4 Easy Steps to Writing Killer Ads

Have you ever written an ad and then wondered why you got hardly any calls, or maybe you didn’t even get a call? Then you went on to blame the paper or publication you were advertising in as if it was their fault…

Reality is, you probably suck at writing ads! That’s cool, at least you know you have plenty of room for improvement.

I am going to share with you a formula for making sure you write killer ads, ads that will outsell anything you have done in the past. You will also need to read my article on how to build a marketing plan so you know you are marketing to the right people. Even a killer ad won’t work if it’s pitched to the wrong people; I mean, imagine placing your killer ad for bungee jumping in the nursing home weekly magazine… not likely to work too well is it!

Here are my four steps to writing a killer ad…

Firstly, get the readers ATTENTION, secondly get them INTERESTED, thirdly create DESIRE then finally, get them to take ACTION. It’s the A.I.D.A principle. A nice simple formula that guarantees results every time. Let’s go through each step in a little more detail

1. ATTENTION

Using your company name as the headline is a BIG mistake. This is a classic, open your local directory to the plumbing section and I can guarantee you will see a “Joe’s Plumbing” or a “Bob’s Plumbing”, and let’s face it, this is only going to excite Joe and Bob… oh and of course, their mums!

The first thing you have got to do is get the readers attention, and to do this we need a headline that will engage the reader. For example, if I was advertising a wedding planning service, I could use something like "Here’s how to guarantee you have the perfect wedding". If you were getting married, I bet you would stop and read the rest of that ad… wouldn’t you?

Another great way is what is called a ‘reader group’. For example, if I wanted to get the attention of fishermen, then my headline could simply be "Attention Fishermen".

Your headline should take up at least 20% of the ad space and should create a need for your target market to read the rest of your ad.

2. INTEREST

Now you need to get your reader interested in what you are offering. Some great ways to do this are before and after photos, testimonials and make sure your layout is easy to read. Nothing worse than a badly laid out advertisement. Make sure you include a head and shoulders photo of yourself with your name and position printed as a caption, people buy from people, not ads, so this helps build rapport with the reader.

3. DESIRE

This is where most ads fall apart. Especially in a directory where your competitors ads are right next to yours!

Ask yourself, why would someone choose to ring me over my competition? The key to desire is showing your reader what the benefits are, and if you need to, creating additional benefits by providing extra value. For example, ‘Call now and you will receive a bonus xyz valued at $100’

Offers and Guarantees will set your ad apart from the competition. Imagine you were looking for a plumber and you found my ad that read “Finally, a plumber that guarantees to turn up on time or your job is free!”
I am sure you would give me a call before calling Joe’s plumbing!

4. ACTION

This is the final critical step. I have seen ads before that didn’t even have a phone number. How is anyone going to find you if you don’t make it easy? Your call to action should be CLEAR and SIMPLE! You can simply put something like “CALL NOW 9999 9999 and have your credit card ready”

Let your readers know what they have to do to take advantage of your offer and make it easy. If you make it too hard then you will not overcome their resistance.

So that’s it, four easy steps to writing ads that sell. The more you practice, the better you will get at it. Make sure you try several different variations of an ad and test what works best, only the market will tell you what truly works!