Secrets To Writing Good Ad Copy

Writing good ad copy is a learned skill. Understanding some of the keys to good ad copy helps you get there a
little faster. It is important to note that having the right target will increase your success substantially since the
right audience is more likely able to relate to your message.

Headlines (also see our "Headlines" and "My Ads" section)
It is important to understand what is a headline supposed to do? Is it to sell the product or service? It is to
educate? NOOOO.

The purpose of the headline is to get the reader to see it and wanting to know more. It's to get them to open
the e-mail or click on the ad to read more about it. It's the most important part of writing the ad and can make
a huge difference.

The difference could be amazing. Imagine sending out two set of e-mails to the same list a few days apart.
Sending 100,000 e-mails to a safelist, you could have one e-mail getting 0.10% open rate and another get 15%
open rate. That is a difference between 100 e-mails and 15,000 e-mails being opened...amazing.

Don't try to say too much in a headline...just get them curious enough for the viewer to wanting to know the
content in the worst way.

A great way to come up with good headlines is to go to a site like Craigslist and just go down the list and see
which headline you have a hard time to resist opening. Copy that headline, paste it into a word document,
change it slightly and use it for yourself. This exercise will give you additional ideas for headlines.

The Body
The purpose of the body should give the reader
just enough information to click on another link to
your lead capture or website...nothing more.
Tease them. Don't tell them the entire story.

Some people believe in really long e-mails...I
sure don't. In my opinion, shorter is better.

From there you can direct the reader to a
capture page or a website with more info.

AD Layout
The headline is also key when doing a print
advertisement.

I had the pleasure to work with one of the
foremost experts in the field of direct
mail/database marketing. His name is Jay Engstrom. He currently owns a very successful marketing company
called DBM Group. One of point he drove home to us over and over again was the importance of the header.
You need at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the top of the page for the header with lots of white space around it. If the
header gets your attention, people will read the rest of the ad even if it's written in 6 point type.

One of the exercises he had us do is take out design and flash is in front of a person who had nothing to do
with advertising (like the secretary) for 2 or 3 seconds and see if that person knew what the ad was about. 2
seconds is about what you have to get someone's attention. In 2 seconds, the person will have to know what
the ad is about and be interesting enough to draw that person into the rest of the body of the ad.
Sample Ads #1

For additional information about print ads follow this link.

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