Business ads: use a strong call to action
As in the title of this article, keep your copy short and use a strong call to action. We will discuss how to achieve this to make your ads successful.
I have a tendency to write long letters. Through screenwriting and writing short stories and copy, I’ve learned to edit myself and shorten things when necessary. One place this skill is needed is in commercial copywriting, whether it’s for written copy or audio and video. There are certain key points to remember:
1. Keep it short. You must remember that you only have 10 seconds to hold your viewer’s attention. If this fails, your ad will have no benefit. After all, if they don’t see your message, they can’t do what you tell them to do. By making it too long, they may get bored, distracted, or just not get your point. Think about the ADD market when planning your ad. The segment of the population that identifies with ADD is growing all the time. Even people without ADD can have short attention spans and become impatient as life happens around them.
Kids yelling, cooking dinner, getting ready to go out, reading on your break, or other short-time restrictions work against you if you do it too long. A well-planned 15-second ad can be more effective than a 60-second ad. Never make your copy longer than 2 minutes and shoot for a minute and a half. Even half-hour infomercials are broken into short segments with powerful, impactful content in each segment. Make it short and quick.
2. Make it clear. You need to make your point clear and definite. If you want to sell widgets, give them the who, what, when, where and most importantly why as quickly as possible.
SHOWS: Hi, I’m Joe from Joe’s Best Widgets, the most important widgets in your life. You may not know that widgets are the part of your car that makes it work, the best cat toy you’ll ever find, and they come in many colors and flavors. Now is the time to get the best prices and selection, before people buy them all for their summer fun. We are your premier source in Templeton, California for all your widget needs. Call us toll-free at 800-555-1212 and ask for Joe. If you don’t have your own widgets, you’re tempting fate and may embarrass your family. Don’t use widgets without the widget you really need. Call us before you run out of widgets, or you can repent! us [LINK HERE] NOW!” (add your own link to the text)
I’m not telling them to go to the site, I’m telling them to click the link to cut out one or more steps they need to take to get to the widgets. Do you see how I move you through the process and keep your attention on the road? Don’t feel like clicking the link? The formula I follow and the information is clear, and the call to action is compelling and at the end.
3. Quantify your call to action. Time is of the essence. Once they click away from your message, you are done and the call to action will never be seen. You need to get them to click your link or call your number with a compelling reason. Have you seen ads that show a timer on the screen and say, “For the next 30 minutes, you can get this amazing offer!” You know there is no way for them to start and stop a timer, and you can call at any time. There are people who see that and think they should call now. The advertiser can guess at what time their ads run from the response. Make time matter.
Offer a bonus, a discounted price, additional information, or the disappearance of the item they must have if they don’t act now. It may not be available after this. Not sold in stores. Exclusive. All these qualifiers make it necessary for the client to contact you. You can see from my example above that I’m telling you that you may get lost due to the summer rush and not be able to get this important item if you don’t get it now. I even add that people are buying them for their summer “fun” so that people have an association with pleasure. In the old days, they told you to be the first on your block, don’t miss out and act now. These are no longer convincing enough in today’s market. Make time count or you may lose the sale.
4. Make it the last thing they see. When you read and listen, what your bran processes most efficiently is the last thing you see or hear. You need to make sure that your point is the last thing in each paragraph, as I have done before. Also, if you add information after the call to action, they will continue reading right after the call to action and may not return to it. You can see from my example above that it’s the last thing you see. Take a look at the two examples below and see which one makes you act. Both are exactly the same information.
Example 1: This widget is the ideal selection for every need. If you clean your house, drive your car or feed your pets, you can’t do without these widgets. CLICK [LINK HERE] now to see how it works. You may be surprised! (add your own link to the text)
Example 2: This widget is the ideal selection for every need. If you clean your house, drive your car or feed your pets, you can’t do without these widgets. See how it works. You may be surprised! CLICK [LINK HERE] NOW! (add your own link to the text)
Any note here? You can see that they both have the same words and the same call to action. The difference is that in Example 2 I put the call to action last. Anything written after your call to action kills the sale.
You will notice that I did not keep this article short. That’s because I knew from the title and opening paragraph, both short and to the point, that I had your attention and that you would be interested in this topic. This is how you should write your ads and scripts. Once you know you have their attention, you can guide them down the path you want to take. The process is to capture them, show them, guide them.
Remember that if you don’t get their attention, they won’t continue reading and a call to action will be useless. Make your call to action strong, quantified, and definitive. Keep your copy and call to action short and interesting for the reader or viewer. Force the reader or viewer to do what you tell them to do. Keep your call to action at the end so it’s the last thing they read.
So now you have the formula for successful use of the Call to Action. This should boost your efforts to get your customers’ attention and cooperation, and increase the effectiveness of your efforts. If you have any questions, you can always visit my Business Consulting site to read more tips and articles I provide there or to ask for our help. If you live in or near San Luis Obispo on California’s central coast, I’d be happy to visit your business to help. Is that how it works:
The smartest way to get what you want before you lose more customers is to move forward NOW. Before you do anything else, please contact me at http://www.GeraldLCraigConsulting.com!