How To Write Ads That Work – AIDA!

By Action Coach Dave Beam

We are all bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages every day.  If you have been in the business of business for long, you probably have concluded that advertising is a waste of money.  I only partially agree with that statement.  MOST advertising is a waste of money, because most advertising is frankly – lousy.  Ask the average person what makes a great ad, and they will likely tell you that it has something to do with creativity and entertainment value.  Not necessarily so.  I have only one measure for the quality of an ad; does it elicit a response that results in a sale?

Here is a quick overview of four principles, that if applied to your advertising message, will vastly improve the likelihood of a sale.  AIDA!  (This is not a latin dance!)

A – ATTENTION.  The most important part of an ad is the headline or opening script.  A great ad will grab the attention of your ideal customer.  A great headline is addressed directly to your best customer.  Unfortunately, the majority of headlines are all about the business, and even worst, the business owner’s name.  The customer doesn’t really care about your name, or even about your business.  He cares about himself, and will only be interested in the ad if he perceives that the ad is addressed to him.  If it has his name on it, he will read it.  ARE YOU A HANDYMAN LOOKING FOR A GREAT DEAL ON TOOLS?  If you are, you will likely read this ad.  That is far better than JOE’S HARDWARE.

I – INTEREST  Once you have grabbed the attention of your ideal customer, you need to keep his interest.  This is not the time to get cute and wordy with a message you have to figure out.  A bulleted list of features, or a brief description of the offer would be good.  Also, don’t use fancy fonts and confusing words.  Use exciting, clear, and direct language in a clear, easily read format.  If it is unclear or hard to read, you will lose your prospect.

D – DESIRE  Now that your customer is reading or listening, you have to get them excited and wanting to do something.  This is where you have to have an offer that is strong enough to make him do something.  It has to be believable and credible, but raise your customer beyond mere interest to a desire to take…

A – ACTION The bottom of the ad or the last part of the script needs to leave the customer with a clear action to take.  CALL THIS NUMBER TODAY and give the code “xyz”, or COME THIS SATURDAY TO THIS SPECIAL SALE AT THIS ADDRESS.  Coupon’s are great, and if you put a dashed border around your ad, you will increase the response over 15%.  Also, if you are using the coupon concept, place it where it is easy to detach.

The bottom line is that most advertising does not work, but when you test and measure and experiment and find what does work, you have found your goldmine.