Free Article HomeSubmit Article l Contact Us


Ad Copywriting: Building Brand Equity one Word at a Time 
Ah…advertisements, those wonderfully adorable little vignettes that come to us at all hours of the day, seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year. Seventy percent of them are ineffective. Probably more than that actually. And a lot of them can become very annoying.

But then there are those ads – those special ads that stand out and make you say, “Hey, that was a really good ad!” For us in the ad and copywriting business, that may happen a little more often, simply because we tend to pay more attention to things that interest us. But, when it happens for you, what do you think it is that is making you take notice?

Well an advertisement is obviously an image, coupled with a message (copy). But not all the time. Sometimes it’s just an image, other times it’s just copy. But more often than not, it’s a combination. Well, in this article, we’re dealing with the Copy aspect. And in my opinion, that’s the most important part. But then again, I’m a little biased! Well, anyway, here are some tried and true methods for making sure you have written world-class ad copy that can begin to build Brand Equity.

1)Clarify the Goal of the Ad Copy.
What do you want the consumer to do after seeing the ad? Do you want them to buy your product, “call now”, go to your website, or send for a brochure? Whatever it is, make sure you know before you even put pen to paper. (or hands to keyboard) The “Call to Action” as it is known in its classic form, is without a doubt one of the two most important parts of the ad copy. The other is the…

2)Headline! …Headline! Headline! Headline!
We’ve heard it a million times – a great headline can make a business rich overnight. And it’s true. The headline is critical. The mission is to reach out to the consumer as they are paging through that magazine, surfing the web or channel surfing their TV and magically bring them into the ad. How are you going to do it? Do a lot of brainstorming before you decide on the headline. That will help flesh out the idea. When you have the right one, you’ll know. It will easily stand above the rest.

3)Write like People Talk.
This is not a research paper! Not even close to it. This is a conversation with your customer, only it’s written (or spoken) and it’s one-way communication. That is, the potential customer can’t ask questions of the ad. Or can they? Well, at least not now they can’t, but definitely in the future. Great ad copy is persuasive prose that convinces the consumer to buy. Write like people talk. You’ll bond with the potential customer that much more.

4)Be Inventive.
How do you make your ad really stand out? How about creating a new metaphor? That’s a tough one. But it has been done. Maybe you can find a unique way of expressing an idea or concept in the ad. A new way of approaching an old subject can really bring it to life. This is also one step that most copywriters forget about.

5)Don’t use Clichés!
Nothing more really needs to be said on that one. Just make sure they don’t creep in.

6)Make Every Word Count.
This is where ad copywriting really becomes an art form. To make every word count means that you have to get rid of the fluff and keep the meaningful words. You’ll find when you do this that the ad will take on a whole new look and feel. But the real impact is made when it is read. An ad that keeps only the words that count is an ad that will read very well.

7)Use Short, Snappy Sentences.
Save the long drawn out, adjective filled ones for those term papers or essays. That’s the only place they belong. People are drawn to copy that is punchy, snappy and to the point. Using the present tense and the active voice will go a long way to getting you there. Good ads always use them. You also know it when you see it. And it always makes a better impression.

8)Use AIDA.
Attention-Interest-Desire-Action. If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this. With any advertisement, this is really the “foundation” on which everything else is built. Quite simply, it’s: Grab the reader’s attention, build their interest, create a desire in them, and make them take action. Of course, it’s very easy to say this is what you need to do. The harder question is “how do you do it?” Well think of yourself. What makes you buy something? After you figure that out, then apply it to the copy you are writing.

9)Write about Benefits!
People love to know what’s in it for them. In fact, they really want to know what’s in it for them! But how many websites or ads have you seen that just talk about how great the product or service is? The goal is to express how this product or service will positively impact your customer’s life. The features of the product or the details about the company are important, but they are second string to the first string status of benefits. It takes practice, but it will come. People are just so conditioned to talk about features, that they forget about the most important part…BENEFITS!

That’s it! Nine simple steps to keep in mind when writing that next world class, award winning ad! And if you really follow all of them, winning an award could truly be a reality. Because when the right words come together with the right image, that’s when people will magically…and faithfully….BUY!

Good Luck!

Author Info:

Jon Wuebben is a professional Website Copywriter, SEO Copywriter and Advertising Copywriter with 10 years experience in B2B & B2C copywriting and marketing. He can be reached at (909) 437-7015, or online at http://www.CustomCopywriting.com for any copywriting project you may have or if you would like more articles or a complimentary Website Copy analysis.

 
30 Most Recent Articles :
A Disputed New Business:Virtual Property Exchange

In many ways, the in-game economy is similar to a real world economy - goods and services are traded to mutual advantage and are mediated in currencies(gold,platinum,credit,etc.). An online broker, who goes by the screen name Rolala, was not a fan of online games until his 15-year-old son be[ Read Article]

THE UNITED STATES, A Terrorist Nation

I love the United States of America, but I cannot tolerate the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. No I am not shouting at you, I am simply making a distinction, a difference that thirty-seven states of the union have noticed and moved to rectify. You see, AMERICA isn’t America anymore, nor does it in anyw[ Read Article]

Dollars and Sense

When I speak of the Federal Reserve and the fiat monetary system that controls our lives I feel as though my words are falling on deaf ears. I have the sense that the simplest conversations suggesting that change must be made invoke fear and condemnation from my fellow citizens. When will we tak[ Read Article]

Constitutionality

Is the 16th Amendment constitutional? Of course it is, the Supreme Court has made that as clear as it did the issue of slavery. But let us remember that it took the lives of more than 365,000 brave American men and the destruction of the Republic to wrest the matter from the courts and resolve the[ Read Article]

Five Secrets to Effective Pay-Per-Click Advertising

With so many companies swarming the World Wide Web with their products, how can you and your products and services stand out? Your ready answer would most likely be effective marketing. But how? How can you catch the eye of a surfer skimming carelessly through web pages? How can you keep the at[ Read Article]

How to Sell Bonds

If you want to make good money with banks, or any institution, Government and agency bonds are where it is at. Simply because all Government bonds and agencies are AAA rated, and banks can buy millions of dollars of any bond without incurring any credit risk. All banks own bonds of some sort, a[ Read Article]

Closing in the Car Business

The “P” Word. Closing is all about helping car customers make positive decisions. It is not about pressure or manipulation. Your customers need help overcoming the “P” word. Procrastination! Procrastination is natural when it comes to making a buying decision. Your customer is trying to avoid [ Read Article]

If You Build It They Will Come, or Will They?

All right, so you invested your time and energy to build your organization a great new web site, but you are not getting quite the results you were hoping for. Few customers are visiting or interacting with you and rarely do you get prospects to contact you through the site. So what can you do to [ Read Article]

Confessions of a Yoga Teacher

The following are questions that Yoga teachers still need to answer, despite overwhelming evidence that Yoga is ?the mother of all health maintenance systems.? Mainstream thought is finally catching up, with the progress Yoga is making, but it has taken 5,000 years for us to get this far. Serio[ Read Article]

Vertical Creep in Search Results :: Should Organic Optimizers be Concerned?

I thought for this week I’d give a summary of some of the more interesting Search Engine Strategies sessions which are currently going on in New York City. I was at SES as a speaker last year in New York and I have to say, there is a wealth of information there even if some of it is contradict[ Read Article]

How to build link popularity fast and free

We all knew that back link or link popularity is a big factor to get good position in any search engines. But building link popularity some times really hard if you don't know how to do it. One of the hardest problem for new webmasters is to get back link to their newly stablis[ Read Article]

Does Chiropractic Care Really Make Sense?

The Role of Chiropractic in Treatment Beyond the Resolution of Symptoms Do you have the same nagging injury that never seems to go away? Are you suffering needlessly with pain? Are you fed up with taking painkillers? Do you want to find out what is causing your pain? If your answer is ‘ye[ Read Article]

The Economic Implications of Buying Drugs Online

Although the Internet is fairly new (at least to the mainstream) online shopping has grown by leaps and bounds. Now you can buy almost anything you need, from food to fishing equipment, right through your computer. Of course, this has meant that commerce has been forced to adapt to the changing co[ Read Article]

Manning and Manning-Can Either Brother Win the Big One?

It was just over a year ago, after the Colts lost to the Pats in their post-season contest, that Boomer Esiason said on national television, "I think maybe Peyton (Manning) is this generation's Dan Marino." Esiason went on to state that Manning "is a great football player, but he's not going to get[ Read Article]

Branding, Branding, Branding - MSN fails to keep it Straight

Sometimes you see promotions come along and you wonder: did they just do that? The current MSN promotion called msnsearchandwin is a prime example of this. Not only do they use “black hat” or at least “questionable” tactics on the site, but the messaging is inconsistent. In this article [ Read Article]

The New MSN Search Interface :: A positive change or the antithesis of transformation?

Now, instead of wide blue bars there are sleek silver-grey bars. Also, the top bar where the search box is became narrower. To me this makes the page seem less “closed in” and more visually appealing. I now feel as if I can trust the results more because they have more room. I’ve also noti[ Read Article]

Malta Holidays

With Malta visitor numbers static in recent years and facing new competiton from former Eastern Bloc countries offering cheap holidays, the recent announcement by the Maltese government that negotiations were at an advanced stage with two low cost airlines has[ Read Article]

Drug Rehab Treatment Centers as an Experience, not a Punishment

Choosing a drug rehab treatment center is a decision that calls for both negative and positive emotions. Nobody wants addiction to overtake their life to the point that rehab is the necessary step. However, the decision to go to one is something to look forward to, as it is the decision to rebui[ Read Article]

Some ways to improve your king content

There are thousands of articles, books and forum posts which showed that content is king in search engine optimization (SEO). In this article, you can find some ways that can help you improve this king content for your web site. * Content for people first, not for search engines - Some webmaste[ Read Article]

Aerosmith Just Keeps On Rockin’

For over three decades, Aerosmith have been one of rock's most revered and popular bands, crafting classic songs full of raw guitar runs and intensely energetic vocals. The band first reached fame in the 1970’s with a string of hits including "Dream On," "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way." During t[ Read Article]

Chicago Cubs Pitcher Mark Prior Re-signs

After many trips through the rumor mill, Mark Prior accepted the Chicago Cubs’ offer on January 27 to a one-year, $3.65 million contract. That is $900,000 more than the salary he would have earned under the contract he voided in November. Since Prior's definitive season in 2003 (18-6), he has cooled[ Read Article]

Social Networking - The Next Great Marketing Medium?

There has been a virtual explosion of social networking sites in the past couple of years. Even the big players like Google, Yahoo and MSN are getting into it. With so much interest in how social networks work, one begins to wonder if there is marketing potential within these social network[ Read Article]

How to choose paid directory for web site listing?

How to choose paid directory for web site listing? Search Engines are the major source of traffic for any website. High search engine ranking can boost number of your visitors and in turn leads to increase in sales. The best way to get top search engine placement is to improve link popularity [ Read Article]

Addiction Treatment Centers Using Experiential Therapies

Life is experience. Substance dependence overtakes a person’s ability to make her own decisions to experience life, and life is no longer actively participated in. Therefore, in overcoming addiction, it is vital to learn to re-experience life. This lesson helps a treatment center resident reint[ Read Article]

The DH: Making Life Tough for AL Pitchers

In 1973 Major League Baseball instituted three rules designed to lessen the power of pitchers and create more offense. One theory at work was that the game needed to be energized and that more hitting would create additional runs and excitement. Both the National and American Leagues lowered th[ Read Article]

Vacation on the Beach the Smart Way

Vacation on the Beach the Smart Way Almost everyone agrees; there is no more relaxing way to vacation than to take it to the beach. For the vacationer/traveler who hasn't considered a beach house rental before, they represent an affordable and fun family oriented alternative. There is an intell[ Read Article]

Malta Holidays and Hotels Buzzed by New Jets

With Malta visitor numbers static in recent years and facing new competiton from former Eastern Bloc countries offering cheap holidays, the recent announcement by the Maltese government that negotiations were at an advanced stage with two low cost airlines has sparked hopes that the island will see [ Read Article]

The Rising Cost of Prescription Drugs

If you’re like many Americans, the rising cost of prescription drugs may be costing you your health. In particular, seniors living on a fixed income with no insurance are finding it difficult to pay for necessary prescriptions out-of-pocket, and as a result, may be failing to receive the treatment[ Read Article]

Who's Tops in Hockey and Who's Not

The National Hockey League needs to do more to encourage better coverage of the hockey games. With so many other sports realizing national coverage, the NHL is sometimes forgotten. However, this year, there's a race for the Stanley Cup, and only one is set to win it. But which team will that be? [ Read Article]

The Danger Of Rounding Up Your Debts

Rounding up your debts is one of the biggest dangers to your financial position. It's also one of the easiest ways for your debts to get out of control. This way of thinking is best summed up by the following comment; ‘I already owe $27500 so what’s another $500. It takes my debt to a nice round [ Read Article]

 

World Top Stories :
Nasa chief hails new era in space
The head of Nasa has hailed a "new era" in exploration after the launch of the first cargo delivery to the space station by a private company.


Ten jailed for Russian train bomb
A Russian court jails 10 people, four for life, for the November 2009 bombing of a high-speed train in which 27 people died.


Official 'offers 2012 tickets'
A senior Olympic official is suspended after a BBC investigation revealed he was willing to sell thousands of pounds worth of 2012 tickets for cash.


 

Copyright © 2006 Realook.com All Rights Reserved.