Article Surfing Archive

Writing responsive ads may seem like an exact science, but there are some simple things you can do to increase your response rate. Here are some tips on how to write better solo ads.

Start with the subject line. Your subject must be compelling and exciting and entice the reader to open your ad, but you do not want to mislead the reader because if you do, it does not matter whether they need your product or not, they will not buy from you.

There is a Spam email that I get a couple times a week with the subject line that reads: How to stop getting emails just like this one. Cute and a unique approach, but there is no way I would ever buy anything from a company that uses this type of sales approach. This would be like a doctor making you sick for free and then telling you he can cure you for $50.

Do Not use Re: or Fwd: in the subject line of your email. This is so overused on the Internet and it is very misleading and I personally detest anything that is misleading.

Make your subject as short as possible and as to the point as possible. If you are selling airplanes, you can use something like: Ready to take-off? or Full Throttle or Flaps set 30 degrees. These might not mean anything to you, but anyone who is interested in flying will instantly know this has something to do with flying and for that reason alone, they may open the email.

Put some thought into your subject line as this is the make or break part of your ad. If you can get people to open your email, then you have half the battle won. However, let me preface this with, if you can get the right person to open your email. The airplane sales person is not going to want to target kids, but he will want a pilot with the means to purchase an airplane, so targeting your ad is also critical, but this is another story and you simply target by doing research on where you are going to send your ad.

Write your ad like you are writing to yourself. If you are selling a product that you have purchased, then tell the reader why you purchased or use the product. If you are trying to sell something you do not use, stop reading here and practice saying the following: Would you like fries with that burger! Now, I say this for fun, but the bottom line of selling anything online or offline is a transfer of belief. If you did not buy the product, why would anyone else.

As you write your copy, use strong and powerful words. Remember, people do not buy what they need as much as they will buy what they want. If your product or service can solve a problem for someone and you can express to the reader how your product or service will save them time, money, energy, headaches, high blood pressure, etc. then you have the rest of the battle won and you will get someone to your sales page.

Ads do not have to be long and boring, because people do not have the time or desire to read a long and boring ad. Short and to the punch is the approach you want to take.

My airplane will get you to your destination safer, faster, more economically, and the flight will be twice as comfortable as the nearest competitor and I can prove it to you.

The above sentence would be a good solo ad. It is short--very short and it tells a prospect all they really want to know about the airplane--actually it does not tell them everything about the airplane, but it hits all the hot buttons. Safety, speed, economics and comfort--these are the main issues when someone wants to fly an airplane. Find the main issues that your product or service solves and write around those issues.

Below are some power words that you can use in your ads. Refer back to these words as you write your ads and replace words in your ads with some of these power words and then compare your two ads and see which you prefer.

One final suggestion. Spell check your ad and then spell check it again and then read it several times and if possible, have someone else read it. Make sure you do not write "your" when you mean "you're" and that you have capitalized correctly. Good luck!

Absolutely.. Amazing.. Approved.. Attractive.. Authentic.. Bargain.. Beautiful.. Better.. Big.. Colorful.. Colossal.. Complete.. Confidential.. Crammed.. Delivered.. Direct.. Discount.. Easily.. Endorsed.. Enormous.. Excellent.. Exciting.. Exclusive.. Expert.. Famous.. Fascinating.. Fortune.. Full.. Genuine.. Gift.. Gigantic.. Greatest.. Guaranteed.. Helpful.. Highest.. Huge.. Immediately.. Improved.. Informative.. Instructive.. Interesting.. Largest.. Latest.. Lavishly.. Liberal.. Lifetime.. Limited.. Lowest.. Magic.. Mammoth.. Miracle.. Noted.. Odd.. Outstanding.. Personalized.. Popular.. Powerful.. Practical.. Professional.. Profitable.. Profusely.. Proven.. Quality.. Quickly.. Rare.. Reduced.. Refundable.. Remarkable.. Reliable.. Revealing.. Revolutionary.. Scarce.. Secrets.. Security.. Selected.. Sensational.. Simplified.. Sizable.. Special.. Startling.. Strange.. Strong.. Sturdy.. Successful.. Superior.. Surprise.. Terrific.. Tested.. Tremendous.. Unconditional.. Unique.. Unlimited.. Unparalleled.. Unsurpassed.. Unusual.. Useful.. Valuable.. Wealth.. Weird.. Wonderful.

Copyright 2004 Jeremy Gislason