What is good advertising copy?

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

• Command Attention
• Showcase Benefits of Products/Services
• Prove the Benefits
• Persuade People to Embrace the Benefits
• Call to Action

Advertising copy is sales in print. So, you need to think about the unique benefits your products/services offer and showcase that in a persuasive way. You need to emphasize results, not features.

Let’s take a minute to talk about each of these components:

Command Attention:

This is usually accomplished with the headline. You need an attention-getter that makes people want to know more about your products/services. The best headlines give a vivid portrayal of the benefits or show how a problem can be avoided with your products/services. The headline is the advertisement for the advertisement.

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. They need to know what’s in it for them. Include useful, factual and clear information to show precisely what the benefits are and how they are going to help the customer.
Most businesses write and boast about the features of their services or products and while they can be impressive to you, the customer wants to know what’s in it for them.

Offer Proof:

This is where you prove what the advertisement is offering. You need to establish you have a method to deliver. Consider information that establishes credibility and past performance.
Social proof is a big one these days. Online reviews, Facebook comments, or video testimonials all are great ways to offer this type of proof. Putting together a strong case study is another compelling way to offer proof of your offer.

Persuade:

You need to add compelling reasons for your potential customers to purchase your products/services. Use a hard sell approach and create scarcity. This will enact your potential customers to feel like they have to act now. Which leads to the last component.

Call to Action:

You need 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…something. Offer a freebie – a booklet, sample, product, bonus, demo, consult, limited time price…the list goes on. There are lots of ways to get potential customers excited about ordering and help them feel like they are getting an amazing deal.

Good advertising copy should include all of these components and is not complete without any of them. You can sit down and think through any one of these components, then figure out how to best place them together for the most effectiveness.

Until next time!
Torie Mathis