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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The hot shot ad agency types will tell you it’s about something gimmicky, shocking or what’s hot today. They’re only partly right. There are many reasons people ‘get it’ – and plenty of obstacles that stop them getting it! Here are 7 tips that will help your copy to be read:

1. I don’t want to know what you do, I want to know what I get so write about what’s in it for ME (your reader).

2. If you give me lots to read I might not bother, keep paragraphs and sentences short and to the point.

3. When you start writing you MUST know why people buy you and tell your readers that’s what they get.

4. Most people don’t read online, they scan, so put easy-to-read devices like bullets and subheads to help them get your message – and whilst people tend to read more from paper, it’s a good way to draw their attention to the key points.

5. What do people REALLY want to know? Not lots of detail. Tell them what they want, not what you want to say.

6. What do you want people to do when they’ve read your message? Don’t forget a call to action.

7. Don’t make people work hard; tell them what to do and make it easy for them to do (i.e. make the words a link) or put the phone number right there (don’t expect them to search around for it).

There are many more reasons people stop reading – but just getting these right will make a real difference.

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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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Web users are lazy and impatient – think of yourself when you’re waiting for a site to download that takes a few seconds longer than you expect! That means that web copy needs to get the message across FAST.

The very first thing that your web visitor will look at is the headline – it needs to reassure the website visitor that the site will deliver the information they were looking for. If it doesn’t (or it’s hard to find) they’re gone!

Then there’s the web copy that you want to get your reader engaged – and this where the ‘line’ appears. Do you write creative copy that gets the reader involved and ‘draws the picture’ of what it could be like for them to own your product or experience your services? Or do you write focused, sharp copy that tells them the facts and gets to the point quickly and clearly?

What a dilemma – what sort of web copy works best? There’s a case for both – and there’s some other issues that need to be taken into account; people read headlines, but don’t read all the copy – they scan it. That means you have to be very clever with your web copy.

The formula I use is to:

Taking into account that they’ll be scanning through this, draw their attention to key words. This may not be the ones they’ve searched on necessarily, but the ones that are emotionally charged, for instance in an ad for garden design:

You can add a room to your home by turning your garden into an area you use more and get more pleasure with less effort.

or

When the sun shines do you look at your garden and wish you could sit out and enjoy it instead of slaving over a mountain of weeds? A good design can take the work away and create a garden you can enjoy.

If you’re scanning down the web copy – the bold words stand out and your core message is clear. You can make your web copy walk the line if you’re smart – just don’t overdo it.

It doesn’t only work on web copy; it works on your paper documents too!
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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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I’ve spent a lot of time working with people on their websites over the last week or so – and creating a website that works is so much easier when you start with the site map – or plan.

With one of my clients we established that there were six elements to co-ordinate – and in this particular instance they were all being carried out by different people; no wonder she was stressed! The elements were:

The come in roughly that order too, although some can be carried out concurrently – and SEO really runs right through from the copy onwards.

If the site map isn’t developed up front it makes writing the copy virtually impossible and SEO even harder as pages need to be optimised. The designer can’t create a template with the right menu buttons and the developer can’t build the site. It’s the key to a successful website that takes the visitor on a journey that keeps them interested and presents your products and/or services in the best possible light.

Every page must have purpose and also a call to action – if you just say lots of encouraging things and don’t ask for action, some visitors will leave!

Don’t leave it to your web designer to plan your site – that’s your job and nobody knows your business better than you (or, at least, they shouldn’t) – think about what you want people to do and plan your site with that in mind.

Two tips:
1. Don’t send anyone to your About page first; let them find out what you can deliver BEFORE you introduce yourself.

2. Find out what people really want before you try to give them what you think they should have!

Good luck!
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If you are the company owner you’re probably the worst person to write your website copy – you simply know too much!

Most of us are so passionate about what we do (or why are you doing it?) that we want to tell our readers EVERYTHING. The trouble is that they simply don’t want to know.

When people arrive on your website they are there for a reason – they’re either looking for information or trying to find a specific product or service and probably comparing offerings. All they are interested in is:

That means that every word on your site needs to address those two questions.

Here are 7 key things to avoid:

1. Don’t start with ‘Welcome’ or the page name – start with a big bold headline that tells them the site is will address their needs.

2. Don’t use the home page to tell them how wonderful you are, how long you’ve been in business and all your qualifications and experience. The home page should be about your visitor and what they’re looking for.

3. Don’t assume that they’ll arrive on your home page – every page should stand alone; strong headline; content that supports that and outlines clearly what it’s about.

4. Don’t imagine that people will rush to your testimonials page and read them all avidly. Scatter your testimonials throughout the site on relevant pages.

5. Don’t put too much information on the pages – people don’t read it anyway; they just scan for key bits of information. Put key words in bold (but not too many); use bullet lists (no more than 5 to a list); keep paragraphs short and the page should not be more than 2 screens to scroll down. Aim for 200-250 words max.

6. Don’t forget to put page titles that go in the blue bar at the top – or get your web designer to do it; it helps people to know what the page is about – especially the bots!

7. Don’t write a dry fact based About page – give it some energy! Quotes from the founder, MD, CEO, Owner, that bring their passion, beliefs and values to life – you might find that real people are the deciding factor in whether someone ‘buys’ your organisation or a competitors!

Over to you!
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I make no apologies for revisiting this subject – it’s important!

I keep visiting websites that start their home page with ‘We are … a family company/expert carpet fitters/a long established company/dedicated to our customers/etc. etc. What’s wrong with that?

I don’t want to know that!

We’re all proud of our background and expertise, but if someone has just found your website they are probably looking for something – you need to tell them that they’ve found the right place. If they already know you – they probably know all that already!

Why have you got a website? Is it simply because everyone else has one? I hope not. If you’ve invested in having one designed and created, then you need to make it work for you – and pay your investment back, then start making a profit. Why would you do something that doesn’t help you to make a profit?

Understanding what you want the website to do is the first step. Understanding what people are looking for when they arrive there is the second step.

Know what their issues/problems/challenges are – and make sure that the message they get right away (that’s your headline) tells them there’s a good chance your website will deliver what they want!

If you think they’re going to read their way through your website to find out what they want to know – you’ll be disappointed. When you’re looking for information online, how long do you hang about if you can’t see something relevant right away?

I rest my case! Decide what you want it to do and then make every word work towards that end.
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This isn’t about web copy – but it is about readability and it uses some of the same ‘rules’.

There are many different varieties of flyer; there’s the letter/A4 sized sheet, the A5 (half letter size), the trifold, the DL (compliments slip size); the postcard – and many others. Today I’m going to talk about content – and tomorrow about where the content needs to go.

Finally, when you’ve assembled those pieces of information – don’t be tempted to fill space with additional information! Stop right there!

Read the next blog to find out how to assemble the various types of flyer so the key information is in the right places.
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Before I launch myself on the issue of keywords and phrases, please be aware I’m not an expert in search engine optimisation. I know lots of people who are, but wouldn’t begin to try and teach anyone the finer points of SEO! What I do know about is how to create SEO friendly copy.

Firstly, you need to know what people are searching for. The experts have lots of means of working that out – however, a good place to start is to ask a few people what they would type into the search box to find the sort of products or service that you offer.

Remember that people don’t search for ‘professional IT services’, they search for ‘how do I get my computer working properly?’ They won’t put in ‘Advanced Time Management Training programmes’, they’ll put in ‘Getting better organised at work’.

When you’ve got two or three likely phrases (and maybe a few less common, but interesting ones) you need to write copy that uses these between 2-4 times. Don’t contrive the copy – it has to work for the human being reading as well as the search engine.

Bear in mind that today’s search engines tend to ‘read’ the overall content and assess whether it relates to the subject being written about, so a string of keywords just doesn’t impress them at all!

Make sure that the content on the page is all about the subject of the page and makes sense, include your keywords and relate the content to them.

If you want to create more than one landing page for more than one set of keywords, the same applies – and you can’t simply write the same copy with the words changed; Google doesn’t like that and dumps your page! There’s an art to creating alternative copy.
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