If you want to be a homesteader you’re also probably the kind of person who wants to be self employed.
You might already have a product or service that you sell, or you might be just starting a new business. Either way you are going to need to write your own advertisements.
The hard truth is that being able to put food on the table (let alone becoming a millionaire) has a direct connection to how effective your advertisements are.
Sadly most people just wing-it when they sit down to write their advertising. Like these nice people who just pulled down my driveway literally this afternoon as I write this. Let’s look at the advertisement they handed me and see what we can learn…
Not Like This
How to Do It Right
I know you don’t want a big wordy lesson on marketing. So to help you make better advertisements I have put together a series of questions and answers. You can read through them in 4 minutes before you sit down to work on your ads…
What is the object of advertising?
To sell goods.
If you have done other kinds of writing in the past, what is your new challenge?
Writing words that convince the reader to buy your product.
If you lack experience in sales & advertising what pitfall do you need to avoid?
Learning how to make the right choices, because when you’re writing sales copy you have to make a lot.
NOTE: The word “copy” means “the text of an advertisement.” And a “copywriter” is someone who writes words for ads.
What is the first step in writing copy that sells?
Write about benefits and NOT about features.
What is a feature?
A descriptive fact about a product or service. What it is or has.
What is a benefit?
A benefit is what the product does. It’s what the user of the product or service gains as a result of the feature.
According to Learning Dynamics inc. what is one of the top ten reasons why sales people fail to make the sale?
Poor ability to present benefits.
What do customers buy?
What products or services are going to do for them.
What damaging false assumption do sales people make?
They only describe the features, and assume the customer knows the benefits.
What is vital for sales writers to know hot to do?
How to translate features into benefits. Then present them in a customer-centered language.
What do experienced copywriters do?
Turn features into customer benefits: reasons why the reader should buy the product.
To write your list of benefits ask yourself…
What benefit does this feature provide to the customer?
How does this feature make the product more attractive, useful, enjoyable, or affordable?
Once you have your list of benefits what 3 things do you do next?
1. Decide which sales point is the most important.
2. Decide which of the other points you will include and which you will not use.
3. Arrange these points in some sort of logical order.
What does the acronym A.I.D.A. stand for?
Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
What does the acronym A.C.C.A. stand for?
Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, Action.
What are the 4P’s?
Picture, Promise, Prove, Push.
What is Robert Bly’s motivating sequence?
1. Get attention.
2. Show a need.
3. Satisfy the need and position your product as a solution to the problem.
4. Prove your product can do what you say it can do.
5. Ask for action.
What is the job of the headline and visual?
To get attention.
What should the headline focus on?
The single strongest benefit you can offer the reader.
What mistake do some copywriters make?
They try to hook the reader with clever phrases, puns, or irrelevant info. Then save the strongest benefit for a big windup finish.
How do you get the reader past the headline to read the whole ad?
You hook the reader with the strongest benefit. The most important reason why they should be interested in what your selling.
What do all products do?
Solve some problem or fill a need.
What might not be obvious or ingrained in the mind of your customer?
The problem your product solves or the need it fills.
What is your job as a copywriter?
Show the reader why they need your product or service by pointing out the problem or need. Then making it clear and present.
Like This
Using what we’ve learned I redid the same ad from above. It’s not perfect and could use some more work, but I think we are moving in the right direction…
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me about the ads your writing now.