If you do a bit of internet surfing, you can find a gazillion of advertising copywriting tips. Some of them are extremely helpful – others are flat-out garbage.
You need to know how to write compelling advertising copy. And as a direct response copywriter, I have found two reliable sources for you to get useful advertising copywriting ideas.
The first resource is an article from the Crowd Content blog. Written by Meghan Mackenzie, “7 Expert Tips for Advertising Copywriting” offers freelancers advanced copywriting ideas so they can land projects with agencies, brands, and other organizations. In this article, you’ll find ideas about headlines, storytelling, and empathetic advertising.
The second resource is an article from WordStream.com. In “Our 8 Best Ad Copywriting Tips EVER!”, Dan Shewan shares eight copywriting tips for online advertising. The report covers how to set emotional triggers, dealing with objections, and benefit-oriented copy.
Advertising Copywriting Tips
Drawing from the articles above, and my experience as a direct response copywriter, I have produced three valuable advertising copywriting tips for financial services marketers:
Write to Get Attention
In advertising, your first goal should be to get the attention of the audience right away. And getting attention is the job of the headline.
Your headline is what your audience first sees. And it is what will take your readers into (or out of) reading your ad. If you can produce a great headline, there’s a 90% chance that you will write a good ad. But not even the greatest of the great can comeback after delivering a lousy headline.
For financial services marketers, the best headline you can produce is the one that presents a significant promise to the reader. Present an offer that is ultra-specific, advantageous, and as unique as possible. Also – if possible – add a tad of urgency to the proposal. That’d make the reader sit down right away and read what you have to offer.
Present an appealing headline that hooks your reader right away and your chances of closing a sale increase dramatically. Give them a dull headline, and your reader will never get to the rest of the ad.
Write to Communicate
Once you get the attention of your audience, your next goal should be to generate interest and desire for your project. And you do it by painting an exact picture of what your offer can do for the audience, along with proof of what you claim.
You can’t just present a significant promise and expect that’s enough to keep the reader hooked. You continue building on the momentum you’ve created with your headline by creating a mental picture of how much easier/faster/better the reader’s life will be when they buy your product or hire your service. And then you present them how you make that picture a reality with all the proof you can show the reader.
Take your lead paragraphs to paint the picture. In just a few text blocks, you can generate interest by presenting the audience exactly they’re dealing with, or what they should aspire to achieve. Then, take the rest of the copy to shower your readers with facts, benefits, and testimonials about your offer.
By building interest and desire for your product or service, you get the reader closer to do what you need them to do.
Write to Persuade
Persuasion is a critical element of advertising. Without (at least) trying to be persuasive, your ads carry no value.
If you write an ad without suggesting the reader takes a specific action, you’re just filling up space for a magazine, website, or Google search. You must include an element of persuasion in your advertising if you wish to convert prospects into customers.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you must become an expert manipulator and try to do Jedi mind tricks on your audience. No – what I mean by persuading is only guiding your audience into taking the course of action needed for them to become qualified leads or buyers of your offer. Your “push” effort might be to ask for a signature, a check, or for the reader to fill out a form.
At the end of every advertisement, make sure you ask the reader to take that course of action that will either progress the selling process or close the sale.
3 Advertising Tips You Can Use Today
Starting today, you should use your headlines to captivate your audience by delivering a significant promise. Then, use your lead paragraphs and body copy to generate interest and desire for your offer. And finally, make sure to guide your readers into taking the next step in the selling process.
Are there any advertising copywriting tips you would like to share? Leave a comment explaining your side of things. And if you think this article could be useful to someone you know, feel free to share it with them!
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