Make a list of everything you think should be included at one time or another, in one of your ad, be it radio, newspaper or Little Jimmie’s class play program.

Everything. Experience, staff, facility, product. The list will be quite long. Take the time to do it now, before you read the rest of this article.

Next, take a hard look at your list, pencil in hand, and cross off all items that are about YOU (including YOUR staff, YOUR building, YOUR ranking, awards etc). Now, x-out all the FEATURES of your products or service.

The number one rule, the only rule, for great advertising is "Sell the Benefits".

Take a poll, people don’t care if you have the largest selection in town. It means nothing that "New Stuff is arriving daily". They want to know what you or your product can do for them. WIIFM or "What’s In It For Me?" Ease pain and you gain.

You see and hear ads everyday that miss the point entirely. Giant billboards with pictures of the medical clinic staff standing in front of a wall of awards. Picture of a guy with a wrench and the words "See me for all your plumbing needs." Three little girls on TV yelling an unintelligible slogan about their daddy’s store. It’s all about them. It should be all about the customer.

Did you see the one on TV where a guy gets the water cooler dumped on him because he bought the good software? What picture does that tell? It would have been better if the guy told me (from a sunny beach location) the boss gave him another week of vacation because the new software saved the company 40 million bucks. Benefits.

How about the newspaper ad with the picture of the funeral home building and how they have been around for 85 years? Benefit?

Ads about "you you you" can look and sound really great, to you, you, you. We all love to talk about ourselves. Where are the benefits? What hook does your face on a billboard use to bring customers through the door? Your face is NOT a benefit.

We all grew up thinking "me me me". Remember how excited you got when you first saw your name or picture in the newspaper? Even the school paper. It was a BIG deal. "Me me me." Great for your ego, but take that thinking to your advertising and it flops.

The first time you make the list and cross out the me me mees and all the features, you may have only one or two points left to promote. Make a new list and think "them them them". Think benefits.

The ads that stick in your head are the ones that promise to make your life easier. The appliance store promising to deliver at the appointed time. You don’t have to stay home all day waiting for the truck. A real benefit. It makes no difference if the TV is made by Acme or Zenith? They will deliver on time. Let’s go there. Benefits.

The company that says their plumber will show up clean, on time, and not smell. Another benefit!

Who cares what a financial advisor looks like, but tell people they can retire and not eat dog food and you get their attention. Benefit.

Funny thing, the ads about benefits are the ones we make the mental note to remember. Hmmm.

Sell the benefits and you don’t have to sell yourself.

For more about advertising, get my article "What’s Your Selling Sentence?" Send a blank eMail to MailTo:SellingSentence@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

Every community has ‘em. Fast talkers who roll into town with a clever idea to sell to people in business.

Many times the ideas are clever and cute but you should weigh the ups and downs of every offer before you dig out the checkbook. Most of these in-town-for-a-day people want their cash up front.

Some of the common flim-flams are:

Coupon Books

They offer to put you in a giant coupon book to be sold for the needy charity or Lions Club. Books are sold on the phone for $29 and delivered by the Boy Scouts. Watch out for errors and missing expirations once the operation has moved to another town.

Telephone Book Covers

They wrap around the book and the callers see your ad every time they reach for the book. Might be OK if you own the wrecker service, locksmith or funeral home, but run the other way if you have a grocery, Mickey Dees, or bank.

City Maps

Your ad goes somewhere around the edge of the map. You might get pitched by several companies. Some look better than others, most are very pricey. Pick up maps like these when you see them and decide if you’d do business with anyone on the map because of the ad. Distribution is the selling point. Placement is the bug-a-boo. What if your ad is on the back and the reader only looks at the front? Don’t be fooled by the promise of radio ads proclaiming free maps and mentioning your name.

Bibles for Newlyweds

I wish I had thought of this one 30 years ago. I would be clipping coupons instead of writing about it.

The fast talker promises to send a Bible to all newlyweds in the county (the names and addresses of the happy couples are public record at the courthouse). Four to six sales at about $500 each and they mail a one dollar Bible 4th class, a peel and stick label stuck inside with the name of the "sponsors" in inkjet color.

They can easily sell a town a day at 3 large and make one trip a quarter to visit the courthouse for names. Work it for two months on a route and eat cake the other 10. A great moneymaker for the Bible people, a dud for advertising effectiveness. But like kids in school and American Flags, this emotion sells well in every community.

There are hundreds of advertising "opportunities" out there. Your job as a business owner is to separate the effective from the cute and clever.

For more about advertising, get my article "Your Billboard is Showing" MailTo:Billboards@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

Do you know how to write a great headline? You should because headlines are the lifeblood of your product/service.

Newspaper and magazine headlines are some of the best you’ll see. They depend on these headlines for sales. And since they have about 4 seconds to capture your attention, they better be good.

Who can resist not at least scanning a few lines after reading headlines like this:

"Attack Dogs Maul Helpless Kitten To Death"
"Exclusive: TV Star’s Secret Getaway Spot Revealed"
"How Attractive Do These People Find You?"
"The $1 Million Dare"

Each of these headlines has an element or combination of elements that affect you.

They tease your emotions and leave you hanging like the classical ‘what happens next?’ scenario.

And to satisfy your emotions, the solution is to read the story. Brilliant tactic, isn’t it?

Imagine your customers having to read your materials to satisfy themselves!

That’s what these headlines do.

What emotions do you invoke in your sales materials to captivate your readers? How do you plan to get them to read your ‘story’?

You should use as many hot-button emotions into your materials as you can. Solve your customer’s problems by offering them engaging copy.

Remember, when they visit your site or read your brochure, they are already in the market for your services. They want to make a buying decision. So don’t give them an excuse to go somewhere else.

Use stop-in-your-tracks headlines combined with engaging copy and you can’t go wrong.

Sammer Hakim is a Dallas-based copywriter serving clients worldwide and helping them with their sales materials. He can be reached at http://www.marketing-commando.com.

The biggest sales meeting of your life lurks. A sales meeting where you’re career may well skyrocket if you close the deal. You’re psyching yourself for the big ‘Sales’ day.

You press your clothes so crisply; you could swear the folds could cut you. When you’re done, you lay in bed rehearsing your day tomorrow. You visualize yourself closing the biggest sale ever. Then after a few minutes, you slowly doze off.

Then you rise early still thinking sales.

You climb in the shower still thinking sales.

You put on your finest clothes, new shoes, spend 20 minutes on your hair and are meticulous about everything looking perfect.

As you grab your folder to head out, you give yourself a quick glance over in the mirror.

You think to yourself, you clean up pretty well. You quickly rehearse a few lines, poses and smiles. A few bursts of your best fragrance and you’re set!

And yes, you’re still thinking sales.

You get to the clients office and are warmly greeted. You take pride they noticed how immaculately groomed you are. They welcome you into their office and gently push the door until it clicks shut.

After a few words and glances around the office, it falls eerily silent.

This is it.

It all boils down to this.

You collect your thoughts, clear your throat, stand, take a deep breath, and look at your client square in the eye and you…

Just stand there. You don’t say a word.

They raise their brows in puzzlement. Then tilt their head inquisitively wondering if you’re ok.

And you just stand there rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet, lips curled inwards but looking great with your new clothes and shoes.

Ok, what does this have to do with your sales materials or website?

TOO MANY SALES MATERIALS AND WEBSITES JUST STAND THERE DECORATED WITH THE MOST AMAZING GRAPHICS, FLASH AND DESIGN BUT DON’T TALK TO THE CLIENT!

Well, you won’t sell a damn thing looking pretty. You must “talk” or you will simply lose the business. Not just any talk. The right talk your clients respond to.

You may think

“Well, I do have content on my site and sales materials so ‘I’m not just standing there, I AM saying something”

Re-imagine the above scenario. But you’re mumbling and the client’s face is squinting in aggravation trying to understand what you’re saying. Or using abrasive language the client doesn’t appreciate. Or present yourself in a way that makes you appear unprofessional, insecure or not confident. You don’t mean to come across that way of course, but you do. Bottom line: You need help.

A professional copywriter will know exactly how to give you the best sales presentation possible for your product/service. They will grab your audience’s attention, hold it and engage their minds towards buying from you. That’s their job. They answer questions, overcome objections, ease fears and strengthen confidence in your business.

Isn’t that a lot more valuable to you than just looking good?

It’s no accident materials professionally written consistently outsell materials written by those who think there’s nothing to it.

There’s plenty to it because the fact you’ve read this far, proves engaging copy does what I claimed in this article!

Sammer Hakim is a Dallas-based copywriter serving clients worldwide and helping them with their sales materials. He can be reached at http://www.marketing-commando.com.

Often considered as “plain Jane’s” of the print world, trade magazines prove that there is more to a market than just a pretty face.

Trade magazines are written for a specialized audience and typically focus on one specific area or industry. Even the ads reflect this focus.

They assume the reader is familiar with the material that’s covered and though it can be quite technical, they aren’t usually written in a scholarly manner – this is good news for writers seeking to ad power clips to their portfolios.

Trade magazines provide a large, open and lucrative market for freelance writers because with so many competing magazines there is always a huge need for content and being an expert isn’t a prerequisite for industry publication.

Try putting “trade magazines” into a search engine such as Google.com and you get well over 250,000 hits. Now try “consumer magazines.” At 86,000 hits it’s easy to see where the markets lie.

Now is the time! There are literally thousands of FREE trade magazines available by subscription on the Internet and more become available every day. They cover every subject and every angle imaginable. They are also some of the best paying markets in the business.

Get Your Money Where Your Trade Is Or Isn’t!

You don’t need to be an expert to get published in trade magazines as long as you are very familiar with what your target magazine is buying.

The ABA Journal for lawyers, pays between $400-$2000 per article and requests that all material be centered around the law, or practicing the law, but they also buy pieces focused on legal news, current trends, the business of running a practice and technology for lawyers. This leaves room for writers who don’t happen to be law experts to find a niche’ in this publication. Can you write about the newest technology or software that would be appropriate for law office staff? Can you offer a fresh approach for making a waiting room delay more enjoyable for their clients?

Across The Board is a non profit magazine for leaders in business, government and more. It’s 60% freelance written and pays between $50 -$2500 for articles, essays, book excerpts, humor, personal experiences and opinion pieces. They also buy reprints. No expertise needed here! An article focused on the positive philanthropic policies of a fortune 500 company or the uplifting personal story of some one helped by such an organization would be right at home in this venue.

Of course, if do have an area of expertise consider exploiting it in the trades too.

The American Journalism Review –at 80% freelance written, covers expose’, ethical issues and personal experiences. Paying between $1500 and $2000 per piece for 2,000-4,000 words. Online, in the news and real time media focuses all apply.

Looking for Markets -in all the right places

As I said earlier the Internet is an incomparable resource of markets specifically for trade magazines and below are my two favorite places to shop for FREE magazines to find markets:

Free Magazine Trade Source is one of the most comprehensive sites for you to subscribe to trade magazines that you would like to target for article publication. They literally have hundreds of free publications.

TradePub.com is another excellent source for FREE trade magazine subscriptions. They also have hundreds of high quality magazines to chose from - it’s amazing really.

Don’t abandon what you know to work either Writer’s Market currently has a list of 550 paying trade markets listed with contact information, rate of pay and a description of the types of submissions accepted and there are many others only a mouse click away. And many other writer’s website have market listing that include trade market information. You can look for more places to find writer’s markets on the Resources for Writers page.

With their plain industrial covers and unilateral focus trade magazines have been the unattractive sibling of consumer oriented magazines for a very long time. It’s a reputation undeserved in the freelance writing market. With no true need for specific expertise in most publications maybe it’s time for us all to take a second look at the lucrative opportunities available for freelancers that write for trade publications.

About The Author

Angela Butera Dickson is a full service, freelance copywriter offering some of the best prices on the web. From articles to brochure copy, ghostwriting to marketing letters, she can help you cultivate a polished, professional business image: www.angeladickson.com, email: angela@angeladickson.com

"Do we need to cast a voice-over talent for this project?"

That’s a valid question any producer might ask when creating an advertisement, corporate audio-video presentation, video game, etc. Of course, the answer depends on what elements the producer and client feel will best communicate with the audience.

For a radio ad, a fully sung jingle with no voice-over could work best. A TV spot or corporate narration might be most effective using scrolling graphic and text, again without an announcer. But very soon producers could be pondering whether their productions need a voice over talent for a more disturbing reason. Vocal utterances produced by air passing through folds of tissue and formed by lips, teeth, and tongue may, simply put, become obsolete. Yes, the "virtual voice talent" may very well become a reality.

Welcome to the Machine

In the May 2004 issue of Mix Magazine, in two separate articles, Stephen St. Croix and Paul D. Lehrman relate their experiences with a new piece of software ominously named "Vocaloid." This little computer-coded wonder is a speech synthesizer that’s being used to synthesize background vocals on actual recordings that are being sold to the public–background vocals so good, you’d be hard-pressed to recognize they’re fake singers. Now, considering the dubious singing talents of many of our current pop stars, maybe a Vocaloid virtual diva named Britney isn’t too far-fetched. Audio manipulation, including pitch correction, equalization, compression, reverb, have been used for decades to save the bacon of many a pop star’s performance in-studio or on stage. Technically, it’s just a short step from this point to a "singer in a box."

In fact, in the letters section of the July 2004 issue of Mix Magazine a person identified only as "BC," referring to the St. Croix and Lehrman articles, boasted that he’s created a "band" called The Bots, "…created wholly from speech synthesizers and 3-D graphics." BC further states, "I use Vocaloid among a variety of other speech synths to make it more into an ensemble. The Bots have released two CDs, a ‘record deal’ with Magnatune, and a second video in the works. It’s been a long and painful ordeal, but I’ve finally gotten them to the point where they seem as real as any other band out there–except no live concerts."

I’ve Gotta Sing

And that’s the crux of the matter. The appeal of virtual entertainers probably will be quite limited–at least for the foreseeable future–because they can’t tour, do drugs, get into fights, sue their record labels, promote world peace, raise money for charity, or do anything live flesh and blood performers can do. We, the audience, love the performer as much as the performer’s music. And, in this case, that’s a good thing. Tony Bennett, the White Stripes, Diana Krall, Toby Keith, Frederica von Stade, and all of the American Idol wannabes are quite safe from Vocaloid elimination.

Speak Now of Forever Hold Your Peace

But voice over talents may not be so lucky. Voice talents are not seen. They don’t have adoring fans, except their moms and, maybe, a few other voice-over talents. They perform in short increments: 30 seconds, 60 seconds, a 30 minute narration on how to make a million in real estate. If speech synthesis has reached a point of sophistication sufficient enough to create virtual singers, what’s to prevent a software genius from developing a program to replace voice talent? Write the program.

Sample 300 to 500 voices, male and female, each with unique characteristics, incorporate them into the software and, voila, Instant Announcer in a Box. Just load your script text into the program, which converts the text to perfectly uttered speech. No retakes. With a few clicks of the mouse to tweak inflection, emphasis, pacing, dynamics, etc. to polish the natural feel of the voice-over and you’re done.

Far-fetched? If entertainment’s got a virtual band call The Bots, why can’t advertising and marketing have its own virtual Don Pardo?

Well, it seems maybe they can…

©Peter Drew

Peter Drew, a freelance voice-over talent and copywriter/producer with decades of experience, is heard on radio and television stations, corporate presentations, web sites, and messages-on-hold across America and countries around the world. To send an email regarding this article, please visit Peter Drew Voiceovers at http://www.peterdrewvo.com/

Advertising will make or break your business. It is crucial to your success that you learn to write great ad copy. Here are a few simple concepts to get you there.

1. The Headline

This is THE most important part of your ad, especially when using online advertising. The point of the headline is to grab a potential customer’s interest and then entice the reader to go on and read the rest of your ad. The best headlines tend to be those that emphasize the benefits to the customer, ie. what your product or service can do for them, WHY they MUST have it - right now!

2. Formatting

If your ad is taking the form of a webpage, or any other ad that allows the use of HTML/formatting, take advantage of it. Make sure your headline stands out from the rest of your ad by using a larger font, bolding, italics (careful here: make sure it is readable, some fonts aren’t), or a different color. Remember to ensure that the overall look is business-like.

Some ad sites (like AOL) allow you to post a graphic along with your ad: definitely do so! It will really make your ad stand out compared to the ads of those who haven’t bothered and makes you look much more professional.

If you’re advertising to safelists or using any other type of email advertising, use interesting characters to make your subject line stand out, some examples: >> << /// $$$ ~~ Also, make sure you can actually READ the most important part of your subject line - it would be awful if you were to create the World’s Best Subject Line, only to have most email clients cut off the ‘best part’ so it’s never even seen!

3. Focus

Don’t try to sell with your ad. The point is just to get the potential customer interested enough to click on the link to your website or autoresponder: that’s all!

4. Unique Selling Position (USP)

Whether you’re a reseller, selling your own product, or are a member of an affiliate program, you need to find something UNIQUE about purchasing from YOU. Why should a person buy a product from you, when they can buy the exact same thing from thousands of other people, at the same price, with the same guarantee, etc.?

If you have your own website, offering a bonus of some sort is an obvious solution here. If you DON’T have your own site yet, it’s a bit harder. However, what you CAN do is tailor your advertising to a unique AUDIENCE instead. For example, write ads aimed at different target markets: moms at home, the elderly, students, retirees, entrepreneurs, disabled persons, etc. Emphasize what your product can do for THIS person, in their particular situation, and you may give someone an idea they hadn’t thought of, to your advantage!

5. YOU!

Inject some of YOURSELF into your ads! Using your own experience, or testimonial, can be HUGE in getting through to your customers. Explain how it has helped you, how easy/profitable/inexpensive it is. Your enthusiasm and passion for your product can be your best ally when writing ad copy.

6. Call to Action

Oddly enough, research has shown people are FAR more likely to click on a link, buy, or subscribe if you simply tell them to. So, including a "Click Here" or "Visit Our Website Now" can actually result in a higher response rate than ads without these simple instructions.

7. Ad Tracking

Don’t even bother advertising without ad tracking. It is absolutely essential to your business success. You MUST know which ads are working, when, and where. You will probably be surprised: sometimes an ad you love will be a real dud, another you might find somewhat questionable will blow up your hit counter! Play around with different headings, wording, where you post, categories where you place your ads - they can all yield different results. I like to test my headlines on free FFA and Classifieds sites, then use the winners as subject lines for my safelist advertising.

Keep these seven Essential Elements in mind when creating all your advertisements (you might even want to print out this article for easy reference) and you’ll soon have customers clammering for your products and services!

Lynne Homewood, Editor of Your Business Builder Newsletter and President of Global Epro, has been building online businesses since 1999. Her latest venture, an automated Home Business Success System with a unique vision is changing the way business is done online. http://www.bestinternetincome.com

Today, more than ever, it is crucial that your ad copy explodes the reader’s curiosity. Are you interested in simple yet powerful ways to improve your ad copy so your readers will rush to action? Invoking a reader’s call to action can be communicated in various effective ways. Great ad copy is more than simply plain conversation; it takes special style. The words must be ordered in such a way that they unlock the reader’s mind and walk right in.

Think about your ad copy for a moment. Does it inspire and thrust you into a blind rush to action? If not, take a giant step into increased profits today by enhancing your ad copy with the following tips.

CALL TO ACTION

To some, this might seem like an obvious step in crafting great ad copy. However, it is left out time and time again. Readers need to be told what you want them to do. Consider the following two examples:

Ad One: We guarantee you will lose up to 50 pounds safely with our new diet pill!

Ad Two: Take our new diet pill today and lose up to 50 pounds safely—guaranteed!

You probably noticed that Ad Two has a stronger pull to action. Ad One represents a common advertising line seen today. There is no call to action in this line. It hopes you will come to the conclusion that you need to take their pill. Ad Two is not only telling you the same information but also commanding that you take the pill and do so now.

WEAK PURSUASION

Weak persuasion attempts in your ad copy will completely destroy any chance for action you had. Many times ad copy can make calls to action that are too subtle. When this happens, the whole attempt is out the window. Let’s take a peak at a couple examples:

Ad Copy One:

Our new patented technology will assist you in promoting your website to its fullest potential. Order your copy of XYZ today!

Ad Copy Two:

Our new patented technology will assist you in promoting your website to its fullest potential. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it. Order your copy of XYZ right now!

Ad Copy One, while having a call to action, has a somewhat weak closing. It left the door wide open for the reader to ponder the action, which normally means no closure. Ad Copy Two adds a power line before the closing attempt that gives the reader the feeling of doing too much work and the thought that this tool is a requirement. Additionally, I changed “today” with “right now” to strengthen the added line. Let us look at some other persuading calls to the reader.

• You’ll receive all these benefits:
• You’ll be glad you did.
• Supply is limited.
• Your gift/donation/etc is tax-deductible.
• We know you’ll agree that …
• You simply can’t lose.
• Don’t wait another minute.
• Reserve your copy today.

There are many more but this should give you an idea on how to make stronger persuading suggestions to your readers.

SINGLE WORDS

Perhaps the best way to improve your ad copy is by replacing simple common words with more descriptive ones. It is important that your ad copy reads well so don’t just rapid fire in alternative words. Following are some common examples of words you might use and some excellent replacements.

Word: Good

Example: Our product is good.

Replacements Include:

• Highest quality
• The greatest
• Outstanding
• Top-of-the-line
• Top-notch
• Sets the standard
• The best in the business
• Superior

Our product is top-of-the-line.

Phrase: Saves Money, Value Priced, etc.

Example: Our product is cheap.

Replacements Include:

• Tremendous savings
• Pays for itself
• Inexpensive
• Thrifty
• Low cost
• Your money’s worth
• Economical
• Affordable
• Cost-efficient

Our product pays for itself.

Word: Money Making

Example: Our product will make you money.

Replacements Include:

• Make money the easy way.
• Double your earnings.
• Keeps on selling.
• Money in the bank.
• The opportunity of a lifetime.
• High Yields
• Make a bundle.
• Generates overnight profits.

With our product you will make money the easy way.

With a little crafting you can turn ordinary ad copy into a goldmine. Read through your ad copy many times to find the holes. Every word written down or spoken to a potential customer must make a statement. Competition on the business gridiron is brutal and you simply can not afford to drop the ball when it comes to ad copy. For more helpful tips, please visit Internet Business Entrepreneur.

©2005 Jason Andrew Martin LLC

Jason A. Martin has been conducting business on the Internet for 11 years. He is a free-lance writer on many topics and is currently working on obtaining a degree in Journalism and Law.

His official blog can be viewed at: Jason A. Martin

"The more things change, the more they stay the same". That saying couldn’t be more true, especially when it comes to writing ads and sales letters.

The same things that worked fifty years ago, continue to work today. Yes, times and technology has changed, but people haven’t. At least, not the way we react to an effective advertisement.

When writing an ad or sales letter, there are two critical points you must NEVER, EVER forget:

1. Most people don’t make a buying decision based on logic. They make a buying decision based on their emotions.

2. People don’t want to feel like they’re being coerced or pushed into anything. They want to feel like they arrived at a buying decision completely of their own free will.

Go back and read point number two again. That’s a very fine line. But you MUST learn the distinction, if you want to master the art of writing effective sales material.

Actually, writing effective sales material is quite simple, really. In fact, I’m going to teach you all of the basics in this article today. And if you consistently apply those basics, you’ll see your income skyrocket!

Here’s the key: You MUST write every single ad and sales letter using the following classic AIDA formula:

A=ATTENTION

I=INTEREST

D=DESIRE

A=ACTION

Let’s break down each letter, so that you can understand the full import of the formula:

A=ATTENTION: The very first thing your ad or sales letter must do is get your prospects attention. The very best way to do that is with an effective headline.

So, what’s an effective headline? An effective headline is any headline that answers this question: "What’s in it for me"? That’s all your prospects really cares about. What’s in it for them? Here’s an up-to-the-second example of an effective headline: "How To Write Super-Effective Ads and Sales Letters"!

So, what makes the title of this article an effective headline? Two things: First of all, I answered the "What’s in it for me" question. Secondly, the headline made you read this article.

And that my friend is the whole point! You want prospects to read your sales material!

Now, we come to the second letter in the aforementioned AIDA formula: I="INTEREST". After you get your prospects attention, you want to get them "INTERESTED" in your product or service. You do that by immediately telling them what your headline promises. You don’t waste their time with a bunch of fluff and garbage that nobody but you cares about.

Tell them what they want to know, starting with the very first paragraph, and continue to tell them, right through to the very last paragraph. If you keep them interested, they’ll keep reading, right to the very end.

Next comes the third letter letter in the formula: D="DESIRE". You have to make your prospects "DESIRE" your product or service. And the way to do that is with benefits, benefits and more benefits!

Remember, just keep telling them what your headline promised. Also, tell them what they stands to gain by purchasing your product or service. More importantly, tell them what they stand to lose, if they doesn’t purchase.

Push their emotional "hot buttons", by using magic selling words like, new, save, amazing, free, guaranteed, security, no-risk, look younger, feel better, etc!

Now we come to the last letter in the formula, but certainly not the least: A="ACTION". You want to close your ad or sales letter with a call to action! In other words, ask them for the order. It’s important to ask for the order at least three times, preferably six or more.

Here are a few examples of effective closes:

1. "Just click on the button below to order NOW, Risk-Free"!

2. "To get your FREE website, Order NOW"!

3. "Don’t waste another minute! Order NOW"!

Something else that’s very effective is to include a post- script (P.S.) at the end of your ad or sales letter. Your post-script should include an enticement of some sort, to get your prospects to order NOW. You should also use the post-script as a final call to "ACTION"!

Here’s an example of an effective post-script:

P.S. "Don’t forget, if your order within the next ten days, you’ll also receive a personalized calculator mouse pad FREE, with your company’s name embossed in gold lettering! Order NOW"!

You can also use a post script to tie everything together, by summarizing your most important benefits.

Another reason that you should use a post-script is strictly elementary. Studies have shown that most people, when reading an ad or sales letter will read the headline and then immediately zoom right down to the bottom of the page to check out the price and see if your offer is anything that they’d be interested in.

Anyway, that’s it. That’s "How To Write Super-Effective Ads and Sales Letters"!

Follow the formula faithfully and it will rarely let you down.

And remember, when writing your ads and sales letters, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS keep in mind that one question we all want to know: "What’s in it for me"?

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net.

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According to experts, just changing the headline of an ad or sales letter has been known to dramatically improve the effectiveness of an ad or sales letter by up to 1700 percent! Yes, headlines are that powerful–and that important!

An effective headline will do many things at once. It will attract the readers attention, convey benefits by appealing to the readers self-interest and it will set the stage for what is to come. It will also target the audience for which it was intended.

But the number one thing a headline should always do is answer the question, "What’s in it for me?" Why? Because that’s all most of us really care about.

So what are the characteristics of a good headline? First and foremost, an effective headline must be believable. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

However, if your product really can make me: jump higher than Kobe Bryant, attract as many women as I want, or make me millions while I sleep; if you put it in your headline, you had better be able to effectively prove it in your copy.

Many experts believe the shorter the headline, the better. I don’t necessarily agree with that. However, keeping your headlines to fifteen words or less is probably a good idea.

Make sure your headlines are easy to read. When typesetting your headlines don’t use fancy fonts, reverse type, all caps or italics. I recommend you utilize a simple, easy to read type style such as Times Roman. You can see an example of this on my website.

Headlines that evoke some type of emotional response are the most effective and generally make more sales. Emotions motivate people into action. The stronger the emotion, the quicker the action. Therefore, headlines that make the reader afraid of losing something or excited about gaining something will invariably produce the best results.

Using the proper words and phrases is critical. Below I’ve listed just a few of the words and phrases that, over the years, have proven to be very effective at grabbing the readers attention:

Save… Amazing… Finally… Love… Secrets Of… Announcing… Free… Luxury… Security… At Last… New… Bargains… Obsession… Breakthrough… Protect… The Truth About… Discover… How To… Rewards… Yes… Sale… You… Are You… Sex… Win… Improve… Do You…

After grabbing your readers attention, this is where you want to answer the question, "What’s in it for me?" To do this, you have to know a little about your target audience. What are they interested in? What are their priorities? What makes them respond?

Craft your headlines to use words and phrases that will pique your potential buyers interest. If you are targeting people interested in starting their own home business, try phrases such as "Stay Home And Make Money" or "Kiss Your Job Goodbye Forever". If your product happens to be diet pills, try "Lose 10 Pounds In 10 Days".

A word of caution here. This is the point where headlines tend to get unbelievable. Make sure that your claims are truthful and that your copy supports their truthfulness.

Once you have a firm grasp of the aforementioned basics, look around your house and select several different products, and write as many headlines as you can think of for each product.

Write variations of the same headline until you have exhausted all the ideas you can think of. This will be both frustrating and difficult at first, but it will become easier with practice. Remember, nothing worthwhile ever comes easy.

After you have your list of headlines, make sure each one passes the test for the following criteria for a good headline. 1. Does it grab the readers attention? 2. Does it answer the question, "What’s in it for me?" 3. Is it truthful? If a potential headline does not meet these three criteria, rewrite it or eliminate it from your list altogether.

Continue using the process of elimination, one headline at a time, until you’re left with what you feel are the three best and strongest headlines, based on the criteria presented in this article.

How will you know which headline is the best overall?

Unfortunately, there’s no way to know for sure until you test them against each other. The headline that pulls the most sales or responses is your winner!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net

Website: http://www.lets-make-money.net