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Get
Their Attention
by Bob Osgoodby
Studies show that you have less than five seconds to get the attention
of a reader. Think about your daily newspaper. Most people scan the
paper. If the headline gets their attention, they will probably read the
rest of the article. If it doesn't, they probably skip over that story,
and continue scanning until they see something of interest.
The first thing that should be seen is your headline. If you look
at your Newspaper, the headlines are usually short, in a larger type,
bold print, and give a good idea as to what the article is all about.
The same holds true when writing an advertisement. If your headline is
weak, your ad probably won't get read. Your headline can make or break
your ad campaign.
Probably the most difficult copy to write is for a classified ad. You
only have four or five lines to get your message across including your
headline. If you can put your headline in bold print, that will make it
stand out. If you can't, consider adding special characters such as - ##
your headline ##. We are conditioned to read letters and numbers, but
not special characters. This will help your headline to stand out.
Another trick is to use white space. A headline that is centered
on the first line of the ad is more noticeable than one that is buried
in the rest of the text. If your headline is short (3 or 4 words)
consider using ALL CAPS. Notice I said - consider. Never put your entire
ad in all caps as we are not conditioned to read something written that
way. Also, many people take offense to something written in all caps.
That is considered as SHOUTING, at least on the Internet.
So how do you develop an effective headline?
First - write your ad. Make it as long as you want, and make sure
you get all of your ideas included. Then, without mercy, cut it to about
5 lines of 65 characters per line. "But", you might say,
"I can't get all of my points across in something that short".
Face it - you are not trying to sell your entire program with this one
ad. You are however, trying to get someone's attention. If they respond,
you can send them all the follow-up information necessary.
After you have your ad written, then try to develop some catchy
headlines. Keep them short and try to grab your readers attention.
After you have written a few - test, retest and test again. If your ad
is in a place that is normally read by your target market, such as an E-zine
or Newsletter, you should be able to determine which ads are pulling.
You should concentrate this initial advertising in one or two well known
publications, so as to keep your costs to a minimum while you are
experimenting.
When you find an ad that is working, then you can expand your ad
program. In the advertising programs we offer, we see many people
competing for the same customer base, with the same product. Good
headlines can increase the responses you receive.
Great headlines can ensure that you are getting business while others
who are running basically the same ad copy, but with a "blah"
headline don't.
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Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine the "Tip
of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web Site? Great
Business and Computer Tips - Monday thru Friday. Instructions on how to
place your ad are in the Newsletter. Subscribe at:
http://adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm
Get Their Attention
by Bob Osgoodby
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