realize it, but people are skeptical when they read an offer that sounds too good to be true. They think it's a scam. But if they read about a third party's experience with the product, then there is a good deal of credibility added to the offer.

Another factor to consider, especially if your ad is a page in length, is to create enticing subheads. It is also equally important to create enticing subheads that will maintain your reader's interest and pull them through your sales piece. Your main objective is to get them to the end of your ad copy so they will order your product. By writing outstanding subheads, you are accomplishing that objective.

In order to present the most powerful ad possible, you must make your customers aware of their pain. Many people feel that addressing a customer's pain is taking advantage of them - that it's somehow incorrect to mention this pain. I disagree. Simply reminding someone of their most aggravating problem is an excellent way to help them confront that problem head on. If they overcome the problem, you have done them a real service.

It's not as if you or I invented their problem. They already know it exits. Showing them that you understand their situation as deeply as they do, goes a long way toward advancing your sales argument. Once you have exposed their pain, show them how to eliminate it by providing a solution to their problem.

Make sure that you provide people with plenty of benefits and not just features. They want to know how your product will help them. Show them by listing the most important benefits your product will provide.

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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