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THE LEVISON LETTER
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Action Ideas For Better Direct Mail,
E-mail, Web Sites & Advertising
Published by
Ivan Levison, Direct Response Copywriting
November, 2008
Volume: 23 Number: 11
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How to make ads generate leads —
Eight ideas that work!
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Some companies spend a lot of money on so-called "image
advertising."
They pay a fortune for color photography, restrict the copy to a
witty sentence or two,
and feel simply terrific when they hear that
the ad has won the creative art director yet another award.
The trouble is, they may be missing the boat. They're all too willing
to settle for building
"awareness" when they should be doing some
selling and lead generation.
Now, I know very well that you can't apply direct response
techniques in every situation.
If you're selling a hoity-toity perfume at $500 an ounce, you take a
gorgeous photo of a
gorgeous couple in gorgeous Central Park and
you have them sip brandy and look into each
others' eyes and you
stick a headline under this romantic scene that says "Experience the
magic" or "Let the memory linger" or "He'll never forget your
essence" or whatever the heck
junky line you come up with.
That's not for me. I like to work on ads that do more than build "awareness." Maybe it's not
fashionable to say so, but I still think an
ad should do a little selling and, if appropriate, build
some hard
leads that can used to increase sales. Especially in this horrible
economic environment.
If you'd like YOUR ads to generate leads that you can put to good
use, here are some
battle-tested ideas you won't want to miss:
1. Put your offer right up in the headline. Don't hide your offer. It
belongs where people
can see it! If you've got a software upgrade
to announce, a demo CD you want to give away,
or a brochure you
think potential customers should read, go for it in the headline.
Don't
tease them. Don't entertain them. Let them know what you'll
do for them!
2. Include a picture of what you're offering. Let's assume that
you're giving away a demo CD
of your software. I urge you to
include a photo of the CD, packaging, written materials you
will be
sending along, etc. It makes the offer concrete and believable. Let's
learn from retailers.
They don't bury their goods. They put them
right under your nose. That's a lesson we can
apply in our
advertising.
3. Get your offer into the very first paragraph. Take a look at ads
with offers. You'll find
that the writer usually throws it in as an
afterthought at the end of the body copy. This is
an incredible
mistake. If you care about your response rate, put it up front. Let's
face it.
There's a chance that not every reader will stay with you all
the way to the end of the ad,
so give them important news about
your fabulous offer, early!
4. Don't forget to say "FREE." "Free" is one of the true magic words
in advertising. It
always has been. It always will be. If you have
something to offer that doesn't cost anything,
it would be foolish
not to highlight it!
5. Be sure to use testimonials. They can really build credibility.
Stay away from initials
used as signatures. "Your financial planning
services saved me thousands of dollars. H.M.,
Detroit, Michigan" is
old-fashioned and convinces no one.
6. Consider using a coupon. I know very well that people will
respond to your 800 number
and not to your coupon, but that's not
the point. The coupon hash-marks let the reader know
that
something is being offered and causes them to get into the ad.
Several years ago I saw a
study that underscored the power of
coupons to involve readers in an ad. My own experience
confirms
this. NOTE: Don't forget to make sure that your ad (with coupon)
appears on the
right hand page and that the coupon is placed in the
bottom right hand corner. Weird and
"creative" placement of
coupons should immediately initiate a search for a new designer.
7. The magic words: "No Obligation." People always need to be
reassured that they won't
be hassled if they respond to your ad. "No obligation" and "no risk" are words worth
remembering and
using.
8. Don't be afraid of long copy. Who said you should keep copy
short? People only believe
that because they have no confidence in
the writer's ability to sustain the reader's interest. As
the saying
goes, "The more you tell, the more you sell." If your budget restricts
you to smaller
fractional size ads, check out this recent issue of the
Levison Letter: www.levison.com/september_2008.html
Need help with your ad (large or small) or any other copywriting
project? Give me a call
at (415) 461-0672.
Let’s get those response rates up.
Let’s get those sales figures up.
Let’s go to work!
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How To Get In Touch
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Ivan Levison
Direct Response Copywriting
14 Los Cerros Drive
Greenbrae, CA 94904
Phone: (415) 461-0672
Fax: (415) 461-7738
E-mail: ivan@levison.com
Web Site: http://www.levison.com
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Copyright 2008, by Ivan Levison, All Rights Reserved.
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