"The very first law in advertising is to avoid the concrete promise and cultivate the delightfully vague. —Bill Cosby
Advertising is a form of salesmanship by proxy in mass. It's only purpose is to convince a buyer (or consumer) to buy a product. While a salesman works one-on-one with a customer, advertising is salesmanship on a larger scale in a slightly more passive form.
Value of Advertising
Whether or not a salesman is worth his salary depends on how many sales he makes. So it is with advertising — value of advertising is measured against actual sales.
Tracking Advertising
If you're not tracking your advertising, you are throwing your money away.
ROI
ROI stands for "return on investment." The higher ROI, the more effective the ad or campaign.
AIDA
AIDA is a classic advertising formula.
Another Sequence
Attention (Promise / Problem )
Get attention using the headline of the ad. (Tips given on that page.)
- Want to play the guitar fast and easy?
Proof
Gain their trust and increase interest by showing proof. Sometimes confidence can serve as proof.
- Amy’s Stripped-Down Guitar Method promises to teach you how to play your favorite song in one weekend flat.
- Your heel spurs will disappear in 30 days or you can have all your money back.
- 11,500 people healed of heel spurs so far.
- Research shows people lose an average of 33 pounds with this new plan.
- You will feel so relaxed from my massage that you will fall asleep on my table.
Categories of Proof
- Testimonials
- A guarantee
- Authority: endorsement from famous author, scientific studies
- A statistic
Price
- For only $19.99, you can be playing the guitar at the end of this weekend. Just click here.
- If you don’t take care of those heel spurs today, where will you be tomorrow? Order our special herbs right now for only $19.95.
Call to Action
- Just click here.
- Order our special herbs right now for only $19.95.
Complete Guitar Example
(slightly modified)
Want to play the guitar in one weekend flat? Amy’s Stripped-Down Guitar Method e-book shows anyone how to do it, guaranteed or your money back. Click here to pay $19.99 and download it right now
Repetition in Advertising
It is effective to repeat key words in advertising copy. See priming.
See Also
Similar Pages
Categories: advertising business