3 Secrets to Develop Compelling Ads

Are you stuck in a rut with your print advertising? Do you keep running the same ad over and over again because you don’t know what else to do? Do you keep running in the same journals with no results? Well, here are three secrets of the trade to make your advertising planning and execution easier.

Secret No. 1: Your ad begins with a plan.
I can’t emphasize enough the fact that you need to have an understanding of your strategies and objectives, not only of the ad you are producing, but also, in general, of the markets you serve. Your advertising plan, in turn, should be consistent with your overall company goals. You should consider factors such as the product’s current life cycle, market trends, new technology, and your competition. You may have different objectives you want to accomplish with each advertisement. For example, you may want to establish awareness of your product, service, or company. You may need to establish your corporate image, especially true if you are a start-up company. You may want to increase your target market’s preference for your product. Or perhaps you want to convey a specific market position. And last, but not least, you may want to generate sales leads and inquiries in order to procure new prospects and customers.

Secret No. 2: Copy drives the creative.
Two basic elements encompass an advertisement … the copy and the creative, that is, the visual elements. Many companies seem to fall in love with a specific graphic or visual such as a photo or illustration, and then write the copy around that visual. If you don’t communicate your product’s features, benefits, and advantages, no visual will help you hit your mark. Think of the copy as your advertisement’s foundation and the visual as the concrete and mortar that supports the ad’s structure.

Secret No. 3: Focus on your audience.
You really need to focus on your target audience. Really understand the needs of that audience, its wants, and desires regarding the product you are advertising. Otherwise, you will be like a boat without a rudder, steering your advertisement in the wrong direction. Make sure you only have one objective for each advertisement. By trying to combine many objectives, you end up with a very confusing advertisement. Your audience won’t comprehend your message.

Please don’t overload your advertisement with too much information. Yes, some technical communities like to have lots of facts. But, an advertisement should be thought of as a teaser. Provide just enough information in order to get your audience to salivate and want more. Your objective should be to get a response from your advertisement.

Your ad should consist of a headline, a subhead, body copy, and a call-to-action section. And, don’t forget to place your company’s identifier, such as a logo, Website, phone number, or other contact information. Nothing is worse than to lose a potential customer because they cannot get in touch with you.

The headline should be a compelling, attention grabber. This is usually the most difficult part of producing the advertisement. Think like your target audience. What headline could you use to set you apart from your competition? What does your audience really want to know about your product?

The subhead should correlate to the headline. This is where you answer the question for your audience "What’s in it for me?" The subhead is also a lead-in to the body copy.

The body copy should be written around the advertisement’s objective. Don’t lose sight of this objective. Talk to your customers and really understand their needs. Make sure you don’t write a litany of the product’s features, but also list the benefits. More importantly, go a step further and list the advantages of your product over the competition or other existing technologies.

Never stop short of giving your readers a call-to-action. What do you want the readers to do? Call you? Visit your Website? Request a free service? The overall response is definitely correlated to how easily the readers can contact you. Also, make your offer compelling. Give the readers something free that will benefit them. You might want to offer an application note, a white paper, or even a sample of your product. It’s better to give the readers something they deem of value rather than providing them just a piece of literature.

Remember … advertising doesn’t cost … it pays for itself…it is an investment. Advertising does work. You just need to remember these three secrets to create a successful advertising campaign.

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