One of the nation’s top copywriters reveals the secrets to powerful print ad, web copy, or any other form of direct response copy.
To define what constitutes a good print ad, or web copy for that matter, let’s start with what a good print ad is not:
o It is not creative for being creative.
o It is not designed to please writers, art directors, agency presidents or even clients.
o Its primary purpose is not to entertain, win prizes or shout out to readers.
In other words, you should be ignoring most of what you would learn in any basic advertising class or from the big marketing agencies.
So what makes direct response print ads successful?
1. They highlight a benefit. The main selling proposition is not cleverly hidden, but immediately made clear. Example: “How to win friends and influence people.”
2. They arouse curiosity and invite reading. The key here is not to be outrageous but to address the most important interests and concerns of your target audience. Example: “Do you make these mistakes in English?” it appeals to the reader’s desire to avoid embarrassment and to write and speak correctly.
3. They provide information. The headline “How to Stop Emissions Problems: At Half the Cost of Conventional Air Pollution Control Devices” draws the reader in because it promises useful information. Today’s prospects are looking for specific, usable information on highly specialized topics. Ads that provide information that the reader wants to get more readers and a better response.
4. They speak to the reader. Why are so many successful control ads written by direct response entrepreneurs instead of the best freelance copywriters and direct response agencies? Because even if these entrepreneurs aren’t professional writers, they know their product, their audience, and what holds their audience’s interest. And that is much more important than technique or writing style.
5. They are well informed. Successful copy reflects a high level of knowledge and understanding of the product and the problem it solves. One effective technique is to tell the reader something they already know, showing that you, the advertiser, are well-versed in your industry, application, or requirement.
The opposite approach, reducing everything to the simplest common denominator and assuming the reader is completely ignorant, can insult the reader’s intelligence and destroy your credibility with it.
6. They have a strong fee offer. Good ads tell the reader what the next step in the buying process is and encourage them to take it NOW.
The offer must convey urgency to generate an immediate response and business from prospects who are ready to buy now or at least thinking about buying. Without an offer, you lose a lot of potential customers.
Also, strong offers increase readership, because people like ads that offer them something, especially if it’s free and has a high perceived value.
These are the characteristics of successful direct response advertising. “But,” you may ask, “what about general advertising?”
Well, one of the ways to make your general advertising more effective is to write and design it as direct response advertising. Applying all of the stock-in-trade techniques of direct mail marketing (coupons, toll-free numbers, free brochures, why copy, benefit headlines, informational subheads) virtually guarantees that your ad will read better and get more response – than the average “image” ad.
This approach agrees with Howard Ruff, who said that everything a marketer does should be a direct response, since it’s only the results that matter, not the appearance of the ad.