7 simple steps to successful advertising.

An advert with the right message, in the right medium, at the right time and designed in the right way will be successful. 

1. Headline – catch their attention

The most important aspect to an advert is the headline which should be at the top of the advert. Do not put your logo at the top of an advert, as unless your brand is as well known as Coca Cola, it won’t mean anything to the reader. However, branding is important and your logo should be included within the advert.

A subheading just under the headline is a powerful way to support and enhance the message within your headline.

Headline: Do you need a Will?

Subheading: Act by X and save £XXX 

2. Incentive – give a reason to act now

An advert with an expiring special offer or a ‘cut out’ discount coupon will, in general, out perform a standard advert without an offer. 

A discount that has a use by date will provide that extra incentive to make the reader buy your product now. The sooner you can get a person to act after reading your advert the more likely they are to buy. 

Be creative with your offer, is doesn’t necessarily have to be a straightforward discount which reduces your profit margin.

“Make your Will with ABC Solicitors before X Date and we will store your Will for free for the rest of your life, saving you in excess of £xxx’s”. 

3. Call to action – make it easy to act

Tell the reader what they need to do. “Call us free on 0800 XXX XXX to arrange an appointment.”

The ‘call to action’ needs to be as easy as possible and be clear within the advert. Provide as many options as possible, i.e. phone, fax, email, write, visit, etc.

4. Think campaigns, not single adverts 

Placing a one-off advert is unlikely to be as successful as a regular series of adverts. There is a general rule which states that people need to be told seven times about a product before they buy. A regular reminder will help persuade a person to act. Having an advertising campaign backed-up with other marketing campaigns such as a PR campaign, will help to reach the magic seven.

5. Clear design

Sometimes less is more. Only focus on one message per advert and do not confuse the reader with an endless list of your services. 

Ensure you communicate the benefits and not the features of your product. Let’s look at a windscreen wiper to understand the difference between a feature and a benefit. The feature of a windscreen wiper is to wipe clean your windscreen. The benefit is that it allows you to see where you are driving.

6. Remove any uncertainty

Having a perceived risk or being uncertain about a company or product is a barrier for most potential customer. If the reader has never used your company before and perhaps uses another company, but is considering using you because of your special offer, you will need something extra to help remove that uncertainly. 

Guarantees and the use of client testimonials provide and excellent way to remove any perceived risk.

Guarantees do not have to be straight refunds. “Use our service for 3 months and if you are not 100% satisfied get the next month for free”. 

7. Test, review, evaluate, adjust

Before finalising your advert test it on colleagues, suppliers, existing customers, friends and family to see if they understand the message which you are aiming to convey.  Always measure your campaigns in terms of enquiries and conversions. If you are getting the enquiries but not the conversions then you should follow-up with each enquiry to find out why. If the enquiries aren’t coming then you should re-evaluate your advert and the publication or medium which you are using.

Contact John for a free no-obligation marketing consultation.