Edward Lowe Foundation

Second-Stage Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur's Resource Center

How to Create an Effective Advertisement

An Edward Lowe In-Depth Business Builder

You don't have to be a creative genius to create simple, yet effective, advertising. Focusing on print ads, this guide takes you step-by-step through the fundamentals of writing ad copy that will sell your product or service.

WHAT TO EXPECT

You don't have to be a creative genius to create simple, yet effective, advertising. This Business Builder will take you step-by-step through the fundamentals of writing ad copy that will sell your product or service. This Business Builder will focus closely on print ads, since this is the primary type of advertising used by new and growing businesses.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE GETTING STARTED [top]

I'm Not an Artistic Genius

Does that mean I should hire a professional copywriter to write my ad for me? No. Copywriting (defined as the act of writing an advertisement) is a learned craft and everyone has creativity. What most professional copywriters (defined as anyone who writes an advertisement) do is exploit and cultivate their creativity. Really good ad writers aren't afraid to come up with dozens of bad ad ideas. They know from experience that it's often the ones that don't work that will spark the idea for the one that will work.

What Should the Length of My Ad Copy Be?

Your ad should be as long or as short as it needs to be to sell your product. While there is no formula to reach a definitive answer, there are many factors that will help you determine the best copy length.

Type of product. If there's no salesperson selling directly to your customer — as is the case with candy bars, necessary drug and grocery items, and other relatively cheap items — shorter copy is usually better.
What you want your ad to accomplish. If you want your ad to compel a person to act, whether it be to send in an order form, visit a store location, or call an 800 number, the copy will have to be longer to convince them to do that. Advertisements aimed at enhancing image, on the other hand, tend to be shorter on copy.
Your product's price. The higher the price, the longer the copy — you'll need it to convince people to spend any significant sum of money.
Where it appears. Obviously, your copy will be shorter if your ad appears in a newspaper and longer if in a magazine. Newspaper copy is designed for a quick scan and has a shorter life.
How tough is your sell. The more genuinely appealing your product or service, the less copy you will need to try to sell it. For example, if you're selling a new kind of infant car seat that's proven to more effectively protect infants in car accidents, your sell won't be too tough. If, however, you are selling a new brand of truck tires comparable to other brands, you have a lot of competition and will need to work hard to differentiate your product to truck dealerships and trucking companies.

What are the Most Common Types of Advertising?

Consumer. Advertising of products or services sold to the general public.
Business-to-Business. When you advertise products or services sold by one business to another. This is also known as trade or industrial advertising.
Direct Response. Advertising that seeks to get the reader to take an action: fill out an order form, call a sales representative, clip and use a coupon.

What Forms Can Advertising Take?

Print — This is an advertisement appearing in a newspaper, magazine, or publication.
Broadcast — These are advertisements seen/heard on radio and television. Also known as commercials.
Direct Mail — This form includes letters, sales brochures, catalogs, card packs, and coupon mailers.
Billboard — The majority of billboards are located on highways and in train stations — places where they are exposed to large amounts of consumers.

To determine which advertising vehicle is appropriate for your product or service, you will need to consider the following:

Budget
If you're working with a limited budget like many growing businesses, buying airtime on television may simply be impossible. Plus, even if you write your own television commercial, you will still need someone to act in, produce, and film it. The cost of advertising in many major magazines is prohibitive as well.
Your market
Demographic statistics on your target market will help. For example, if you're trying to sell a cure for baldness, then advertising in a woman's oriented magazine would be a waste of money, but advertising on a radio station during rush hour will probably expose your message to your target group.
Your product
If you need to demonstrate your product in order to make an impact, radio and print will not be your best options. In this situation, you would want to advertise on television (budget permitting). If you need to show a picture of your product, print will work well. If you're selling shampoo, an advertisement and coupon in the sales circular is a good way of attracting money-conscious consumers.

What's the Difference Between Features and Benefits?

It is especially important for new copywriters to understand the difference between features and benefits. What's the difference? A feature is a characteristic of a product or service that automatically comes with it.

For example, suppose you sell a shampoo made from all natural ingredients. That's a feature. The benefit is smooth and shiny hair. If this shampoo also has a "no tears" formula, that is another product feature. The benefit is no stinging eyes. In one column, list the features of your product or service. In the other, list the benefits each feature yields to the buyer.

Features:	Benefits:
1.	1.
2.	2.
3.	3.
4.	4.
5.	5.

It's important for you to distinguish your product's or service's features from its benefits. While features are valuable and can certainly enhance your product, benefits are what motivate people to buy. Keep in mind it's benefits, not features, that appeal to people's emotions. No matter the length of your advertisement, you need to communicate how your product's or service's benefits will meet at least one basic human need. Safety, good health, financial security, the desire for love, status, success, saving time, and appearing attractive to others — these are all examples of needs all people have.

The shampoo product mentioned above appeals to the human desire to want to appear attractive (soft, shiny hair) and safety (can't damage eyes). The infant car seat appeals to parents who fear that their child will be harmed in a car accident and desire to protect them. Well-priced truck tires can appeal to the trucking company's desire to save money while purchasing a durable and reliable product. List all the human needs your product or service can fulfill.

If your advertisement is a full-page, you will be able to mention several of your product's benefits, but you should choose the strongest and make that the central focus or theme of your advertisement. If it is a short advertisement, your primary benefit will basically be the whole ad. To help you do determine your most important benefit, answer the following questions:

What can my product or service do that my competition's can't?
What do my customers get from me that they can't get from the competition?

Write down your product's primary benefit:

Where Should I Place My Ad?

Start with a media kit. A media kit contains sample copies of the publication, rates and information like readership characteristics — age, sex, income level — and circulation figures. A media kit will help you determine if the newspaper or magazine reaches your target market. Simply contact the advertising office of every newspaper and magazine you are considering placing an advertisement with and ask them to send you one.

THE PROCESS OF CREATING YOUR AD [top]

The process of creating your advertisement will follow the following stages:

Research
Develop a Concept
Write

Research

You may lack experience in copywriting, but fortunately there are literally thousands of sources to learn from. Before you write or type even one word, you need to do your homework.

Immerse yourself in product literature. Gather and read all the written information about your company's product that you can find. This can include newspaper articles, brochures, market research, letters from customers, newsletters, annual reports, and catalogs.
Interview your company's staff about the product or service. Find out what various department engineers, factory workers, sales representatives, customer service reps, and anyone else with close customer or product contact think. These points of view will vary and provide you with differing insight on features and benefits. Ask yourself specific questions about the product such as, what problems can this product solve? What are the various ways this product can be used? Does it employ a special technology or contain an unusual ingredient? How long will this product last? Make sure you write down their answers.

Go through magazines and newspapers and cut out or photocopy every advertisement placed by one of your competitors. This is an especially critical step in your research stage because you will probably get the most inspiration from this source. You don't ever want to copy or unfairly mimic a clever idea from your competition, but you need to have a precise understanding of what your competition is doing correctly and incorrectly in their advertisements. Plus, you may need to counter claims they're making about your product.

For example: If your competition is claiming to have the only shampoo on the market with a special ingredient, and your shampoo has the same ingredient, this may affect the content and focus of your advertisement. You will want the general public to know that your product has the same special ingredient.

Stop for a moment and think about the television commercials for long distance telephone carriers, fast food restaurants, and other frequent advertisers. Often, these commercials make claims about a competitor, then the competitor will air a commercial countering the claim. Notice what features and benefits your competitor is stressing in their copy. What are the features and benefits they don't have but you do? You'll want to feature what they're missing.

Study television commercials, radio commercials, billboards, and print ads that capture your attention. Note especially the ones that you like and ask yourself why. Again, you don't want to ever directly copy anyone else's advertisement, but studying an ad that you find particularly creative, clever, and effective can often inspire you to create one of your own, or give you an idea that will eventually spark the creative center of your copy.
For example, Nike has what is considered by many in the advertising industry to be one of the best ad campaigns with "Just Do It." The print and television ads focus on both professional athletes and ordinary people participating in sports and working out. The message and supporting copy to the consumer is clear: Thinking about exercising isn't good enough, you need to start and there's no better way to get going than with these sneakers.
Write all your ideas down. You will often find that once you begin to immerse yourself in studying product literature and existing advertisements, your own ideas will start to flow. Keep a notebook and pen handy at all times to capture your ideas as they come into your mind. Some copywriters claim they get their best ideas waiting at bus stops, in line at the grocery store, and as soon as they wake up in the morning. Write everything down, even if it sounds silly. Remember, it could lead to a great advertisement later on. No matter how good your memory is, don't count on remembering your good idea — always put it on paper.

Develop a Concept

Now that you know your primary product benefit and have some ideas on paper, it's time to develop your ad concept. Think of your concept and how you are going to express your product's benefit to the potential buyer so that it captures their attention and makes them want to stop and read. There are two major components to this stage of your process, the headline and the visual. If your advertisement is going to include a visual component such as a photograph, illustration, chart, or some other form of graphic, you should start to think about what it will be as you are developing your headline. Your headline and your visual are what will attract attention and they need to reinforce one another. They should work together.

Sometimes a good headline will give you an idea for a visual and vice versa.

Examples:

The Nike ad campaign usually features a visual of an athlete with a very toned physique, running or jumping. This is an effective visual because it immediately conveys to the viewer or reader the benefit of using Nike's product.
Advertisements for weight loss products almost always include two photographs: one of a heavy person before using the product, and the same person only much thinner and more attractive after using the product. Such a visual encourages the consumer not only to believe the product's claim, but to desire the same kind of weight loss for themselves.
If you're selling well-priced truck tires, a predictable visual would be of a truck with your tires on it. A more compelling visual would be of a single tire filled with dollar bills. This visual would immediately suggest to the dealer or trucking company that they would save money by purchasing your brand.

The headline. The purpose of a headline is to attract your target customer's attention. Be dramatic, compelling and convincing enough with a few words or a short sentence to get them to read further. Successful headlines promise to deliver something desirable to the reader. This is done one of two ways.

Positive approach. This type of headline tells the reader what he or she will save or gain by the use of your product. Here are two examples:
- "Yes. You Really Can Afford This New Washing Machine!"
- "Your Hair Can Make You Even More Beautiful"
Negative approach. This type of headline tells the reader how they can avoid or reduce worry, mistakes, wasting money by using your product.
- "Are You Sure Your Baby is Really Safe?"
- "Are You About to Pay Too Much for Your New Tires?"
- "When He Runs His Fingers Through Your Hair… Does His Hand Get Stuck?"

Regardless of whether it's positive or negative, both approaches have two important things in common. Firstly, they instantly communicate a benefit, such as saving money and appearing attractive to others. Secondly, the benefits the headlines communicate are specific and directly related to the product — washing machines and shampoo.

Many advertisements use subheads in addition to a major headline. A subhead is a secondary headline that appears either directly underneath the main headline (in smaller type) or in the middle of the body copy. Subheads have three main functions:

Expand on the headline. For example, if your headline was
"Are You About to Pay Too Much for Your New Washing Machine?"
the subhead might read:
"Probably"
or
"If You Don't Buy it From Smith's Appliance Factory, You Might Be."
Expand on the primary benefit. In this case the subhead will mention another benefit that didn't fit into the headline, but is still important:
"Gets Clothes Cleaner Than Before, Too."
Highlight offers and opportunities. Subheads are an excellent way to bring attention to your most important copy:
"Free Gift With Purchase"
"Hurry. Offer Good Only Through July 1!"

The visual. There are simple yet effective options you can choose for your advertisement's visual component:

A photograph of the product in use or the benefit of using it. For example, an advertisement for shampoo would have a visual of a person with soapy hair or with a beautiful head of hair.
The end result of the product. If you're selling a washing machine, show a picture of piles of clean laundry with dollar bills on top.
Before and after. For your shampoo product, you would show an illustration of someone with unattractive, tangled hair, then a photograph of the same person with shiny beautiful hair.
Use a diagram. This is especially appropriate for industrial or high tech advertisements, but works for consumer products as well.
Show a humorous cartoon or illustration. This works well for getting people's attention.

But, is it okay not to have a visual?

Absolutely! In ads where there's no graphic or visual, the headline becomes the major focus. Often it will be larger than in an ad with a visual. There's no law that says you have to have a visual in order for your ad to sell. In fact, many new advertisers with very tight ad budgets often can't afford to hire a professional photographer to shoot a person or product. They rely on simpler graphics or just go with all-copy approach. It would be better to forego the visual rather then trying to take and use an unprofessional photograph. Concentrate on making your headline and copy as strong as it can be.

Write down what you think your strongest headline idea is:

Write down a sub-head idea next:

If you decide to have a visual, write down what it will be:

Write

Write your ad. The words of your body copy — the main portion of the written words — now have to expand on your concept. With your headline and/or visual, you grabbed the reader's attention and introduced a theme for the rest of the advertisement. Your copy must illustrate an advantage, prove it, and then ask the reader to do something about it. And remember, you have to do these three things in a small amount of space. Even longer ads aren't usually longer than one page in a magazine. When you're writing ad copy, every word counts.

Before you write one word of copy pretend you are your potential customer and ask yourself: What can this product or service do for me? Your body copy should be an answer to that question. Remember your product needs to fulfill a human need and/or desire — like health, more money and leisure time, increased status — and your copy must convince the reader of that.

There are three key components to your body copy:

lead,
proving statements, and<
close.

Your lead paragraph needs to dramatize some way your product's benefit(s) will fulfill a human need. After your headline, your lead paragraph is the most important copy in your advertisement because it will determine whether or not the reader will read the whole ad.

Here are some ideas for how to write a compelling and impressive lead:

Pose a question and answer it. The reader will either agree or disagree and become involved with what you're saying.
Example: Can a shampoo change your life? Probably not. But it can sure make you feel good about yourself.
Quote a famous person or a refer to well-known saying. Use this technique to evoke an emotion, or to establish an authoritative tone.
Example: Time really is money. That's why you simply can't afford to pass up this special offer.
Identify with the reader. This will cause the reader to feel that someone understands the problems and frustrations they face.
Example: You know how it is. You plan. You organize. But still, you never have enough time.
Create a fantasy. This is the most common approach for an expensive luxury item because it appeals to everyone's desire for quality leisure time and luxury items.
Example: Imagine you're on a tropical island, drinking exotic drinks and watching the clear blue ocean waves break on the shore…
Admit your own failure to sell a self-improvement product or to establish a confidence with the reader.
Example: Ten years ago, I had a wife, two kids, a mortgage, and not one dime in the bank. I didn't sleep too well ten years ago.
Establish exclusivity. This approach makes the reader feel important.
Example: Because you're the kind of person who appreciates a Monet when others see a painting of flowers, we're going to make you a special offer.
Appeal to sympathetic emotions. This is the best approach for charitable causes.
Example: A child is hungry. Won't you help?

Proving statements support your product claims with copy that supplies some sort of proof of what you're saying. Remember, consumers are skeptical of advertisements because they are paid for and generated by the seller. Consumers know you're not going to say something negative about your own product. The following can be used to create your proving statements:

Testimonials. Satisfied customers can really help you create new customers. Actually use quotes from product users about why they use or were happy they used your product.
Example: "I couldn't believe it when my husband's hair grew back! He looks like the man I married again!"
— Jane Doe, Anytown, USA
Endorsements. Experts and celebrities, because they have the power to impress people, can support the purchase of your product or service.
Example: "Four out of five hair stylists use this shampoo."
Awards or Recognition.
Example: "One of the 10 Best of the Year" by a professional association or consumer group.
Credentials. How long you've been in business, the number of experts you have working on a product, size of your business, total number of employees, other well-known customers or clients. These details can add to your credibility.

Closing copy needs to strongly encourage the reader to purchase your product or service. The end copy is where you'll make an offer and indicate how you want the reader to respond: clipping a coupon, visiting a store location, calling an 800 number. Whether two sentences or two paragraphs, your closing copy is centered on convincing a potential customer to act. Here are some specific ways you can convince the reader to take action:

Make your offer appealing. If your target market is most concerned with saving money, make an offer that will save them money:
50% off or Buy One Get Free.
Limit your offer. Create a sense of urgency that the special offer is only good for a small period of time. Remember, keep the time frame of your offer fairly short. The longer people think they have to act, the more likely they are to delay taking action at all.
Limit the supply. Create a sense of urgency by stating that the offer is only good while supplies last or that it's only available to the first hundred people to bring a coupon into the store will get something for free.
Price changes. State that the price will be going up by a certain date.
Gain or loss. You should restate whatever the primary benefit is to the reader and what will be lost if they don't act:
"This product not only saves you money, it will let you feel good about yourself again."
Guarantees. This is a good way to eliminate risk for the buyer. Also remind them that because the product or service is guaranteed, there's no reason to wait.

Some things to keep in mind while you're writing:

Focus your copy on the buyer. Use the word "you."
Construct short sentences and short paragraphs. It will make the copy read more quickly.
Use the active voice not the passive. For example, "You fly away to the island" instead of, "You will be flying away to the island."
Make key benefits and product advantages stand out by bulleting or using bold type.

When you finish your body copy, read it and ask yourself the following questions:

Does my headline reflect the strongest benefit?
Does my lead copy have plenty of emotional appeal?
Am I using specifics instead of generalities?
Do I offer proof of my product claims?
Does my copy read quickly?
Am I clearly pointing out the advantages of my product?
Are my sentences short? Are my paragraphs short?

You should answer yes to all of the above questions. If you can't, you need to rework your copy. Copywriters will often rework the same add, over and over again, until it's right.

SOME THOUGHTS ON DESIGN [top]

Go back and look at ads you collected during your research. Notice the key design elements: type faces, type size, where the text appears (columns or paragraphs), do they use subheads, and how large the headline appears. Note the overall look of the ad. Is it fun, sophisticated, serious.

What do want your ad to look like?

Many Fortune 500 companies spend enormous sums of money on developing ad designs because they convey image — how the company wants to be perceived. If consulting with a designer is not in your budget, keep the following points in mind as you design your own ad:

A layout is a drawing that will give you a rough idea of how your finished advertisement will look — the design. On a piece of paper or on your computer screen, sketch the basic shape your ad will take. If you're using a visual or graphic decide where it will go and work the text around it. The placement of your visual often depends on how closely it is linked to the headline. If the two depend on each other to get a point across, the visual should be directly underneath or to the right of your headline. This will cause the reader's eye to flow into the visual from reading the text.

For example, if your headline was: "When He Runs His Fingers Through Your Hair…Do You Get Nervous", the visual — a photograph of a woman with visibly tangled hair — needs to be prominently placed near the headline for the words to really have full impact.
If your advertisement looks like there's too much copy, there probably is too much copy. There should be enough white space (space where there is no text) in your advertisement. If your copy is too crowded, chances are no one will read it. It is very common that after an ad is laid out, text will have to be cut from it.
Here's an example of a completed print advertisement using the infant car seat. The visual in the ad is a cute baby sitting in a car seat. The headline that appears in large type above it:

ARE YOU SURE SHE'S SAFE?

"Every new parent needs to know about this car seat!"

— Consumer Reports Magazine

As a parent, you try to do all the right things to keep your child healthy and safe. Using a car seat is one of them. What you may not know is that over 300 infants will die or become seriously injured due to automobile accidents this year — even though they were secured in a federally approved infant car seat.

There's a new child safety car seat available from the Baby Company of Washington, D.C. It's called The Infant Seat 2000 and it could save your baby's life. Using a new design and sturdier materials, this car seat protects your child in ways ordinary car seats can't.

The Infant Seat 2000 is recommended by the Pediatric Medical Association of America, The American Medical Association Consumer Reports Magazine.

For a free brochure and a list of retail outlets carrying this critical child safety seat, call 1-800-555-4500 today! Plus, If you contact us by September 15, 200x, we'll send you a pamphlet detailing 10 child-safety tips for FREE.

Your child's life may depend on this call!

CHECKLIST [top]

Research

___ Immerse yourself in product literature and other promotional material.

___ Interview your company's staff.

___ Collect advertisements from magazines and newspapers.

___ Study your competitor's advertisements.

___ Write your ideas down.

Develop a Concept

___ Determine how you are going to express your product's benefits to the potential buyer.

___ Determine your headline approach and write down your best idea.

___ Decide on what visual, if any, you will use.