Understanding The Basics Of Advertising

 I get the L.A. Times delivered to my door every day,
but I don't read it for the articles. It is a Pulitzer
Prize winning newspaper, but the articles just don't
interest me. Unlike most people, I read the paper for the
advertisements because there is a lot to learn from them.

Over 90% of the ads run in the Los Angeles Times are
horrible! Most of the ads I see are either ego-driven,
have no headline, have no call to action, don't appeal to
what the buyer is truly looking for or needs help with, or
they're trying to be clever for clever-sake, and fail
miserably.

When writing copy, I live by this premise:

"The purpose of advertising is to sell something."

Advertising is like an investment that you hope to get
a great return on. However, most people treat it like they're
playing Roulette in Vegas and bet all their money "on black."

The basics of good copy is to think in terms of words that sell.

Following are some basics in advertising that should help you
make your advertising more effective.

1. Concentrate on your prospects. In the end you must persuade
him/her no matter what method you use. And to do that, you
must understand how he/she thinks.

2. Know your product - its materials, its manufacturer, its
use, etc. Know its features inside and out.

3. Find the problem your product solves. The solution would, of
course, be the benefit. It may be a mental, spiritual,
physical, or financial benefit, but as advertising legend
Maxwell Sackheim once said, "your product must have an excuse
for its existence."

4. Never start writing your advertisement until you're totally
excited about the task at hand. If you're not excited about
your product, it will come out in your writing, and hence,
the lack of results your ad produces.

5. Advertising is essentially news. Your ads must inform, educate,
enlighten, inspire, or promise a reward for taking action.
Apply your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) to your news angle.
The USP works great as a news angle because if you're the ONLY
one in town that does , isn't that news? If you have the
lowest price in town and you tell them why you can beat every
one else, isn't that news? It sure is. Ads should educate and
inform, as well as persuade and move people to action.

Understanding these basics of advertising will put you head and
shoulders above your competition. Why? Because in my blunt opinion,
90% of all advertising stinks! And, most business owners (and some
advertising agencies) don't understand that "the only purpose of
advertising is to sell something."

To learn how to write hard-selling copy and to master the basics
of advertising from a world-class copywriter, get Joe Vitale's
new course, "Advanced Hypnotic Writing" at:
http://www.roibot.com/adhyp.cgi?R29882~_campaign

About the Author

Craig Valine is the publisher of the
The AwfulMarketing Alert Newsletter, "Where you learn
GOOD marketing strategies by looking at those who do
it really BAD."
To subscribe his free newsletter, go to:
http://awfulmarketing.com/ezinesubscribe.htm

 Craig Valine

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