How To Write Order Pulling Ads 4

Wherever and whenever possible, use colloquialisms or words
that are not usually found in advertisements. The idea is
to shock or shake the reader out of his reverie and cause
him to take notice of your ad. Most of the headlines you
see day in and day out, have a certain sameness with just
the words rearranged. The reader may see these headlines
with his eyes, but his brain fails to focus on any of them
because there’s nothing different or out of the ordinary to
arrest his attention.




Example of Colloquialism:

Are You Developing A Pot Belly?

Another attention-grabber kind of headline is the
comparative price headline:

Three For Only $3.00, Regularly $3.00 Each!

Still another of the “tried and proven” kind of headlines is
the specific question:

Do you Suffer from these Symptoms?

And of course, if you offer a strong guarantee, you should
say so in your headline:

Your Money Refunded If You Don’t Make oe100,000 In Your First
Year.

How To headlines have a very strong basic appeal, but in
some instances, they’re better used as book titles rather
than advertising headlines.

Who Else wants in on the finer things - which your product
or service presumably offers - is another approach with very
strong reader appeal. The psychology here being the need of
everyone to belong to a group - complete with status and
prestige motivations.

Whenever, and as often as you can possibly work it in, you
should use the word “YOU” in your headline, and throughout
your copy. After all your ad should be directed to “one”
person, and the person reading your ad wants to feel that
You’re talking to him personally, not everyone who lives on
his street.

Personalize, and be specific! You can throw out the
teachings of your English teachers out of the window, and
the rules of “third person, singular” or whatever tends to
inhibit your writing. Whenever you sit down to write
advertising copy intended to pull the orders - sell the
product - you should picture yourself in a one-on-one
situation and “talk” to your reader just as if you were
sitting across from him at your dining room table. Say what
you mean, and sell him on the product you’re offering. Be
specific and ask him if these are the things that bother him
- are these the things he wants - and he’s the one you want
to buy the product.

The layout you devise for your ad, or the frame you build
around it, should also command attention. Either make it so
spectacular that it stands out like a lobster at a chilli
dinner, or so uncommonly simple that it catches the reader’s
eye because of its very simplicity. It’s also important
that you don’t get cute with a lot of unrelated graphics and
artwork. Your ad should convey the feeling of excitement
and movement, but should not tire the eyes or disrupt the
flow of the message you’re trying to present.

Any graphics or artwork you use should be relevant to your
product, its use and/or the copy you’ve written about it.
Graphics should not be used as artistic touches, or to
create an atmosphere. Any illustrations with your ad should
compliment the selling of your product, and prove or
substantiate specific points in your copy.

Copyright Avril Harper, UK

Recommended Direct Mail & Copywriting Resource:

The Golden Mailbox, by Ted Nicholas & Stuart Goldsmith