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Mail Order Advertising….8 secrets to doing it right!
By John D. Schulte
1. The Headline. It's the headline that makes the rest of the ad work. Therefor write dozens of them. Every headline has one job, it must grab the appropriate readers attention. To do that, create headlines that deliver a believable promise. The best headlines appeal to people's self-interest, or give news. Long headlines that say something are better than short ones that say nothing. If you come up with a good headline, in most cases you will have a successful ad. But the greatest body copy can't overcome a poor headline. You can't make your ads sell unless you can make people read your copy.
2. Use simple words. They're the only words that the majority of people understand. When you finish writing your copy, have someone that's around 13 or 14 years old read it, if they didn't understand a certain word or phrase, change it. Even the highest educated people don't mind reading simple words.
3. Copy Length. Use however many words it takes to tell the complete story, no more…no less. If it takes many words, so be it. The more you tell…the more you sell. If the ad is of interest to the reader they will read all the copy you can give them. Always write a lot more copy then you will need. Then trim it down. When you're done, it will be all meat. Every word will have a reason for being there, giving all the facts needed to make a buying decision. If it takes more room to tell your story than the size of your ad, you need to run a two-step campaign. Then your ad's job is to generate inquiries, not to sell. The direct mail package you send to the inquiries does the selling job.
4. Get to the point. This is close to tip number three. Be direct. Don't try to write cute, or try to be funny, or beat around the bush. Give facts. Start right off with the best benefit. This way you will have a better chance of keeping the reader with you. And don't stop with telling about all the benefits the reader will get, also tell them what they will miss if they don't buy. Repeat the main point two or three times using different words. At the end also ask for action. Interested people reading your ad will want to know what to do. Tell them! And give them a good reason for acting…Now!
5. Using pictures. When you use pictures remember they are there to help sell goods. No other reason. They take up expensive ad space and must pull their weight in selling your product or service. Your pictures should tell a story at a glance. The picture you use should be of the product, the product in use, the results of using the product. Other pictures possibilities are; dramatic pictures like before and after pictures, and reward or attainment pictures, like a student holding a diploma in an educational ad.
6. Repeat the same ad. Advertisers that don't use mail order methods can't measure the results of their ads, and therefore change campaigns too often. They get tired of seeing their ads long before the public does. By using mail order methods you will know what works, stick with it until you develop new ads that prove themselves (through measurable results) to be better. It becomes a fun game, trying to beat the proven winner. If you study your mail order advertising history you will see ads that ran unchanged for 40 years.
7. Changing times and advertising. Many people in advertising think that the techniques that worked years ago, will not work today. “That was then…This is now,” they say. The fact of the matter is this; times change but people do not. The basic human “emotions,” wants and desires remain the same. Words like “Free” and “New” are just as powerful now as they were years ago. Ads that appeal to the reader's self-interest and desire for self-improvement still work. Ads that offer news still work. They worked 60 years ago, and they will work 60 years from now. (See article “24 Human Wants To Direct Your Sales Appeal To”)
8. Test It! Test It! Test It! With mail order advertising you can test every component in an ad to see what works best. What appeal, what headline, what offer, what price point, etc. There is no guesswork needed. If you have two different headlines that you feel are very strong, you can test both using a split run. Just remember to test only one component at a time, and to key-code the ads for accurate results.
Every person that needs to create advertising for their company should read books of history's great mail order advertising practitioners; Max Sackheim, John Caples, Claude C, Hopkins, John E. Kennedy, David Ogilvy, etc. The National Mail Order Association sells a good book on creating space advertising by Jerry Fisher. Check it out here; http://www.nmoa.org/catalog/fisher.htm
About the Author
John D. Schulte is an internationally known Direct Marketing and Mail Order strategist and is President and Chairman of the National Mail Order Association. Minneapolis. MN www.nmoa.org
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/981.html
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