Marketing Articles
Take advantage of a vital marketing principle your competitors don't understandBy Marc Aronson This first step of a great ad is to capture your prospects’ attention with a headline based on the right emotional hot buttons. Once you have done so, you must promise to provide and then give your prospects what they want in order to hold their attention— valuable information concerning how to choose the type of product or service you offer. Only once you have educated your prospects concerning what they need to know is it the correct time to present your case for your product or service. Think like a trial lawyer Attorneys should be expert at developing promotion and advertising. They probably would be if they knew The Marketing Formula. The problem is few attorneys know how to develop an ad with impact, so their ads are as weak as any other service business's promotion. Just like a trial attorney presents a case to a jury, you need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that what you offer is the best choice based on the values of your target market. As the marketer, you are the attorney and your prospects are the jury. If you present your argument well, you get the business. What kind of “proof” should you present? The form of evidence you need to provide varies depending on the type of product or service you offer and your target audience. Generally, you can win your case by presenting at least a few of the following:
Presenting one type of evidence is seldom enough. For example, rarely does providing testimonials alone do much to convince prospective customers to buy something. Testimonials become more believable when presented with other forms of evidence. Make sure you avoid generalities and stick to specifics. Stating that your product performs better than product X means little. Promoting you get 84% better results three times as fast is more convincing. Will long ad copy ruin your ad? Your objective, as the copywriter, is to persuasively present your case. You must word your position well enough to influence people to take action. If you can achieve this in ten words, great. If it takes 1,000 words, and you have the space for it, this may be o.k., too. If your headline and sub-headlines grab your prospects’ attention and create a thirst to know more, many will read long copy if it is packed with valuable information. Others will skim the copy. This still can benefits you. Every word of your copy, however, should have a reason for being there. Thus, avoid unnecessary content. Steer clear of generalities, fluff and platitudes, and stick with specifics. You can get prospects to read long copy if you break up your content with sub headers that arouse interest Sub headers help readers focus on information that is most important to them. If sub headers hit on the readers’ hot buttons, they will invest time to read your copy. How can you present your case well when you have limited space? Because room is usually an issue, just present the key points of your argument in your ad. Then invite people to visit your website, or order a written report, CD or DVD that provides additional information prospects need to make an informed decision. By inviting people to receive more details, and thus gaining their contact information, you can build your database. This is vital because one of the biggest mistakes is to assume people buy now or never. The fact is only a small percent purchase products the first time they see an ad or promotion. This is why repetition is essential. Copyright © 2011, Business Builders. All rights reserved. None of this material may be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from Business Builders. |
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