Advertising costs money – so why is it that so many people waste their money by creating ads that are ineffective, boring, and don’t have any focus? Before agreeing to advertise, whether it’s in a publication, online or in the broadcast media, think carefully about what you want the ad to do for you. If you don’t have focus, neither will your ad!

Here is a selection of tips that will help you to sharpen your focus:

1. Every ad needs an attention grabbing statement whether written or broadcast. It’s the ‘headline’ that tells people it’s worth exploring further.

2. What do you want people to do when they’ve read or listened to your ad? What do they need to know to want to do it? Don’t put unnecessary information in – make sure that every word and picture earns its space.

3. How influential is your brand? If you’re not a nationally known name, it might not need to be very big. If you have a well-known brand it may influence people to read more or even to buy, if you’re not known, your brand won’t help you and takes up valuable (and expensive) space.

4. It may seem ridiculous to say this, but don’t forget to include a means of contacting you and your web address. It’s surprising how many people forget to add a phone/email contact. The web address on its own just means people have to work harder than necessary to get in touch; they may not bother.

5. People will sometimes want to check you out so, if you want people to be impressed when they visit your website, make sure that the image is consistent with what is in the ad. Also make sure that the site is sticky and engages people when they get there. It’s no good investing all that money in an ad when people get to your website and don’t understand what you’re trying to tell them – or can’t see anything useful. They’ll just leave.

6. If you’ve got pictures in your ad, put them to the right and the copy to the left. We read from left to right and generally scan pictures from top to bottom, so pictures that have a message on their right often prevent people from reading it, they just scan down and carry on underneath the picture. Getting the layout right improves your chances of the ad being read.

7. When including testimonials ONLY use the power statement, not the whole thing. The power statement is the bit that tells people what the customer got that made a difference, the information about how nice and friendly your team were doesn’t work anywhere near as well.
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I’ve been banging on about headlines a lot lately – so I might as well continue the trend here!

Most people think a headline is something found in a newspaper or magazine – but headlines should be on every written communication you create. That includes:

The job of the headline is to engage the reader – it should shout ‘read me’! It gets attention and creates interest. Here are 7 things to think about when you’re writing headlines.

1. Where does your headline sit? Is it right where your reader is looking? It should be prominent and where the eye connects.

2. Who does your headline target? Are they ‘we’ or ‘you’ focused? Banish the word ‘we’ from headlines!

3. Do they tell your reader ‘you need to read this’? They need to target your readers’ emotional triggers.

4. Do you know why people buy you? Find out and use that HUGE lever to get others to want what you’ve got too!

5. Are your headlines F, A or B oriented? F=features; A=advantages; B=benefits. Know your Bs and use them well.

6. Do your headlines address AIDA? A=attention; I=interest; D=desire; A=action. D is really important – make people want it.

7. How long does it take you to write a headline? Sales writer, Ted Nicholas, says you should spend 80% of your time getting the headline right! Invest in it; if people don’t connect with the headline, they won’t read any more.

Think about how you want people to feel and put that into your headlines and you’ll be on the way to writing powerful, compelling messages.
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You can also find us at Lesleywriter or call us on +44 (0) 1245 473296

Ted Nicholas (the guru of copywriting) says you should spend more time on your headline than on the rest of your copy, I’m not sure I totally agree, but it’s definitely the top of my list of things to get right!

If your headline does its job properly it will:

If it doesn’t work people will:

If it’s missing completely it’s as bad as not having a headline at all.

Remember that ‘Welcome’ is not a headline and neither is ‘Home page’. If your web designer is any good they will be able to arrange for the page the user is on to show up in a different colour on the menu so you don’t need to waste prime real estate telling people where they are!

How do you create a good headline?

Brainstorm as many headlines as you can without worrying about how readable they are. Then when you’ve run out of ideas review the lot and you’ll almost certainly have one or two – or two that can be amalgamated – that stand out and have energy and engagement.
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