Ad Writing: Closing The Deal
By Admin | May 26, 2008
In our last installment of our ad writing series, we discussed offering our prospect a solution to their problem. In this installment we are going to work on closing the deal. Make no mistake about it. This is absolutely the hardest part of this whole process and where you lose most people. But if you’ve gotten them down this far, then all that’s left is to hit them with everything you have, without resorting to hype. That’s the really hard part.
Okay, we’ve just told them the solution to their problem. Right now they’re sitting there thinking, okay what’s next and what’s the catch? You know they’re waiting for a catch. Everybody is. Again, people have been ripped off so many times that they’re waiting for the hammer to fall on their head just one more time.
So you have to do a really good job in order to close this thing. This is where there are so many ways to do this that to go over them all would be close to impossible. However, there are some basic concepts that I am going to briefly go over in this article and then in our next article, we’re going to expand on these concepts.
I can’t stress this enough. This is the absolutely most critical part of the whole process. Yes, without a good subject you don’t get the ad read. But coming up with a good subject isn’t that hard. Not when you’re talking about a few words. The intro is straight forward as is the identification of their problem and the solution. But now we have to get them to dig out their wallet, take out their credit card and make a purchase. That is the hard part.
So here are the basic things you need to do in order to get them to do this.
Offer Proof – Show them proof of your income. Clickbank or PayPal screen prints will do fine. Let them see that you actually make money doing this. This shows them credibility, which is so important.
Show Testimonials – Let them see what other people have said about this system. This one thing is what I base my whole “Read What Others Have To Say” campaign around. In that case, I hit them with the testimonials right away.
Offer Bonuses – Tell them that if they purchase today, you’ll throw in these extras. Please don’t give them junk. Make those bonuses something that they will have use for.
Offer A Guarantee – If you can’t back up what you’re selling then you have no business selling it. So offer a money back guarantee if you’re selling your own product. If it’s registered with Clickbank, you have no choice. So make them aware of the guarantee. This will make them feel a little more at ease.
Stress Time – Let them know that this offer won’t be available for long, especially the bonuses. Make them aware that failure to act on this today could cost them money.
The above are basic guidelines and not written in stone. This will all depend on the product and the rest of the ad
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Ad Writing: Offering A Solution
By Admin | May 23, 2008
In our last installment of ad writing, we went over the paragraph where we identify the problem that the person is having. In this installment, we’re going to offer a solution to their problem.
This is where you really have to be convincing. Yes, they know they have a problem, but convincing them that you have the solution to their problem is easier said than done. Why? Well, many of these people have been burned more than once. They have gotten to the point where they don’t believe there is a solution to their problem. So convincing them is going to take a lot of doing.
Before I continue, let me throw some stats at you. With my email campaigns I average 1 conversion for every 46 clicks to my web site. Now, that may not seem a lot to you, but believe me, better than a 2% conversion in this climate is very good. If you get 3% you are considered to be doing very well.
Okay, taking our example from the previous installment, where we are now about to offer a solution to our FFA poster, here is what my friend typically uses and it works very well.
“Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this problem. Below is a site that taught me some simple advertising methods that have worked very well for me for several years now. I consistently make several thousand monthly using these methods. I will be more than happy to send you verification of this. What the site will teach you is…”
And then he goes into the specifics of what the site will teach them. The key is, right from the start of this paragraph, he told them that there is a simple solution to their problem. People like simple. They don’t want things that are hard or complicated. So you have to reassure them that this is something that THEY will be able to do. It does help if you actually have a system that is simple and does work.
Now, this isn’t the end of getting them to buy your product or service. Just telling them there is a solution isn’t enough. You have to offer proof, testimonials and other incentives which we will get into soon.
Before we move on to the next article in this series, how about an example of a solution to one of the other subjects that I mentioned in an earlier article?
How about this subject?
The # 1 Reason YOU Are Failing
After I told them the # 1 reason why they are failing, I offered this solution.
Where is this all going? Simple. I have put together a book that WILL make you that GUARANTEED income to start with and then get you on your way to making money from sales or recruiting or whatever you want to do because you will have established credibility. The book consists of 3 programs. The first one is the research job, which I strongly suggest you do first, and then the next 2 are sales and recruiting programs. The 2nd one is sales and the 3rd one is recruiting. You will find they become very easy after doing the first one.
Without even knowing what our problem identification paragraph was, we can almost guess based on this paragraph. Read it very carefully and I’m sure you’ll see what the key points are.
In our next article in this series, we’ll focus on what comes after you offer the solution, which is closing the deal.
That’s the hard part.
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Ad Writing: Meat Of Your Article
By Admin | May 21, 2008
In our last installment we went over how to write an intro for the ad you’re writing. Hopefully, you’ve learned that your intro and your subject have to go together or your reader is going to get confused and not read any further. In this installment, we’re going to get into the meat of our article. This is where we follow a step by step process of identifying the person’s problem, offering a solution, and then finally closing the deal. In this particular installment, we’ll be focusing on identifying the person’s problem.
A friend of mine has told me that one of his favorite things to do is to write to people who post ads to FFA sites. Why? Because it is one of the easiest markets to sell advertising to. Think about it. FFA posters post ads to pages that nobody ever sees and thus they make absolutely no sales. Their email boxes are overrun with junk and they’re totally frustrated. That’s why he hosts FFA sites and in his confirmation email he actually tells them that they are wasting their time.
Here’s a typical “problem identification paragraph” that he has used.
I don’t like giving people bad news, especially not around now. But if somebody doesn’t tell you the truth about the ad you posted to promote your site, you’re just going to do the same thing day after day and find that you’re not getting any results at all. The reason is because nobody sees these ads. I should know. I used to post them myself and they are worthless.
Okay, he pretty much got right to the point. He told them that what they are doing to promote their web site is a waste of time. Now, you have to understand that this works because they already know it. They have the email box full of junk, they haven’t made any sales, and they’re frustrated. So he’s not telling them something that they don’t know. He’s just reinforcing it. he now has them hooked just a little bit more.
Now, obviously this paragraph is going to be different depending on what the person’s problem is. But writing this paragraph is easy. Just keep in mind what that problem is and tell them what it is. Again, they already know, so the news is nothing that is going to shock them. Believe me, they’ll be nodding their head up and down in agreement when they read your revelation of their problem.
You’re probably asking “But how do I know what they’re problem is?”
Ah. That’s where you have to know and understand the market you’re advertising to. Otherwise, all your ads are worthless.
In my friend’s case, he hosts FFA sites and sends confirmation emails to FFA posters. So he know who his market is. He knows what they’re problem is. So yes, ad copy is only as good as your targeting. If you’re going to send out ads to people who you have no idea if they even need your product or service, well of course you’re not going to have good results.
In our next installment, we’re going to move into the part of the ad where we offer a solution to their problem.
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Ad Writing: Introduction
By Admin | May 19, 2008
The introduction of your article, should they get that far given your subject is a killer, is where you can totally lose your reader if you don’t handle it right. Many people have the totally wrong idea of how to start off an ad. Tell me, how many ads have you seen start off like this?
“You are going to be SO glad that you opened this email. I have got an offer for you today that is going to knock your socks off and bring in thousands of dollars daily to your PayPal account for just 2 hours work a week.”
You know the ads I’m talking about. They come out with the sales pitch right out of the gate. Again, this might work with a few uneducated newbies, but you’re never going to sell anything to anybody who is going to be of any real worth to you in the long run. You want to appeal to people who ultimately will help you the most.
Well, the above example is not the way to appeal to people who are the kind of customers you want to have. When you start off your ad, you want to start slowly. You don’t want to put the person to sleep but you want to ease into the sales pitch. Yes, writing an intro is not easy. You have to walk a fine line between boring the person to death and making him sick to his stomach with all the sales hype.
Here’s an example of an intro that I use quite often and it works very well.
I hope this email finds you in good health with the holidays approaching. If you want to talk to me about this email, you can reach me at the number below. I think you will want to hear what I have to say.
Now, you might wonder what’s so special about this intro. For starters, I wished the person reading it to be in good health. I’ve already started off on the right foot. I tell the person they can reach me at the number below. That’s right. I’m actually letting them call me to see that I am a real person. Finally, I’m telling them that they may want to hear what I have to say to them. I am instilling a feeling or urgency in this email ad. They’re curiosity is going to make them want to read on. They may eventually find that they’re not interested in what I am offering, but at least I’ve gotten them through the intro. Now I just have to hold them.
Now, this intro is very generic. But remember those subjects I gave you in a previous article? Those subjects require what I call “specific” intros. Why? Because after you lead in with a subject, you better have an intro that compliments it, or you will lose your readers.
For example:
This subject…
URGENT! Beware Of These Programs
Was followed by this intro…
I hope you will take just a moment to read this. There are a number of things on the Internet that you need to be careful of. This isn’t coming from somebody who has no clue what he is talking about. This is coming from someone who has been successfully marketing online for several years now. Over that time I have run into a number of things that too many people get involved in that are either not worth your time or are just plain illegal.
See how it fits? You MUST make sure that your intro fits with your subject. If I had followed this subject with something like the intro to this subject;
Read What Others Have To Say
You know what? Anything I say to you doesn’t mean crap. Of course I am going to tell you that MY program is the greatest one on the Internet. Of course I am going to GUARANTEE you that you’ll make money with it, $500 your first month for just 2 hours a day to be exact. But what else am I going to say? That my program is garbage?
It doesn’t make any sense.
One more and I think you’ll get the picture.
Here’s the intro to this subject:
The # 1 Reason YOU Are Failing
That’s right. I am going to tell you the # 1 reason that YOU are failing. You may not like what you are about to read but at least it will be the truth.
See how that falls right in line with the subject?
The key to what I call the “one-two punch” is to write your intro always keeping your subject in mind. With a generic subject, you write a generic intro. With a very specific subject, like the one above, you better follow it up with a very specific intro.
In our next installment of this series, we’ll get into the meat of our ad and how to ease your way into selling people your product or service.
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Ad Writing: What A Good Subject Is
By Admin | May 16, 2008
A good subject, as I said in our last article, is one that gets the person to either open his email or click through to read your message board or classified ad.
Rather than give you some hypothetical subjects, I am actually going to share actual subjects that I have used to get people to open my ads. These should give you some idea of the kind of subjects that you should try to write.
Some example good subjects:
I just got this $$$ in my email
URGENT! Beware Of These Programs
You WILL Make Money If You Do THIS
Tired Of Getting Ripped Off?
The # 1 Reason YOU Are Failing
I’m Sick Of All These Lies
Read What Others Have To Say
Real Honest Help
That should be more than enough to get you started.
Okay, now let’s take a look at why these subjects work. We’ll look at each one separately and analyze them.
I just got this $$$ in my email
This creates curiosity. The person is going to want to know just how much $$$ I got in my email. Obviously, the ad copy is going to have to tell them how much or they will feel cheated and angry. So if you’re going to use this, better be able to back it up.
URGENT! Beware Of These Programs
This is a killer subject for me. Why? Think about it. Many of the people you are going to write to are Internet marketers who have probably been burned by more than their share of programs. When they see a subject like this, trust me, they will run to see which programs are ripping people off. Again, you better be able to back this up with facts and proof or you’re going to be in a lot of trouble.
You WILL Make Money If You Do THIS
Again, creates curiosity. People are going to want to know just what the THIS is. Since you don’t spell it out, there is an air of mystery that surrounds this subject. And if somebody can learn just one thing (which THIS implies) to make money, they will jump all over it.
Tired Of Getting Ripped Off?
Honestly, I never expected this subject to work. Of course people are tired of getting ripped off. But it does work, because they are tired and they’re hoping that maybe what’s in this email will keep it from happening again.
The # 1 Reason YOU Are Failing
This is another one that kills for me. If you can tell a person ONE thing that they are doing wrong that will change their results, trust me, they’re going to want to know what it is. Again, you better follow through and come up with a darn good reason. Don’t worry, I have it and will reveal it later.
I’m Sick Of All These Lies
Again, creates curiosity. People are going to want to know what the lies are. Maybe they think you’ll reveal something that will help them avoid being ripped off. This subject works similarly to the urgent and ripped off subjects above.
Read What Others Have To Say
This has been one of my most successful subjects. Why? Because you’re not telling somebody something. You’re letting them know what other people are saying about it. This is what I call the testimonial ad, and it kills if used correctly.
Real Honest Help
This is another subject I never expected to work but after all the schemes that people have fallen victim to, this subject is almost like a breath of fresh air. It has 3 powerful keywords in it; Real, Honest and Help. I have never gone wrong with this one.
There you have it. Some killer subjects to get you started. Do you see though what all of these have in common? They don’t have any of the bad characteristics that I outlined in the previous article. You’ll never find me using hype, you’ll never find me using subjects that are a mile long, and you’ll never find me using boring subjects or ones that have been overused to death.
In our next installment in this series, we’ll pick up with the introduction of our ad.
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Ad Writing: The Subject
By Admin | May 14, 2008
Let’s face it, no matter what kind of advertising you use that requires more than the usual 3 line Adwords offering, you are going to have to hit people with a subject. With email advertising, it’s the subject they see in their in box before they go to hit the delete key. With message board or classified advertising, it’s the subject they see among a ton of subjects. Yours better stand out if you want your prospect to click on that link which will take them to the ad page itself.
So, what’s a good subject?
A good subject is one that makes the reader want to read the ad.
Okay, that sounds like a lot of double talk, but it’s true. That’s what a good subject is. In other words, it doesn’t matter what you use as a subject as long as it gets the reader’s attention. In order to figure out what a good subject is, we first have to take a look at what a bad subject is. They’re much easier to spot.
Bad Subject # 1 – The Boring Subject
This is the kind of subject that we see and read and say to ourselves, “yawn.” These subjects do absolutely nothing for us at all. They might as well be non existent for all the impact they’ll have on your prospects.
Examples of bad subjects:
Hi…Please open
This is for you
I’m sending you this message
I think this will interest you
Need I go on? Sure, maybe a few really bored people might open up one of these disasters, but for the most part, you’re not going to get much response out of these sleep inducers.
Bad Subject # 2 – The Hype
Make $30,000 in 24 hours
Make $2,000 a day with just 2 hours work a week
Make $100 per hour while sitting in your pajamas
Do NO work and make $50,000 a year MINIMUM
Okay, I may have exaggerated a bit with a few of these, though I’ve actually seen a few that come very close, but trust me, subjects like these may fool a few newbies who don’t know any better, but will fall like dead weights when read by a seasoned pro. Plus, subjects like these will ruin your reputation before you even get started.
Bad Subject # 3 – The Waaaaaaay Too Long Subject
I am writing to you today because I want to tell you about a great new…
This is the best program I have ever seen in my life and you have just GOT to…
Today is your lucky day because I have got a deal for you that you just can’t pass up.
I have seen subjects so long that they don’t fit in my email window. Nobody is going to bother opening up an email with subjects like these.
Okay, those are bad subjects. So what are good subjects?
They’re the subject of our next article.
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Ad Writing - Part #1
By Admin | May 12, 2008
In this first installment of ad writing, we’re going to present an overall picture of what it is that we’re trying to accomplish with our ad copy.
Most people think it’s obvious, to make a sale. Well, yes and no. Obviously we ultimately want to make a sale, but in order to do that, we have to prepare people to buy from us. We call this “emotionally preparing the prospect.” Why emotional?
In an earlier series of blog posts, we talked about the reasons people buy things. Many of those reasons are emotional reasons. We don’t really buy something because we need it. We buy something because we think it will make our life easier, better, happier. We want to enjoy our lives. Each purchase we make goes towards fulfilling that goal. So in order to get somebody to purchase our product or service, we have to show them how doing so will make them happier. In other words, we have to emotionally prepare them to buy. By the time they get down to the end of our ad copy, they should just about have their credit card out ready to buy, even before getting to our site.
While the above may sound a little cryptic and maybe even fuzzy at best, there is a definite formula, just like with article writing, where we proceed in a step by step manner to reaching that ultimate goal of putting a smile on our prospects face long before they ever see our sales page. If you follow this step by step process, you will find that more times than not, you will get the prospect to pull out his wallet and make the purchase. At the very least, your conversion should go up significantly.
Each article that we write is going to consist of parts, just like our articles. We’ll begin with our subject, which may very well be the most important part of the whole message, since without a good subject; nobody will bother to read the rest of your ad.
After the subject of your ad, comes our introduction, again just like with your article. This is where you basically ease yourself into your ad and introduce yourself to the prospect. There are many ways to do this. We’ll cover a number of them in our series.
After the introduction of your ad comes the meat of your ad which is normally broken down into several paragraphs where we identify the prospects problem, offer a solution and close the deal. It’s a little more complicated than that, but basically, those are the steps.
Ad writing is most certainly an art that can be learned but the best way to learn it is to use it. Go out there after completing this series and write some ads using the outline that will follow. See what kind of results you will get. You may be surprised to find out that not only will your writing improve, but your sales will pick up in the process.
Many people will not admit this, but the greatest product in the world will not sell itself. Without a properly constructed ad, you wouldn’t be able to sell oxygen to a dying man. So sit back, take a deep breath and let’s dive into the fascinating world of ad writing.
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Do These Mistakes Have You Doing It All Or Enjoying It All?
By Admin | April 27, 2008
Do you know why some entrepreneurs succeed in moving away from ‘doing it all’ to ‘managing it all’ to ‘enjoying it all’?
The answer would be . . .
Outsourcing!
Every business can be transitioned from DIY to Auto Pilot with the right attitude and approach. Done well, outsourcing makes your business 100% scalable. Done wrong, outsourcing can create more headaches than anything else.
Which is why I wanted to share this FREE special report with you today. It has been written to give you a heads up on 10 common outsourcing mistakes and provides you with the quick advice and resources to make sure you avoid them.
Grab your free copy here: http://www.businesswritingnetwork.com/outsourcingmistakes
This complimentary outsourcing report contains some great info I’m sure you can use in your business…
Check it out!
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Topics: Work at Home Tips | No Comments »
Words That Say “Buy”: #10 - New
By Admin | April 23, 2008
This is one of the hottest buzz words in the industry, any industry for that matter because this is the one word that keeps us all interested and excited about the things we purchase. The word is “new.”
New is what keeps our blood boiling. Imagine if we got our first video game for PC and it was really great, but nothing else came out and all we could do was play that same game over and over. Eventually, that game would become…what’s the magic word? You got it. Boring. And when we get bored with things we tend to look for…what’s the magic words? You got it again. New things.
The point is, everybody likes something new. As soon as most people even just hear that word their ears perk up. Why do you think it is that car dealers have big year end clearance sales? So that they can roll out the new cars for the coming year. And did you ever notice how many people, some with cars only a year old, are standing in line waiting to trade that one year old car in? Why? Because it’s old. Hey, it says it right in the description of the age of the car. One year old.
So how do we capitalize on this? Easy. Got a hot new product? Go tell people about it. Tell them that it’s new. Make it as clear as day. Just out of curiosity, because it’s new, they’re going to check it out.
What if your product is not new? There’s a way to take care of this. Add something to it. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just add something to it that makes it new. This way you can say something like “New Features!” People are going to check out what those new features are, especially if they have an older version of your product. Even if that older version works fine, many will buy the new version just because it’s…what’s the magic word? Right. New.
The word new is what keeps us all from going clear out of our minds with boredom. So take advantage of it with your next ad campaign.
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Words That Say “Buy”: #9 - Important
By Admin | April 21, 2008
Now we’re going to focus on one of the most important words that you can use in your advertising campaigns. As a matter of fact it’s so important, I’ve already used the word twice. That’s right. Go read this sentence again up to this point…I’ll wait…Figure out what it is? That’s right. It’s the word “important.”
We live in a very fast paced world. Everything has to get done yesterday. There’s literally no time to do all the things that we have to do. As a result of this hectic life we live, we just can’t be bothered with things unless they are, you guessed it, important. That’s why when you turn on the TV and you’re in the middle of watching your favorite show, should the station break in with an announcement, you’ll almost always hear the word “important” or “urgent” or something along those lines. That way, YOU know that what you’re about to hear is something that you just might want to stick around for, even if you are annoyed that your favorite show has just been broken into.
So, how can we take advantage of this in our advertising campaigns? Well, there are several ways. The first is in the actual subject of your ad, especially if it’s an email ad. Lots of people don’t open email ads because the subjects are just too blah. So if you want to capture somebody’s attention with an email ad, just use the word important or urgent in your subject line. Maybe something along the lines of, “URGENT News About…” or “Important information about…” Subjects like those are certainly going to get somebody’s attention.
Of course, after you’ve captured them with that subject, you want to reinforce that subject in your email content. You might start off by saying something like “It is important that you read this message through to the end. It contains…” and so on.
This way, you’ve reinforced in the person’s mind that if they don’t read the entire email message, they may be missing something. Nobody wants to miss out on important information. We’re kind of paranoid that way. The fear of missing out on something important makes us do things that we don’t normally do.
What about the meat of the ad? Well, if we have a product or service that we are selling, we want to use those words there too. You might say something like, “It is important that you understand how vital this product or service is to YOUR business…” and so on. You need to stress to the person reading your email that if they don’t have this product or service they are going to be missing an important part of whatever it is they are trying to accomplish, solve, do, or whatever.
When people think that something is important, they are more likely to act on it. So the next time you do an ad campaign, make sure you use the word important in it. Don’t overuse it. Maybe 3 or 4 references in the whole ad should be enough. You’ll be amazed at the results.
Yes, it is very IMPORTANT that you do this.
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