Ah…advertisements, those wonderfully adorable little vignettes that come to us at all hours of day, seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year. Seventy percent of them are ineffective. Probably more than that actually. And a lot of them can become very annoying. But then there are those ads – those special ads that stand out and make you say, “Hey, that was a really good ad!” For us in ad and copywriting business, that may happen a little more often, simply because we tend to pay more attention to things that interest us. But, when it happens for you, what do you think it is that is making you take notice?
Well an advertisement is obviously an image, coupled with a message (copy). But not all time. Sometimes it’s just an image, other times it’s just copy. But more often than not, it’s a combination. Well, in this article, we’re dealing with Copy aspect. And in my opinion, that’s most important part. But then again, I’m a little biased! Well, anyway, here are some tried and true methods for making sure you have written world-class ad copy that can begin to build Brand Equity.
1)Clarify Goal of Ad Copy. What do you want consumer to do after seeing ad? Do you want them to buy your product, “call now”, go to your website, or send for a brochure? Whatever it is, make sure you know before you even put pen to paper. (or hands to keyboard) The “Call to Action” as it is known in its classic form, is without a doubt one of two most important parts of ad copy. The other is the…
2)Headline! …Headline! Headline! Headline! We’ve heard it a million times – a great headline can make a business rich overnight. And it’s true. The headline is critical. The mission is to reach out to consumer as they are paging through that magazine, surfing web or channel surfing their TV and magically bring them into ad. How are you going to do it? Do a lot of brainstorming before you decide on headline. That will help flesh out idea. When you have right one, you’ll know. It will easily stand above rest.
3)Write like People Talk. This is not a research paper! Not even close to it. This is a conversation with your customer, only it’s written (or spoken) and it’s one-way communication. That is, potential customer can’t ask questions of ad. Or can they? Well, at least not now they can’t, but definitely in future. Great ad copy is persuasive prose that convinces consumer to buy. Write like people talk. You’ll bond with potential customer that much more.
4)Be Inventive. How do you make your ad really stand out? How about creating a new metaphor? That’s a tough one. But it has been done. Maybe you can find a unique way of expressing an idea or concept in ad. A new way of approaching an old subject can really bring it to life. This is also one step that most copywriters forget about.