Write Effective Free Advertising for Your Online Business - Phase One

Free advertisement requires some marketing skill. A lot of creativity and knowledge goes into designing
an effective free advertisement. In order to write effective free advertising for your online business and
increase sales, you need to gain some essential knowledge.

Good online advertisements are designed in a simple, yet attractive way to catch a customer’s eye and
attention. The first step towards writing an effective free classified advertisement is to read it from a customer's
point of view. Look at what catches your eye, what are the subject lines that attract you. These are very important.
Now look for the subject line that repeat over and over again, for example works like opportunity, home based
business, MLM, make money, the best thing since slice bread. Do not use these. Focus on making sense and
attracting the targeted audience for your free advertisement to generate the attraction factor.

The attraction factor is very important in free advertising. What is going to make someone click on your subject
to read more? Remember these possible prospective customers are looking for something that sticks out and
grabs them. I like to call it eye candy. See a person looking at a free classified ad is a captive audience and
they are looking for a specific item. I equate this difference between using Google & Yahoo. People who use
Google are a captive audience searching for something specific and people who are using Yahoo are catalog
shoppers.

I not knocking Yahoo here but what do you see first when you search Yahoo. Sales, Sale, News, Music, and
if you take into consideration the eye can only send the brain a certain amount of information at on time. So
a person eyes tend to move all around the Yahoo page and does not stay focused.

Now lets really think about Google. When some goes to Google to search they are searching for specific,
they know what they are looking for. Now when you open a browser and type www.Google.com do you see
any sales, news, and music? No, you see Google logo or a special logo for that day.

When it comes to writing free classifieds you have to put your minds eye to attract Google users. Not a Yahoo
catalog shopper. So your subject line has to be attractive and grab the attention of the people who are searching.
So think about it. Which subject line would attract you?

1. Best Home Based Business Advertising
2. If This Doesn’t Work For You, NOTHING WILL!

Take a look at number 2 what draws you attention. Look at number 1 is just a bland, burned out subject line.
I see this subject line at least 100 plus, a day in one form or another. Let go back to number 1, when a person
reads this what are they thinking. This may, could, will or work for me and then the punch line NOTHING WILL!
These two words have a powerful attraction. Because when someone reads this it tell there brain that this very
important for them to read more.

So when writing effective free adverting for your business, be bold, be different, be POWERFUL. In my next
post I will take you step by step in constructing your advertisement body.

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Write Effective Free Advertising for Your Online Business - Phase Two

From my previous post “Write Effective Free Advertising for Your Online Business”. We talked about the
importance of the subject line and how it hooks the reader to your ad copy/ad body of your advertising; it's
amazing what works and what doesn't work.

If you're an accountant, lawyer, or business consultant with a marketing program, you don't have to know
how to write an ad, but you should know some things about how to produce exciting ad copy. You should
know also that what you think works, may not.

While a great deal is known about what works in ad copy, there’s even more we don’t know. What makes
it difficult for new ad copy writers is that what you may judge to be great copy because of the poetry, imagery,
sound, and lyricism, may be lousy for accomplishing the mission of the ad. “But have no fear your ad copy
lesson is here.”

When the advertising expert, David Ogilvy, was told that copy should be short and terse, because nobody
reads more than a few words of an ad, he wrote the classic, "At 60 miles and hour the only sound you hear
is the clock." It was a full page of text, describing the features of the Rolls Royce. It sold a lot of cars. Now
I want you to really think about how these twelve words attracted the reader/consumer.

Now take a look at very short one liner’s the really attracted million of readers and listeners. “Where is the
Beef”, “Got Milk”, or even “The Other White Meat”, you all should know the companies and organization that
branded these short lines. These very attractive words triggered and branded your mind to them. The same
goes for creating good ad copy.

But in an imitative world, a great many ad people imitated not the selling aspects of the ad, but its length. We
were then treated to a bunch of long text ads, most of which sold nothing. Some ad people simply didn't get it.
The good news is you do and will write great ad copy.

Perhaps the hardest thing for people who are not marketers to understand is that the process is a function of
imagination. All of which are what we usually mean when we use the word "creative." There are rules, and these
rules are always made to be broken. Like the best abstract artists, who know better how to abstract because
they are fine realistic artists, it's likely that those who know the rules best are those who break the rules best.
So as you begin writing ad copy do something different, the sky is the limit, and breaks the rules.

Some Simple Suggestions for Writing Ad Copy

1. Sentences should not be longer than seven words.
2. The number of sentences should be no longer than seven.
3. Make sure to place a space between the sentences.
4. I use an ellipsis at the end of my sentences (What is next…) these three dots provides for continuous
   
5. thought. The reader is going to go to the next line to see what is…
6. Next…
7. Single line ad copy can be just as powerful as using the above rule of sevens.

Now we have covered the basics. Let me use the previous example from “Write Effective Free Advertising for
Your Online Business” blog post.

Subject/Headline: You've Never Seen This Before…

Ad Copy/Ad Body: Or you'd be DOING IT!

And you wouldn't be wasting your time...

Posting your BRAINS OUT here in the free ads!

Let us help you escape this mess!

http://www.WorldWideWealthBuilders.com

First the subject/headline is invoking interest and the power line in the ad body is “Or you’d be DOING IT”
invites the mind eye to see what else the message has in it. It invokes emotion, mystery, and you want to see
what’s next. The credit for this ad goes to Digital Don Hill. He really makes the mind engage with this ad.

Now lets look at a brilliant one line ad copy to get your mind thinking and unleash your creativity:

Subject/Headline: Your Secrets To Internet Success Are Waiting

Ad Copy/Ad Body: Along With The Tools You Needed… http://www.BerryCritter.com

Now take a look at the headline, do you see two very powerful words? They both stand out. “Secret” and
“Success” if you really study advertising you will find that these two words are in the top 10 of words to
attract and evoke emotion. Again they trigger the minds eye. Now to the Ad Copy; “Along With The Tools
You Needed” this connects to both Secret and Success. Your question is how these words connect to
each other. Just think about it. “Secret”, you really want to know the secret. “Success” you need tools and
help so you can be successful so the line “Tools You Needed” is the hook or the lock to getting the reader
to respond by clicking on the url. I give all the credit for this ad to Stephanie “Wavecriter” Haile. Stephanie
one line ad is powerful and grabs attention and really attracts the reader by offering a solution to there need.
To be frank, I really think one liner’s in free classified adverting campaigns produce results. They are simple,
easy and really fun to create.

Now I will let you mind absorb this material and in my next post I will go in depth on your objectives and the
elements of Writing Effective Free Advertising.

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Write Effective Free Advertising for Your Online Business - Rap Up

The Objectives of the Ad

Writing free advertising copy begins, as you might expect, with defining objectives of the campaign, of the
marketing program, of the specific ad. These objectives will be unique to you and your online business, to
each campaign, and to each ad. They dictate that the copy as well as all other elements of the ad are focused
and relevant.

Elements of Good Ad Copy

An ad that includes at least the following elements might be expected to be good …

Attention

In the clamor and clutter of sight and sound, and the competition for the reader's eye, ear, and heart, it's
imperative that you compete successfully for attention. There should be some element in the ad,
whether it's the headline or the illustration or the layout that attracts the eye or ear and arouses sufficient
interest to warrant attention to the message. And the copy itself must sustain that attention.

Promise of Benefit

Something in the ad should promise the reader or the listener some benefit that will accrue from
accepting the ad's premises.

Credibility

The premises of the ad must be believable. (On the other hand, do you really believe that Exxon put
a tiger in your tank? But it sold a lot of gas.)

Persuasiveness

The ad should be persuasive. It should sell or generate the need for the service you offer, and project
your service as superior. (On the other hand, what do those Nike shoe ads say that persuade you?
But they sell a lot of athletic shoes.)

Interest

Once you've captured the reader's attention you've got to say or show something to sustain interest,
or the message will not be heard.

Desire

The ad must generate a desire to accept what you have to say about what you have to offer; to
want to do business with you.

Action

The ultimate aim of an ad is to generate action on the part of the reader or listener; to cause the
reader to want to do something that you want him or her to do, such as buy your service, or, in the
case of professional services marketing, it might be to either generate an inquiry or accept a
selling situation. On the other hand, just getting a reader to think about you in a specific way is an
action, too. That’s what institutional advertising is about.

The Foundation For Copy

Ads seem to work best when you...

Know your prospect

Not only who your prospect is, but what kind of service your prospective clientele really wants, and
what kind of problems they'll depend upon your service to resolve.

Know your service

Know your service in terms of what the prospective client is willing to buy, not what you're offering to sell.

Copy Structure

The purpose of a headline is to attract attention and to bring the reader to the ad. A headline that offers nothing
to the reader in terms of either benefit or interest may effectively mask the cleverest ad, and one that's offering
the most useful service.

The text should spring from the headline, and follow through the promise it offers. It should explain and clarify
the facts and claims. It should be a logical progression of ideas, covering all of the points you mean to cover,
even if it's done only with an illustration.

Copy can appeal to the intellect and reason, or it can appeal to the emotions, or it can do both.

The text of an ad designed to cause action should lead naturally to a call for action. What precisely do you
want your reader to do? Call now? File for future reference? Send in a coupon? Send for a brochure?
Remember something? Experienced copywriters know that the call for action works. It's not so much that
when readers are told to do something they do it. It's that when they're not told to do something they're less
likely to do it.

The copy usually ends with a logo and a signature for identification and impression, and sometimes also a
slogan.

The Copy Platform

The professional copywriter usually develops a concept, sometimes called the copy platform, which is a clear
statement of the copy objectives, focus, and approach. This is an attempt to articulate, as clearly and as simply
as possible, what the copy shall say and how it shall say it. Shall it be extensive or brief? What tone shall it take?
Shall it be breezy and light, or formal? What message shall it try to convey? What is the rationale behind the
approach?

The purpose of this copy platform, whether it's specifically articulated on paper or merely understood in the
copywriter's mind, is to serve as a guide to actually writing the copy. Many copywriters use it to present to
their clients for a clear understanding of how the ad will come out.

Writing The Copy

The artistry of advertising lies in the ability to manipulate symbols and ideas in order to inform and persuade
people. As in any art form, there are no rules that can guide you in doing this, except to list those factors that
seem to work most consistently. And yet, remember, some of the most successful ads are those that violate
the rules.

Two universally accepted axioms are that an ad must be simple, and it must look and sound as if it's worth
paying attention to. And obviously, it must be complete, it must contain all the information you want to convey.
These axioms, if indeed they are axioms spring from the fact that few ads are successful when these rules
are ignored. Beyond that, clarity is essential. No matter how an ad is written it must be understood and easy
to read.

It should be grammatical despite the fact that there are many examples of successful advertising that are
clearly ungrammatical. A breach of grammatical rules, however, should be deliberate, and designed to serve
a specific purpose. The rules of grammar are not arbitrary, nor are they engraved in stone. But the purpose
of the rules of grammar is consistency, understanding and clarity. But I would not worry about your grammar
sometime a mistake in grammar is attractive and can be your best ad copy. So again, doesn’t worry about
grammar but pay strict attention to your ad headline and body.

There are some other guidelines that professional copywriters also find useful ...

Talk to the reader, the listener, or the viewer. Don't announce, don't preach. And don't get carried away by
words and lose sight of the message.

Write short sentences, with easy and familiar words. You want the reader or listener to do the least possible
work to get your message. Even when you're talking to very bright people, communication is of the essence,
not language manipulation.

Don't waste words. Whether you use three or a thousand words make sure each is exactly the one you need.
Make sure each word is exactly the right one to convey your meaning.

Try to avoid being formal. You're talking to people as people. You're not writing an insurance contract for lawyers.
An ad is information and persuasion.

Use the present tense and the active voice ("All professional copywriters have extensive experience in preparing
material," rather than " ... extensive experience in the preparation of material."). If you do want a formal style it
should be deliberate, and you should have a clear idea of why you are using it.

Try to use bright, cheerful language that keeps the reader alert and maintains attention. To be enthusiastic and
exciting is to be well along on the way to being interesting.

Writing is not the manipulation of words -- it's the expression of ideas. Words, grammar and punctuation, are
merely the tools and devices we use to express ideas most clearly. To think of copy as a configuration of
words is the same as thinking of a symphony as a configuration of notes.

Why do ads that seem well written sometimes not work? Because they miss these points of advertising.
Because they attempt to merely translate somebody's idea of persuasive talk into the ad medium, which
can sometimes be like wearing a tuxedo to the gym.

And because somebody didn't recognize that the art of advertising copywriting is not the art of literary writing.
Different medium, different art form.

Now you hold the key to writing good ad copy. Now have fun. Do not let anything stop you. The sky is the limit
and you will see that after a few days of writing free classifieds you will be come a pro and be able to have a
great time and really enjoy it. Just remember this: “If you think advertising doesn't work, consider the millions
of Americans that now think yogurt tastes good.”




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