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HOW TO GET
BIG DOLLARS
IN YOUR MAILBOX -- EVERY DAY!
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HOW TO DEVELOP A
WORLDWIDE
DISTRIBUTOR NETWORK
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HOW TO WRITE
PROFITABLE CLASSIFIED ADS
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THE
DO'S
AND DON'TS
OF PROFITABLE MAIL ORDER ADS
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THE SELLING SECRETS OF
MILLION
DOLLAR SALES LETTERS!
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HOW TO START A
PROFITABLE HOME-BASED
BUSINESS
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INSIDER'S
SECRETS TO OBTAINING ADVERTISING...ABSOLUTELY
FREE!
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HOW TO WRITE "ORDER-PULLlNG"
ADS
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HOW TO MAKE
FAST CASH WITH YOUR CAR,
VAN, OR PICKUP TRUCK
Featured Article: How To Write
Order Pulling Ads
The most important aspect of any business is
selling the product or service. Without
sales, no business can exist for very long.
All sales begin with some form of advertising. To build sales,
this advertising must
be seen or heard by potential buyers, and cause them to react to
the advertising in some
way. The credit for the success, or the blame for the failure of
almost all ads, reverts
back to the ad itself.
Generally, the "ad writer" wants the prospect to do one of the
following:
a) Visit the store to see and judge the product for himself, or
immediately write a check and send for the merchandise being
advertised
b) Phone for an appointment to hear the full sales presentation,
or write for further
information which amounts to the same thing.
The bottom line in any ad is quite simple: To make the reader
buy the product or
service. Any ad that causes the reader to only pause in his
thinking, to just admire the
product, or to simply believe what's written about the product -
is not doing its job
completely.
The "ad writer" must know exactly what he wants his reader to
do, and any ad that
does not elicit the desired action is an absolute waste of time
and money.
In order to elicit the desired action from the prospect, all ads
are written according
to a simple "master formula" which is:
l) Attract the "attention" of your prospect
2) "Interest" your prospect in the product
3) Cause your prospect to "desire" the product
4) Demand "action" from the prospect
Never forget the basic rule of advertising copywriting: If the
ad is not read, It won't
stimulate any sales; if it is not seen, it cannot be read, and
if it does not command or
grab the attention of the reader, it will not be seen.
Most successful advertising copywriters know these fundamentals
back wards and
forwards. Whether you know them already or you're just now being
exposed to them,
your knowledge and practice of these fundamentals will determine
the extent of your
success as an advertising copywriter.
CLASSIFIED ADS:
Classified ads are the ads from which all successful businesses
are started. These
small, relatively inexpensive ads, give the beginner an
opportunity to advertise his
product or service without losing his shirt if the ad doesn't
pull or the people don't
break his door down with demands for his product. Classified ads
are written according to all the advertising rules. What is said
in a classified ad is the same that's said in a larger, more
elaborate type of ad, excepting in condensed form.
To start learning how to write good classified ads, clip ten
classified ads from ten
different mail order type publications - ads that you think are
pretty good. Paste each of these ads onto a separate sheet of
paper.
Analyze each of these ads: How has the writer attracted your
attention - what
about the ads keeps your interest - are you stimulated to want
to know more about the product being advertised - and finally,
what action must you take? Are all of these
points covered in the ad? How strongly are you "turned on" by
each of these ads?
Rate these ads on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the best
according to the
formula I've given you. Now, just for practice, without clipping
the ads, do the same
thing with ten different ads from a Sears, Wards or JC Penney's
catalog. In fact, every
ad you see from now on, quickly analyze it, and rate it
somewhere on your scale. If
you'll practice this exercise on a regular basis, you'll soon be
able to quickly recognize the
"Power Points" of any ad you see, and know within your own mind
whether an ad is good, bad or otherwise, and what makes it so.
Practice for an hour each day, write the ads you've rated 8, 9,
and 10 exactly as
they've been written. This will give you the "feel" of the
fundamentals and style
necessary in writing classified ads.
Your next project will be to pick out what you consider to be
the ten "worst" ads
you can find in the classifieds sections. Clip these out and
paste them onto a sheet of paper so you can work with them.
Read these ads over a couple of times, and then beside each of
them, write a short
comment stating why you think it's bad Lost in the crowd,
doesn't attract attention -
doesn't hold the reader's interest - nothing special to make the
reader w ant to own the
product - no demand for action.
You probably already know what's coming next, and that's right,
break out those
pencils, erasers and scratch paper - and start rewriting these
ads to include the missing
elements.
Each day for the next month, practice writing the ten best ads
for an hour, just the
way they were originally written. Pick out ten of the worst ads,
analyze those ads, and then practice rewriting those until they
measure up to doing the job they were intended to do.
Once you're satisfied that the ads you've rewritten are perfect,
go back into each ad
and cross out the words that can be eliminated without
detracting from the ad. Classified
ads are almost always "finalized" in the style of a telegram.
EXAMPLE: I'll arrive at 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, the 15th.
Meet me at Sardi's. All
my love, Jim.
EDITED FOR SENDING: Arrive 2 pm - 15th - Sardi's. Love, Jim.
CLASSIFIED AD: Save on your food bills! Reduced prices on every
shelf in the
store! Stock up now while supplies are complete! Come on in
today, to Jerry's
Family Supermarkets!
EDITED FOR PUBLICATION: Save on Food! Everything bargain priced!
Limited supplies! Hurry! Jerry's Markets!
It takes dedicated and regular practice, but you can do it.
Simply recognize and
understand the basic formula - practice reading and writing the
good ones - and rewriting
the bad ones to make them better. Practice, and keep at it, over
and over, every day -
until the formula, the idea, and the feel of this kind of ad
writing becomes second nature to you. This is the ONLY WAY to
gain expertise in writing good classified ads.
DISPLAY ADVERTISEMENTS:
A display or space ad differs from a classified ad because it
has a headline, layout,
and because the style isn't telegraphic. However, the
fundamentals of writing the display
or space ad are exactly the same as for a classified ad. The
basic difference is that you have more room in which to
emphasize the "master formula." Most successful
copywriters rate the headline and/or the lead sentence of an ad
as the most important part of the ad, and in reality, you should
do the same. After all, when your ad is surrounded by hundreds
of other ads, and information or entertainment, what makes you
think anyone is going to see your particular ad?
The truth is, they're not going to see your ad unless you can
"grab" their attention
and entice them to read all of what you have to say. Your
headline, or lead sentence when no headline is used, has to make
it more difficult for your prospect to ignore or pass over, than
to stop and read your ad. If you don't capture the attention of
your reader with your headline, anything beyond is useless
effort and wasted money.
Successful advertising headlines - in classified ads, your first
three to five words
serve as your headline - are written as promises, either implied
or direct. The former
promises to show you how to save money, make money, or attain a
desired goal. The
latter is a warning against something undesirable.
EXAMPLE OF A PROMISE: Are You Ready To Become A Millionaire - In
Just 18 Months?
EXAMPLE OF A WARNING: Do You Make These Mistakes In English?
In both of these examples, I've posed a question as the
headline. Headlines that
ask a question seem to attract the reader's attention almost as
surely as a moth is drawn to a flame. Once he's seen the
question, he just can't seem to keep himself from reading the
rest of the ad to find out the answer. The best headline
questions are those that challenge
the reader; that involve his self-esteem, and do not allow him
to dismiss your question
with a simple yes or no.
You'll be the envy of your friends is another kind of "reader
appeal" to incorporate
into your headline whenever appropriate. The appeal has to do
with basic psychology:
everyone wants to be well thought of, and consequently, will
read into the body of your ad to find out how he can gain the
respect and accolades of his friends.
Wherever and whenever possible, use colloquialisms or words that
are not usually
found in advertisements. The idea is to shock or shake the
reader out of his reverie and
cause him to take notice of your ad. Most of the headlines you
see day in and day out, have a certain sameness with just the
words rearranged. The reader may see these headlines with his
eyes, but his brain fails to focus on any of them because
there's nothing different or out of the ordinary to arrest his
attention.
EXAMPLE OF COLLOQUIALISM: Are You Developing A POT BELLY?
Another attention-grabber kind of head-line is the comparative
price headline: Three For Only $3, Regularly $3 Each! Still
another of the "tried and proven" kind of headlines is the
specific question: Do You Suffer From These Symptoms. And of
course, if you offer a strong guarantee, you should say so in
your headline: Your Money Refunded, If You Don't Make $100,000
Your First Year.
How To headlines have a very strong basic appeal, but in some
instances, they're
better used as book titles than advertising headlines. Who Else
wants in on the finer
things - which your product or service presumably offers - is
another approach with a very strong reader appeal. The
psychology here being the need of everyone to belong to a group-
complete with status and prestige motivations.
Whenever, and as often as you can possibly work it in, you
should use the word
"you" in your headline, and throughout your copy. After all,
your ad should be directed
to "one" person, and the person reading your ad wants to feel
that you're talking to him personally, not everyone who lives on
his street.
Personalize, and be specific! You can throw the teachings of
your English
teachers out the window, and the rules of "third person,
singular" or whatever else
tends to inhibit your writing. Whenever you sit down to write
advertising copy in tended to pull the orders - sell the product
- you should picture yourself in a one-on-one situation and
"talk" to your reader just as if you sitting across from him at
your dining room table. Say what you mean, and sell HIM on the
product your offering. Be specific and ask him if these are the
things that bother him - are these the things he wants - and
he's the one you want to buy the product...
The layout you devise for your ad, or the frame you build around
it, should also
command attention. Either make it so spectacular that it stands
out like lobster at a
chili dinner, or so uncommonly simple that it catches the
reader's eye because of its very simplicity. It's also important
that you don't get cute with a lot of unrelated graphics and
artwork. Your ad should convey the feeling of excitement and
movement, but should not tire the eyes or disrupt the flow of
the message you're trying to present. Any graphics or artwork
you use should be relevant to your product, its use and/or the
copy you've written about it. Graphics should not be used as
artistic touches, or to create an atmosphere. Any illustrations
with your ad should compliment the selling of your product, and
prove or substantiate specific points in your copy.
Once you have your reader's attention, the only way you're going
to keep it, is by
quickly and emphatically telling him what your product will do
for him.
Your potential buyer doesn't care in the least how long it's
taken you to produce
the product, how long you've been in business, nor how many
years you've spent learning your craft. He wants to know
specifically how he's going to benefit from the purchase of your
product.
Generally, his wants will fall into one of the following
categories: Better health,
more comfort, more money, more leisure time, more popularity,
greater beauty, success and/or security.
Even though you have your reader's attention, you must follow
through with an
enumeration of the benefits he can gain. In essence, you must
reiterate the advantages, comfort and happiness he'll enjoy - as
you have implied in your headline.
Mentally picture your prospect - determine his wants and
emotional needs - put
yourself in his shoes, and ask yourself If I were reading this
ad, what are the things
that would appeal to me? Write your copy to appeal to your
reader's wants and emotional needs/ego cravings.
Remember, it's not the "safety features" that have sold cars for
the past 50 years -
nor has it been the need of transportation - it has been, and
almost certainly always will be the advertising writer's
recognition of people's wants and emotional needs/ego
cravings.
Visualize your prospect, recognize his wants and satisfy them.
Writing good advertising copy is nothing more or less than
knowing "who" your buyers are; recognizing what he wants; and
then telling him how your product will fulfill each of those
wants, Remember this because it's one of the "vitally important"
keys to writing advertising copy that does the job you intend
for it to do.
The "desire" portion of your ad is where you present the facts
of your product;
create and justify your prospect's conviction, and cause him to
demand "a piece of the action" for himself.
It's vitally necessary that you present "proven facts" about
your product because
survey results show that at least 8% of the people reading your
ad - especially those
reading it for the first time - Will tend to question its
authenticity.
So, the more facts you can present in the ad, the more credible
your offer. As you
write this part of your ad, always remember that the more facts
about the product you
present, the more product you'll sell. People want facts as
reasons, and/or excuses for buying a product - to justify to
themselves and others, that they haven't been "taken" by a slick
copywriter.
It's like the girl who wants to marry the guy her father calls a
"no good bum." Her
heart - her emotions - tell her yes, but she needs facts to
nullify the seed of doubt
lingering in her mind - to rationalize her decision to go on
with the wedding.
In other words, the "desire" portion of your ad has to build
belief and credibility in
the mind of your prospect. It has to assure him of his good
judgment in the final decision to buy - furnish evidence of the
benefits you've promised - and afford him a "safety net" in case
anyone should question his decision to buy.
People tend to believe the things that appeal to their
individual desires, fears and
other emotions. Once you've established a belief in this manner,
logic and reasoning are used to support it. People believe what
they "want" to believe. Your reader "wants" to believe your ad
if he's read it through this far - it's up to you to support his
initial desire.
Study your product and everything about it - visualize the wants
of your prospective buyers - dig up the facts, and you'll almost
always find plenty of facts to support the buyer's reasons for
buying.
Here is where you use results of test conducted, growing sales
figures to prove
increasing popularity, and "user" testimonials or endorsements.
It's also important
that you present these fact - test results, sales figures,
and/or testimonials - from the
consumer point of view, and not that of the manufacturer
Before you end this portion of your ad and get into your demand
for action,
summarize everything you've presented thus far. Draw a mental
picture for your potential buyer. Let him imagine owning the
product. Induce him to visualize all of the benefits you've
promised. Give him the keys to seeing himself richer, enjoying
luxury, having time to do whatever he'd like to do, and with all
of his dreams fulfilled.
This can be handled in one or two sentences, or spelled out in a
paragraph or
more, but it's the absolute ingredient you must include prior to
closing the sale. Study
all the sales presentations you've ever heard - look at every
winning ad - this the element included in all of them that
actually makes the sale for you. Remember it, use it, and don't
try to sell anything without it.
As Victor Schwab puts it 90 succinctly in his best-selling book,
How To Write A
Good Advertisement: Every one of the fundamentals in the "master
formula" is necessary.
Those people who are -easy' to sell may perhaps be sold even if
some of these factors are left out, but it's wiser to plan your
advertisement go that it will have a powerful impact upon those
who are "hardest" to sell, For, unlike face-to-face selling, we
cannot in printed advertising come to a "trial close" in our
sales talk - in order to gee if those who are easier to sell
will welcome the dotted line without further persuasion. We must
assume that we are talking to the hardest ones - and that the
more thoroughly our copy sells both the hard and the easy, the
better chance we have against the competition for the consumer
dollars - and also the less dependent we will be upon the usual
completely ineffective follow-through on our advertising effort
which later takes place at the sales counter itself.
ASK FOR ACTION DEMAND THE MONEY!
Lots of ads are beautiful, almost perfectly written, and quite
convincing - yet they
fail to ask for or demand action from the reader. If you want
the reader to have your
product, then tell him so and demand that he send his money now.
Unless you enjoy
entertaining your prospects with your beautiful writing skills,
always demand that he
complete the sale now, by taking action now - by calling a
telephone number and ordering, or by writing his check and
rushing it to the post office.
Once you've got him on the hook, land him! Don't let him get
away. Probably, one of the most common and best methods of
moving the reader's to act now, is written in
some form of the following:
All of this can be yours! You can start enjoying this new way of
life immediately, simply by sending a check for $XX! Don't put
it off, then later wish you had gotten in on the ground floor
Make out that check now, and "be IN on the ground floor!" Act
now, and as an "early-bird" buyer, we'll include a big bonus
package - absolutely free,
simply for acting immediately! You win all the way! We take all
the risks. If you're not
satisfied, simply return the product and we'll quickly refund
your money! Do it now! Get that check on its way to us today,
and receive the big bonus package! After next week, we won't be
able to include the bonus as a part of this fantastic deal, so
act now! The sooner you act, the more you win!
Offering a reward of some kind will almost always stimulate the
prospect to take
action. However, in mentioning the reward or bonus, be very
careful that you don't end
up receiving primarily, requests for the bonus with mountains of
requests for refunds on the product to follow. The bonus should
be mentioned only casually if you're asking for product orders;
and with lots of fanfare only when you're seeking inquiries.
Too often the copywriter, in his enthusiasm to pull in a record
number of
responses, confuses the reader by "forgetting about the
product," and devoting his
entire space allotted for the "demand for action" to sending for
the bonus. Any reward offered should be closely related to the
product, and a bonus offered only for immediate action on the
part of the potential buyer.
Specify a time limit. Tell your prospect that he must act within
a certain time limit
or lose out on the bonus, face probably higher prices, or even
the withdrawal of your
offer. This is always a good hook to get action.
Any kind of guarantee you offer always helps to produce action
from the prospect.
And the more liberal you can make your guarantee, the more
product orders you'll receive. Be sure you state the
guarantee clearly and simply. Make it so easy to understand that
even a child would not misinterpret what you're saying.
The action you want your prospect to take should be easy -
clearly stated - and
devoid of any complicated procedural steps on his part, or
numerous directions for him to follow.
Picture your prospect, very comfortable in his favorite easy
chair, idly flipping
through a magazine while "half-watching" TV. He notices your ad,
reads through it, and he's sold on your product. Now what does
he do?
Remember, he's very comfortable - you've "grabbed" his
attention, sparked his
interest, painted a picture of him enjoying a new kind of
satisfaction, and he's ready to
buy... Anything and everything you ask or cause him to do is
going to disrupt this aura of comfort and contentment. Whatever
he must do had better be simple, quick and easy!
Tell him without any ifs, ands or buts, what to do - fill out
the coupon, include
your check for the full amount, and send it in to us today! Make
it as easy for him as you possibly can -simple and direct. And
by all means, make sure your address is on the order form he's
supposed to complete and mail in to you - your name and address
on the order form, as well as just above it. People sometimes
fill out a coupon, tear it off, seal it in an envelope and don't
know where to send it. The easier you make it for him to
respond, the more responses you'll get!
There you have it, a complete course on how to write ads that
will pull more
orders for you - sell more of your product for you. It's
important to learn "why" ads
are written as they are - to understand and use, the "master
formula" in your own ad
writing endeavors.
By conscientiously studying good advertising copy, and practice
in writing ads of
your own, now that you have the knowledge and understand what
makes advertising copy work, you should be able to quickly
develop your copyrighting abilities to produce order-pulling ads
for your own products. Even so, and once you do become
proficient in writing ads for your own products, you must never
stop "noticing" how ads are written, designed and put together
by other people. To stop learning would be comparable to
shutting yourself off from the rest of the world.
The best ad writers are people in touch with the world in which
they live. Every
time they see a good ad, they clip it out and save it.
Regularly, they pull out these
files of good ads and study them, always analyzing what makes
them good, and why they work. There's no school in the country
that can give you the same kind of education and
expertise so necessary in the field of ad writing. You must keep
yourself up-to-date,
aware of, and in-the-know about the other guy - his innovations,
style changes, and the methods he's using to sell his products.
On-the-job-training - study and practice -
that's what it takes - and if you've got that burning ambition
to succeed, you can do it too!
QUESTIONS ANSWERS:
l) WHAT'S THE MOST PROFITABLE WAY TO USE CLASSIFIEDS...
Classifieds are best used to build your mailing list of
qualified prospects. Use
classifieds to offer a free catalog, booklet or report relative
to your product line,
2) WHAT CAN YOU SELL "DIRECTLY" FROM CLASSIFIEDS...
Generally, anything and everything, so long as it doesn't cost
more than five dollars
which is about the most people will pay in response to an offer
in the classifieds. These
types of ads are great for pulling inquiries such as: Write for
further information, Send
$3, get two for the price of one. Dealers wanted, send for
product info and a real money-makers kit!
3) WHAT ARE THE BEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR TO ADVERTISE...
All twelve months of the year! Responses to your ads during some
months will be slower in accumulating, but by keying your ads
according to the month they appear, and a careful tabulation of
your returns from each keyed ad, you'll see that steady year
round advertising will continue to pull orders for you,
regardless of the month it's published. I've personally received
inquiries and orders from ads placed as long as 2 years previous
to the date of the response.
4) ARE MAIL ORDER PUBLICATIONS GOOD ADVERTISING BUYS...
The least effective are the ad sheets. Most of the ads in these
publications are
"exchange ads," meaning that the publisher of ad sheet "A" runs
the ads of publisher
"B" without charge, because publisher "B" is running the ads of
publisher "A"
without charge. The "claimed" circulation figures of these
publications are almost
always based on "wishes, hopes and wants" while the "true"
circulation goes out to
similar small, part-time mail order dealers. Very poor medium
for investing advertising
dollars because everybody receiving a copy is a "seller" and
nobody is buying. When an ad sheet is received by someone not
involved in mail order, it's usually given a cursory glance and
then discarded as "junk mail."
Tabloid newspapers are slightly better than the ad sheets, but
not by much! The
important difference with the tabloids is in the "helpful
information" articles they try
to carry for the mail order beginner. A "fair media" for
recruiting dealers or independent
sales reps for mail order products, and for renting mailing
lists, but still circulated
amongst "sellers" with very few buyers. Besides that, the life
of a mail order tab sheet
is about the same as that of your daily newspaper.
With mail order magazines, it depends on the quality of the
publication and its
business concepts. Some mail order magazines are nothing more
than expanded ad sheets,while others strive to help the
opportunity seekers with on-going advice and tips he can use in
the development and growth of his own wealth-building projects.
5) HOW CAN I DECIDE WHERE TO ADVERTISE MY PRODUCT...
First of all, you have to determine who your prospective buyers
are. Then you do a little bit of market research. Talk to your
friends, neighbors and people at random who might fit this
profile. Ask them if they would be interested in a product such
as yours, and then ask them which publications they read. Next,
go to your public library for a listing of the publications of
this type from the Standard Rate & Data Service catalogs.
Make a list of the addresses, circulation figures, reader
demographics and
advertising rates. To determine the true costs of your
advertising and decide which is the
better buy, divide the total audited circulation figure into the
cost for a one inch ad:
$10 per inch with a publication showing 10,000 circulation would
be 10,000 into $10 or
$.10 per thousand. Looking at the advertising rates for Book
Business Mart, you would take 42,500 into $15 for an advertising
rate of less than THREE TENTHS OF ONE CENT PER THOUSAND.
Obviously, your best buy in this case would be Book Business
Mart because of the lower cost per thousand.
Write and ask for sample copies of the magazines you've
tentatively chosen to
place your advertising in. Look over their advertising - be sure
that they don't or
won't put your ad in the "gutter" which is the inside column
next to the binding. How many other mail order type ads are they
carrying - you want to go with a publication that's busy, not
one that has only a few ads. The more ads in the publication,
the better the response the advertisers are getting, or else
they wouldn't be investing their money in that publication.
To "properly" test your ad, you should let it run through at
least three consecutive
issues of any publication. If your responses are small, try a
different publication. Then, if your responses are still small,
look at your ad and think about rewriting it for greater appeal,
and pulling power. In a great many instances, it's the ad and
not the
publication's pulling power that's at fault!
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