Yesterday I was driving down the freeway to my doctor’s office and I noticed the insane amount of billboards littering my drive. The further I drove I got a little bored so I turned on the radio and wouldn’t you know it, an ad for some local store was the first thing I heard. When I got to my appointment I had to sit in the waiting room for a few minutes so I flipped through a magazine and I’ll be damned if the first ten pages weren’t all ads. I felt like I couldn’t go more than a few feet without being inundated by an advertisement for something.
Advertisements are all around us. We are constantly being bombarded on every side by messages trying to get us to buy a product or service.
Good ads have the power to make us stop what we’re doing and take notice. They grab our attention without making us feeling like we’re being sold something. Good ads convey their message through a few words, an image or an emotion. They entice and intrigue us to want to know more or to want to buy the product or service right away. At least that is the desired effect of a good advertisement. Needless to say, some advertisements fail miserably in their purpose.
So what makes the difference between a successful advertisement and an unsuccessful one? There are seven elements every successful advertisement contains.
Style
I could write a book about the dos and don’ts when it comes to style. Since this is only one section I’ll stick to the highlights. Content is king. Anything that impedes the consumer’s ability to read or understand an advertisement’s message will lower the success rate of it.
If your advertisement contains text, use short sentences and paragraphs. This is not the time to explain every little detail. If your advertisement contains an image, use just one image. Too many images will leave the consumer confused as to what the point is.
Use bolded font, italics or punctuation to emphasize a point. Not all three. Bolded text when accompanied by excessive italicized words and exclamation points is very annoying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stick to the basics when it comes to style. Use one color for the text and a contrasting color for the background. Your safest bet is to stick with black text upon a white background. Don’t get cute and add in flashy graphics or try to switch it up with colorful text and images. If you do, your efforts to stand out will backfire and the readability of your message will plummet.
Statement of Benefits
People are selfish. They care about what you can do for them. Not the other way around. When crafting an advertisement be sure to show what your product or company can do for them. Will they become smarter? Will they make more money? Will they get skinnier? Tell the customer what they are gaining from your product.
Don’t confuse this with the list of features your product or service has. This is not the same thing as explaining to readers what you or your product can do for them.
Before creating an advertisement go through the list of features and write out what each feature will do for the consumer. Think in terms of how your product will help them gain pleasure or avoid pain. For example if you are an accountant you can say your services help consumers avoid tax audits (avoid pain) or save them money on their taxes (gain pleasure). Studies have shown people respond better to fear or loss than they do to the promise of gain.
Language
This point is an extension of my last point. While you are listing the benefits the consumer will get from your product, service or company make sure to use words like “you” and “your”. This puts the emphasis on them instead of you. By doing this you are communicating to you readers you are thinking only about them. Avoid using words like “I” or “me” shifts the focus away from the consumer.
Attention Grabber
In a sales letter the attention grabber is the headline. In a print ad the attention grabber is usually a graphic. No matter what form your advertisement comes in you must grab the reader’s attention so they will read what you have to say and buy your product or service.
Luxury brands like Prada, Coach Gucci, etc. do this in print ads with images. They show pictures of models or celebrities posing sexily with their product. The images arouse emotions that hopefully persuade consumers to buy them.
Sales letters, banner ads and other online advertisements use headlines to capture a reader’s attention. A common tactic is to write a headline that begs a question. Something like, “How to Make Money while you Sleep.” The point is to make the statement intriguing and leave the reader wanting to figure out how to do something.
Always make sure your attention grabber relates back to your message. Luxury brands use celebrities in their ads because they want their products to seem opulent and exclusive. Headlines in text advertisements usually state a benefit of their product in an exciting way.
Call to Action
Never assume that your audience knows how to get in touch or order from you. Even if your company name or product name is also your web address do not presume readers will know that and go online to order. Spell out to consumers what they must do to buy your product or service. If they have to call, then plaster your phone number across the ad. If they have to click a button, fill out an order form, or send a money order then be sure to tell them that in words that are easy to understand.
Most of all make it as easy as possible for potential customers to do what you want them to do. People won’t do anything that requires work on their part. That’s why all the ads you get in the mail come with return envelopes that already have stamps on them.
It’s best to allow them to contact you in several different ways so they can choose whatever method is easiest for them. Provide web addresses so they can order from you online, phone numbers so they can call in their order, fax numbers so they can send over completed order forms, etc.
Sense of Urgency
Consumers love to delay purchases for as long as they can. That’s why it’s essential to include reasons why they must buy from you immediately. Don’t tell your customer the offer will run throughout the month. If you do they will wait to make their purchase and a certain percentage will wait so long they forget to place their order at all!
A great way to do this is to use fear to get consumers to make their purchases sooner rather than later. Fear is one of a marketer’s most effective tools. Craft a statement that instills fear into the consumers mind that if they don’t buy this right now they will miss out on the benefits your product provides. Something like, “Only 5 copies remain!” or “I can only help the next 10 callers!” Though when using scarcity make sure it is real.
Brand Name
I don’t want to say this is the most important element, but if you forget this element it doesn’t matter how well you do the other things. You absolutely, positively cannot forget to include your brand’s logo, image or name. Make sure your name is clearly and repeatedly mentioned in your ad. If you have a brand logo, feature it prominently. You want there to be no mistake whose advertisement this is. Branding is important for the current product as well as future products and advertising.
No matter what format your advertisement comes in (text, space, banner, print, sales letter, etc.) know that these elements are crucial to its success. Examine any successful ad and you will find each of these elements addressed in them. If you are ever in doubt about an element of your ad, leave it out. Print out this checklist and make sure anytime you put out an advertisement it contains all of these ingredients.
Good luck!
Ethan Warrick
