There are 5 major components to good advertising copy (The order of these is essential to success):

∙ Command Attention;

∙ Showcase Benefits of Products and/or Services; 

∙ Prove the Benefits;

∙ Persuade People to Embrace the Benefits; 

∙ Call to Action. 

Advertising is sales in print. So you need to consider how to showcase the unique benefits that your products and services offer, in a persuasive way. The emphasis must be on results, not features. Let’s take a minute to reflect on each of the components:

1. Command Attention: This is most often accomplished with a headline. You need an attention getter that compels your audience to find out more about your products/services. The best headlines provide a vivid portrayal of the benefits or demonstrate how a problem can  be circumvented with your products and/or services. The headline is essentially the advertisement for your advertisement.

2. Showcase Benefits: You have to showcase the benefits of your products and services and, more importantly, show how they will solve or prevent a problem. Your customers need to know what’s in it for them. Make sure you include useful, factual and comprehensive information to illustrate precisely what the benefits are and how they will benefit your customer.

3. Offer Proof: This is where you prove what your advertisement is offering. You need to establish you have a method to deliver. Consider including information that establishes your credibility and past performance.

4. Persuade: Provide compelling reasons for your potential customers to purchase your products and/or services. Here you may use a hard sell approach and create scarcity. This will create illicit urgency in your potential customers who don’t want to lose out on a potential product and/or service.

5. Call to Action: The final step is to compel your potential customers to DO something. They need to check out your site, sign up for your newsletter, purchase your products, contact you about services that you offer…something. Offer a freebie, booklet, sample, product, bonus, demo, consult, limited time price, etc. There are a myriad of ways to get potential customers excited about making a purchase with the confidence that they are getting an amazing deal. If your call to action isn’t a purchase then the action you are calling them to should lead them to another step on their buyers journey.

Good advertisements include all of these components. When creating an advertisement, take the time to consider each of these components and then strategize how to best place them together to be most effective. If you need further assistance, reach out to me and learn how to put together great advertisements from some of the best in the business.