Saturday, February 28, 2009

Writing Online Advertising Copy

By Gia Deonne

Even the most fabulous product or most helpful service doesnt sell itself. Effective ad copy is what distinguishes lackluster, ineffective ads from ads that get the desired result. Whether you are renting a vacation property, selling merchandise, or trying to persuade consumers to try your product or service, the words that you choose in your ad do make a difference. This article will help to provide some tips to write ad copy that sells.

What is your target demographic? In other words, who are you trying to sell to? If you are trying to convince people to stay at your bed and breakfast, in other words, you will probably focus on its proximity to beaches, attractions, and specials that you may be running, such as free meals for children, if you are trying to target vacationing families. If you are trying to persuade couples to spend their honeymoon or romantic getaway at your bed and breakfast, you will want to emphasize other things, such as complimentary room service, themed room packages, etc.

Every ad should contain essential things such as the name and address of your business, what exactly you are offering to the consumer in the way of products or services, and contact information. Some advertisers focus so much on flashy graphics and custom design that they actually neglect, or neglect to accurately explain these things and lose business because of it. Remember, it is better to have a simple ad with concise ad copy than a flashy ad with poorly written copy.

This isnt to say that graphics and custom logos arent important attention-grabbing components, but what you want to focus on, first and foremost, is what your ad says. Attention grabbing hooks tired of the same old fast food routine? Looking for a better solution for finding your next vacation rental? are usually effective, and no matter what your business, product, or service, you should be able to find one that works. It is important to attract the attention of the reader with the very sentence.

What should the rest of your ad contain? After the crucial title and the first sentence, you should spell out, concisely and clearly, exactly what type of products and services you can provide, and what makes you different from the competition. If this seems simple, it is because the formula really is, although you will probably find that you will need to run a few test ads before you find the one that really works for you. - 16651

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