Advertising Copy: What?s Really Important?

You labor long and hard trying to create the perfect advertising piece but only about 20% of your copy is going to get read. The rest will simply be scanned. After all your work, your potential customers won't even read every one of those well chosen words. Is your genius lost on them?

While it might sound frightening or frustrating, it's a fact of advertising life. So what do you do next? There are some sections of your copy that potential customers are practically guaranteed to read. If you know what these are, you'll see your sales increase dramatically. There are six key sections of your marketing copy to focus upon for success.

HEADLINES

Headlines have always been and will always be the most important section in any copy.

They are the first thing potential customers will see. They have the greatest impact on whether any of the other copy gets read. Your headlines must be enticing. Think of them as your opening line. If people aren't intrigued, they won't read any further.

Use strong active verbs (like slash, chop, quit, etc.) in your headlines. These words clearly demonstrate actions as opposed to more passive words (like reduce, think, consider, etc.). Most of the time, buying is an emotional action. The more you stir the emotions, the more you cause movement toward your ideal customer response.

Pay a lot of attention to your headline. It's the powerhouse of your copy.

SUB-HEADLINES

If your headline has captured your potential customers attention, they will scan the sub-headlines. Think of sub-headlines as chapter titles. These sub-headlines, when read with the headline, should tell your reader the whole story. Always begin writing your advertising copy by outlining using this headline and sub-headline format.

Headlines and sub-headlines are designed to make the sale. Barring that desired outcome, they can guide your visitors to read deeper into your copy. If you set up a structure of progressive sub-headlines, you'll have a better shot getting your point across.

Where do your prospective customers read after the headline and sub-headlines? Typically, they will read any captions you have under pictures in your ad copy.

CAPTIONS UNDER PICTURES

Newspaper journalists were the first to use captions. A caption is a few words below a photograph to explain what the picture is.

People are in the habit of looking for the captions in order to relate the importance of the image with the information they are receiving. Captions in advertising pieces are highly read. Don't waste the space! Don't just use the caption to explain the picture. Use the caption to sell the product! Use descriptive benefit-oriented words in your captions for maximum impact.

So, they've looked at your headline, sub-headlines, and at the captions under your pictures. They might have already made the purchase decision. Congratulations! For those readers that haven't made the purchase decision yet, let's flesh out the advertisement with some choice sentences.

FIRST SENTENCES

When you scan a newspaper, what do you read? Almost everyone reads the first sentence or two of each paragraph. These sentences are vitally important. To get your potential customers interested enough to keep reading, add the punch here! Unlike a novel, advertising does not build to the climax. Great ads start with the climax and support its claims in subsequent sentences.

If you create exceptional first sentences, your potential customer will be more likely to continue reading the copy. And, as an added benefit, the first sentences in each paragraph may be enough to convince him/her to buy your product.

Now that you've captured their attention and they are reading further, use bulleted lists for benefits.

BULLETED LISTS

First, use bulleted lists when describing features or benefits. A bulleted list will leave more white space around itself and therefore look less intimidating to your reader.

Secondly, as with the first sentence in each paragraph, people also almost always read the first entry in a bulleted list. If it's on target, they might keep reading. Make sure your first bullet point is extremely powerful and enticing. To keep the potential customer reading, make certain you are writing the copy with their concerns in mind.

The last, but not least, power spot in your copy you probably won't even use. It's the call to action.

CALL THEM TO ACTION

The very bottom of your ad copy is the last chance to close the sale! Take advantage of this valuable area. This is where your call to action should reside. What is the call to action? Telling your potential customer what to do next is critical to getting the sale.

A call to action could be "Visit our website today!", "Call Today for your FREE estimate", or "Call to Secure Your Seat Today!". Tell your prospective customer what they need to do to move the acquisition of this beneficial product or service you sell into their home or office.

Time spent on your advertising copy will never be wasted. If you haven't done it before, now is the time to review your copy to be sure you're making the most out of these opportunities. Your ad copy is a one-way conversation. You must anticipate their questions and objections. These must be answered in your copy before you get the sale.

Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a "Corporate Freedom Fighter" dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners to experience their own successful online business. She has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (http://www.obinstitute.com), authors a sassy marketing blog (http://www.imarketblog.com), and regularly conducts free online seminars. Online Business Institute Inc. exists to "Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time".

____________________

Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!

Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!

Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!

Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!

Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!

---

Joint Ventures Increase Profits Quickly

A joint venture is when two or more businesses join together to work on a project for a set period of time. Doing joint ventures with other... Read More

Constructing Business Advertisements

What many may consider the most important part of advertising is writing an effective ad. The information provided in a classified ad may be the deciding factor... Read More

Do I Need Raised Letter or Full Color Business Cards?

If you've been searching around for business cards that will best represent the image you want to portray for your business, then you've no doubt encountered many... Read More

15 Tips for Better Yellow Page Ads

Yellow Pages advertising is one of the most popular forms of advertising in the country today. Almost every home in America (96.9%) and business has at least... Read More

Forgot The Ad Budget? Dont Panic!

Bob is excited about his new business. He secured funding. He leased the building. He stocked it full of new gadgets. He hung the sign. He posted... Read More

How To Use Pictures To Immediately Start Increasing The Response Rates Of Your Marketing

There should only be one, over-riding reason why you're doing anything in your marketing.Know what that reason is?Of course! To increase the response rates of your sales... Read More

The Only Bad Advertising Is No Advertising - Or Is It?

Depending on whom you ask, you will get told many "truths" about advertising. The question I have for you today is this ? "Is the only bad... Read More

How to Use the 3 Most Common Direct Marketing Measurements to Increase Your Profits!

John Wanamaker, a 19th century entrepreneur, once famously made the statement, "I know that half of my advertising is wasted, I just don't know which half." Fortunately... Read More

Electronic Display Signs

Electronic display signs are used nowadays in great extent to display important information instantly all over the world, which uses LED technology, which stands for light- emitting... Read More

How to Write B2B Ads That Catch Customers

Are your business-to-business ads working for you? If they are not making sales, are they at least generating interest in your company? Are they making an impression... Read More

Increase Business By Being Nice

I have been reading articles on increasing sales using search engine optimisation as well as writing them for a very long time and I have not seen... Read More

Super Secret Tip For Using PPC Search Engine Advertising Successfully

It's not about traffic; it's about generating leads. That's right. It only took me eight words to give you the secret super tip on using pay-per-click (PPC)... Read More

How to Make a Fortune from Unique Resistance-free Advertising

One of the most powerful offers you can use in your advertising is the word Free.But, you may well ask? how can I make a profit giving... Read More

Crazy Ads? Maybe Youre Just Out of The Demo!

My father called me to complain, again. He's 82 and he's angry. "Son, I know you're in advertising and all that", he usually starts off, "but the... Read More

Commercial: Consumer - Discounts - Misleading Advertising

Marketing is an important tool for attracting customers. It is commonplace to see banners announcing bargains of "70% off the retail price." However a recent High Court... Read More

Creativity and Getting Outside of the Box

Sitting in front of a blank piece of paper? Wondering where in the world to start? I have a suggestion. Turn the page upside down. Or better... Read More

The Power of...

You certainly must know that Many Big Marketers consider COPYWRITING to be the most important skill you need to be earning online.There's a lot of good copywriting... Read More

Not Another Calendar! - Choose Advertising Specialties That Sell

As I was searching through a kitchen drawer the other day, I found dozens of pens, pencils, letter openers, sticky-note pads, oversized paper clips, rulers, dental floss,... Read More

Why People Fail in Mail Order

Mail order is a very complicated business. Every phase must beplanned, analyzed and tested. The right demand products must beselected. The correct type of ads must be... Read More

Graphical LED Display

Graphical LED Displays utilize high-resolution graphics and video to transmit the information. You will find them sited in world's great cosmopolitan cities. These impressive electronic signs towering... Read More

Promote yourself on radio for free

Unless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may... Read More

Getting the Most Out of Your Networking Group

Here is my personal list of things to do at your networking group:(1) Bring your business cards. Sound simple? Well, I regularly meet people at networking groups... Read More

See How to Advertise and Gain More Money to Blast Another Project

We have a Great News that we think that may interest you as a Business owner. It is about a Advertising Agency that are preparing to launch... Read More

Custom LED Display

Custom LED Display, as the name specifies, facilitate control anything with any message that you can think of, from hours of operation to daily specials. These are... Read More

The Online Equivalent of an Effective Newspaper Advertisement is FREE

Ask anybody who has been in business for a long enough and they will tell you how newspaper advertisements have for decades helped to build countless small... Read More

Print Advertising: Knowing What To Put In Your Ads

So you've decided to run a print ad in your local newspaper. The paper may have even told you they could produce the artwork for you if... Read More