Secrets Of Effictive Ad Writing

Have you ever read an advert that really caught your eye? I imagine that many more have passed by without you noticing. This might be because the advert just wasn't very interesting or more importantly to the advertiser, it simply didn't follow the 4 criteria for a successful advert. The criteria can be summarised as follows:

The Interrupt

This is the first step of any advert. The advert must interrupt the reader's train of thought and make them stop in their tracks. This must capture the attention and make the reader want to continue. It doesn't necessarily have to be directly about the offer but should be close. To give an example let's say we are advertising a glass supplier. A scan of the local classified's reveals that many glass suppliers start their adverts with phrases such as "Broken Glass" or "24 Hour". Whilst these are factual they don't interrupt the reader. Something like "TOTALLY SMASHED" would catch the eye better and create the interrupt

Engage

After the interrupt the advert must engage the reader. Like the Interrupt this is still a headline only laser targeted to the problem. This is the point to start talking their language and relating to their problem. Going back to our glass company example this is where the "24 Hour Service, Emergency Glazing, Fitted Efficiently And Quickly" would be inserted. At this point it's a factual title to engage the reader about

Educate

The third step is to educate the reader with useful information. A section of Tips or Did You Know? ideas is useful here. Expanding on the companies services and some background to show that company has thought about the problems facing the customer and also has the solutions. This is the meat of the advert in terms of content and must be right or the reader will not have confidence that the company can deliver. Using our glass company example the advert could include details of the glass cutting, mirrors, evidence of high craftsmanship and customer testimonials.

Offer

An advert is like a piece of music that strikes you at first, then gets more serious and to the point and gradually builds to the offer. This is where the advertisement states clearly what is on offer and a Call-To-Action, i.e. what the customer must do to take up the service. This must be clear, concise and accurate.

Further Points

The four parts of a good advert have been described. There are some extra pointers which are useful to note. The first is "Hot Spots". Try to write each section so that is stands out visually. This is the "Hot Spot". The reader's eye will naturally flick between hot spots. Capitalisation of the first letter of certain words also helps. An example would be, "Help Required Here", which looks much better than, "Help required here".

To summarise, the 4 key points that will lead to results are: Interrupt + Engage + Educate + Offer (+Further Points) = Results

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