Advertising Principles Tips

Read these 13 Advertising Principles Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Copywriting tips and hundreds of other topics.

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Honesty is "Still" the Best Policy

Some writers feel that in order to write great copy you need to promote a product or service's better qualities while downplaying things like a higher cost or the fact that it doesn't work on all systems. This thought process can be troublesome, however. Instead of hiding a product or service's flaws try flaunting them and making it more of a benefit, similar to the way high-end vehicles make it seem like an exclusive club.

   

AIDA Formula





All good ads are written based on a formula commonly know as AIDA. A = ATTENTION I = INTEREST D = DESIRE A = ACTION If there's nothing about your ads that attracts your prospect´s attention, they won't have any incentive to read about what you are offering them. If your offer is weak and poorly explained, then they certainly won't be interested. There needs to something about your ads that gives a prospect the desire to have what you are offering. There also needs to be an incentive or a reason for the prospect to respond now or at least very soon, to what you are offering.





   

Write What You Know

It doesn't matter if you are a seasoned Copywriter or are new to the field having a specialty will make it easier to land new jobs and get your feet wet. People need to feel like they can trust the information they are receiving - whether you are selling yourself to a potential client or selling your clients products or services to potential customers - having a better than basic knowledge about a field will help you get the response you desire.

Have you just left a career in Real Estate, Law or even Truck Driving? Use the skills you have gained from previous employment to your advantage. It will help establish you as an expert in a field when you are just starting out and will give you the added umph to put you ahead of the competition when the job market is slow.

   

Copywriting = Letter Writing = Goodness

When writing copy you need to care about your reader like you would care about a friend or loved one when sending a letter across country.

What are they looking for?

What do they need to know?

How can you provide them with what they need in a clear, concise manner so they will not have to wait for your next letter (read: article) to find the enlightenment they desire.

When you care about your readers like you would care about a pen pal the chances of getting good responses will be much higher.

   

Give Them What They Want









Copywriting is "Selling Writing" and if you want to sell you have to give as much information as possible as succinctly as possible for your readers. Lose the fluff and give your readers the facts they need to decide if what you’re selling is right for them. This does not mean you cannot be entertaining; just understand that you need to save the fiction for Stephen King.

   

Where Do I Sign?





The last thing you want is for a prospect to think how great your offer is then do nothing about it. ACTION is the final ingredient in a good ad that makes a sale. "I want one now, let me have it," "What a great price, I´d better get one while it lasts," "This widget is really going to make a difference to my business." That´s what we all love to hear and writing ACTION into your ads will create a desire to act now. In the category heading "Creating Urgency," we´ll look at ways to cause prospects to respond to your ads with action.

   
How do I create ads that keep a prospect interested in my services?

Mmm...Not bad

Okay, you've now have your prospects ATTENTION by writing a powerful headline, but you've got to keep them INTERESTED. There are few things worse than getting excited by a great headline and eagerly reading through the body copy, only to find that the offer or information is hopeless or boring.

After the headline, your body copy should give great information that's customer focussed and cause them to have a desire to want your product.

In the categories "Benefits & features" and "Your Offer," we'll look at ways to create cause prospects to have an INTEREST in your offer.

   
How do I get a readers or prospects attention with ad headlines?

How to get a Prospect's Attention

ATTENTION is the first basic key to writing a successful advertisement.

In the category section "Headlines" we'll look closely at how to write headlines that attract a reader's attention.

The only way to attract a reader's attention is by writing a powerful benefit-filled headline.

   
How do I cause desire for my products and services?

Benefits & Features

An offer in an ad that´s interesting to your prospects will lead to desire if it´s carefully written. A product that´s of no interest or value to your prospect won´t create any desire and few if any sales. People generally purchase what they DESIRE, not necessarily what they need. So creating INTEREST and DESIRE are inseparable. In the categories "Benefits & Features" and "Your Offer," we´ll look at ways to create cause prospects to have an DESIRE in your offer.

   
What makes ads memorable?

Rules to Influence Customers

According to Write on Target, the direct marketer´s copywriting handbook written by Jean B. Hall, there are important rules that need to be followed when trying to influence consumers. You need an initial hook that could include a promise like, "You could look like this in 10 days" or an interesting fact or statistic like, "Half of all American homes will suffer break-ins this year." Hall also believes it is extremely important to take advantage of the medium. For example there are things you can do on radio that you can´t do and can´t afford to do anywhere else.

   
How do I write good headlines for ads?

Try this Exercise

Read through a newspaper and ask yourself, "What is it that draws me into reading a particular article?"

You may never consciously realise it, but it's the headline that causes you to keep reading or to move on to another story or news item.

While reading magazines, books, newsletters and other information, your mind automatically filters out all information that's not relevant to you and most of the time you don't even realise it. But at the same time, you are automatically drawn to information that's relevant and appealing. You are drawn in or drawn away by the headline.

This same principle applies to advertising. Prospects scan headlines and will only be drawn to ads that offer a powerful benefit in the headline. If you're in tune with your prospects desires and emotions, and you clearly and powerfully offer to fulfil their needs in your ads headline, you'll then bypass their mental filtering systems and get their full attention.

   
What is advertising?

Advertising is...

Advertising is the method of promoting your business through various media to your target market. It's derived from the information that's called your marketing strategy and must always flow out of your marketing strategy. The two cannot be separated. Advertising is a reflection of well laid business plans.

Target markets and UCA's are the foundation of strategic marketing.

It's important for all business people to have a reasonable knowledge about how to write effective advertisements if they want maximum return for there advertising dollars. You can hire a professional advertising copywriter to help you (at great expense), but it's a skill that you should learn, even if it's just the basics.

   

Know Your Audience

Who is your target audience and what do they want? This is the question you need to ask yourself - and answer - before you even put a single thought onto the page. The audience you are writing for will not only influence the content you provide but will also alter the style in which you write it.

Are you writing articles for a little league baseball team?

The style you use as well as the words will be drastically different than if your client is a lawyer or an engineering firm.

   
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