 How to Turn Your
Words into Wealth - Getting People's Attention
- Part 2
By Troy White of The Fresh Idea Company -
If you want your phone to ring and your tills to ding, your advertising must get
people’s attention! Every single day people are inundated with advertising from
thousands of places. If you want yours to get noticed - it had better be different.
Here is a simple five-step formula for every piece of advertising. You
must:
1) Get their attention in a very bold way.
2) Arouse their emotions and their interest.
3) Tell them an interesting story in a believable way.
4) Offer them an incentive to take action - right NOW!
5) Ask them to take action immediately and make it easy to do so
without too many choices.
Most people are unaware that the success of your advertising is
completely dependent on one single component - your headline. A strong, benefit-packed
headline holds 80-90% of the success of your advertising. If you do not get their
attention with a headline they will not read anything else. Look at the National Enquirer,
People, The Star, etc. Those magazines sell so well (and they do more than the top 5
business newspapers combined!) because of the headlines on the cover. The writers of those
headlines make upwards of $1,000,000 per year to write the most exciting, appealing,
emotion stirring headlines possible. And their best headlines sell millions of copies of
those publications every single week. Think like a tabloid writer. Is there anything you
can say about your business or products that would make people stop in a grocery lineup to
read your advertising? If so, use it! People do not buy on logic, they buy based on
emotions.
You must ask them to take action with every piece of marketing material
- offer them an incentive to phone you today, or get a free report from your web site, or
fax in a coupon for a special incentive. The key is to make it worth their while and to
ask them to do it right now. Also, do not ask them to do three different things at once -
us mere humans are not that complex and can only handle one thing at a time!
Do you use Yellow Page advertising? Effectively? Some of the most
boring advertising can be found in the Yellow Pages! And yet, 40% of your clients buy
based on the research they do in the Yellow Pages - 40%! Flip through your section of the
Yellow pages - notice that they all look the same? What possibly gives them a reason to
call you over the other 15 companies advertising the same products or services in the
exact same style of advertising? If you are placing Yellow Page Ads this year, give some
serious thought on headlines you can use (remember: 80-90% of your success is in the
headline). Make it look like an advertorial, and give them an incentive to pick up that
phone and call YOU, not the ad next to you.
Notice that “advertorial” was mentioned? The reason: if you
use news-style advertising, you will get up to 500% better response. This is proven and
documented throughout the years. Make your advertising look like some interesting news, or
an article - do not make it look like advertising (that is what your competitors are
doing). And if it looks like advertising, most people won’t read it. Think about
it…do you read the all the articles or the ads in the newspapers and magazines you
buy? Make it look like a news article and see your response go through the roof.
Only advertise in places where you know your ideal clients frequent.
This is a simple concept, yet ignored by most advertisers. Even if the ideal newspapers or
targeted magazines cost more, your results (and profits) will be exponentially higher by
spending the extra money to target the right people. When you place ads in the ideal
places, offer them freebies to inquire. A freebie can be a free report, a special
“top 10 list”, a recorded message, a free seminar, etc. The key is if you make
it worth their while to put their hands up and show their interest, they will. Once they
have, it is up to you to deliver on your promise (with good quality information); then, to
follow up with them relentlessly, until a high percentage end up buying. As simple as this
sounds 95% of businesses break this rule! It means the difference between a 1% response
rate and the possibility of a 15% response rate. Get their attention. Give them a reason
to believe you. Give them good quality information as a way of saying thanks for listening
and then follow up until they buy.
You put yourself in the top 5% of your industry when you follow these
guidelines - your clients will thank you and so will your banker.
Watch for Part 3 in the July/August issue.
Troy White, Small Business Copywriter, is committed to
helping you make your sales & advertising pay. Turning words into wealth is his
specialty & he invites you to visit his web site for free advice & tips on making
your marketing pay. 403.259.4566 www.smallbusinesscopywriter.com |
